Nitin Sawhney
His music is the result of a lifetime listening to and assimilating British music outside and Indian music at home. His musical vocabulary draws on Asian traditional & contemporary sounds, flamenco guitar & Latin rhythms, drum n bass, tabla juxtaposed with techno bass and a rich array of varied and original voices. In his music, Nitin continually deconstructs barriers between club style, tranquil ambient groove and world music.
Nitin released his first CD Spirit Dance (Spirit Dance/World Circuit) in 1993. It successfully married the rhythmically complex music of Northern India and the harmonically complex music of the West. The trio featuring Pritam Singh on tabla and Keith Waithe on flute toured extensively and built up a loyal following from gigs that included Glastonbury and WOMAD as well as dates in Europe and Canada.
In 1995, Nitin joined the Outcaste label and released his second CD - Migration on August 21 1995 to coincide with Independence Day for India and Pakistan (August 14/15).This CD addressed the themes of journey, transition and adjustment. From the title track, with its ingenious and seamless integration of Indian music and rare groove, to 'Hope', with stunning vocals by Natacha Atlas and 'Heer Ranjha' a modern rendition of the tragic forbidden love story that inspired Waris Shaha's epic poem (a firm favourite on Giles Peterson's Kiss 100 show;) - Migration was a triumph of East/West fusion and received rave reviews.
1996 saw the release of Nitin's 2nd album for Outcaste - Displacing the Priest. "This was an ambitious, complex project - a personal reflection upon spirituality and organised religion and the gulf that can sometimes exist between the two. At its heart, a series of compositions illustrated and illuminated the British Asian search for self, the reaching out for identity common to all generations born of an immigrant race, and the religious road map which so often shapes that journey. Displacing the Priest was about discarding this map and relying on instincts: turning away from the ready made answers of organised religion and its self - proclaimed rule - makers and finding a personal spirituality elsewhere.
Stolen from the Official Nitin Sawhney Web Site
Album: Migration
[CASTE 1CD]
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Released 1995 on Outcaste Records. This is Nitin Sawhneys second album. Musicians involved include Aref Dervesh, James Taylor, Jayanta Bose & Natacha Atlas.
Album: Displacing the Priest
[CASTE CD2]
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Released 1996 on Outcaste Records. Nitin Sawhney is without a doubt one of the most important British-Asian artists working in the UK. And Displacing the Priest, involving 14 musicians in all, is his most ambitious project yet. It's a personal reflection upon spiritualality and organised religion, the gulf that can sometimes exist between the two - a record that's polemic without being preachy, thematic without being a theme album, and profound woithout being anthing but undeniably funky.
At its heart, a series of compositions illustrate and illuminate the British-Asian search for self - the reaching out for identity common to all generations born of an immigrant race - and the religious raod map which so often shapes that journey. Displacing the Priest is about discarding the map and relying on instincts: turning away from the ready-made answers of organised religion and its self-proclaimed rule-makers, and finding a personal spirituality elsewhere.
Fittingly, the reocrd opens with a prayer, an ancient Hindu invocation that Nitin recorded at a temple in Chandigarh. Through a dreamy, ambient rainstorm (recorded from the top of a mountain) it segues into modern electronic percussion and Jayanta Bose's compelling vocals. In a way, 'Oceans and Rain' is a big musical metaphor - the pursuit of a modern, abstract spirituality born from ancient, organised religion. 'In the Mind' continues the meeting of cultures in the form of Asian classical vocalist Devinder Singh and young soul singer Denyse Anyogu, grooving together beautifully against a subtly funky electronic backdrop. Two traditional forms of Asian vocals are combined in 'Bengali Song' and 'Voices' with a funky Fender Rhodes and a backing of high-speed contemporary human beat-box - aural reminders that traditional music and spirituality are where you find them, not just in ancient prayer and the natural world.
But don't be mislead into thinking this is an album of messages. If you have Nitin's previous record Migration, then you're already familiar with Nitin's gift for a good groove. Here, from the dark, arresting rap-based title track collaboration with Charles Oleghe and JC001, and its compelling jungle conclusion, through the tough dance beat of 'Streets' and 'Voices' hectic drum 'n bass beat box, Displacing the Priest is hardly short of catchy grooves.
Mostly, the fusing went out of fusion long ago. Nitin brings traditions together in new and arresting ways. If the success of Migration and Spirit Dance before it suggest anything, it is that Nitin is hitting a nerve - using the Asian experience to talk to the UK community as a whole, and doing it very eloquently indeed.
Linton Chiswick
CD Single: Letting Go
[OUT 21CD]
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Released 1999 on Outcaste Records. Taken from the album 'Beyon Skin' by Nitin Sawhney [CASTE 9 CD/LP]. Track 1 written by N Sawhney and C. Grey. Track 2 written by N. Sawhney. Arranged, produced and programmed by Nitin Sawhney at Spirit Dance Studios. Vocals on Letting Go by Tina Grace. Vocals on track 2 by Swati Natekar.
Album: Broken Skin
[CASTE9CD]
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Released 1999 on Outcaste Records.
Album: Prophesy
[VVR1015912]
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Released 6/01 on V2 Music. Following on from Sawnheys 1999 'Beyond Skin' is his fifth album, 'Prophesy'. This is an album that is about visions of the future and, in Sawhneys own thought provoking words, "wants to challenge the west's definition of the developing world and highlight the contrast between the spiritual impoverishment of the materially rich west and the comparative spiritual wealth of the supposedly undeveloped world". Phew! Hence 'Prophecy' was recorded around the globe and includes a myriad of individuals, from a random Chicago taxi driver ranting about the problems of globalisation to the street children in Brazil, a Rishile School choir in Soweto singing a song penned by Sawhney to an interview with Nelson Mandela. As in Sawnheys previous albums, the styles and musical genres are varied, touching on drum and bass, hard rap, acoustic and electronica. Whether or not his underlying message can be passed onto the people is another matter, but what is sure is that once again Nitin Sawnhey has excelled himself.
Album: Nitin Sawhney feat. Eska - Sunset
[VVR5016763 / VVR5016768]
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Released 7/01 on V2 Music. Taken from the album Prophesy. Produced, written and arranged by Nitin Sawhney. Addtional remix and production on CD1 track 3 by London Elektricity and on CD2 track 2 by J-Walk.
For further information on Nitin Sawhney see his official web site, or the Outcaste web site and V2 Music web site.
