Fallout Rec.
Ananda Shankar and his Orchestra : 2001 (IND,1984)****°
According to the liner notes, “in the late 70s and early 80s Shankar devised the ‘mudavis’, a conceptual performance that anticipated the multimedia innovations in its combination of dance and visuals with music, and also scored a number of films and TV programs”… “In addition he composed music for his wife’s Tanusree’s dance troupe, and encouraged music and dance widely through a foundation that still bears his name.” For this album he imagined going to a far future, travelling in his mind through space and time. The music according to the LP notes has been played on Shenhai, Sarod, flute, esraj and Indian drums mainly.
Most pieces sound very much like the accompaniment of a movie, but compared for instance to Moriccone’s western soundtracks, this is even more solid music, and besides it almost moves like a modern dance with anticipating traditional elements. Beside the Indian instruments (some sitar-like instruments, Indian flute and some violin-kind of instrument, a clarinet-like instrument, and lots of exotic and wild percussion), I can also hear small touches of a surf guitar or just few funky wah wah-like effects, additional Indian-filmic orchestrations, electric bass, guitar, beautifully echoing vibes and things like that. By looking further to the future it is hard to tell to which time this music in the end belongs.. But considering the futuristic journey, it is especially the last track, the title track, “2001”, which travels deeper into space, with slow keyboards, the Indian sax/clarinet-kind of instrument, sitar and orchestra and then flute and some Indian stringed instrument, with the effect of a really sad goodbye. Ananda Shankar died 3 years before this presumed date. Thoroughly this track builds up and opens up with more light and orchestrations, and then becomes something more of a romantic heaven, and then a kind of rhythmical futurism with keyboards and orchestra. It sounds like the most modern track also, with an opening to different sounds and approaches.
Another masterly composed album that will remain a classic.
