With their debut CD Tala Matrix, the project known as Tabla Beat Science has essentially taken the rich and time-honored tradition of the tabla (a pair of North Indian hand drums) and fused it with contemporary electronica studio wizardry. Tala Matrix is dedicated to the memory of the late, great, and innovative tabla virtuoso Ustad Alla Rakha (1919-2000). The Tabla Beat Science project is comprised of one of Ustad Alla Rakha's sons, the tabla superman Zakir Hussain. Additional members include the venerated sarangi player Ustad Sultan Khan; Indian and jazz percussion innovator Trilok Gurtu; New York drummer Karsh Kale; bass, drum, and tabla visionary Talvin Singh; and music programmer Brad Somatik. Producer/bassist Bill Laswell, who "conceived and constructed" the CD, acts as the catalyst for the outfit, adding the bottom end with his dub basslines and the overall aesthetic with his studio prowess. More of a consortium than a full-blown collaboration, not one of the songs on Tabla Matrix features all members of the group. Zakir Hussain's many tracks are among the best on the album, though Trilok Gurtu's funky Big Brother and Talvin Singh's Don't Worry.Com are both extremely compelling. The often zombie-ridden doldrums of electronica should benefit immensely from this experimental union with tabla. An excellent CD that deserves to be heard many times by many people, Tala Matrix manages to be innovative without loosing sight of tradition.
*When I heard this, I flashed back to a John McLaughlin concert* I saw at the "Jazz à Vienne":http://www.jazzavienne.com festival. The headliner was "Shakti":http://www.innerviews.org/inner/shakti.html, McLaughlin's 'acoustic fusion music' with L. Shankar.Funny enough, "nialler9":http://www.nialler9.com/blog/2007/07/27/trilok-gurtu, who featured this track a while back, mentions one of the m..
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This has been on my must-get-round-to-posting list for some time. It's Zakir Hussain playing a very fine solo. The 'Alla' in the title is his father, Alla Rakha.I don't really get on with Bill Laswell's take on world music, but this track is fairly free from interference. I didn't like the synthy drone and unnecessary bass on this album, and I still can't be bothered with most of it. But I now ...
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Tabla Beat Science is a musical group founded in 1999 by Zakir Hussain and Bill Laswell. Its style consists of a mixture of Hindustani music, Asian Underground, Ambient, Drum and Bass, and Electronica. Laswell met with Karsh Kale (who had worked together with Bill for years), and they later teamed up with Talvin Singh and Trilok Gurtu. All six have written for Tabla Beat Science's music.
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Secret Channel |
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| 2 Magnetic |
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| 3 Audiomaze |
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| 4 Don't Worry |
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| 5 Palmistry |
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| 6 Devotional |
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| 7 Big Brother |
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| 8 Triangular Objects |
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| 9 Biotech |
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| 10 Alla |
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 "Tala Matrix")
