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prem joshua & manish vyas : Product Reviews
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| Water Down the Ganges |
| Stretch The Mind Into Silence |
Joshua and Vyas have played together since 1987 and have collaborated on ten recordings, but this is the first album that they have conceived and composed together. Though they are accustomed to working in large ensembles, on this record, available from the White Swan label, they play every instrument themselves.
This is notable because nine different instruments, including sitar, tabla, santoor, a traditional Indian instrument with 86 strings, and soprano saxophone are included to create a big sound that is alternately energetic and meditative, ancient and contemporary. The Indian classical music style is pervasive on the record, and the tracks seem to bleed from one song to the next.
Tempo and instrumentation vary from track to track, but the entirety sounds like one extended piece. Joshua plays soprano saxophone with the mystery of a snake charmer on Sawari, above Vyas’ rapid fire percussion. On Trust, Joshua plays sitar and traverses the Eastern scale, while Vyas’ tabla fills the space between the notes. Moon Song is the most meditative piece, with Vyas on harmonium and Joshua on flute.
Throughout, the duo creates a sound that is passionate and soulful, and its complexity stretches the mind into silence.
- Adam Skolnick, LA Yoga, March/April 2003
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