Nitin Sawhney - LondonUndersound

Wed 19th Nov, 2008 in Music Reviews

Nitin Sawhney’s latest album gathers influential artists such as Paul McCartney, Faheem Mazhar and Reena Bhardwaj to respond to the transformation of London since bombing of the Metro in July 2005. The album is also an attempt at community building, with an online component inviting listeners to post their stories of London on a Google Map of the city.

The explicit point is to empathise with the victims of the bombings, but also to underline the common humanity of city residents (and resist the divisive laws and race politics that have characterised town planning since the attack). This is a great album if you like genre-splitting sounds from different musical traditions.

In the title track, Days of Fire, Sawhney sings from the point of view of someone who narrowly escaped danger: “First came the flick of light and then the sound of explosion/realisation/I was on the next train/it could have been me.” The lyricism is simplistic, but the impact is forceful – random acts of urban violence can catch any of us unawares. With this track, Sawheny sets a muted tone for an album of grown-up tales. Using Indian raga phrasing, dub electronica, the Urban Soul Orchestra on strings and light harmonies, he gives us (uneasy) calm after the storm.

This is not to say there are no light moments. In the third track Bring it Home, the melodies give way to a club feel, constructed from acoustic drums, percussion and piano. Fans of the Tori Amos hit Cornflake Girl should appreciate Imogen Leap’s vocals. At times the lyrics do sound like juvenile poetry, with Leap singing, “We’re in this together, equal and opposite” – however, it all make sense in the greater context of the album. Daybreak featuring Fazheem Mazher, is a great relief. Simple and repetitive, it uses only minimal vocals, cello, harp and lute. Another standout is Reena Bhardwaj, who sings melodies accompanied by straight piano.

Painted over the CD cover and insert booklet are inky black figures and sparse backgrounds by famed artist Antony Gormly. The art is a perfect compliment to the melancholic atmosphere of the music. In an age where iTunes music downloads threaten to make the CD trade obsolete, the best defence strategy is to make the album an artistic object. This is a beautiful effort from Sawhney and his team of collaborators.

London Undersound is out now on Cooking Vinyl Records.