Across The Sea

Anmol Mohara’s music certainly doesn’t lack ambition. The UK-based Nepali percussionist, composer and lyricist packs in a surfeit of ideas and musical styles across his debut album, whose themes are centred around ideas of identity, tradition and migration. Weaving through a variety of moods, three modern arrangements of traditional Nepali folk songs form the centrepiece of the album. ‘Sakhiye Ho’ pairs the original’s vocal refrains with jazz-infused basslines, flutes and keyboards and some ingenious percussion. ‘Silu’ weaves the melodies into a quietly contemplative, saxophone-led jazz piece. Perhaps the best display of his wide-ranging ambition, the wildly inventive nine-minute ‘Sorathi’, narrates the tale over an epic backing of jazz, classical and prog rock textures. Elsewhere, among field recording vignettes of London life, sampled Nepali music and percussion that introduce each track, there are excursions into fusion, such as ‘Five Elements’, a mix of jazz, tablas and electric guitars recalling On The Corner-era Miles Davis and the funk-laced ode to Nepali steamed dumplings, ‘Mo:mo In My Mind’. If its whirl of styles sometimes lacks focus, there are plenty of inventive ideas to build on for future projects.