Carnatic Connection

The Bollywood Brass Band's latest album is yet another outstanding tour de force. With the help of Jyotsna Srikanth's Karnatic violin, several of South India's musical gems are reimagined in brass with all the energy of an Indian wedding procession. Most of the tracks on the album are filmi music rather than classical, and almost half of those were originally scored by AR Rahman. The opening rendition of ‘Rakkamma Kaiya Thattu’ is peppy and enjoyable, as is ‘Kannodu Kaanbadellam’ from the Tamil classic Jeans. Slumdog Millionaire's ‘Jai Ho’ and viral hit ‘Why This Kolaveri Di’ lack the creative flair of the rest of album, but Srikanth's take on ‘Kannalane’ is phenomenal and the band's raucous ‘Aa Ante Amalapuram’ is a track to be replayed over and over again. But the best track is undoubtedly the band's foray into classical music with ‘Deva Deva Kalayami’, where a series of breathtaking jugalbandis – competitive call-and-response interplays – between Srikanth and the other band members are set to the backdrop of morsing (Jew's harp) and percussion. Two original compositions – inspired by the final dance and battle scenes of iconic black-and-white film Chandralekha – are similarly impressive. So while Carnatic Connection may be more cinematic than strictly Karnatic, the journey south has never been a more enjoyable one.