Char Taal and a Raga Rainbow

These days North India is far from the only place you can find examples of the Hindustani music associated with the region. Rakkatak’s fusion has its roots in Canada’s urban melting pots. Bandleader Anita Katakkar was a member of the Toronto Tabla Ensemble, who have provided education and celebration of Hindustani music for three decades.

East-West fusion is an intensively mined seam however. As listeners, we are entitled to ask what is interesting about any new offering? In the case of Char Taal and a Raga Rainbow there are moments of inspiration. The dispassionate bol (rhythmic vocalisations) of ‘Nine Lives’ has a hip punk-like energy that matches the loose grooves of some of the tracks. Hasheel’s bansuri (flute) elevates each track it graces, including an atmospheric cover of Alanis Morissette’s ‘Uninvited’. Is it enough not to prefer another spin of genre classics from Zakir Hussain or Trilok Gurtu? It certainly suggests a Rakkatak live show would be a great way to experience Toronto’s thriving scene.