Dhruv: Voyage 2

Nine years after the genre-busting Voyage (Wah Wah Records, 2015), Indian guitar/composer Dhruv Ghanekar returns with the second leg of his ongoing journey of musical discovery. Not that Ghanekar has been idle in the interim, with compositional credits to soundtracks for a host of films and documentaries. Still, it feels like too long a wait between solo outings. Indian folk music is at the root of both albums, but whereas Voyage saw Ghanekar revel in an Indo-jazz fusion colored by Americana, on Voyage 2 his palette is much more global in scope. To his already rich stew Ghanekar adds Brazilian, African and Balkan folk rhythms, hip-hop, rap and drum and bass.

Despite the cornucopia of global sounds, and a cast of musicians as long as the titles to a Bollywood epic, at heart Voyage 2 is a celebration of India's cultural diversity. Indian devotional hymns, Rajasthani and Assamese folk songs, wedding songs and the Holi festival all provide the launching pads for Ghanekar's celebratory excursions into jazz funk and broad-church fusion. Indian instrumentation, particularly tabla, dholak and konnokol are deployed sparingly, while a been (or pungi)— used in the ancient art of snake charming—makes a cameo.

The main substance, and the majority of the highlights, however, come courtesy of the wonderful singers: Nandini Srikar on the spiritual-meets-drum-and-bass romp that is "Suprabhatam;" Kalpana Patowary on the reggae-fueled "O Sorothia;" Ila Arun on the romantic Assam folk tune "Bego," built on Mohini Dey's overtly Red Hot Chili Peppers-inspired bass line; Vaishali Samant on the dance-floor booty-shaker "Jatra;" and Asha Sapera Kalbeliya on the upbeat Rajasthan folk-meets-jazz funk "Rasiya Chuneri.—Twithhese outstanding vocalists, powerful and emotive, are the real stars of the show.

Well, maybe that is a little unfair on Ghanekar, after all, it is his vision that ties all these colorful melodic and rhythmic threads together so convincingly, for the most part, with some questionable rap lyrics aside. A pan-global fusion it may be, but Ghanekar's music hits home most when you feel he is not trying to be all things to all people. An excellent guitarist of the post-John McLaughlin school, he executes several short but biting solos (Frank Zappa-esque on "Bego"), while slower, more gently crafted acoustic tunes like "Charkha" and "Assam" are telling of an innate sensitivity and lyricism.

Anyone inclined to pigeon-hole may struggle with the genre-slippery nature of Ghanekar's vision, but to those who care little for such reductions Voyage 2 serves up a hugely enjoyable moveable feast whose infectious energy belies the multiple intricacies at play.

Comments