Fall into the Rise. Review on Rise - Anoushka Shankar

I came to know about Rise album when it got nominated for Grammy Awards. Rise is the debut album of sitar player Anoushka Shankar (daughter of Pt. Ravi Shankar) as a composer. Though it belongs to the genre of World Music, it is heavily rooted in Indian classical music. I didn’t feel anything out of the box or new in the album as we are used to listening such kind of fusion a lot in A.R. Rahman’s music. But the beautiful melodies based on Indian ragas, divine sound of a variety of Indian instruments and its blend with the synth arrangement make it a must listen. There are millions of ways in which we can arrange a melody. Anoushka has got it all right when it comes to arrangement.

I never thought that two instruments like Sitar and Mohan Veena together would gel so well and produce such a beautiful sound in harmony as it is heard in this album. Anything that you play in Sitar would sound divine and relaxing. Imagine the effect when something really beautiful is played on it. This album is full of such Sitar pieces, which would for sure relax your mind. Another fascinating thing about the album is that the Indian classical notes are played (by Anoushka) on Keyboard with such finesse creating the sliding and note-vibrating effects perfectly sounding as it would when played with a sitar or Veena. Read somewhere that each track is composed in such a way that it reflects the mood of various times of a day from dawn till dusk. Of course I do felt the mood in some of the tracks.

Sure does the main theme of Prayer in the Passing evokes the refreshing mood of early morning. Have a coffee, listen to the music and watch the rising sun. A day can’t have any better start. Red Sun 4 is a track of rhythms with Vocal Jathis and blasting drums and percussions. The vocal Jathis sounds like dancing waves and the melodious Bansuri that is played in the background sounds the emerging Sun from underneath the sea. There is one exhilarating moment in this song. After a continuous high tempo rhythm along with vocal Jathis, the Bansuri takes off to play a melody that indicates the completeness of Sunrise over the sea. May be my interpretation of this track is because I listened to it this song in an early morning when I was relaxing in front of the seashore. Mahadeva sounds like a prayer song in a religious procession. It is actually composed by Pt. Ravi Shankar. Haven’t heard the original. It seems Anoushka has given a new form to it. The percussions rock in this song along with Sitar pieces that evokes a religiously devotional feel.

Though I couldn’t get the mood of the track Naked, it is filled with lazy plucking of sitar and Veena strings that relaxes our mind, and takes us to a peaceful sleep. The Solea almost evokes the similar feel as the previous one but there is a mild rhythm running in the background and also there is more usage of Keyboard here. It is beautiful to listen to the actual melody quite late in the track after trying to figure out for sometime as what the main melody is. The rhythm and synth layers become more pronounced along with Sitar and Keyboard playing the main melody more openly as the track approaches the end.

I don’t know why Anoushka went for poetry with the word “Shaam” and the format of a filmy song to evoke the breezy evening feel in the track Beloved. The main melody itself gives the much necessary mood. But the song as a whole has a soothing and healing effect. Adding to the mellifluous effect is the sound of Bansuri put to use all through the track. Guitar comes as a surprise instrument in this song. The vocal alaap in Sinister Grains kind of evokes a somber feeling. To be precise it sounds like someone is longing for his beloved’s embrace. The Shehnai piece further enhances the impact. And there is this scat bit in the middle that doesn’t gel well with the overall song but sound quite different and interesting in its unconventional blend.

Voice of the Moon is truly Indian without any synth and fusion elements and it is the my pick of the album. It is just Violin, Veena, and Sitar for melody and Tabla for rhythms and beauty of these sounds in harmony cannot be expressed in words. As the name of the track implies, try listening this track watching a full moon in the evening. The various beautiful melodies coming one after the other with gradually increasing tempo takes us in a pleasant journey to the moon and brings us back to the real world. Ancient Love is the last and longest track in the album. It also has got a beautiful melody. The rhythm loop used in the song is exactly the same as that used by Illayaraja in “Pirayae” song from the Tamil movie Pithamagan. May be it is a commercially available loop. The alaap, the sound of a lady laughing from distance all this doesn’t give me any clue about how to interpret this piece. When I was thinking it is just going to be the alaap and the Bansuri till the end, a beautiful stream of notes starts to play on Sitar, which confirms the arrival of the main theme of the song. With this melody, the album comes to a calming close.

All the nine tracks are gems and are to be listened at various times of a day to get its right effect. Forget about it loosing the Grammy, it is a must buy album for all those who like fusion music.