According to Encyclopedia Britannica, tantra refers to "any of numerous texts dealing with the esoteric practices of some Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina sects". Now imagine all that remixed and put together on CD. Unless you are a Mossad affiliate, you're going to love this stuff. For most of you readers, this may be the first time that Far East comes to the dance floor or your iPod. So pay close attention to what "Tantra Remixed" has to offer.
"Boxed Ram" and "India" are good warm-ups, but the real fun starts after the third track, a cut appropriately named "JB Dub", featuring a serpentine-like female voice and nice memorabilia from Indian shores. Two songs later, there comes "Funk N Gandhi", a track Mahatma himself would probably dance to, with its incantatory chants and lounge-like tedium.
The first half of the record is like a long, contemplative yawn that haunts you on a Sunday afternoon. But then, "What Did She Say" defiantly sets the tone for a more uptempo second half, of which "The Star Raga" is the most high-caloric number. The glitter remains on "Border Crossing", which sounds like a true-life rollercoaster even if it doesn't even reach the one-minute mark.
To prove that Baghdad and New York (or Bombay and San Francisco for that matter) are not that far apart, "Mechanical Means" puts a metallic, sharpened piece in the beautiful mantra work. And the disclaimer goes like "this sound is not produced by mechanical means, instead it originates as a stream of electrons in a vacuum tube". How clever is that, huh?
Anyone familiar with Tehran-based Ghazal collective will notice the Persian roots in "Tantra Remixed". But while the kamancheh (a traditional Iranian fiddle), the sitar, and the tabla (a percussive instrument from Northern India) put Ghazal's music in a regional shell, this record let in all manners of occidental infusion.
Someday a work like this will be the plat du jour in any record store. Until then, consider yourself blessed with such a musical journey.
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