In this age of the South Asian music explosion, bhangra seems to be the dominating scene for desis worldwide. And with the excessive amounts of bhangra these days, comes the excessive use of the dhol. A powerful instrument that truly makes you move to its beat, which is much of the reason behinds its popularity. However, this over-excessive use of it has become abuse, as it is improperly placed on many bhangra tracks lately.
This is where The Dhol Foundation enters. Led by Johnny Kalsi, TDF's mission is to take the dhol to the wider world. And that's exactly what they have done and are continuing to do. Whether it be live performances with the Daniel and Natasha Bedingfield or Johnny doing the percussions for charity singles with Avril Lavigne. Johnny Kalsi's own resume is impressive working alongside Afro Celt, Asian Dub Foundation, FunDaMental, Transglobal Underground, Malkit Singh, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and Apache Indian to name a few. How many desi artists can say they've toured with Led Zeppelin? TDF hold dhol classes in Toronto and UK among other places to spread the dhol to the youth and whoever else is interested. The dhol is an instrument that can be used in a variety of different ways and with their second album, Drum-Believable, Johnny and the crew prove just that. So, almost all of us have seen what they can do on stage, but let's take a look at what they can do in the studio.
The first track called "Palace of Love" features the outstanding vocals of Ustad Sultan Khan. As soon as that sarangi kicks in from the start you know you're in for something special. And the Ustad's vocals fit perfectly in the middle of the serene sounds. But wait for the beats to kick in, especially the dhol which will have you moving in seconds. Crazy, the best track on the album for sure, it doesn't get much better than this. Asian ambience, dhol n bass, dholtronics, Asian underground / massive, whatever you will… it's brilliant.
The following track, "Simply H" is too short to be a proper track, but too long for an interlude. Featuring guest fiddler Mairead Nesbitt, the track's ambience puts you in a deep trance when listening in the right atmosphere. A great little number, something you'd expect to hear on a movie soundtrack for some great epic story. But Johnny, where's the dhol man?
Track three, "After the Rain" finds the dhol again as we are greeted with a couple of Afro Celt members. My first take on this track was "what the hell is going on here?" However after a few listens it really grows on you if you're open enough to different sounds and accept the fact that this wouldn't be what you'd be blasting outta your car on a summer day. The fiddles on this one reminds me of the Riverdance; except the river their probably dancing and playing by is Ravi or some other one found in Punjab.
Dhol is to bhangra as saxophone is to jazz/blues or whatever makes you happy. And knowingly the next track by TDF called "Ajaa Nach Lai" featuring Bee2 is pure bhangra. Not the greatest bhangra track I've ever heard, but good enough to make you move… at the chorus at least. Pretty old school though, I guess they were just trying to portray different styles of dhol playing.
With the next track Johnny and the crew truly show how versatile the dhol really is. From pure bhangra to well… I'm not sure what to define it as exactly. "Holy Thug" features Transglobal Underground, whose work in the global electronic market hasn't gone unnoticed. So far there have been a lot of good collabs on this album. At one point in this track I could almost hear where Deedar, from ADF's glory days, would drop some conscious lyrics. This track goes all over the place, which is an acquired taste if you're into the whole indo.tek scene, but wouldn't be of too much interest if you're not. "Information and instruction!"
If you love South Asian percussions, "Fistful of Dhollars" is for you. A little tabla, some fast paced dhol minus much melody goes a long way right here. The percussions carry this tune so well that there is no need for anything else. Wouldn't be surprised if some jungle or tek. DJ was to spin this in a set.
Track seven, "Spirit East" sees some more of the Afro Celt boys. A very mellow 3 minute track with some great Indian female vocals followed by instruments and soft dhol. Much different than the previous track, you can't help but be amazed by how many different styles TDF has covered already.
"After Life" is one of the highlights of this album with a nice melody, great vocals, and of course amazing dhol playing. Something to chill out to, a proper feel good track. Amazing job on this, nothing too wild, but does the job as an ambient tune.
The next track sounds like something someone would put on a world music compilation. Not really what I'm into, because the repetition of the title, "Anyana Duniya" gets a little annoying. But even the tracks I'm not feeling much are above average as is this one; the pure quality of the percussions is amazing, yes I know it's the "Dhol" Foundation's album but still.
"Dark Star" starts off extremely UK bhangra which had me checking if I was listening to the right CD for a second. Featuring the mesmerizing vocals of Sonia Panesar, the track has a great amount of energy in it. It's a good tune overall which again shows off the varying sounds of the dhol.
Alright, after praising this album enough to have Johnny Kalsi ask me to be TDF's official publicist/promoter, I have to say the next track "Jingo" should have been dropped. It's not a bad idea, some half African, world dance type thing with a catchy tune and beat, but the guys going "Jingo" gets really annoying really fast. I'm going to try overlooking this one in the conclusion.
"Breathe" is an odd little number fusing some Spanish guitar and music with some slight tabla. You can hear a little Indian percussion in the background or at certain intervals and it really doesn't sound too bad. It'd be interesting to watch this performance live with some dancers doing a mixture of Spanish and Indian dance. But I'll probably be skipping over this track in the future.
The final track, "Dhol, Dark, and Handsome" is a live recording of The Dhol Foundation. If you haven't seen them live definitely check this out, even if you have seen them check this out. The range of things Kalsi and co. do on this one is great. It's like he saved the best dhol playing for the end. It leaves you wanting more, and more is what you'll get when you watch them live, so definitely check them out.
Some may say that The Dhol Foundation try to span over too many genres in creating this album. Those people may have a point, but are not focusing on the bigger picture. This isn't a bhangra album, or an indo.tek album for that matter, it's an album all about the dhol and the things you can do with it. "Drum-Believable" does a great job in depicting the various ways in which the dhol can be used effectively. Not once does it sound out of place on this album. They truly are taking the dhol to the wider world by not focusing on a specific audience, but instead targeting everybody. If TDF are the ambassadors of the dhol to the world, I, for one, am completely comfortable with it. This album gets 8.5 out of 10!
For all you out there who can't picture the dhol outside of bhangra, take note now! This is the true definition of rhythm, dhol, and bass. If you're a "dholaholic" and you think you know the dhol, you know nothing till you've heard 'The Dhol Foundation.' |
