Mridhangit By Rahul Mukerji

 

Mridhangit

By

Rahul Mukerji

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

Today I crossed paths with one of the most interesting albums I have come into contact with for decades, as I dive head long and deep into the world of Mridhangit by Rahul Mukerji. This album is the very epitome of crossing genres and probably best viewed thus as guitar-led progressive rock, jazz fusion, Indian classical percussion, and global influenced release, or in short global fusion, regardless this is a masterwork of utter brilliance.

We can drift to and fro with the space time continuum of musical genius too, as at the very start of the album we find the track Mr. Sinister, this so reminds me of old Led Zeppelin when my old friend Hossam Ramzy once performed with them. This is a slow carful start building up into one of the fastest climaxes on a track of this elk I have heard for ages.

The deeper tones of Bheja Fry hit my senses with all the muster of an ocean tide in winter, fierce but all consuming, here Rahul Mukerji makes his guitar literally talk, this is a deeply interesting offering, I could swear I could hear a bell tone in this piece like in the Undertakers theme music in WWE, which added a great overall effect to the piece and perhaps a more playful and restless piece is indeed found here. The title itself is colloquial Hindi, while the music mixes Mukerji's guitar language with bass and tabla.

Another of my personal favourite pieces is the following narrative called Twelve Ganeshas featuring Ruben Rubio on bass in this fluent and fast paced smooth jazz rock styled opus. Praveen Sparsh's mridangam interacts with guitar, drums and bass, creating a strong jazz vibe and a delightful refrain to listen to at any time of the day.

The piano at the very start of this next offering begs to create the inception of a very different composition indeed, a soft mellow start that gets more agitated and powerful as it builds and called Enjoymaddi. So much so that from the 1:30 part, the juxtaposition of the piano and guitar manifests something incredibly artistic and powerful, elements of an upright bass and piano soften the palette, but the overall feel is more like jazz fusion than straight rock. I would rate this as one of the most cogent and complex tracks off the album entirely.

A horse of an entirely different colour can be found on the very globally fused Mridhangit, the fretless bass and the entire instrumentation based manifestation, especially the lush textures of Rahul Krishnam of tablas, if I could pin point one track that speaks for the whole album as the releases main concept it would be this very creation, as it should be being the title track, it is utterly captivating, the vocal style and artistic nuances shown with regard to it, make this a stand out offering.

Kalli Penn is next on our hit list of rock greatness and globally fused brilliance, this one takes me back to 1999 and an album by Santana called Supernatural, that fast fluent guitar based vibe was and is there, and played and performed in a very similar style indeed. This is sublimely groove-oriented and colourful, with keys and percussion supporting the guitar. The instrumentation gives it a distinctly ensemble driven character, but the guitar of Rahul Mukerji flies fast and free just like Santana.

Well into the latter half of the album we can find a piece called Funky Pakora, featuring Emi Romero on keyboards and the amazing Dylan on clarinet; once more the deep keyboard vibe and the funky beat and slap bass of Rafael Freitas make this easily a piece that could land in the world of Jazz funk and indeed reminds me of very late ‘70’s Level 42.

Dushtan once again creates new sounds and territories to cross, bathed in a Zeppelin global style, one can enjoy a truly heavy slice of rock majesty that is incredibly powerful and ethnically influenced, however the tonal structures of the guitar remind me more of that of Richie Blackmore in his Rainbow era. The heavy global influence here makes this easily the fastest tempo piece on the album, its heavier and more dramatic, the violin, keyboards and percussion broaden the guitar-rock foundation of the overall narrative of the track.

The mysterious elements on guitar at the start of the track called Rahu and Ketu give us probably our most rhythmic sounding offering from the release. The driving guitar here elevates it into almost a rock anthem of sorts, then the track pulls back like the tide and allows for another smooth build and progression, a piece at well over six minutes gives the music more room to develop. The title references the Hindu astrological concepts of Rahu and Ketu; percussion becomes especially important here in this fast based treat of plenty.

The penultimate track off the album is the piece Four Seas, the gentle piano start is a delightful sea change for both artist and listener in this more new age beginning, this is a sensual offering and a more spacious fashioned piece, featuring piano and mridangam alongside the guitar, bass and drums as the engine room of the composition.

Mutabor could easily be a film soundtrack it is that good, and what a great way with which to end the album, the build chords on guitar at just over the minute were some of the most emotive I have heard on the release, and in some ways reminds me of essences of middle eastern music I have heard on my travels, the Dudek being the instigator to this climatic slice of multi-instrumental work of genius.

Mridhangit by Rahul Mukerji is without doubt one of the most enjoyable listens I have had for absolutely years, this is also the most original work I have had the good pleasure to immerse myself into, and I applaud everyone and everything entirely on the release. I would urge anyone who loves truly good instrumental music of any flavour to give this a spin, especially if you are a prog fan; you are going to fall in love with it, just like I have today.