As previously reported, Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood teamed up with director Paul Thomas Anderson for a new documentary called Junun. The film follows Greenwood, Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur and an ensemble of 12 Indian musicians as they collaborate on an album recorded at the Mehrangarh Fort in Rajasthan.
Curious fans will now be able to hear that album when it's given a proper release on November 13 through Nonesuch.
Radiohead's close collaborator Nigel Godrich produced the album, and it features musical contributions from Aamir Bhiyani, Soheb Bhiyani, Ajaj Damami, Sabir Damami, Hazmat, and Bhanwaru Khan on brass; Ehtisham Khan Ajmeri, Nihal Khan, Nathu Lal Solanki, Narsi Lal Solanki, and Chugge Khan on percussion; Zaki Ali Qawwal, Zakir Ali Qawwal, Afshana Khan, Razia Sultan, Gufran Ali, and Shazib Ali on vocals; and Dara Khan and Asin Khan on strings.
The Anderson-directed film premiered at the New York Film Festival this week, and is currently available through streaming service Mubi.
"It touched my heart so deeply," Tzur said in a press release. "It was at the time the deepest musical experience I had gone through. It moved me so that I could do nothing but go find out what it is. I feel I'm still in that spot. I don't think I have achieved it. Indian music is so vast and so deep and the more I learn different things about it, I realize how ignorant I was. It just doesn't stop."
"It was a strange mix of Arabic and traditional Indian music, one that I'd never come across before," Greenwood added, talking about his first encounter with Ben-Tzur's music. "The best song, I found out, was written by Shye Ben Tzur, an Israeli musician who had been living in India until this year. I set out to discover more about him … I'm always a little wary of rock bands half-heartedly dabbling in world music — itself a slightly greasy term — but there are exceptions. Damon Albarn is one: his work with musicians in Mali is something he's clearly fully committed to. And I think Shye Ben Tzur is another."
You can hear a snippet of the musicians' worlds colliding in the clip below, which features the song "Roked."
Curious fans will now be able to hear that album when it's given a proper release on November 13 through Nonesuch.
Radiohead's close collaborator Nigel Godrich produced the album, and it features musical contributions from Aamir Bhiyani, Soheb Bhiyani, Ajaj Damami, Sabir Damami, Hazmat, and Bhanwaru Khan on brass; Ehtisham Khan Ajmeri, Nihal Khan, Nathu Lal Solanki, Narsi Lal Solanki, and Chugge Khan on percussion; Zaki Ali Qawwal, Zakir Ali Qawwal, Afshana Khan, Razia Sultan, Gufran Ali, and Shazib Ali on vocals; and Dara Khan and Asin Khan on strings.
The Anderson-directed film premiered at the New York Film Festival this week, and is currently available through streaming service Mubi.
"It touched my heart so deeply," Tzur said in a press release. "It was at the time the deepest musical experience I had gone through. It moved me so that I could do nothing but go find out what it is. I feel I'm still in that spot. I don't think I have achieved it. Indian music is so vast and so deep and the more I learn different things about it, I realize how ignorant I was. It just doesn't stop."
"It was a strange mix of Arabic and traditional Indian music, one that I'd never come across before," Greenwood added, talking about his first encounter with Ben-Tzur's music. "The best song, I found out, was written by Shye Ben Tzur, an Israeli musician who had been living in India until this year. I set out to discover more about him … I'm always a little wary of rock bands half-heartedly dabbling in world music — itself a slightly greasy term — but there are exceptions. Damon Albarn is one: his work with musicians in Mali is something he's clearly fully committed to. And I think Shye Ben Tzur is another."
You can hear a snippet of the musicians' worlds colliding in the clip below, which features the song "Roked."