Karsh Kale

A drummer and collaborator on Talvin Singh's Ha and Tabla Beat Science albums, Karsh Kale has often stood in the shadow of his world famous colleague. He's based in New York and has been producing electronic translations of Indian music for just as long. He can also hold his own on the tabla and pull the worlds of drum & bass, two-step and techno into its classical Indian texture with equal finesse. What makes Realize so special, though, is the deep felt passion that Kale and company brings to these musical structures. On tracks like "Anja" and "Distance," it's an intense love that slowly burns and seduces as Falguni Shah offers her sonorous vocals to the listener. Kale propels swift lines on the tabla, breaks out with funky deconstruction on the beats and coalesces with traditional Indian instruments, but the interaction is more than the expected dialogue of cultures. On "Home," he creates a space between acoustic guitar lines, sarangi and breakbeats, estranges their ethno-musical histories and then invites the feeling of vocalist Shahid Siddiqui's sweet sadness to soak the track. The river-like progression of "Light Up The Love" flows in the reverse direction, combining tablas with electronic beats to create an almost religious mood as the trio of voices, Ustad Sultan Khan, Vishal Vaid and Shah, offer their ecstatic testimonies of devotion. Kale goes for a rare expression of electronic fusion, opening the ear to new worlds but restoring the heart with timeless emotions.