Artist: Advaita
Album: Silent Sea
Label: Virgin Records
Mastered by: Chris Athens (Sterling Studios, NY)
Release Date: 02/12/2013
Silent Sea is the second album of the fast becoming famous Advaita. Advaita is an eclectic music group from New Delhi India. The band name is derived from ancient Indian philosophy, which translates to mean Non-Duality. Since the group was formed in 2004, Advaita has steadily grown to become one of the most respected acts on the Indian music scene. ‘Our sound is a mélange of styles, moods and textures they have taken in from different cultures and different music systems of the world. ‘ is how they describe themselves.
This album is taking off from their previous release “ Grounded in Space ” which was noticed and appreciated. The Silent Sea is already one of the best selling albums at Flyte.com with tons of comments showing appreciation for the album and the band. This diverse music group with its range of instruments and vocal styles has presented an eclectic groovy and supra melodious fusion masterpiece .
The album was produced over a period of more than 7 months @ Yashraj Studios.
The cover of the album is one of less appreciable part of the album. The idea behind it could be to present the CD as an antique however it fails to aesthetically meet its objective. Even though they did better Blakc’s Mothered Land which comes in a blank CD case available at your local store, a better job was expected from such an growingly popular act. The artwork in the cd inlay is interesting. A picture is provided for each song possibly depicting the meaning of each song
Advaita are:
Chayan Adhikari – Vocals, Acoustic guitars, Ujwal Nagar – Classical Vocals, Aman Singh Rathore – Drums ,Anindo Bose – Keyboards and Electronics, Suhail Yusuf Khan – Sarangi and Classical Vocals,Abhishek Mathur – Electric Guitars, Electronics, Gaurav Chintamani – Bass Guitar, Mohit Lal – Tabla, Bols, percussion
Lyrics on this album by Ujwal Nagar, Suhail, Chayan Adhikari, Abhishek Mathur, Yusuf Khan ,
Ustad Ameer Khan, Ujwal, Suhail Yusuf Khan, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Khwaja Ghulam Fareed
Dust The first track of the album Silent Sea. Chayan Adhikari presents what he knows best harmoniously.
Meinda Ishq and Mandirva are two beautifully sung tracks by classical vocalists Ujwal Nagar & Suhail Yusuf Khan. The band has complemented them well giving a modern touch to the whole ensemble.
Gorakh is a modern day revival of Indian raagas with a musical construct that is signature Advaita style.
Words try to cover the epiphany that exists in the world. The track has an excellent Sarangi solo.
Gamapani a mixture of various styles of Indian vocals on this makes it an interesting track. A groove filled mix. This track is much more percussively expressive.
Mo Funk An upbeat rebel anthem that is a treat for the ears.
Tremor Contrary to the name, this track is calm chilled out track. A very catchy chorus on this one.
Silent Sea The title track from the album. Well placed almost orchestral use of instruments along with harmonious sounds makes it delightful at the same time melancholic.
Overall the album sounds great. The percussion could get some more limelight with solos. Mandirva and Dust are two tracks that stand out in the album because of their presentation of two different styles and yet rooted enough to belong to Advaita. Several things are odd about this band,it has received much success and appreciation despite it being folk rock band from diverse audiences, it has 8 members and they have been together for quite sometime, a mammoth task if you see history of bands in the country.
Album available at the following places:
