Cinema

Karsh Kale | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 26, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Six Degrees
• ASIN: B004LSJCD8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,035 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

On Cinema, London born and New York raised Karsh Kale balances his Indian heritage with rock 'n' roll, and atmospheric pop for his most diverse release to date. On this, his fourth studio release, Kale works with a talented cast of collaborators including label-mates the Midival Punditz and vocalists Vishal Vaid, Shahid Siddiqui, Anne Rani & Monica Dogra. Once again, Kale has found a way to incorporate his roots into a thoroughly modern context. His first solo album, in 2001, Realize, established the young tabla-playing producer as a major force in the Asian Massive movement , Liberation, was a highly polished, tightly-produced collection that Kale and his band could perform live and Broken English brought hip hop and rock influences into his already eclectic musical mix. Since his last studio album, Kale has released an acclaimed duet record & toured with sitar phenomenon Anoushka Shankar (Ravi's daughter & musical heir) as well as establishing himself as a lm composer in India, where he and the Midival Punditz have forged a successful soundtrack production partnership. In addition, Kale's touring pro file has continued to grow as he has been a featured performer in major festivals around the world catering to everything from jam band to electronica audiences. This year he even had a new composition premiered to critical raves by the prestigious Bang On A Can All Stars at Carnegie Hall's Merkin Concert Hall. Cinema pulls together all of the creative strands in Karsh Kale's formidable musical palette and the result is the freshest, most creative & most accessible record yet from this amazing artist.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant - thank you Karsh April 27, 2011

By Venky

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Brilliant follow up to Liberation and Broken English - thanks much Karsh for the sheer joy (although you should release more albums and come to Houston :))
Loved the mix of different types of music on the album. Mallika Jam is a heady and hard mix that will get you head-banging instantly and take you on a high all the way until Ma, a beautifully composed track reminiscent of "Milan". Sounds of Electric sitars and distorted veena's, sitars and sarods blend mellifluously with the earthy melody and punchy rhythms. But only 13 songs??? c'mon Karsh :D
Brilliant album from one of the most talented musicians on the planet - take a bow Karsh.

Update 26 May 2011
==================
Now that the honeymoon period is over and the drooling fanboy rush has simmered down here is what I have to say.
-Brilliant- and here is the break down
1. Island is like the track#1 from all KK albums - really good but completely overshadowed by track#2
2. Mallika Jam is just so powerful that after about 50 seconds of track#1 you're tempted every two seconds to skip to this track. Heavy rhythms and the veena'ish lead in between is just sublime ... something that I'm sure we'll get to hear in a lot more tracks from other artists going forward
3. Cinema just takes Mallika Jam to the next level ... again the flute is sublime to the point that you don't miss the fact that the leads are not on a traditional electric guitar. And the bass riff on this is highly addictive as much as the vocals themselves ...
4. Avalanche simmers you down slowly and steadily after Mallika Jam and Cinema. The Mridangam is a nice touch mixed in with the break-beats
5.... Turnpike - there's always one song in a KK album that seems like a waste of time and this is that song - tried hard to like it but just can't ... much like the Gigi song from Realize - pass!
6. Supernova - wow - again like other albums the trend continues with one heavy instrumental piece that just keeps growing on you ... and the leads on the santoor - wow! sheer genius.
7. Joy - smooth piece with signature simple lyrics and vocals. Again the flute gets under your skin. And even though the beat is similar to a techno-thump-beat which I'm not a big fan of, the atmosphere created by the flute and the vocals keeps it very smooth.
8. Absence - very Nitin Sawhney'esque but with the KK touch ... smooth and keeps going on a slow and steady crescendo
9. Ma - one of my favorite tracks - a lot like a 'Milan' with a twist of earthy/haunting vocals thrown in - and that too in a different key ... and KK's daughter has her vocals on the track - makes it a bit special I guess ... you have to love the sarod pieces
10. Phoenix Rising - kicks you back into pace with grungy guitars and sitars and high-pitched vocals ... lovely interlude of sitar-leads
11. Man on Fire - kind of soundtrack-ish song with haunting distorted sitars - grows on you string by string - but missing the heavy base from 'Cinematic Reprise' from Liberation - not a song to play in your car but more of when you're lounging at home
12. Peekaboo is a strange song - very reminiscent of Fairground Attraction - another favorite band of mine - throws in a twist into the album as its hard to place the song among the other songs in the album - good attempt and love the vocals
13. Sunbeam - a bit of a disappointment as it's no 'Epic' or 'Longing' but follows the tradition of the last track leaving the album on a high and leaving you wanting for more songs to follow - good mix of mridangam, vocals and keyboards ... Not sure if anything can beat 'Longing' from Realize though ...

In summary - I'm still listening to the album and haven't gone back to Realize or Liberation and that is saying a lot. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Album June 14, 2011

By mohammad osman

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

A Great 4 star album. I absolutely love Broken English. The reason was the diversity and excellent fusion on the album. Even rap vocals were perfectly camouflaged. This album is a little monotonous. I found Few tracks like Avalance, Man on Fire and Peekabo forgettable. Man on Fire feels like it was not chosen for Karsh Kale & Anoushka Shankar album and hence filled here (a no-beat sitar track). The opening track ISLAND could have been a great track but i couldn't justify Karsh Kale's "Auto Tuned" vocals, i felt it was pointless. I mean there is enough auto-tune to go around from commercial music to bollywood. Don't need another one.

Now the good. SuperNova is an outstanding track, from synth bass line, tabla, santoor and basuri. A perfect blend, i believe thats the track that says it all. Turnpike is a great track. It is actually a ghazal by Talat Aziz from the movie Umrao Jaan(1981) "Zindagi jab bhi teri bazm mein lati hai". Funny thing is the lyrics are changed to suit the rhythm pattern. Nevertheless, Vishal Vaid as always does an excellent job. Malika Jam is a fun track. Title track Cinema is another gem of the album. Papon's vocals on Absense were perfect for the track. I personally couldn't make out the words 'completely' in the track, meaning not all words were pronounced cleanly in the track. Which also means hindi (the language sung in the song) is NOT Papon's first language and no one in the studio's final recording got into that detail. Again, that does not mean the track is not good. Its one of my favorite track. Ma and Joy are very easy on ears.

I am a big fan of Karsh Kale. So big that i couldn't wait for this album and ordered the CD (yes a CD in this day and age as mp3 at 256Kbps wouldn't do justice to Karsh Kale's music).... Broken English for me is his best work to date and deserves a fill 5 star, while this would go as second best Karsh Kale album in my list. Go for it and you will like what you hear! Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal! May 3, 2011

By Ravi Pillai

Format:MP3 Music

Such a breathtaking and refreshing sound. It gives you a surreal feeling and takes you deep into the world of underground music and yet brings you back into a contemporary modern space with a delectable mix of multiple instruments. Great driving music, great music to chill with and great music to have playing in background in the house. Only Karsh creates music with such diversity. He generates an almost ethereal experience which will attract people of all ages, preferences and cultures. Don't miss Turnpike!

5.0 out of 5 stars Love Karsh Kale March 29, 2013

By Prakash J. Parmar

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love many of Karsh Kale's music and I found that this had a nice blend of classical and electronic music.

4.0 out of 5 stars great CD March 7, 2013

By D. L. Lowman

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Karsh Kale was new to me; heard some of the songs in yoga class. This did not disappoint. Great, interesting, eclectic mix

5.0 out of 5 stars Great music October 25, 2011

By GD

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

karsh kale did it again.....Few soundtracks are awesomely amazing....couldn't stop listening for at least a month, Good Job Karsh Kale....

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Cinema should make you forget you are sitting in a theater." May 13, 2011

By Sam Varghese

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Yeah loved that quote from Polanski. That statement reflects sort of what I feel about this album. Where was I going with all this... oh yeah Well, hot damn my favorite artist ever released a new album, and no thats not going to bias any review of his album at all. If I ever describe Karsh Kale albums or sound to most people, it would be like some sort of emotional journey you take with Karsh though some ethereal landscapes. I know big words from somebody like me. Thats what listening to his albums are like. My favorite album of Karsh is "Liberation" and this album I must say, pays homage to that album and also attempting a little harder edgier tracks in moving forward while still keeping it accessible to people like me. I love Karsh for this and he continues to be my favorite artist for this reason alone. His longtime collaborators like Vishal Vaid on vocals and Midival pundits on programming are all on this album. On his albums I would say just press play and don't skip any tracks. They are meant to played in order. Remember that whole ethereal landscape stuff I was talking about...well take the journey. Okay I take back about not skipping any tracks, I just have not been able to connect with Peekaboo despite repeat listenings. So other than that , this album is amazing as all his albums are. However if you were trying to pin me down and ask me about the singles to get you started from this album I would say the below in order.
1. Cinema
2. Turnpike
3. Avalanche
4. Absence
5. Sunbeam
6. Joy
7. Ma