Customer Reviews

Prophesy

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Nitin Sawhney continues the explorations last heard in the masterful "Beyond Skin." For this album, he traveled the globe recording sounds and singers from Brazil, Africa, India, the UK, and elsewhere. Each of Sawhney's albums seems to concentrate on a particular theme, and this one is the interconnectedness/disconnect in modern society and the role of technology . . . The theme, however, is mainly a frame for Sawhney's musical explorations, which range from techno to classical, from Indian ragas to Brazilian sambas to drum and bass. There are a couple of tracks here that I could have done without--or that warrant only a listen or two--but the bulk of the album gets deeper and more meaningful with repeated listenings. Highlights are Natacha Atlas' vocals gracing "Acquired Dreams"; Nina Miranda (from Smoke City), rai great Cheb Mami, and flameco guitarist Jose Miguel Carmona mezmerizing in "Moonrise"; and the beautiful instrumental "Breathing Light" that captivates with the English Chamber Orchestra, Trilok Gurtu's spoken percussion, and Nelson Mandela's spoken words. Nitin is a truly global genious. Get this disk, get "Beyond Skin" and explore his east/west groove.

Except for a few tracks, this album is pure genius.

The first track, Sunset, is a good introduction to the kind of music you'll be hearing in the rest of the CD. A mixture of English and Hindi-dialect vocals, it is both beautiful and relaxing.

Track 8, Breathing Light is my favorite track, mixing together violins, piano and fast-paced rhythms. I haven't met anyone who did not like this song.

Track 15, Prophesy is a pseudo-tribal rhythm that starts slow and picks up with detailed vocals that accompany the even-more-detailed instruments. The pace at which the background singers chant at the end is incredible, almost too fast too pick up. Listen carefully.

Prophesy is a stellar disc, and as my first forary in Sawhney's mucis this is a delightful jumping off point - laced with complex rhythms, serio-aggressive beats and penetrating deep lyrics Sawhney's work blends music styles and genres in a melange that is his own.

As a fan of groups like 4 Hero, Nicola Conte and Zero 7, Prophecy fits handsomely into my music rotation and it will yours too.

It's hard to figure out what British actor and musician Nitin Sawhney can't do. This accomplished artist has produced an album that is both thought-provoking and technically flawless. He combines various flavors of electronica with eastern chant and flamenco guitar. It is a brilliant and effective combination.

I'm embarrassed to admit how I found out about this guy, but I'll write about it anyway. Two weeks ago, on a flight from Cincinnati to Portland, I listened to a "Delta Radio" show called Asian Travels. The host played Sawhney's piece "Acquired Dreams." It left such an impression on me that I knew I had to have it on CD. I Googled the show name upon getting home and figured out which track had so captivated me. In the process, I made my best acquisition in at least two or three years.

The opening track, "Sunset," is one of the more "pop" sounding tracks, even as it combines an acid jazz beat with an eastern chant and a soul hook. But "Acquired Minds" is a huge highlight. This third track starts with a beautiful, airy chant, then adds a flat trip hop beat and an accompanying guitar loop, among other elements. The middle third of "Acquired" is a drum and bass explosion that somehow combines all of the before listed elements with strings and pan flute. The track closes with an acid jazz improvisation over the original trip hop beat. It's truly a brilliant effort.

A later track, "Developed," features the voice of Nelson Mandela, saying "we are free to be free." The track before has the distant voice of Martin Luther King delivering his famous line "I have seen the promised land." These are wonderful moments.

An amazing aspect of the album is Sawhney's courage in putting so many diverse styles on one record. He is so successful with the drum and bass sounds on a couple of tracks that he could have stuck to that style for the entire album. Instead, he gives us a taste of his virtuoso guitar on "Moonrise." He also gives us a lovely rendition of what sounds like an African chant on the ambient goody "Footsteps." "Ripping Out Tears" is a great rap about the fulfillment of destiny.

Some of the criticism I have read of the album slams Sawhney for his "preachy" liner notes, which rail against the worship of technology. This is a ridiculous assertion. The liner notes are not a long screed, rather they take up all of one page. While it is true that the artist has benefited greatly from technology, his complaint is about the over reliance on it, not the technology itself.

Sawhney sees technology as a way to bring people and culture together, but he worries about the disconnected nature of some technologies, such as television: "Someone will tell you 50,000 people died in India. Two seconds later you're watching a comedy," he writes.

Nitin Sawhney is hardly the first to write and worry about the "desensitization" and the "simulated realities" brought on by technology, but unlike others, he has an answer: a thoughtful expression of sound that brings people together. On several levels Prophecy is a fascinating and important - - and highly underrated - - album for our time.

Here we go, what makes a good reviewer you might ask...? Well i personally don't know anything about Nitin Sawhney and this is the first album of his i've heard.! Does this make me a good reviewer? Probably not, but what i do know is music and i've listened to tons of songs in many years.! So, if u're a fan of indian music, go buy this album! If ure not(and this is where you might this review helpful) listen to the following three tracks from this album... 1)Aquired Dreams is a chillin 6:32min indian-arabic esque with drum & bass samples rotating through your mind, you won't be able to take this song off your cd player! 2)Breathing Light is an amazing instrumental with the sweetest most drilling piano intro and strings that make ur hair stand in attention plus the ever so popular d&b style beats and a heartbreaking flute for all the softies out there! 3) Sunset is the best one on this, definetly a crossover to commercial crowds out there.. give it 45 seconds and this woman's voice comes in to blow you away in an r&b style sure to leave you searching for more titles by this artist.! this album will have you chilling out to the best tunes out there! If you're a UK GARAGE fan check out the MJ COLE remix available on the CD Single released a few weeks ago in the UK. bless.!!

Sawhney's album is one of the best sample-drum machine compilations I've ever heard. In a world where electronic music is a clone from CD to CD, Sawhney throws in very organic mixes that bring out the beauty of digital artistry. The album shows a very acoustic brilliance to 1's and 0's. Recommendation off this album: Track 8: Breathing Light.

One British newspaper described this album by Nitin Sawhney as being "the work of a genius."Amazing praise for any album and after giving it many listens I now begin to concur with this theory.At first I wasn't overly impressed by this album,but given time I think it's one of the most amazing albums I've ever heard.Not only is the music simply astounding but it's quite rare to listen to an album that really gets you thinking about it's core message.It just works on so many levels and it uses so many different types of music as a backdrop to the theme which seems to question the world's complete fixation with technology.He describes technology as the new drug in the world and the prophecies are connected with where our dependence on technology will lead us.

Musically there are so many influences on this album-trance and ambient groups like Enigma,Air and Zero 7 certainly spring to mind on many tracks.Every type of world music you can think of all get mixed in together.It is no surprise to see that this c.d. was recorded in London,Rio,Madrid,Chicago,France,South Africa and Australia-not to mention the Indian influence of Sawhney's own background gives this music a very exotic flavour.The way he manages to connect them together is so amazing.For instance on track 5 Moonrise it starts of with Arabic singing and then goes into a very rhythmic and gentle Latino groove.On other songs there's a hip-hop feel which develops into full on blues.Then there's a track which starts off with Aboriginal music and concludes with the beautiful harmonious voices of a children's choir from Soweto.Some traks have drum and bass mixed with a very Indian sound quite similar to what Talvin Singh does.Some of the ambient tracks have an almost spiritual feel to them like groups such as Enigma may have.Then he also uses guest female vocalists to give the album an lounge feel that remind me of Groove Armada or the first Air album.There is just so much going on here but it never gets to feel too cluttered or messy.The only way to listen to this album is in one go-there are a few stand out tracks but this album works best when listened from start to finish.I would recommend this album to any fans of artists as diverse as Faithless,BT,Paul Oakenfold,Enigma and Talvin Singh to name but a few.It may take a while to get used to-but believe me patience is really well rewarded.

Prophesy blends together influences and styles from all over the world and puts them all through Nitin's classically trained skills and an urban London sensibility. The result is a magnificently crafted exploration of the realm of music. Probably his best album to date.

I was introduced to Nitin through my cousin who lives in England. She saw him live in London and raved about it...so off I went in search of this artist. He was difficult to find; nonetheless I was determined. I am one of those people who love music from almost all genres, cultures and corners of the globe. In other words, I am not a radio-pop saccharine sweet loving music listener. I look for music that proposes thought (although I do believe even top 40 has its place) If you are looking for an album/artist that resonates emotion, along with a powerful subtlety check Nitin Sawhney out. You won't be disappointed.

Ive recently purchased this album and at first found it to be pretty good,but after a few listens (as with all good albums) it seems to grow stronger and stronger. Amazingly beautifull. His music is delicatly crafted using digital and acoustic sounds,it has an almost timeless feel to it and strong but subtle messages. Nitin Sawney also stands out due to his amazing instrumental abiltys. Although hard to define as is a mix of many styles this could be classed as world music, electronic and ethnic. Very modern. Similar vibes to Thievery Corporation, Free Souls and Boozoo Bajou but definatly has a sound of its own, very original.