Realize

Karsh Kale | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 31, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Six Degrees
• ASIN: B00005MK4N
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,499 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Karsh Kale's debut, Realize, ups the ante and spins his scene--the Asian Massive movement--into gold with a stunning coming together of electronic dance music, Indian folk and raga, and classical. Both songwriter and percussionist, Kale has long been a compatriot of Talvin Singh and has played with Bill Laswell's intriguing < a href="/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/210353/${0}">Tabla Beat Science project. Realize is grounded in layers of percussive wonder, swaddled in guitars, cello, flutes, and supreme vocals, then flipped upside down and alchemically reimagined inside out and sideways. A bhajan becomes a drum-and-bass song, as well as the other way around. The beautiful and rhythmically complex "Saajana," written in the Indian folk bhajan tradition, is exemplary of just this. The sound of infinite bird wings beating upward to the heavens, Realize is a sonic circus of right on. --Paige La Grone

Product Description

Karsh Kale (pronounced: Kursh Kah-lay), the leading U.S. figure in the Asian Massive movement infuses the traditional sounds of ancient India with post- millennial electronic dance styles such as trance and drum'n'bass. Blending sarangi, flutes and vocals with hypnotic electronica on Realize, his Six Degrees debut, Kale carves his own unique niche in pan-global music. Karsh Kale has previously collaborated with artists such as DJ Spooky, Herbie Hancock and acclaimed producer Bill Laswell, whose revolutionary Tabla Beat Science project featured Kale alongside tabla master Ustad Zakir Hussain.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars an important step, August 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Realize (Audio CD)

some important things: Karsh Kale's realize crew have created an important recording in the world of asian music. This might be the first real melding of classical traditional hindustani music and DnB--so much so that the combination aspect of it disssappears. There is a new synthesis brewing here, and it's an updated form of classical music; while the forms of raga aren't entirely maintained, and the pieces are incredibly short when compared to classical indian pieces... they're in there. There are "quick" alaaps, rhythmic developments that mirror gats, and other classical forms as well. What I hear is nothing short of the seed of NEW CLASSICAL MUSIC.

Now, with that said, it does have its drawbacks. parts of the recording don't transcend the recording process; they feel stitched together, and it takes a while for some peices to become the sum of their parts. And there are moments when it just seems that a piece is meandering. However, this is basically a debut record, and we can't justly hold that against the musicians.

Another important thing: besides the bhajan done by. Ud. Sultan Khan, there isn't a trace of Indian folk music--especially Bhangra--on this record. No Dhol, no jump up beats. Nor is it the rhythmic marathon of tala matrix.

There's something new being born on this record; it's gonna take a while for this 'modernization' of indian classical tradition to develop, but there's a hell of a lot of promise. keep even more of an eye out for this guy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Start But Lots of Room To Improve, February 28, 2003

By 

pma - See all my reviews

This review is from: Realize (Audio CD)

I picked up Kale's CD a few months before seeing him perform with Tabla Beat Science at Stern Grove in San Francisco. His performance live outshone his studio effort. To me, "Realize" was full of potential - tracks that seemed like they were going to set out to be incredible and instead ended up being repetetive, lengthy, and not so creative. In this whole "Asian Massive" movement, I wouldn't rank this CD as the one to get. I'd definitely put MIDIval Punditz' self-titled CD and Talvin Singh's "Ha" much higher - nevertheless, Kale is very promising and I've faith that he'll only improve moving forward.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars gotta get it..., September 7, 2001

By 

"bwazzali" (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Realize (Audio CD)

At first hearing, the obvious comparison to Talvin Singh's recent release, "HA! can be made. Kale weaves both traditional Indian instrumentations, indian vocals, and varying breakbeats. Some of the tracks are very well made, inspired, and otherwise magnificient. Others seem abit contrived almost boring. Personally, I found T. Singh's album more compelling and more cohesive as a whole. Nonetheless, I do not think that this album is "just another asian underground" album. (Moreover I think Cheb i Sabbah embodies the "Orientalism" of Edward Said..ie: he is a poseur who ultimately knows little of the music and the culture. He should stick to spinning Khaled) I have seen Kale perform this album live twice in NYC (at Mutiny and Joe's Pub) and can attest to the fact that it sounds even better live. I think that the fact that this album not merely studio-piece is what makes this album interesting. It is meant to be performed, with a band, live...and not simply thrown in vinyl and waxed all night. Moreover I think Kale is a decent tabla player and a very decent percussionist. This album is not necessarily "groundbreaking" as Nitin Sawhney or Trilok Gurtu or for that matter Talvin Singh's works have been, but it certainly a "must have" for those who appreciate Asian Electronica/Asian Massive/Asian-inspired electronic breakbeat dub fusion/(or whatever you want to call it...just don't call it techno)