We can thank George Harrison, or at least Ravi Shanker, maybe I mean Bollywood for making Hindu music no longer exotic. But it still isn’t, how you say, rock.
The problem with Sitar music is that it is classical not pop and the problem with Bollywood soundtracks is it is a sort of overblown orchestrated pop: it sounds like it’s waiting for Celine Dion to make her entrance.
Enter Falu, Thursday October 1st at Joe’s Pub 930p. Falu is a gifted Indian singer who lives in New York city and plays an awesome conglom of traditional India music using electric guitars. her original song in Hindi “Rabba “is on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UIXOYhPuMQ. It is a guitar based raga which doesn’t sound crossover at first but the more you hear the stronger and more multi-culti it becomes and the stronger the guitar rings. It isn’t crossover but it’s moving in that direction.
The song is off her 2007 album Falu where she gets near to bringing her traditional sounding vocals and the indie rock that is all around her together. Songs like “Without You” is so New Yorker in the way that people like Jerry Rivera sound both Latin American and simultaneously New York City. She is already loved here and I’m guessing anybody who has been around Indian music will be very impressed. Will it crossover?when your resume includes stints with the likes of Bernie Worrel and Wyclef Jean anything is possible.
That’s Joe’s Pub Thursday October 1st, 2009 @ 930p.
