Nitin Sawhney - London Undersound

Political in the best way

Great art, it is often said, comes from adversity, and music is no different. Sawhney’s inventive mind is here turned to a series of collaborations intended to capture his feelings about London. It all started when Sawnhey wrote a track with singer Natty, the former having been present both at one of the 7/7 bombings and the murder of Jean Charles de Menezes a little later.

That excellent track, Days Of Fire, begins a narrative that draws on a cast of impressive characters, from Imogen Heap to Paul McCartney, whose My Soul has quite some lyrical power. Musically it brings together shades of ideas from far and wide: Ojos de Brujo, Faheem Mazhar and Reena Bhardwa adding to the likes of Ronald Giray, Aruba Red and Tina Grace, as the record deals with displacement, disengagement, love, helplessness, war, peace and religious and racial issues to create a mosaic as rich, multi-paced and as maddening as London itself. From the artwork by Anthony Gormley through to the music, this is one of the most personal and soulful records Sawhney has ever made, offering sentiments that are universally applicable, despite the tragic context of its genesis.

4 stars 4 stars 4 stars 4 stars

Cooking Vinyl | tbc

Reviewed by Joe Shooman
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