Nitin Sawhney - Dystopian Dream (2015)

His first new studio album in four years and also his tenth, Dystopian Dream brings together the full breadth of Sawhney’s 360 degree global panorama in his strongest and most refreshing affirmation to date. A distinct departure from Sawhney’s previous 9 studio albums, Dystopian Dream focuses on Sawhney’s familiar motifs of personal identity and swooping world-views, but this time driven by more cathartic themes of loss, isolation, surrender and perseverance. Featuring a bluesier, darker, more contemporary influence, the album is a modern homage to Massive Attack’s classic “Protection” album in its eclecticism and production values.

Besides the customary virtuosic instrumentals, this is a true singer’s album, featuring a blistering blues-rock earth-shaker on first single ‘When I’m Gone’ with powerful young vocalist Stealth, a hypnotically husky performance from teenage newcomer J’Danna, “BBC Introducing” graduate, Eva Stone, and a drum ‘n’ bass turn from Joss Stone. Virtually all of Sawhney’s acclaimed band and singers also feature, fresh from this year’s televised performance at the Latitude Festival and last year’s sell out show at The Royal Albert Hall.
A gut-wrenching bird’s eye perspective on world events distilled into a personal epiphany, Dystopian Dream origins lie in the loss of Sawhney’s father in 2013 and the deaths of several friends and mentors. Says Sawhney, “I became increasingly disillusioned with the hypocritical world of politics, with immigrants (like my parents) once more being scapegoated and austerity measures being used to bludgeon the poorest and most vulnerable sections of society. I found these feelings of despair about political and social injustices being blamed on immigrants were being amplified constantly in the news.”

Tracklist:

01. Fires
02. Days R Gone (feat. Eva Stone)
03. Dark Day
04. Timetrap
05. Silence (feat. Eva Stone)
06. Lose Us All
07. Dystopia (feat. Akala)
08. Scape
09. Tere Khyal
10. When I'm Gone (feat. Stealth)
11. Spirals
12. Can't Breathe (feat. Natacha Atlas)
13. Keep the Light On (feat. Joss Stone)
14. Redshift (feat. J'Danna)
15. Dimension (feat. Bernhard Schimpelsberger)