Nitin Sawhney - Philtre + Philtre Instrumental (2005) 2CD

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Nitin Sawhney - Philtre + Philtre Instrumental (2005) 2CD

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Not content with DJing his way around the world, writing for symphony orchestras or composing film soundtracks, the workaholic Sawhney returns with another wildly varied selection of global pop songs. In the past he has sometimes sounded too clever for his own good, as with the barrage of archive fragments on his last album, Human, but this is his most assured, relaxed and successful work yet.

The starting point may be cool, contemporary pop ballads like Spark, but he soon veers off into a musical travelogue, mixing strings, flute or sitar in with his keyboards and programmed beats. There's a bit of everything in here, from songs like Dead Man, with its seamless switching between an all-American blues-like riff and an Asian theme, through to a dash of gospel and funk, a poem in Hindi read by his mother, or the more urgent, passionate flamenco-influenced songs featuring Ojos de Brujo, with Nitin joining in on guitar as well.

Review by Robin Denselow, The Guardian

Nitin Sawhney is never at ease. Since the release of Human in 2003, he has DJd all over the world from the Hollywood Bowl in LA to London's Fabric, assisted the Royal National Theatre, starred in award-winning TV programmes and written scores for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and about a dozen films. Back in the studio doing his own material, it's the same crisis: no genre quite satisfies Sawhney, no suit ever fits.

On Philtre, he travels restlessly though global club beats, Indian classical music, hip-hop,Bengali folk and occasionally somersaults away from this already eclectic milieu to toy with Flamenco, Americana and old-style Soul. No single tune is exactly representative, but "Dead Man" is typical: you're not sure if you're in Arizona or Assam. Oh, and it's slow pounding rhythm, grinding guitars and blues-Bollywood vocals (shared with soundtrack star Reena Bhardwaj) are just sublime.

Collaborations are the crux of Sawhney's work. With Barcelona-based flamenco-hiphop collective Ojos de Brujo he teases out a stunning, fast-plucked two-parter, "Noches en Vela" and the equally frantic "Footprints". Tracing a melodic line from flamenco to raga, it's a subtly modulated burst of Hindu-lusian passion. He also teams up with Ninja Tune's Fink and human beatbox Jason Singh, as well as regular invitees Tina Grace, Tai and Sharon Duncan - and Mrs. Sawhney, his mum, guests on a Rag Doll, bright Hindi poem about a walk along the Ganges.

He's often angst-ridden and energetic and can deliver raps and rants with gut-twisting anger, but Sawhney also knows how to slow down: much of this album is meditative and mellow. It opens with a slow, pulsing triphop 'Everything' and often makes excursions into yogic, relaxing ambient: "Void", "The Search", "Sanctuary". Elsewhere, the danceable beat hasn't gone - but it's now more of a deep, subdued groover pulsing through all the songs. Imagine Moby with a cultural heritage and an attitude.

Prolific, polyglot, political - Sawhney preserves modern music's mental health. In many ways, he's Britain's Indian Manu Chao, but this album suggests he is not so much a global magpie in the postmodern mould as an aspiring craftsman. He weaves fusions with delicacy and pays tribute to well-established, traditional styles and genres rather than slapping and scratching them into a cacophonous collage. 'Philtres' are magic potions, healing balms - they make life better - and only canny, cunning wizards like Nitin Sawhney know how to mix them and serve them up.

Review by Chris Moss, BBC.co.uk

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Nitin Sawhney - Philtre + Philtre Instrumental (2005) 2CD

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Nitin Sawhney - Philtre + Philtre Instrumental (2005) 2CD

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Nitin Sawhney - Philtre + Philtre Instrumental (2005) 2CD

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Nitin Sawhney - Philtre + Philtre Instrumental (2005) 2CD

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Nitin Sawhney - Philtre + Philtre Instrumental (2005) 2CD

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