| 1. Heart of Tara |
| 2. This Dewdrop World |
| 3. What You Are To Me |
| 4. The Divine Sound |
| 5. Charaiveti, Charaiveti |
| 6. Passion for the Ultimate |
| 7. Deniz |
| 8. Nanak's Song |
Editorial Reviews
Suvarna has been playing music since the age of seven, starting with classical piano and violin, choral singing and folk singing. She went on to play in a Ceilidh band for some years, and then to the Osho Commune in Pune, India. There, Suvarna learnt Indian raga singing and began to play a five-string electric, synthesizor violin. With this new instrument she experimented in playing music for active and silent meditations in the commune, in a wide variety of styles.
In 1998 Suvarna began to create a new, multi-layered sound of her own. The melodies are composed using the notes of an Indian raga, and the rhythm is a combination of electronic beats and ethnic drums such as Indian tabla or frame drum. The middle layer is a rich keyboard sound with chord progressions that are in tune with the raga. The combination of all these elements creates music that is familiar to Western ears, but at the same time brings the depth and atmosphere of Indian music to the listener. Her first album, Fire of the Oracle, was produced by Dik Darnell, and composed and performed with her brother, Ravi, who is a world-class kora player and composer. It was released by Etherean Music in 2000. It received excellent reviews and was a finalist for World Album of the year in the New Age Music awards. A track from this album was included in Claude Challe’s latest release called Sun.
Her second album is called Energia, and was released in February 2003 under the band name Infinity - which is Suvarna and Ravi, plus special guests Hossam Ramzy and Ty Burhoe. Hossam is an acclaimed Egyptian percussionist, and Ty is a prominent disciple of Zakir Hussain. Energia builds on the success of Fire of the Oracle, with more exciting tabla rhythms and catchy melodies. The music creates a luscious and upbeat ambience, good to dance to or chill out to. Infinity played several concerts over the summer of 2002, including Womad UK (Reading One World Stage), and the Osho Leela festival in Dorset.
Suvarna’s latest project, This Dewdrop World, sees her moving into a more laid back and intimate space, with all new compositions of vocal improvisations and mantras. The producer for this project is Martyn Phillips, who has twenty years of experience and several major international hits to his name. The opening track has been included in Gabrielle Roth’s latest compilation release, called Shakti.
Product Description
After the success of her first two recordings—the upbeat Fire of the Oracle and rhythmic Energia (by Infinity)— vocalist/violinist Suvarna takes her raga-based vocal improvisations into a more laid back, intimate space on This Dewdrop World. Her latest effort plays like an aural massage: the songs unfold naturally, drawing the listener into a relaxed world of lush sonic textures and mantric ambience far removed from the frenetic pace of daily life.
This Dewdrop World features a world of instruments including kora, violin, saz, oud, mandolin and tabla, all expertly orchestrated by producer Martyn Phillips (Was Not Was, Soul II Soul, Khaled) to complement Suvarna’s gracefully confident voice.
Dedicated to "all who are striving for awakening," This Dewdrop World is sublime accompaniment for introspective journeys and a delicate musical acknowledgment of life’s beauty.
This Dewdrop World,Suvarna,White Swan Records,Ethnic Fusion,Int'l & World Music,Pop,This Dewdrop World plays like an aural massage: the songs unfold naturally, drawing the listener into a relaxed world of lush sonic textures and mantric ambience far removed from the frenetic pace of daily life.,World
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This Dewdrop World
Suvarna Manufacturer: White Swan Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  General
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ASIN: B0000AVB7Y Release Date: 2003-07-01 |
Tracks:
- Heart of Tara
- This Dewdrop World
- What You Are To Me
- The Divine Sound
- Charaiveti, Charaiveti
- Passion for the Ultimate
- Deniz
- Nanak's Song
Album Description
After the success of her first two recordings—the upbeat Fire of the Oracle and rhythmic Energia (by Infinity)— vocalist/violinist Suvarna takes her raga-based vocal improvisations into a more laid back, intimate space on This Dewdrop World. Her latest effort plays like an aural massage: the songs unfold naturally, drawing the listener into a relaxed world of lush sonic textures and mantric ambience far removed from the frenetic pace of daily life.This Dewdrop World features a world of instruments including kora, violin, saz, oud, mandolin and tabla, all expertly orchestrated by producer Martyn Phillips (Was Not Was, Soul II Soul, Khaled) to complement Suvarna's gracefully confident voice.
Dedicated to "all who are striving for awakening," This Dewdrop World is sublime accompaniment for introspective journeys and a delicate musical acknowledgment of life's beauty.
Customer Reviews:
Great Musicianship, Good Songs, But not a perfect CD!.......2005-03-30
This CD is wonderfully produced and recorded. The sound is clean and spacious throughout. One would be hard pressed to find music more spacious and open. Martyn Phillips did a great job of shaping the sound. The musicianship is also of the highest caliber. The CD begins with "Heart of Tara", a flowing rhythmic piece that is the strongest of the bunch. The second track "This Dew Drop World" is quite lovely. I especially like the beginning. Suvarna's velvety voice along with the music produces a gentle effect that eases you forward, just like a dew drop inching it's way over the surface of a leaf--great song indeed.
The reason that I gave this CD 4 stars was because all the songs are not 5 star material. The best songs are the two I just mentioned. The rest are good mind you, but they don't quite reach the level of the first two. I think this is why they put these two tracks first in the Album--in order to get it off to a good start. The other problem is Suvarna's singing. Although her voice is clear and bell-like, and her delivery is as smooth as the surface of a quiet lake, she doesn't seem to have a very wide range of improvisational ability. Her method of embellishment was to continually use the flowing "aah" sound. She uses this approach to great effect, but she does this throughout the entire CD. At first you are quite moved by it, especially on the first track. You should go back and listen to it just to see what I mean. The problem is that to do this throughout the entire CD is rather noticeable with repeated listening. Almost every single song has this long "aah" type of embellishment in it. And just to prove my point, track 7 (Deniz) is 3 1/2 minutes of this with the music going nowhere at all. When I first listened to it I waited for the music to really pickup but it never did. It just sat there in kind of a static groove with Suvarna adding her ooh's and aah's, and then it ended. I always skip track 7. The last track (Nanak's Song) would have been a great vehicle for the nice tabla playing that is heard on Tracks 1,2, and 5; but unfortunately the tabla is completely missing, and in it's place is a clicking beat that sounds like what you get when you press your tongue against your teeth and pull it away very quickly. I know that this sounds rather critical but on a good stereo this clicking is rather loud.
In the future I would hope that Suvarna really opens up her Sanskrit improvisation the way Jai Uttal has for instance. If I were to compare this CD to say Deva Primal's "Embrace", I would say that Suvarna's CD would come out squarely on top. Suvarna's voice along with the musicianship are definitely on this level. This CD really is that good; not 5 full stars, but very good. It's just that she seems somewhat at a loss when the singing calls for a more developed improvisational approach in some of the more open places. In this spacious style of music there is no were to hide, so if she plans to continue with this type of recording, it would be a good idea for her to improve her improvisation skills a little. Her previous CDs were more music synthesizer and production driven, so there was no need to add much improvisation over and above the melody. If you aren't burdened with a critical ear such as I have, you may not mind these shortcomings at all. Yet, keep in mind that the price will come out to $20.00 when you purchase this CD alone. I think that's work being critical :-) Make sure to listen to the sound samples and make your own decision. Good luck!
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