Style: Traditional Indian music, with some traces of American folk and classical music
Namaste Sate
January 26, 2011
Namaste Sate
January 26, 2011
Top tracks: “Holy River,” “Chosen,” “Mukteshwar”
Aradhna makes Christian worship music and Indian music, all at the same time. It’s all droning melodies and circular tabla rhythms and just enough hints of American folk instrumentation to make the uninitiated feel invited. Their songs—they call them Yeshu bhajans, songs of adoration to Jesus—are derived from old Sanskrit prayers and from the New Testament. The lyrics alternate between Hindi and English, and the music is sublimely evocative: “Holy River” begins by calling Jesus a “stream in deserts dry,” and even when they change tongues for the crescendo, there’s no mistaking it for anything but the sound of praise.
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