Nitin Sawhney – Prophesy
Saturday, February 6th, 2010
The weather in Atlanta has been annoying over the last few weeks. Sunny one day, cold and rainy the next. In the midst of it all, I’ve had a sinus infection that has left me miserable, tired and easily irritated. How grateful I am to have music during these times. I may not be able to clinically prove that music is the remedy for sinus problems but I can say that today my nose is singing a happier tune. What was the musical home remedy? It was Nitin Sawhney’s Prophesy.
If you’re not familiar with Sawhney, he’s one of England’s many Indian-decent musical geniuses. (I’ll throw a few others at you in a future post. Plus, now that Jay Sean has had a few hits on the American music charts, maybe there will be long-overdue Indian musical invasion.) It doesn’t take much effort to realize this is a man who takes his music seriously. He appears to look at it from the perspective of someone who wants his music to give something to the world, instead of using it to see how many dollars (or pounds) it can put into his pocket. I can appreciate that. A good song can be candy to my ear but a song from the artist’s heart and soul will nourish me for many years to come.
Unfortunately Prophesy suffered the misfortune of following a superstar sibling. That is, the high expectations placed on the “sibling” who follows their trailblazing predecessor. Prophesy followed Beyond Skin, arguably Sawhney’s most brilliant CD. So, because of the hype and expectations, it was behind the eight ball even before its release. I don’t believe it deserved the critical mistreatment it received. (Though I must admit I sometimes find the Street Guru’s rantings between songs annoying.) In the end, it comes down to how you choose to receive a new CD. I appreciate the brilliance of Prophesy because when I listen to a CD I try to answer the question of “Is it good music?” instead of “Is it as good as…?”
Give it a listen and I’m sure you’ll agree about its greatness. It’s an intelligent use of musical genres that clearly expresses the multifaceted aspects of Sawhney’s background as well as his musical loves. I saw an interview recently where he said he visited over 70 countries in researching and composing this CD. Like with his other albums, you can see his goal is to create a collection of individual masterpieces. In my opinion, he achieved it with Prophesy. Nitin Sawhney is an artist of the highest caliber.
Nitin Sawhney – Sunset
Nitin Sawhney – Nothing
Nitin Sawhney – Breathing Light
Nitin Sawhney – Prophesy
