BADA BOOM

This may be Ranjit Barot's first solo release, but he is hardly a newbie to the recording industry. Many years of experience as a film composer, arranger, session drummer and producer help give 'Bada Boom' the sound of someone who has been putting out albums all their life. In fact, some artists who have put out albums all their life never achieve the fluid execution and production that Barot brings to this highly ambitious project.

Indian film music is probably the best reference point for this album, but also add in a healthy dose of 70s progressive rock influenced jazz fusion as well. Barot's background as a film composer serves him well as he is able to seamlessly combine jazz, classical and rock elements in a way that makes most attempts by the progressive rock crowd sound forced and clumsy. Barot's classical influences come from Indian music as well as European, and here again he is able to mix these two styles to the point that it is hard to tell one from the other. Not only does Barot play the drums on here, but he also adds occasional vocals in a style that mixes Indian micro-tonal ornaments with a sort of smooth jazz delivery. I think this vocal mix is very interesting, but the micro-tonal pitch bends may be a unique experience to some western ears.

I rarely use the word epic to describe music, but that is what fits best on this vast cinematic soundscape. Individual songs don't matter much as all of the songs have multi-sections and blend into each other to make one long Indian classical jazz fusion symphony. Music this ambitious can often come across as pretentious 70s kitsch, but thanks to Barot's considerable skills as a composer and seem-less mixer of musical styles, he pulls this off with very few embarrassing over indulgent moments.