Beyond Skin - Nitin Sawhney > Reviews > Listen without prejudice

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money

Advantages:	Superbly produced, fresh and exciting, alternative
Disadvantages:	May take a bit of getting into for some

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The Corrs, The Corrs - we all love them don't we? Who after all could resist the Celtic charm and charismatic Irish smiles … They've been on the scene for quite a few years now, and their ability to fuse traditional Irish music with every day pop/rock is at the very heart of their success as a global pop act. I'll admit that I used to quite like these guys but since the money making and "Pop" world went to their head, I've paid them very little attention beyond the early days of Talk On Corners.

But really, The Corrs have nothing to do with Nitin sawhney do they - I mean one originates from Ireland and one from India, one is happy pop and one is moody alternative. But ahh, that's where you'd be wrong you see. For although there are no obvious likenesses, the way in which Sawhney worked could be compared to that of the Corrs.

Nitin started off in the satirical and mildly anarchic comedy sketch show, Goodness Gracious Me. Now this show alone is considered as being somewhat groundbreaking - depicting Asian morals and values in the Western world - poking fun at stereotypes and even at the fabric of ethnic society itself. Nitin was at the heart of the 5 actors at its core and his most memorable part probably being in "Going for an English." However, as Sawhney began to realise that his talents lay elsewhere, he placed less emphasis on the show and more on his true call of music making.

Sawhney had been producing music since around 1995 and released a number of singles before the hugely acclaimed Beyond Skin burst onto the shelves in 1999. The man in question has probably done more soul searching and political thinking than most st of us and chooses to convey his beliefs and morals through his music.

The first time I heard any of his work was on Jose Padilla's last café Del Mar offering, volume 6 of 1999. I was utterly blown away by the sheer calm and beauty of Sawhney's Homelands, but at the time I hadn't heard of the chap and simply put it down to Padilla's genius as a compiler; choosing a one off hit that was of the highest quality. However, Nitin popped up again a year later on Chilled Ibiza, this time with the heart hitting Immigrant - again I was stunned and then realised that he was probably more popular and had released more material than I had initially imagined. I had to have his album. I searched far and wide for a copy of Beyond Skin, but it was either priced around £17 or unavailable; I read review after review roaring its praises and eventually decided to part with £15 - trusting all the pundits and going with my instincts.

I have only heard this album about 3 times but even at this early stage I can tell that it will grow into one of my classic faves. The originality - blending chill, trip-hop, drum and bass and eastern sounds is unbelievable - Nitin's skill on the acoustic guitar and keyboards leave you breathless and his approach to music making is something else altogether. We will never know how hard or how long it took sawhney to write some of these tracks, but they possess an air that would suggest that someone really should have written them and produced them already; so familiar do some of them sound. The album as a whole is brilliantly calming, but it cuts through with a much deeper edge with the opinions it puts forth through its lyrics and samples. I mean, the title, Beyond Skin says it all - don't take what you see or hear for it's aesthetic appeal, look to within and appreciate the true beauty. Let's take a closer look:

-- Broken skin --

The album begins with some mellow modern RnB style electric piano work, shortly followed by an announcement by the Indian prime minister that their country had recently performed 3 underground nuclear tests. Even at this point you probably get an idea of what the album is going to be about - gritty realism and the futility of human life. A sharp and crisp hip-hop style beat cuts in and some superbly soulful vocals cast a warmth over the arrangement. "Teardrops grow faster with the tide, raging over softer waters": the lyrics themselves have quite an ominous feel, all about pain and suffering but the melody itself is quite endearing. Add this to the strains of male Asian traditional singing in the bridge and the 70s style strings that join in for the chorus and you've got a very slick and polished urban feeling opener.

-- Letting go --

This track was one of the singles from beyond skin and begins with some calming waterfall effects and a nice balanced guitar arpeggio from Nitin. The trip-hoppy feel continues here once more, the same soulful vocals but this time with a much more laid back accompaniment - more trip-hop than hip-hop. There are some atmospheric environmental sounds and deep booming oriental percussion to give added depth as well as an interspersion of eastern vocals with a dreamy feel. It's a very warm track as a whole with a healing quality to it - definitely a thumbs up.

-- Homelands --

The ability of Nitin to move from smooth soul to Asian traditionalism in a few seconds flat is illustrated here as we are welcomed to the first non-English track. I was initially worried as to how "non-English" this album would be and how strongly the eastern influence would be coming through - this track is a prime example of the diversity and quality of the album. I'll start right now by saying that I haven't got a clue about the meaning of the vocals lol I'm not even sure what language they are sung in - parts sound Spanish and others sound Hindi. The track itself has 3 main parts - a dark and foreboding string part that fades in and out of existence forming the backbone of the track, some awesome percussion that incorporates more well known bongo and bass sounds with some traditional Indian percussion and of course, as ever, the strains of Sawhney's guitar. The track has an extremely lively and upbeat feel - not so much in a happy happy way but more so because of the driving percussion work going on and the periods when the guitars lapse into wild Flamenco style. At times frenzied, at times nerve shatteringly calming (especially at the final breakdown to soft female vocals and Sawhney's arpeggios on guitar) it's possibly the best track on the album.

-- Pilgrim --

The change from laid back to urban is abrupt. This track is very trip-hoppy and combines some chromatic violin work with funky beats and some Tricky style rapping. It's a very minimal sound with only a sprinkle of funk style guitar and some distant choral backing to complete the mix. The whole feel of the song is harsh and streetlike - it's not aggressive but it is confrontational and strong. "After all I'm just one needle in the hay" - this track is far from anonymous, it's fresh and vigorous sounding and a compliment to the album.

-- Tides --

This track starts yet again with announcements of nuclear testing, this time by France. Having read some of Nitin's interviews I know for a fact that one of his motivations is to get back to basics every now and again, he believes that we are becoming more and more reliant upon technology and electronic communication and that we are losing direction in life. This track then does exactly what he preaches - gets back to basics with a jazzy piano number. Sawhney shuts up the vocals and lets his black and white keyed friend do the talking - gone are the electronica tainted drums and in their place, a brushed jazz kit. The track itself oozes energy and sophistication and moves from minor key to minor key with apparent ease - the waves crashing on distant shores in the background give the piece a nostalgic air and it's as though this track is going to mark a change of style for the rest of the album.

-- Nadia --

Indeed it is. I've listened to quite a lot of Indian music in the past but none of it really hit the spot with me …. There was something strange and intangible about the vocals and scales that were used. Sawhney seems to know exactly how far to go with his inclusion of traditional roots - and having toured as a support to Sting and Madonna in the past, he definitely knew how to capture a wide audience. In quite a Lambish way, this track combines fast paced drum and base loops with high ranging female vocals. This one actually is pretty good and if you're a fan of mild and ambient drum and base like myself you shouldn't be disappointed. The backing suggests Goldie but the vocals suggest Bollywood - bizarre contrast but successful.

-- Immigrant --

Another absolute stunner. The almost endemic sample is here at the opening of the track and I believe that the voice is actually Nitin's own father speaking about moving to England. If you listen to the album as a whole it is littered with political messages and social statements and this song is the most touching and evident of them all. "You know where my destiny falls; this time it's insecurity I feel, makes me restless inside." we're back to the smooth flowing female vocals that Nitin seems to love so much and again all that backs up the fabulous voice is a piano and some occasional strings. The song combines both English and eastern vocals in a weaving pattern so that they overlap in terms of the notes that are sang and the realms of pitch that are used. Whilst the female vocals go to some excellent extremes of pitch, the male accompaniment show how the voice itself can be used as an instrument with some deep and reverent tones employed. The trademark jazz chords are here again but the gritty reality of moving to another country, rediscovering your identity and forgetting your past are what the song is really about.

-- Serpants --

This is a very strange track and almost orchestral in its approach. Imagine a panpipe melody with perhaps one of Portishead's more orchestral backings and you're not overly far from how this sounds. It's very cold sounding with short bowing of the cello providing the base whilst the pan flute provides a secretive and exotic melody. After a while, some Bhangra style beats break in with the odd undulating bass note to remind us of the contrasts between east and west that this album is trying to convey.

-- Anthem without nation --

More samples about nuclear aftermaths and radiation poisoning. Te haunting Indian vocals are back from our friend who sang in Immigrant. It's worth pointing out that you're going to have to have a decent stereo to get the very best out of this album, the range of dynamics and frequencies used would surely mean that if I put this on my little old ghetto blaster, I would be missing half of some of the songs! Tribal beats and more modern day strings are the order of the day and you just know that sooner or later the calming hypnotic strains are going to break into something unexpected - death metal perhaps? Well no, this album is a little more balanced than that, you know how when you listen to some tracks you get the impression that it is at a really slow tempo until the percussion breaks in and you feel cheated as it races off into the distance? Well this is what this track does. Very tranquil and reaching - kind of trip-bop with the B from Bhangra? Decent though.

-- Nostalgia --

"With god's grace and his kindness we are ok" states the interviewee of the sample, and the slidey strings are back in force. Quite an upbeat number with the cool urban snares returning again but as ever, there's an Asian overtone to it, especially in the way that the strings are played and notes bent. Again there is no specific topic as far as lyrics are concerned - and Sawhney has been putting a lot of work into his lyrics of late, paying more attention to vocals as opposed to the melodies. In this album and track as well, it is definitely the music that conveys the messages - with each track plucking at different emotions and feelings that the listener has. This one is almost resentful with a defiant edge. I like it a lot and although it's verging on the drum and base front it doesn't quite succeed as the "Base" part isn't really there.

-- Conference --

This is the only track that I can't be doing with on the album. It's just basically pointless. Traditional percussion and rattled out Asian vocals are thrown in your face at a vast rate of knots! It's like one of those tongue twister affairs, see how many syllables you can get your tongue around in one second and how many times you can rrrrroll your rrrrrs. There is some competent bongo work going on in the background but this track really really spoils the album - definitely a fast forward job.

-- Beyond skin --

This track starts harsh and aggressive, with an unusual rhythm and climactic feel to it. This breaks down into the aftermath sounds of a nuclear explosion and the distant drone of a 40s jet plane (the one that dropped Little Boy perhaps?) flying away, whilst an American relays the teachings of Vishnu. The track isn't going to end like this though - as it is extremely calm with Sawhney showing off his skills on the acoustic axe once more. The album has taken the listener on a journey as all good ones should and this is the resolving part of that journey, where you close the curtains, switch off the lights and go to bed - or at least it is in my case. If you count the Asian bird using her voice as an instrument once more, you could class this as an instrumental track that is a great finisher to an intense listen.

I do apologise for the sometimes vague content of the review to some degree, as I have only just bought the album and so what I am relaying to you is more first impressions and feelings than the true meanings of the songs and their bearing on Sawhney's beliefs. I do love it and would definitely recommend it to anyone who can listen to music with an open mind and doesn't mind something a little different. The LP encompasses jazz, soul, trip-hop and Bhangra but with an approach that doesn't exclude any potential listeners. There's something in there for everyone I reckon and I'm sure that Sawhney will only blossom further into a fantastic musician and song writer. Congratulations to the man on his Mercury prize, he truly deserved it and alongside similar artists such as Talvin Singh, he is paving the way for the acceptance of the alternative music scene that will soon have those popsters who wonder into their New York studio without a clue of what they will be singing each day quaking in their designer boots.

Hope you enjoyed the review - I will probably be going for Prophecy, Sawhney's latest release very soon :)