Gondwana Dawn

In paleogeography, Gondwana is the name given to the landmass that 200 million years ago joined what we now know as Africa to the subcontinent of India. As such it's the perfect title for this Afro-Indian fusion led by Robin Hogarth and the Indian female singer Vidushi Sumitra Guha. Hogarth took an eight-strong youth choir from South Africa to Delhi, where they recorded 15 songs, accompanied by a range of Indian, African and Western pop instruments. The material ranges from arrangements of Indian ragas to traditional Zulu songs and even a version of the South African national anthem, ‘Nkosi Sikeleli Afrika’. The blend of African gospel voices and Guha's lovely classical tones works a treat, as does the transcontinental juxtaposition of sarangi (bowed lute) and mbira (thumb piano), African and Indian flutes, harmonium and marimba. Hogarth's vision is commendable and he's clearly a remarkable musician in his own right, playing many of the traditional African instruments himself.

The drawback is that his arrangements can tend towards banality, centred upon synthesizers and a lowest common denominator global-pop mash. There are some fine moments, particularly on the haunting prayer ‘Asato Maa Sadgamaya’, based on an ancient Vedic text, on which Guha's soaring voice is underpinned dramatically by the African choir; and on ‘Yebo Africa Shosholoza, which combines a traditional Zulu song, of the kind associated with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, with classical Indian influences. But the more saccharine moments will probably have you reaching for the fast-forward button.