More Arriving

Born in the US, raised and educated in India and a London resident for the past decade, the percussionist and bandleader Sarathy Korwar presents in his second solo album the sound of the modern Indian diaspora living in a pluralistic Britain that is currently horribly divided. With Korwar's thunderous percussion underpinning everything, his collaborators range from the flowing Hindi rhymes of Mumbai-born MC Mawali, rapped to a classical Karnatic rhythmic pattern, to Punjabi MC Prabh Deep and the Jamaican-Indian Delhi Sultanate rapping together on ‘Coolie’ over an incendiary beat. The vocal acrobatics of Indian classical vocalist Mirande make ‘Good Ol' Vilayati’ a highlight and there are jazzy, lush sax-driven instrumentals and layers of electronica. The London-based poet Zia Ahmed recites his verse on the explosive ‘Bol’ and the witty ‘Mango’, while on ‘Pravasis’, the author Deepak Unnikrishnan reads a brief but compelling text that lifts the lid on the reality of immigration.

Unlike so many multicultural projects whose currency is a trite plea for us all to love one another, the message here is a much harsher and more truthful reflection on what it means to be an Indian immigrant in confrontational times. This is the sound of the new British-Asian underground.