For The Love of Music (What can We do with Indian Music - 1)

Reading sometimes need time, which is nowadays at premium, but listening music requires little effort and is doable even in busy times. If there was anything to inspire me to be active on the blog again it had to be music. For long I had thought of posting a series of clips, in audio or video format, of music and musicians who enchant me greatly. 

Since I couldn't find a better title, I title this latest endeavor of mine as 'For the Love of Music'. I start this with a series of 6 posts showcasing the brilliance of music when our Indian music is amalgamated with music from other parts of the world or musical forms that are not intrinsic to it. From suggestions by friends to accidental discoveries to recommendations on web, the posts that form the part of this series showcase music that I find highly enjoyable and inspires me to further explore the beautiful world of music. I hope that readers too will find the music presented enjoyable and inspiring enough to embark on their own musical journey; and if you do come across some fascinating music during this journey of yours, don't forget to return the favor by mentioning the same in the comments :)

Tinariwen with Kiran Ahluwalia

Mast Mast 

I discovered Tinariwen accidentally about five years ago while listening to Ali Farka Toure on Youtube. Youtube's sidebar having list of suggested videos had a Tinariwen song as one of the suggestions,  dont remember which one perhaps Cler Achel. Since then Tinariwen has remained my favorite band from Africa, inspiring me further explore the great wealth of African music and leading me to great african acts such as Toumani Diabate and several others. Having admired and listened to Tinariwen, it filled me with great excitement when in 2011 they recorded 'Mast Mast' with the impressive Indo-Canadian singer Kiran Ahluwalia. Many of us have listened several versions of 'Dam mast mast' and yet this Tuareg-Indian fusion stands out for its unique experimentation and registers the magical impact this great sufi sing is capable of. This song has looped on a repeat for a long time on my music player and high chances that it will end up the same way on yours. Enjoy :)

There's a longer version of this song available of youtube as well that shouldn't be difficult to find the same :)