Kirtan CD pre-release review -

I just received my anxiously awaited copy of Radhapada Das's new CD today and have sampled each of the tracks. I am not a music reviewer by any stretch, although I have all the credits needed for a Bachelor's degree in music composition. Here is this native New Yorker from the Bronx singing like a Gandharva, and if one did not know his ethinicity, one would swear he is a native Indian schooled in classical ragas.

Words will never do this effort justice. One just needs to put it into the player and sit back to be transported to that magical land of Braj. For the connoisseur devotional music of the bhakti tradition, this is a must have for her/his collection. Radhapada's style is reminiscent of other famous Indian kirtaniyas living today, but the added plus is sound engineering that far surpasses what generally comes out of India recording studios.

I will write more later, after having the chance to listen to each track all the way through.

Ramdas at your service...

Where can one actually purchase aforementioned cd?
Thank you in advance,
Kanu

There's a website coming up which will have more information in this regard.

Now that I have listened to all the tracks in their entirety, I have to say that I appreciate the expert blending in of the harmonium with the other instruments and vocals - sometimes that instrument gets too overpowering on recordings and tends to drown out the other parts - not the case on this one.

The background vocalists are quite good singers as well.

After hearing so many Westerners doing kirton in the raga-rock fusion style, it is just so refreshing to hear one that is singing in an authentic Indian style.

This particular recording is not so much like the village Bengali kirton one might hear at any of a number of train stops while traveling in West Bengal (at least not from my own experience with styles), but is more like what one would hear in many of the temples in Braj. Perhaps someone who is more familiar with various styles could comment some more on this in the near future after the CD is released and everyone here has had a chance to listen to it. One thing I can tell you for certain, it is a different style from what the babas at Govardhan and Radhakund were doing in the evenings when I stayed with them.

Of course I could just be mistaking different melodies and instrumentation for a difference in styles. Don't really know for sure. As I said before I am not really a music reviewer.