Review: Dosti Music Project Travelers

By Samir Shukla

Dosti Music Project
Travelers
(Found Sound Nation)

The dozen compositions on Dosti Music Project's Travelers are the result of collaborations by 20 Pakistani, Indian, and American musicians who spent a couple of residencies in 2015 and 2016, curated by the Brooklyn-based artist collective Found Sound Nation, working together. The musicians blend their natural talents and leanings into the Dosti (Friendship) Music Project. The 12 tracks are traditional, yet infused with varied genres and regional music that cross paths to create a musical camaraderie. Sure, it may take some time to soak in an American folk singer accompanied by sarangi and tabla, or other such combos on the recording. But as the musicians played together at these residencies they blended their natural musical bonds of the two countries. These compositions emerged during performances and jam sessions. I can imagine loose, playful interplay evolving into solid compositions. It's a session where folk, Appalachian music, Sufi ghazals, Hindustani songs, even some electronica, all sit next to each other and become musical friends. Traditional Bengali, Tamil, Punjabi, Marwari, Sufi, and rock songs come to life, removing boundaries, with the unique sounds of fiddle, harmonium, sarod, tabla, and the human voice merging into an eclectic collaboration.

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