Joel “Veena” Eisenkramer has released his latest album of original and traditional music played on the 20 stringed Hindustani slide guitar on February 7 on his website, JoelVeena.com, and through Bandcamp. “CARDINAL is a sonic journey I designed to be listened to from beginning to end. I’m inspired by the popular albums of my youth and I think it’s meaningful to try placing traditional music in new contexts that new listeners can relate to.” says Eisenkramer.
Featuring 8 original tracks (plus one bonus track for those who purchase online), CARDINAL is a self-produced labor of love several years in the making. It opens with a sung poem and then launches into Eisenkramer’s original fusion track ´Resistance´, which melds the Indian slide guitar with electronic drums and deep bass. From there, listeners are taken through original music composed within the traditional idiom of North Indian raga progressing towards a full, multiple movement treatment of the traditional evening raga Bageshree. Eventually wrapping up with a Hindi version of the opening poem, composed and performed by Eisenkramer’s spouse, cultural arts curator Vidhi Salla.
Two of the top north Indian percussionists of the present generation are featured on the album. Mir Naqibul Islam, New York-based tabla virtuoso of the Farukkhabad gharana (style) of tabla playing, lays down thunderous solos in Never Too Late (For a Shower of Rain) and takes the speed and energy of Raag Bageshree to thrilling heights. Jasdeep Singh, UK-based exponent of the rarely heard bass drums called jori, anchors the original composition Reminder with powerful and compelling accompaniment. Singh is also a leading scholar on the research and restoration of the nearly forgotten jori drums, historically used to accompany Sikh devotional music as well as early Hindustani classical genres such as dhrupad and dhamar.
Joel is a born and raised Vermonter, having grown up around Brattleboro and has been known for years for his efforts promoting, producing and performing world music in the area. Many remember dancing the night away in the crowded Weathervane or Inferno bars on Eliot St to the bands he fronted and played in, including Mo Ambesa, Medicine Warriors and Alaffia.
CARDINAL is out now on JoelVeena.com and Bandcamp: pick up a copy today and support local and global music simultaneously.
DIRECT LINKS: https://joelveena.bandcamp.com/album/cardinal
https://joelveena.com/album/3281790/cardinal
