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“Teabreak” by Mynta

Mynta is a Swedish band. Two Indian musicians feature prominently in their line-up. Fazal Qureshi on tabla and Shankar Mahadevan on vocals and of the two Fazal Qureshi is a permanent member and Shankar guests more often. Early Mynta music and took a jazz rock direction. In 1987 when the band toured India they met Fazal and Shankar and their music took another turn with the subsequent collaboration.

Fazal is the younger brother of Zakir Hussain the well known tabalist of the popular fusion band of yesteryears, Shakti. Shankar Mahadevan is already a popular singer in India and part of the famous trio Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy. The trio have composed music and songs for several Indian films. Both Shankar and Fazal have performed the world over.

The Swedish musicians are – Santiago Jimenez on violin and keyboards, Max Åhman on guitar, Ola Bothzén on percussion, Christian Paulin on bass and Dallas Smith on Flute and wind instruments. Together the four musicians slant the music in the Nordic direction, inflecting a jazz feel into the mix. Initial albums even featured a regular singer. Besides the drums Ola plays a very strange “box” like percussion instrument where he sits on the box and plays the box by slapping this hands on on side of the box.

Mynta have been together since 1979 and have made several albums. They have made impressive music over the years but this is one album where I liked many or most of the songs unlike the rest where only a few songs impress.

Here’s my review of the songs on the album.

1. Teabreak – Not the usual Mynta start for the opener and even sounds a bit techno in the beginning. Great vocals from Shankar Mahadevan and well mixed too.

2. Song from Brahmaputra – A classic and this could also have been the opening song for the album. After the initial “Aalap” and where the percussion and the other instrumentalists step in you think the song really belongs to Christian Paulin on bass. The bass gives you such a “rush”. Then Santiago Jimenez enthralls us with beautiful violin solo followerd by a lovely guitar solo too from Max Åhman.

3. Jaane Kya Hua – A song that should have been removed from the album. The only song with Hindi lyrics, it seems straight out from a Hindi film. Reallly wonder who put it there or why the band wanted this song in this album.

4. Fuzzy – You think this is going to be another Techno from the way the song starts but let not that fool you. Nice “jugalbandi (an Indian version of a Jam session)” like song with Fazal on vocal and percussion on side and violin, and acoustic guitar on the other. Violin and guitar stealing the limelight.

5. OA’s Celtic dance – Lovely violin from Santiago reminding you of the music from the Highlands. Lovely mix of Indian raaga vocals with the music. Although there is a nice little solo the violin can get a bit repetitive.

6. Sunset in Beijing – My favorite from the album. Simply hauntingly good singing from Shankar though it is just “ragaa singing” i.e without any lyrics.

7. Red Departure – Faster beats and you have a great song bursting with Shankar’s vocals singing his raagaas. Acoustic Guitar and Saxophone solos follow with steady accompaniment from the percussionists and the bassist.

8. Ten Years After – First time I hear the electric guitar on a Mynta song some DJ induced sounds too. Sounds very modern. Christian Paulin delivers some great bass and wait till you begin to hear the vocals from Fazal and Shankar. Nice stuff.

9. Bohccui – Lovely singing and lovely music, particularly guitar. Flute is also heard.

10. Dancer in the Night – Nice and easy filler with some Spanish & Flamenco feel. Pleasant.

11. Small and Angry – Sounds like a song from the Highlands again and a very Celtic feel to it with Flamenco tapping towards the end. Dallas Smith and Santiago carry the song through. Not a boring song.

12. Mr. Coy – Sounds very Kenny G like for the most of the song followed by Shankar’s not very impressive vocal solo. Not a worthy concluder.

13, 14, 15 – Remix versions of the earlier songs that I care to listen and therefore will not be reviewing.

If you are into fusion this album is highly recommended.

True to its identity the album is not available on Amazon.com. However it is available at www.cdon.com a site referred by Mynta’s web site, www.mynta.net.

You may also want to check UnlimitedDownloadCenter.com where you could download the album or songs for free.

Mynta has performed in Chennai twice. They had come in 1987 and in 2005. I went to see them in 2005. Shankar wasn’t there and they had another veteran guest for their performance in Chennai, Vikku Vinayakram on the Ghatam. It was a good performance. It could have been much better had only performed more on the drums and Santiago’s violin hadn’t developed the tuning problems.

There are other albums that have catchy songs and I’ll review them there after I take a good listen.