Decade of Great Fusion: 2000-2009, Various Artists

Updated on: 02 December,2009 07:50 AM IST |
Lindsay Pereira |

It's an interesting idea, this. A compilation of the "best songs of the top-selling fusion albums of the decade".

It's an interesting idea, this. A compilation of the "best songs of the top-selling fusion albums of the decade".

How does one define fusion though? While early advocates blended the sitar with synthesisers, someu00a0 brought in the electric bass, while still others (Punjabi MC) threw the dholak under a spotlight. Putting aside the questions, there's much to be happy about here. It's hard to go wrong when Taufiq Qureshi starts off with The Other Rhythm, from his very satisfying album Rhydhun. He is followed by biggies Bickram Ghosh (Tandav), surprising duo Rahul Sharma and Richard Clayderman (Together) and the very influential Nitin Sawhney (Daybreak) and Trilok Gurtu (Nine Horses).

The problem is, the minute the word "fusion" crops up, the Asian Underground creeps in. Going back to the genre-bending compilation Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground back in 1997, the influence of British Asian musicians on everything from Britpop to Jungle is impossible to ignore. So, the absence of folk like State of Bengal, Karsh Kale and Ransglobal Underground is hard to explain.

A lack of new material may be a genuine issue, of course, but didn't the Midival Punditz give us Hello Hello earlier this year? Slip in Atomizer, or Four Sticks, from their well-received album, and you'll know at once whether it needs a place on this CD. Then again, considering the reasonable price, we're probably just nit-picking.