A double-length set of work from
funky sitar player Ananda Shankar – and a collection that features 2 of his lesser-known albums from the 70s! Musical Discovery of India is a 70s musical tour of Shankar's homeland – performed with his sitar in the lead, and some very sweet soundtrack-style orchestrations in the back!! The style's a bit less
funky than before, but still extremely evocative – as it blends Indian styles of instrumentation with more western approaches to soundtrack scoring and a bit of post-colonial travelogue! Titles include "Discovery Of India", "Akbar's Jewels", "Namaskar", "Kaziranga Beat", and "The Hill Train". Next up is Sa Re Ga Machan – a great bit of jungle exotica, composed as a full piece with an "atmosphere of twilight and the feeling of watching animals at a water hole" – but recorded with a sweeping soundtracky feel that makes it more like some lost 70s film gem in the best places! There's some nicely subdued
funk in the mix – as Ananda's sitar grooves over guitars, keyboards, and compressed bass and drum parts, occasionally touched with modern exotica styles, as in the work of Mandingo. Titles include "
Night In The Forest", "Jungle King", "Jungle Symphony", "Sa Ra Ga Machan", "Romantic Rhino", "Charging Tiger", and "Monkey's Tea Party".