When Bul-Bul Tarang Gong arrived from Europe, I didn’t know what to expect from the cassette. The cover was awesome, psychedelic yet primitive, and the tape featured percussionist Ravi Padmanabha who is well known for his ethno/rock/jazz improvisations. So we were off to a good start right from the go, but once I popped the tape into the deck, I knew I was in for a treat. What oozed out of my speakers was some of the best Raga meditations I have heard in some time. This is truly eternal music, insofar as it would be difficult to place its conception on a physical timeline. Listening to this set is engrossing and peaceful without turning to background music, and even gets into heavier harmonics on tracks like “Kali.”
There is clearly a Sun City Girl vibe here, as the band dances between Arabic and Asian inspired rhythms, complementing them with a wall of drums and chimes that mixes well with the harmonium and bass patterns. This is psychedelic “world music” at its finest, and deserving of repeated listens.
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