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CMU Approved
Approved: Uniting Of Opposites
By Paul Vig | Published on Tuesday 15 May 2018
Uniting Of Opposites is a project from Tim Deluxe, Clem Alford (on sitar) and Ben Hazleton (with his double bass). For their debut album, ‘Ancient Lights’, they are also joined by Idris Rahman on clarinet, Manjeet Singh Rasiya on tabla, Eddie Hick on drums, and Marcina Arnold, who is providing some vocals.
The band was created when Hazleton met Alford and began studying traditional Indian music to “open his ears”. Tim Deluxe then got involved to fuse together their “collective musical journey”, creating Uniting Of Opposites; a platform through which this sonic melting pot can coalesce.
‘Ancient Lights’ is just that – a sonic adventure into classical Indian music with a contemporary and jazzy twist, from bhangra rhythms in previously released ‘Vortex Number 9’, to downtempo jazz in ‘Dr Roach’, to the more classical compositions of ‘Bird Solo’ and ‘Corridor Moves’.
The album’s title track brings this all together, with beautiful vocals and some powerful percussion. It deftly mixes Eastern and Western sounds, featuring soaring reed work from Rahman and enveloping sitar strings from Alford.
Listen to ‘Ancient Lights’ here:
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