Indra Kali (Tantric Celebration) Play Sample:   56K Dialup   Broadband   Download Sample:   500K   1.5Mb (Excerpt from track(s) 'True Heart') Please go to the Store to buy this item.

Sometimes the imagery and titles Indra uses can make his albums seem as if they are aimed at the New Age market. Before listening to the music that was certainly my assumption here. Not for the first time however (as with his 'Call of Shiva' albums) I was completely wrong. This is a superb album, in full on melodic sequencer territory with a decent amount of bite. We kick off with 'True Heart' and immediately a sequence breaks through accompanied by excellent rapid echoing melodic note runs. Subtle rhythms are introduced, giving proceedings added oomph without being too intrusive. Euphoric lead lines are deployed in the seventh minute, increasing my enthusiasm for the track still further. The sequences then explode into even greater and more wonderful life than before. What an opener!

'Initiation' begins with a few seconds of percussion which are blasted asunder by first one bass sequence then another high register but both travelling at 100 miles an hour seemingly chasing each other. The bass one momentarily disappears and the other morphs wildly first one way then another. By the third minute however it is all change. Initially we descend to brooding atmospherics but then yet another sequence rises through the mix to be joined by a rhythm that really kicks, wasting no time in getting into a real groove. A couple of minutes later everything mutates again, percussion, sequences and rhythm weaving around each other in seemingly increasingly complex patterns. Not for the first time with Indra's work there are similarities with Klaus Schulze at his mesmerizing best. Things become even more syncopated then a wonderful melodic lead line lets rip over the top. We are only ten minutes into this track's twenty-five minute duration and already it is awesome! Nothing is allowed to remain in one pattern too long as we move through one section to another, each with its own individual character and mood but also fitting together as a whole so well. From the eighteenth minute there seems to be yet another cranking up of the pace. Surely we are working ourselves up to some cataclysmic explosion! But no, even though new sequences come and old ones go, the lid is kept on this pressure cooker environment until the track's conclusion. Brilliant.

'Ritual Night Dancer' has the deepest bass line so far, rumbling away low in the mix, being felt as much as heard. A percussive loop is added to proceedings whilst all sorts of cosmic analogue sounding effects fizz and ooze from the speakers. A mesmerizing loping rhythm becomes the main focus but the mind is also drawn towards some lovely slow melodic pads and rapid sequencer runs that move in and out of the mix. The strongest lead lines on the album so far are then deployed creating quite a sultry, on the edge of a dream, type feel. 'U Hunger' begins with a splashing rhythmic loop that sounds a little like a locomotive hurtling down the track towards us getting louder all the time. I couldn't keep my hands still as they were drumming like crazy things on the desk in front. Little melodies bounce over the top of the infectious pulsations and now I was wanting to air keyboard at the same time as beat out time. All very infectious stuff indeed. Some trancey type lead touches and rhythms are added nearer the end. It didn't really need them.