There’s a lengthy tradition of brass bands in Indian music, from the great musicians of Rajasthan to the rousing revivalism of the Bollywood Brass Band. Now it’s Yorkshire’s turn, as the Hammonds Saltaire community band from Huddersfield team up with Shri Sriram, the percussionist, bass-player and composer who mixed Indian influences with drum & bass in Badmarsh and Shri. Here he sets out to rework Indian classical and street music styles using what he calls the “very unusual, cross-cultural combination of brass band, sitar, brum kit and bass”. Sitar and brass band work together remarkably well on the grand title track and the slinky Neck to Neck, while on the slow and drifting Tanpura the sound of the Indian drone instrument is reinterpreted on brass. An entertainingly varied set that would make great film music, with the Yorkshire players on impressive form.
