{"id":5899,"date":"2022-01-13T15:10:20","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T09:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalmusicinstitute.in\/?p=5899"},"modified":"2022-01-13T15:44:04","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T10:14:04","slug":"gmi-x-ahh-review-rohan-prasanna-bouquet-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalmusicinstitute.in\/v1\/gmi-x-ahh-review-rohan-prasanna-bouquet-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"GMI x AHH | Review: Rohan Prasanna expends creative, genre-flitting energy on \u2018Bouquet of Life\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re excited to announce our collaboration with A Humming Heart<\/a>, an independently run, reader-supported, Indian music publication. Together, we bring to you an assortment of all things music- reviews, interviews, industry trends, and more. To kickstart our collaboration, we are sharing Anurag Tagat<\/a>\u2019s review of Rohan Prasanna<\/a>\u2019s album \u2018Bouquet of Life.’<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>New Delhi artist Rohan Prasanna<\/a> has had a long-standing training in sarod from the age of seven\u2014by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, no less\u2014so it\u2019s safe to say that he knows what it means to be rooted in classical norms, but also experiment.<\/p>\n

His guru Amjad Ali Khan has had decades of formidable fusion excursions (most recently with guitarist Joe Walsh), and Prasanna is clearly no stranger to it either. He has collaborated with New Delhi artists such as Anirudh Varma and the Revisit Project. Most recently, his work with rock band Kitanu also came to the front, with the release of their debut self-titled EP.<\/p>\n

Setting out on his own with his album\u00a0Bouquet of Life<\/em> clearly means being totally unrestricted, if stylistic limitations were ever in fact an issue for Prasanna. As a vocalist, songs like \u2018Out of Body\u2019 and \u2018She\u2019s Like a Breeze\u2019 ease the listener into fairly new sonic terrain\u2014there\u2019s classical vocal melodies, whistling and sarod, that\u2019s almost played like a guitar. Then, on \u2018Too Much Bro\u2019, there\u2019s a lot of abstraction, going from funky grooves \u00e0 la Jacob Collier or Vulfpeck to what seems like an intentionally discordant shift into a classical sarod movement.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s confusing at this point, but in an intriguing way. Because we don\u2019t hear that side present itself again for a bit, given the tranquil and vibrant mood of \u2018Melodies of Enlightenment\u2019 and the transporting jazz-fusion style of \u2018Camel in A Club\u2019, where Prasanna\u2019s hushed a cappella sits subtly amidst swirling Middle Eastern melodies.<\/p>\n

Prasanna returns to that sneaky, unpredictable style we\u2019d heard before when we get to \u2018Intellidjentlewomen\u2019. He picks away at glistening melodies and an (obviously) djent-informed rhythmic pattern. It\u2019s shapeshifting and ambitious, which means it could fail to hold one\u2019s attention for its seven minute span but if you\u2019re a fan of prog bands like Animals As Leaders, there\u2019s something in here that will keep you hooked.<\/p>\n

After scaling what is arguably a summit of experimentation on \u2018Intellidjentlewomen\u2019,\u00a0Bouquet of Life <\/em>wanders into the abstract space with mixed results. \u2018Singing to You\u2019 might stand out on its own, but in the flow of the album, it does little to hold one\u2019s attention. \u2018Room Vibes\u2019 maintains the jam-like aesthetic that Prasanna has constructed on previous tracks, but doesn\u2019t sound too different from what we\u2019ve heard before. \u2018Why You Goin\u2019, however, sees Prasanna bow out strongly. There are dance beats straight out of an Indian street procession and jazz vocals going with strong keyboard melodies, with Prasanna, phasing in and out of them.<\/p>\n

The Collier influence is undeniable in Prasanna\u2019s playfulness and while the sarod artist has got a lot more styles in the mix on Bouquet of Life<\/em>, it could still do with some more finesse.<\/p>\n

Listen to Bouquet of Life:<\/p>\n