'Junun' is a sonically impressive collaborative that injects much-need rambunctiousness into the often earnest world music genre.
Junun Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express/ Junun
Junun is certainly not what you’d call a mainstream album. Recorded in a 15th century hill fort loaned for the purpose by the Maharaja of Jodhpur, it’s actually a collaboration between Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, Israeli-American singer and composer Shye Ben Tzur and The Rajasthan Express, a group of 19 Israeli and Rajasthani-Indian musicians.
That brief description could have many running a mile. After all, such “world music” collaborations can often be pretty earnest affairs, and Greenwood does happen to be a member of one of music’s most serious indie bands, with a sideline composing sombre movie soundtracks to boot.
Thankfully, Junun is nothing of the sort, intense at times but never staid. Instead you get an uplifting, emotional, occasionally rambunctious album that blends cultures and languages (from Hindi to Hebrew) and the contemporary and traditional to create something that is both hypnotic and, often, just plain fun. That joyful mood is evident from the very start. The bouncy high-energy electro beats and crisp vibrant trumpet that kick off opening track Junun (Passion) set an urgent tempo that forces you to sit up and take notice and even when the pace does slow, the intense uplifting vocals ensure the exultant mood doesn’t dim.
This is the sound of a group of musicians enjoying themselves, a fact further underlined on Julus (Procession). Sounding like a crowded and slightly unruly fiesta, it’s packed with frenetic drumming and boisterous brass, while the snaking trumpet just implores you to get up and join in the party. It’s not all full-throttle stuff though; there’s plenty of delicate textures courtesy of the compositions of Shye Ben Tzur, who knows his stuff, having studied music in Rajasthan for over a decade.
Hu is a particular standout, showing off the traditional instruments to the best as the swirling flute and rippling strings are slowly overwhelmed by the chanting vocal as the song builds and builds leaving you feeling slightly breathless by its conclusion. On Kalandar, the drip-drip electronic percussion and haunting flute evoke thoughts of a jungle after a tropical downpour before the drums and image-laden sufi vocals take the track in a totally different direction. This is an album laden with different moods and techniques, but somehow Shye Ben Tzur’s confident hand, aided and abetted by long-time Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, means it never feels discordant.
Co-producer Greenwood’s name will be a big draw for many but the reality is he is happy to take a back seat on most songs.
When he does make his presence felt, most notably through the guitar-driven rhythms and ghostly synthesisers of the most Radiohead track, Allah Elohim, the heartfelt vocals and punchy brass make sure he’s never allowed to overwhelm the other musicians involved. This was no exploitative ego-driven vanity project but an equal meeting of styles, cultures and musical passions that has created a beautiful and joyful album. Like all good music Junun takes you on a journey, and in this particularly case it’s one that regularly makes you want to smile and dance along the way.
THE PLAYLIST
Violette Wautier/ Yak Fang (Whisper)
Although she didn’t win Season 2 of The Voice Thailand, Thai-Belgian Violette Wautier has done pretty well for herself, having appeared on the soundtrack of a couple of TV series and collaborated with established artists like Joey Boy and Stamp Apiwat. Her latest cut, Yak Fang (Whisper), features a simple acoustic guitar and just enough strings to highlight Wautier’s gorgeous vocals. She also writes her own lyrics, which is nothing short of laudable (and further proves that she’s not just a pretty face like most pop stars tend to be).
Kanye West/ Facts
We love hearing new music from Kanye West mainly because we adore his brand of oversized braggadocio, and his new cut Facts is no exception. The song marks West’s first single since last year’s All Day and it’s a diss track in which he viciously goes after his rival sneaker brand Nike (“Yeezy just jumped over Jumpman”) while referencing Bill Cosby (“Do anybody feel bad for Bill Cosby?”) and comedian Steve Harvey who accidentally announced the wrong winner while hosting the Miss Universe pageant last year (“Did he forget the names just like Steve Harvey?”)
Willow Smith/ Why Don’t You Cry
If there’s one song that best represents Willow Smith’s surprise debut album, Ardipithecus, it has to be Why Don’t You Cry. Centring on the theme of teenage angst, the track finds Smith singing about getting “stuck in the mirror” and how she and “the mother singing the universal song” (whatever that means). Musically, it’s a brooding electro-inspired number that shows some potential. Some might say she’s trying a bit too hard, but give the girl a break, won’t you? She’s 15 years old.
Chairlift/ Romeo
Following lead single Ch-Ching, Brooklyn synth-pop duo Chairlift give us a second taste of their forthcoming third album, Moth, in the form of a grungy, heady track titled Romeo. Here, vocalist Caroline Polachek sings about Atalanta, a huntress who, according to Greek mythology, would only marry a suitor if he beat her in a footrace (she would also kill those who lost). “Step up, lover/Big talker, take a number, I’ve got all day,” Polachek begins. “To wipe the smile off your face/If I win, you’re done with/But if you win, you win my heart.” It’s one of those fun, high-energy tracks the band is known for crafting and we think artists should definitely source their inspiration from Greek mythology more.
Miike Snow/ Genghis Khan
Even though Genghis Khan is not exactly a Greek mythological figure, he is alluded to here on Miike Snow’s single of the same name. Unlike its title, the song itself is a chirpy little ditty in which frontman Andrew Wyatt likens himself to the fearsome conqueror. “I get a little bit Genghis Khan/I don’t want you to get it on/With nobody else but me,” he coos in the chorus punctured with some infectious “woo-woo-woo!” throwaways.
