Bombay Dub Orchestra
Bombay Dub Orchestra
Six Degrees
Elevator music has come quite far in the twenty-first century. Used to be everything was watered down 1001 Strings, heavy on violin and light on rhythm, and so soporific you could hear “Jumping Jack Flash” on you way to accounting on the 21st floor and not even notice it. Today, a new, more interesting crop of bland background music is available, and just as ethnic restaurants have exploded on the scene, these newcomers add some spice and variety to the task of keeping us entertained in line or on hold.
Bombay Dub brings a smooth South Asian sound to the process. Bits of sitar and santoor and tabor and other odd-looking instruments sound pretty good when stripped of their original cultural context and mixed with the western chord and note relations. Occasionally there are quiet lyrics lurking, with the human voice used purely as instrument. It doesn’t matter what is sung, whether in French or Hindi or English, and these lyrics aren’t out to change the world, but just keep us calm.
I see this record as chill-out music for your next rave, or the soundtrack to one of those wild computer generated animation disk that were so popular a decade ago. Bombay Dub does NOT sound like the score to a Bollywood flick, but is a nice restful accompaniment to life’s calmer chores.
Six Degrees Records: http://www.sixdegreesrecords.com
