Love Trap [CCCD]

An outstandingly interesting sophomore effort from British-Indian songstress Susheela Raman. Taking the term "eclectic" to levels only accessible in the world music markets, she heavily interweaves her original South Indian classical influences with Hindustani music, as well as adding some interesting fusions with other cultures. From place to place Tuvan hoomii drags itself in, in both the higher-pitched and lower-pitched forms, as well as some urtin duu to provide at times a drone, and at times a solo singer. Among the bass-heavy club grooves that show up, one can hear a little bit of light African-esque drumming. Concurrent with some electronically altered tabla vocals comes a dose of light flute looping. Throughout though, one constant is Raman's deep and sultry vocals. The album starts out with the title track that brings itself directly into comparison with the old Shirley Bassey-Bond themes (but with a quiet sitar in the background); and as the album moves on, it becomes somewhat more gentle, but keeps the sultriness in Raman's voice regardless. There's some light Spanish guitar in "Sarasa" to contrast with her sound, and later the guitars drop down an octave or two to match with her vocals and make for an extremely laid-back sound. Tablas and koras mix fluidly en route to the finished product. As an added surprise for the listeners, Tony Allen handles the drumming for a bit. Overall, it's a nice album; full of fusion surprises. Give it a listen if you're at all interested in the various world music scenes, or perhaps just as an interesting little bit of ambient music. ~ Adam Greenberg|