presents

Is This Real? 1995

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"Is This Real is a masterful tapestry of musical traditions woven together into an uplifting new sound. It creates a musical experience that transcends boundaries. The wide variety of musicians as well as musical styles highlights this album as an outstanding example of world fusion music." India Currents - Dec/1995

Click one the song names to listen.

1) Monsoon (Emam) Voice of Maha Avatar Babaji was recorded by the river Gautami Ganga in the Himalayan Foothills - 1979. Zoltán Lantos violin Naushad Ahmed tabla Emam dumbak, nylon string guitar Maha Avatar Babaji reciting mantras

2) Artichoke (Emam) Wrote this song for my friend Gari who actually introduced me to fast odd rhythms from the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Emam tabla Geoff Johns dumbak Gari Hegedus oud

3) Tarang in Five (Emam) Various tuned tablas (tabla tarang) are used to create a fast rhythm in a five beat cycle. Emam tabla tarang

4) Malkino (Emam) Zakir Hussain tabla Matthew Montfort guitar Mindia Klein bansuri Gari Hegedus violin Doug Miller bass Farhad Dadyburjor keyboards Gareth Lewis sitar Emam nylon string guitar, dumbak

5) Jai Ambe (Trad./Adap. Emam) Gari Hegedus violin Matthew Montfort electric guitar Mindia Klein flute Emam nylon string guitar

6) Brothers (Emam) Emam dumbak Taufiq Qureshi tabla Zakir Hussain tabla Nishikant Barodekar tabla

7) Bali High (Emam) Taufiq Qureshi tabla Gari Hegedus violin Zakir Hussain tabla Matthew Montfort guitar Emam nylon string guitar, dumbak Doug Miller bass Mindia Klein flute, gangsa Gareth Lewis sitar

8) Tarang in Four (Emam) Various tuned tablas (tabla tarang) are used to create a fast rhythm in a four beat cycle. Emam tabla tarang

9) One Too Many (Emam) It's a fast rhythm cycle of 10 beats + 1 (5 + 6) created using various tablas, dumbaks and other percussion. Taufiq Qureshi percussion Emam tabla, dumbak

10) Maha Maya - Part I (Emam) A peaceful & meditative piece with improvisations on various string instruments - acoustic steel string, nylon string & electric guitars as well as santur. Matthew Montfort guitar Leroy Critcher electric guitar Paul Grant santur Emam nylon string guitar

11) Maha Maya - Part II (Emam) An epic, slow moving Indian Classical style World Fusion piece featuring various string instruments, flute and tabla. Matthew Montfort guitar Habib Khan sitar Paul Grant santur Mindia Klein flute Gareth Lewis sitar Emam tabla

12) PDX - Part I (Emam) A fast 7 rhythm cycle of all hand percussion - tabla djembe & dumbak - with a melody line added by marimba. Emam tabla, dumbak Mylinda marimba

13) PDX - Part II (Emam) Romy Benton flute Mylinda marimba Emam tabla, dumbak

Engineers & Studios: Mike Demmers Desitrek Studios (Portland, OR) Adam Kasper DNA Studios (Seattle, WA) Dave Wellhausen Wellhausen Studios (San Fran., CA) Lydia Holly Dancing Dog Studios (Emeryville, CA) Farhad Dadyburjor The Digital Domain (Bombay, India) Mehrdad Azadi World Rhythm Studios (Seattle, WA) Emam S. Kalyani Studios (Delhi, India)