Ma De Re Sha - Press Reviews
From the first glance at his debut album, Rahul Mukerji makes clear that one of his chief qualities is an open mind. The cover reflects both sides of his background (born in India and now based in the eastern US) and the music within follows suit. His expressive guitar playing through Ma De Re Sha demonstrates a dizzying range of technique and tone, while the compositions make a highly electrified fusion mix that borrows from Joe Satriani as much as John McLaughlin.
These dynamic instrumental pieces stay most firmly rooted in rock mode, though it's an adeptly malleable one that always has room for exotic motifs. "I've always enjoyed the sound of tablas in heavy music and I decided to tailor the songs to that theme," Mukerji explains, and that flavoring does a lot to set this recording apart from the usual axe-slinger's shredfest. The supple hand percussion makes the disc's rhythms feel organic, even when trading with occasional electronic drum programs. Jazzy chord progressions are just as integral as heavy-metal chugging or Indian scales.
If a few light-speed solos might risk getting too technical for some tastes, they're still hung on solid hooks and driving jams. The likes of "Children of I-2" and "Zidd" make appealing ear candy out of vibrant high-flying grooves, while the guitarist is elsewhere content to add dreamier parts behind some airy flute, or perhaps channel a little Black Sabbath in crunchy moments such as "Sinner." Mukerji's fretwork in any mode is fluid and buoyant enough to make his excitement contagious, and the result is an album happy to weave and blend all those elements until it's easy to forget they're so different at all.
Indian born / Maryland-based guitarist Rahul Mukerji is making waves with his 2017 CD called Ma De Re Sha. Rahul’s music is very cinematic and his fleet fingered guitar work sounds influenced by masters such as Jeff Beck, Jan Akkerman and Al DiMeola.
It would be easy to lump Rahul Mukerji’s fusion guitar music in with the tradition of John McLaughlin, but nothing could be further from the truth. Born in India and based in the US, Mukerji has given us a debut album that’s less about bridging cultural divides than it is about playing with the concept of genre. Ambitious, varied and at times full of energy, Ma De Re Sha has the feel of Indian cinematic music more so than Indian classical music.
And it is really good.
The title-track ‘Ma De Re Sha’ consists of an exquisite electric guitar solo flanked by muted flute variations on the main melody and light tabla ornamentation, over simple acoustic chords. ‘Event Horizon’, building layer upon layer of acoustic strings over a light synth ambience, could easily be mistaken for Al Di Meola while the Indian classical influence makes ‘Zidd’ sound akin to Baiju Dharmajan’s purer style. ‘A Path Less Travelled’ is exactly the sort of sad indie guitar music that features in TV shows about teenage heartbreak and ‘Train Ride from Siliguri’ is a modern track just waiting for a Bollywood movie about a lovestruck bachelor. It’s not quite a perfect album but, whenever the lazier prog-rock tracks begin to wear thin, they are punctuated by the unmistakeable cadences of classical Indian ornamentation on the electric guitar, or a deft tabla interlude that reintroduces some unpredictability. Mukerji is evidently still figuring out his sound, but it’s the breadth of his interests and potential that makes this an exciting debut.
TRACK TO TRY Zidd- Amardeep Dhillon, Songlines Magazine, Issue #132, November 2017, pg 75-76
Guitarist Rahul Mukerji has released Ma De Re Sha, an album that is a joy to listen to but difficult as hell to define. The overall vibe is one of Indo-fusion. However, at any one moment the music is as western as you can get. Ever-shifting grooves come from many directions. Also interesting is that this is music you would usually expect to be presented in long form. On Ma De Re Sha, however, the tunes come in at pop music length. You barely have time to digest before the next delicious meal comes. The liner notes touting Mukerji’s guitar abilities are no hyperbole. This cat can play. Many influences can be heard, but I want to give Mukerji more credit than that. He takes those influences, and in some cases, is an improvement over them. I highly recommend Ma De Re Sha be listened to immediately and often thereafter.
Enchantingly aromatic album from a jazz-rock conjurer of magical imagery – alien and alluring.
Since the ’60s, raga’s been an exotic Eastern spice on Western musicians’ table, but nationally flavored fusion doesn’t come from India all to often, if at all. That’s why Rahul Mukerji’s debut, a good decade in the making, feels so refreshing, the guitarist’s move to America enriching yet, fortunately, not changing his amazing palette – a vertiginous mix of tasty colors.
The listener’s sucked into this majestic vortex with a non-invitingly titled “Exit 13” that melds meandering drone onto a rock framework before letting the tabla-led and bass-spanked groove seep in to contrast a swirl in an Eastern pattern. Riffs and a shred adding textural details to the tapestry make for a Mukerji method – to outline a tune and then flesh it out in harmonies and weight, or even shape a heavy metal sheet around melody, never more so impressive as in “Sinner” – but the filigree of acoustic pieces like “Fingerprints” reveal an immense emotional depth to his lace. Fluid licks flurries on “Zidd” and delicious dewdrops on “A Path Less Travelled” may be not as blinding as a the title track – bound between sharp attack and blissful release – yet even these shorter cuts are mesmeric.
Moody as “Hope Anew” which can serve as a display of Rahul’s tone, or playful as on “Children Of I-2” where the beat gets appropriately simple, the most immaculate marriage of Indian music and jazz would be “Train Ride From Siliguri” whose interplay unravels various instrumental threads that are the very fabric of this album. All of them arresting, “Ma De Re Sha” is a rapture throughout announcing the advent of a new force on the fusion scene.
Indian born American guitarist Rahul Mukerji has had a 15-plus year career performing live on the US East Coast and in his native India, on numerous recordings as a featured player, and has even done some soundtrack work overseas. Now after all these years and five years of composition and preparation, he presents his first solo album of instrumental tunes, Ma De Ra Sha (the title tune is the battle cry of his close friend’s two year old daughter!), twelve succinct tunes that showcase his compositions and chops, brilliant melodies and inventive arrangements, one foot in his Indian culture and the other foot firmly in American instrumental rock, drawing influences from both and freely superimposing them on each other. Mukerji plays all guitars, guitar synths, tablas (exceptional percussionist!), and there’s a picture of an e-bow next to the credits, which speaks for itself. Joining him are bassist Ruben Rubio and drum and percussion programmer Bruce (no surname given), plus others doing the production backline, mixing and mastering.
One is just as likely to find tasty dreamy classical licks layered over one another in a warm emotional context, as one might find an abundance of blistering electric shredding over a roadbed of tablas and percussion, with driving bass moving the rhythm forward. There’s a lot of variety among these dozen cuts to absorb, all performed with impeccable power and precision. Let's hope there is more to come.
Ma De Re Sha is a great electric guitar album by Rahul Mukerji, an Indian musician living in the Washington D.C. area. Mukerji combines powerful rock guitar hero licks with jazz-rock fusion, Middle Eastern beats and Indian music influences. He also uses a note bending technique that gives it a South Asian flavor and sets him apart from western guitar players.
If you are in the mood for some intelligent instrumental guitar-centric rock music look no further than the latest platter by India born musician Rahul Mukerji. The disc is titled Ma De Re Sha and is the work of Mukerji (guitars, guitar synth, e-bow, sampling, tablas, drum programming) and Bruce Ng (additional drum and percussion programming). The disc was produced and arranged by both musicians.
Western rock is married with more exotic elements like tablas and Eastern flavoured motifs. This is a muscular album due to the exceptional guitar ability from Mukerji. His heavy grooves can be heard on the catchy opener "Exit 13", an excellent beginning to the album. The riffs and lead guitar work is exceptional and the tablas offer those Eastern tones developed in his homeland. On the pretty "Sita" mellow guitar arpeggios and flute samples turn into more heavier sounds as an influx of intense guitar and ultra-fast soloing ups the pace without losing the song's melodicism. Proving his versatility the artist delves into wonderful acoustic playing on the absorbing "Fingerprints". His nylon work is absolutely spellbinding here. Another excellent track is "Children of I-2" showcasing tasty acoustic rhythms and lightning fast soloing, a sort of fusion neoclassical sound. This is perhaps the catchiest track on the disc. The calm "A Path Less Travelled" features wonderfully clean toned guitar, very pretty from both a melodic and harmonic sense.
All guitar fans need to hear Mukerji play his guitar. It's really that simple.
Rahul Mukerji is a guitarist/musician based in Maryland, USA. Born in India, he has been performing live for over fifteen years, in his band Iritis and in other capacities. Despite this, Ma De Re Sha is his debut album under his own name, representing the culmination of a career’s worth of solo writing and six years of recording and further composition. A fusion of his Indian heritage and his passion for heavier music with flair from world music and jazz, Mukerji claims the record is a “melting pot” of influences. John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Jeff Beck, Black Sabbath and Joe Satriani all come up in comparison, not only in aesthetic terms but also as a testament to Mukerji’s impressive guitar chops.
The virtuosity is apparent from Mukerji’s opening track “Exit 13” with technique-forward guitar under rich bass lines and a rhythm section led by the traditional Indian tabla drums. Meandering through different textures, the track’s conclusion is an all-out metal chug-along that has a hypnotically mutable pattern.
“Sita” uses a similar flip-the-switch compositional style, opening on gorgeous flute and traditional instrumentation enhanced by whimsical wandering. Eventually Mukerji’s classic fusion tones overtake the arrangement, before the piece shifts once more to a heavier traditional rock style. Though the aesthetics may seem incongruous on paper, Mukerji makes the transition seem easy, if not totally natural. Though many have technical skill on guitar, it’s a testament to Mukerji’s musicality that he can make these sections sit together in one composition so comfortably.
The record keeps adding elements to Mukerji’s template of world-inflected guitar-maestro rock. “Fingerprints” adds a Clapton-like hi-fi blues to the mix, while “Children of I-2” and “A Path Less Travelled” let him work his magic over field recordings of rain. These two tracks in particular make a neat pair-- the former technique-heavy and distorted, and the latter gentle and rich with ambient echo.
Some of the material may blur together to the less dyed-in-the-wool guitar geeks of the listening audience, but that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable. Mukerji’s “signature blend” of Satriani/Steve Vai leads and tabla appears several times, as on “Zidd” and “Balsakhi,” the latter of which embraces an exciting mysticism and brings it to searing extremes. He also avoids keeping things full-throttle throughout, adding dynamic depth to the record; “Train Ride from Siliguri” for instance keeps the guitars gentler and allows the tabla and bass more prominence, while on the ballad “Hope Anew” or the album’s title track, he sticks with more traditional western rock instrumentation. Having a flow to the moods and styles, alongside Mukerji’s impressive stylistic vocabulary, keeps things from ever really growing stale.
By the time Mukerji takes a long ostinato break in the middle of album closer “Sinner” you’ll be sold on both his talent and his creative vision. This album contains so much to unpack, and there’s a genuine sense of artistry steering the whole enterprise. Anyone who considers themselves a student of the guitar, or of contemporary world music, should familiarize themselves with Ma De Re Sha.
You never know where your next favorite artist is going to come from as in the case of Rahul Mukerji (www.mukerji.us). He hails from India but now lives in the D.C. region of the United States. At least we can say something good is coming out of Washington at the moment. Mukerji is an amazing guitarist and instrumentalist who is drawing comparisons to players as diverse and acclaimed as Joe Satriani, John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola and Steve Vai on his 13-track debut Ma De Re Sha.
The album’s tracks are rooted in a progressive rock approach and takes an overall spiritual direction paying homage to both the forces of dark and light. The music can be at times as gentle and expressive as a Ravi Shankar piece and others the mood veers to that of a hellacious heavy metal riff you might expect from Sabbath’s Tommy Iommi. Rahul’s “Fingerprints” are all over this instant masterpiece as his notable fretwork runs the gamut from blazing speed to focused finesse. Give this one a spin and you’ll have a holy cow moment – guaranteed!
Performing all guitars, guitar synth, e-bow and programming, Rahul adds in sampled sounds, tablas for a traditional Indian percussive effect and modern drum programming to give the sound a solid rock edge. Ruben Rubio adds bass and Bruce is on additional drums and programming. Rahul Mukerji picks up from golden era of 1970s fusion and blends in a dose of 1980s electronic synth rock on his well-timed 2017 album Ma De Re Sha.
Rahul Mukerji didn’t miss the chance to mine emotional territory on Ma De Re Sha and this is something that has enriched the album.
Rahul Mukerji has been performing live and making music for over 20 years, with his pieces having featured in movies, radio stations and animations. It was a matter of when, not if then, that he will be regaling listeners with a debut album, which is brimming with genuine emotion and sublime compositions...
...In his first collection of songs titled Ma De Re Sha, the India-born guitarist and instrumentalist bridges two musical worlds. At first glance the musical worlds of the East and the West might look extremely different but Rahul Mukerji’s fusion of progressive rock, and at times heavy metal riffs, with Indian and Middle Eastern music is not even for a moment unusual. The arrangements on Ma De Re Sha are intricate without being showy, borrowing from traditional Indian music, while the electric guitar parts are reminiscent of the master of rock instrumental, Joe Satriani. The modest ambition of the guitarist to fuse those elements supplies the music with a certain spark.
This spark is evident in the serene ambiance of the traditional Indian music intertwined with the more hook oriented riffs in songs such as Sita and title track Ma De Re Sha. Rahul Mukerji’s multicultural upbringing between East and West, he’s based in Baltimore, has seeped into every song...
...According to the guitarist the project is the embodiment of unity in diversity and "the compositions and the arrangements were inspired by interactions with people from different cultural backgrounds and walks of life" who found a common language in music.
Rahul Mukerji’s guitar prowess is the main talking of this album but credit should also be given to bass player Ruben Rubio and co-producer Bruce Ng for playing their part to bringing this LP to life.
Rahul Mukerji shows off his impressive chops on the funky psychedelic fusion of “Ma De Re Sha”. With a great understanding of pacing, these pieces feel akin to gorgeous journeys through a plethora of places. Nicely drawing from Indian music to metal to jazz with everything else in between there is an incredible mix to become fully immersed in over the course of the entire album. Quite visceral Rahul Mukerji possesses a true ear for melody and for some truly fantastic shredding. By refusing to settle into a single genre Rahul Mukerji gives his work a great flexibility, one that he takes full advantage of over the course of the entire album.
“Exit” begins the album with the utmost of bombast, and volume plays an important role in the entire piece for it virtually commands attention. Soaring into the sky with fantastic guitar gestures “Sita” simply stuns, growing from such initially small flourishes. Rather reflective with an emphasis on the joyful is the triumphant swagger of “Children of I-2” by far the highlight of the entire album. Not a moment is wasted on the bossa nova inflected beauty of “Zidd”. Dramatic flourishes pour out of the iridescent scope of the tite track “Ma De Re Sha”. A crazed chaos takes hold on the beast of “Balsakhi”. Holding nothing back Rahul Mukerji ends the album with such vigor on the powerful “Sinner”.
Holding absolutely nothing back, Rahul Mukerji creates an aural universe unlike little else on the masterfully executed “Ma De Re Sha”.
Rahul Mukerji is a ‘guitarist’s guitarist’ who revels in a self-penned musical hybrid shot through with intensity, precision and plenty of ethnic flavorings. His 11 track album “Ma De Re Sha” is a big sounding recording with enough of twists and turns to make Rahul’s solos sound both dynamic and interesting. The opening track “Exit 13” sets the outline tones of this collection of songs. It balances lyrical eclecticism with an Indian twist while his incredible chops help him forge his own style. There are plenty of incendiary guitar breaks and harmony guitar parts, but Rahul also demonstrates a lightness of touch which is almost playful at times. This aspect is offset by several complex moments that explore rock, fusion, jazz, and world music as he cleverly balances the obtuse with the accessible....
"Rahul Mukerji: “Ma De Re Sha” – breathless guitar playing and imaginative arrangements".
“Ma De Re Sha” is full of diversity, a wide range of solos and an array of tone colors. He glues together all the elements on ‘Sita’, which he tops with an incredible solo, after slipping into some hard riffing above adamant percussion and belligerent strumming. The melodic duality of ‘Fingerprints’ is partially mirrored by the subtle dynamic tension between his exemplary playing and his acoustic sensibilities laced with multi tracked harmonies.
The world-wandering feel of the album is evidenced by the way Rahul suddenly switches between the acoustics and an intense, high octane bluesy fusion feel on ‘Children of 1-2’. It’s his constant search for a deeper meaning to match his catchy licks that gives him real crossover potential, exemplified by the booming ‘call and response’ lyrical yearning of his guitars.
Rahul Mukerji saves a big impact for ‘Zidd’, on a collision of understated acoustic power, song craft and intense electric guitar playing. The big building crescendos is effectively a musical sleight of hand, as it suggests yet another succinct resolution to a bulldozer of an album, but “Ma De Re Sha” has more depth than that. It’s a frequently multi-layered and surprisingly diverse album full of magisterial guitar lines that constantly draws Rahul into new musical avenues.
He’s at his best on the twists and turns of the title track ‘Ma De Re Sha’ and the high octane ‘Baisakhi’, while ambient, slow-burning new age groove of ‘Hope Anew’ is an example of an artist following his own musical path. The quiet ‘Event Horizon’ and the harsh album closer ‘Sinner’ reveals new nuances with repeated plays.
All throughout Rahul Mukerji’s musical knowledge, breathless guitar playing and imaginative arrangements shape the musical vision of a virtuoso with a penchant for real songs. The songs themselves are varied and cluster around Rahul’s established strengths as a composer and performer.
Rahul based in Maryland, USA, but born in India, was featured in the Guitar Player Magazine Editors’ Picks in 2008. He is also a guest Guitar Instructor on the Shred Academy website, and he has been performing live for over fifteen years.
The compositions and the arrangements on “Ma De Re Sha” were inspired by interactions with people from different cultural backgrounds and walks of life, all filtered through the prism of Rahul’s own multicultural upbringing between East and West. The actual making of the music involved coordination with musicians, as well as mixing and mastering engineers living in the US, Germany, Spain, and France.
“The name for the album, as well as the title song, is derived from a word that a friend’s daughter used to exclaim at every occasion she could find,” explained Rahul Mukerji. “No one quite knows what it means, but she made it up herself and she just loved clamoring it with conviction and glee. This project is similar, as it’s a deeply personal statement, and the continuing journey to bring it to fruition has been a labor of love.”
If you’ve never heard of Rahul Mukerji before, then you’ve definitely missed out a lot and need to catch up as soon as possible. This astounding guitar wizard is an American-based and India-born musician with over two decades of experience in performing live and recording as a guest artist in numerous ambitious projects. He also has a wide variety of other creative pursuits, all of which mainly revolve around art and capturing the beauty of the world. One surprising fact about him is that even after proving his impressive talents countless times throughout the years, he never did release an album of his own – until now. After all this time, his debut solo work “Ma De Re Sha” and all of his mesmerizing ideas finally get their time to shine.
The entirely instrumental record containing twelve pieces starts with “Exit 13”, which reveals Rahul’s incredible technique and guitar mastery from the very beginning. The first composition is filled with pure emotion and atmosphere, both of which unfold completely towards the end of the song. Next on are “Sita” and its soothing and peaceful intro, which showcases Mr. Mukerji’s magnificent combination of classical rock elements and culturally enriched ideas. There are a lot of prominent influences in his music and we can clearly notice how some particular fellow string benders, such as Joe Satriani, might have inspired him but the overall feeling here is quite unique and “Ma De Re Sha” continues to tell a story of its own. Next on is “Fingerprints”, which is a more romantic and Spanish-inspired track with a lot of soul embedded to its sound. And following is “Children of I-2” – another dreamy melodic fairytale, quietly portending the warm rain drops that start to dance around us in “A Path Less Travelled” – one of the most tender moments in the whole record. After that, “Zidd” again brightly highlights Rahul’s remarkable solo skills and the mystical nuances, which constantly surround all of his concepts and most notably, the title song itself. Soon after the magnificent “Ma De Re Sha”, it’s time for two of the most sensual songs on the album, called “Train Ride from Siliguri” and “Hope Anew”. We also get the chance to hear one of the most exotic ones, bearing the name “Baisakhi”. The only sad fact and the only flaw here is that the end of “Ma De Re Sha” suddenly starts to draw nearer and nearer, with the short interlude called “Event Horizon” eventually leading to it. The album concludes with “Sinner”, which manages to summarize all of the small distinct elements and genre influences that construct the record, incorporating them in small doses and combining them in the most brilliant way.
All in all, this hidden gem of an album is one fascinating studio debut and an instrumental masterpiece of incredible quality and meaning for which its phenomenal creator Rahul Mukerji certainly deserves worldwide recognition. “Ma De Re Sha” comes in the form of a true musical and noetic bliss and stays with you for a long time.
Global shred guitarist Rahul Mukerji packs a lot of interesting and original playing into his recently recorded effort Ma Da Re Sha . He was born in India, where he has also performed, and currently lives in Maryland after having put in work around the USA in Chicago, Virginia, Boston, and Washington,D.C.. He’s a highly skilled and melodic player who fearlessly mixes Western rock guitar and musical heaviness with an Indian movie soundtrack sensibility, a combination not found on a daily basis in most places. Oddly enough, tabla drumming and distorted rock guitar playing fit together amazingly well and this cross-cultural aspect, alone, makes Mukerji a must-listen for fans of instrumental guitar music and artists. As a guitarist, he shows traces of influences like Jeff Beck, John McLaughlin, and Joe Satriani and, as such, seems adept at laying down cool grooves, crafting vocal-like melodies, and blasting solos into orbit.
The opening track, “Exit 13,” is a great listen and introduction to the things that make Mukerji so compelling. He plays Indian melodies in a sweet, singing rock tone over a Bollywood shuffle feelbefore heavying things up midway through. He never obliterates the groove by overplaying, even on the heavy section, and the end result is great guitar music that people other than guitarists will appreciate. Even when he throws caution to the wind and gets to ripping, he remains coherent and memorable and the whole record is an excellent front-to-back experience. Other highlights along the way include include “Sita,” “Sinner,” and the title track “Ma Da Re Sha.”
Perhaps the best parts of Mukerji’s playing are the emotional buoyancy and lightness of being that run through his writing and playing, even the heaviest parts. His melodies and grooves flow through the ears and leave behind a sense of bold and positive creativity. This makes him an emerging artist to contend with, one who should do well even beyond the guitar community. Buy this record tonight!
There have been many Indo fusion albums in the past but Ma De Re Sha, the debut album from Rahul Mukerji, seems to have exceeded all expectations. It provides a soothing blend of the ambient Indian classical, with touches of jazz, rock, Middle Eastern percussion, and even a bit of metal, making sure that the listener experiences a type of music, which is energizing, upbeat, and yet very emotional at your roots.
Rahul is a Baltimore based guitarist, who has been performing live at various gigs, weddings, and dive bars. His music has featured on radio and in several indie short films. But the album, released on May 29th, 2017, gives the true nature of his music; it is so moving that one is bound to stay mesmerized at the floating melodies.
The CD has 12 songs, namely: Exit 13, Sita, Fingerprints, Children of I-2, A Path Less Traveled, Zidd, Ma De Re Sha (which shares the name of the album itself), Train Ride from Siliguri, Baisakhi, Hope Anew, Event Horizon, and Sinner.Throughout all the songs in the album, the tones of guitar vary from acoustics to jazz chords, and there is a clear melody of the Indian Carnatic music filtering through every song.
The album opens with the heavier notes of Exit 13, while the music fades into a mellower version of eastern sound scales in Sita. Fingerprints, on the other hand, is more of a playful vortex of acoustic strains. Children I-2 does the same with the familiar sounds of the guitar but this time there is a certain modern twist to the otherwise eastern familiarity. Train Ride from Siliguri is far jazzier, and Hope Anew stirs emotions with a type of eldritch entity.The guitar is the star throughout the album. In every song, the role of the guitar changes from rock notes to detached acoustics, and sometimes, a little weighty grooves. This eclectic album also delivers other instruments at their best – you can hear the clean notes of tabla, e-bow, synth guitar, and the constant heavy beats of drums; each of them provide one certain originality to the songs.The versatility reverberates in every song, as the exotic strains of Mukerjee’s Indian notes echo through. The entire album is an infusion of rock and riffs, with dainty details of flute at certain instances, which leave the instrumental background score wonderfully vivid, yet viciously, heart-achingly woebegone.
To anyone who listens to these songs, Ma De Re Sha is bound to leave an impression of being somewhat spiritual yet neoclassical and very personal at every level. Its melodies exude a tranquility that is not sedating but has the spirit of homecoming.Rahul has named the album after a word which his friend’s daughter used to exclaim.No one is quite clear about its meaning but it seems as though she made up the word herself. She loved clamoring it on every occasion. The album’s name and the title song is a tribute to the spirit of conviction and glee of this little girl.
The creation of Ma De Re Sha is something that is close to Mukerjee’s heart. The songs seem to be a clear tribute to his roots. The album, as he puts it, “was born of multiculturalism”, and the songs are developed with his friends, who crossed geographical borders to come together and produce this sonic masterpiece. So, to all music lovers, to all guitarists and musicians, this album is something whose rhythms and themes are bound to leave you touched and waiting for more!
Ever heard progrock from an Indian? Well, this is your chance. Rahul has spent half a decade making his dream come true. Growed between the spices that provide spice of various musical styles, he works from Maryland to refining his moment of suprème. Do not expect 'east meets west' compositions. No, this is pure progrock on British reads with a (minimal) sniff of Eastern influences. Twelve instrumental songs distinguished by using Rahul's tablas, are spicy guitar solos, remarkable bass of Ruben Rubio and inventive percussion of Bruce Ng. The CD-ROM got a print from a viewmaster and should be viewed on a big screen with a projector? Surf sure to visit his website. In addition to free downloads, you'll also find wonderful art and video work, from poster designs to comic strips, and of course more experimental compositions. Everything from the hand of Rahul Mukerji. Rough and heavy guitar solos with synthesized beads on a bed of illustrations. What a guy, what a discovery!
Born in India but based in the United States (NDR : Rahul Mukerji put his guitar lines on various soundtracks of animated films and other television series before deciding to box his first solo album entitled "Ma De Re Sha " . There is no need to go on "Google Translate" to find the meaning of this title in Hindi or Bengali, since, according to the musician in the booklet of his CD, 'Ma De Re Sha' does not correspond to anything Other than the favorite babbling of the two-year-old daughter of one of her close friends.
A long-term job, since the foundations of some of the titles appearing there were set some ten years ago, and the registration process itself began at the end of 2011. The technical, exotic, Music of Rahul Mukerji is not always easy to pin down. Fully instrumental and essentially guitar-based, it combines the virtuosic whirlwinds of the Jazz Fusion of artists such as John McLaughlin or Al Di Meola and the metallic hero's handfuls of hands such as Joey Satriani or Steve Vai . The exotic side of the case is obtained using percussion (sometimes sampled, sometimes played by Mukerji himself on Indian tablas). Although India is not really close to Mexico, the association Jazz / Rock and percussion guitars sometimes reminds a little of the work of Carlos Santana .
An endearing album, to put in the ears of any self-respecting instrumental guitar lover, whether he is a fan of Jazz Fusion, Metal virtuoso, or, why not, progressive.
I will probably sleep a little while in class, but the name Rahul Mukerji was completely new to me and so, in the context of this review, I had to search a lot for the global web to find out that Rahul in India Born, but resident in the States, especially in Maryland, and he spent a good ten years in order to look into this debut album. That's why it became a period of shoveling and filming, from fuss and priegel to every nut, but the result is nothing but astonishing.
Whoever reads my writing books, I doubt that I am a man of many music, but also that there are a few genres that I do not really feel like. Well, prog rock is such a genre and yet I can only write about this album in superlatives. How it comes I do not know, but I know what I hear: from opener "Exit 13" you immediately hear that you're dealing with a guitarist who controls his instrument. He plays very cinematic pieces of music-the album is completely instrumental-and it is useful to take part in the work of the big examples: Di Meola, McLaughlin are names that instantly fade into your mind's eye, but when things get harder you think so Good Satriani or Vaï, all of them guys who do not make "my" music right away, but which I will never deny that they are fantastic musicians. Mukerji adds two things to what he received from the above examples: occasionally what electronics and especially a snuff Indian percussion on a regular basis make a track like "Sinner" a pleasure to listen to.
The record contains 15 tracks, but two of the last three are empty and the last one hears a toddler voice that shouts "Ma De Re Sha". That appears to be the voice of a daughter of Rahul: the child had made that cry to her trademark and debited him on all possible occasions, and that's how it works. Repeat-remember your own "Sjamayee" of the amazing Remo Perrotti - and this is true for this CD as you listen to the album more often, recognizes and teaches you -jaja, even the undersigned-really enjoying the guitar arts of Mukerji, assisted by Spanish bassist Rubio, also such a wonder child, and percussion by Bruce Ng.
Both players play their part in a decisive way, and add to the impressive compositions-you will notice all the things that have been working on here-to an even higher level so that you can now register this debut album on the list of "2017 discoveries" .
Rahul Mukerji's debut effort is a straight-to-the-point guitar album, in which the Indian-born artist showcases apt capacities and talent at coming up with Satrianiesque riffage-galore, and, not surprisingly, the music on display works the best whenever Mukerji attempts to go beyond the influential ties via sculpting out an authentic musical identity, which especially is noticeable in the track called Children of I-2, which this reviewer considers the stone cold sober high point of the release. Satriani himself would snap his famous fingers in approval upon hearing the aforementioned declaration, as the Flying in a Blue Dream-influence-, although thematically present, yields music that immediately goes for the core of playfully morose gloom, and channels content right from the heart of it. Read on to know more.
The record has an interesting, albeit suspenseful quality to it, which separates it from your everyday fretfest: Mukerji's gravitational pull towards Indian note selections and progressions is quite evident-, although not over-intrusive throughout the effort, and this compositional method works best when it commands the entire structure under its influence, as is the case in the decent, ballsy conclusion of "Baisakhi", for example. Alas, Mukerji frequently is under the assumption that he needs to atone for channeling from intensely intriguing places, and a set of 3-4-, largely inconsequential deliveries litter an otherwise quite interesting flow. It is not to say that there is anything wrong with a monologues prisoner-guitar elegy like "Hope Anew", still, the song is prone to overstay its welcome as it evidently fails to notice of how it is being sinful of not only amending-, but glorifying stylistic paralyzis. Luckily, concluding track "Sinner" - ironically enough - ends the spin on a high note, characterized by brave rhythmic variation and colorful anatomies.
The structural variation is one key area that lets instrumental rock exhibit its most interesting machinations, and it also is one area in which this disk exhibits both its memorable peak moments and a fair amount of relative weaknesses on. From time to time, some of the tracks - even the title song - rely on very polite, risk free, instant-noodle harmonic constructs that do not demand all that much from the ear, and Mukerji can't restrain himself from unleashing the Malmsteen as a form of subconscious over-compensation, convincing you on two separate occasions that he can play as many notes per second as Yngwie, in the exact same order, to the exact same effect, but the structure the notes are played on, coats you in the feeling of a sterile, persistent absence of an authentic idea, caught in the process of relentlessly overstaying its welcome, leaving you exhausted and being glad that you endured, at all.
The album ultimately weighs in as a decent debut regardless, as the peak moments easily outweigh the fillers by their sheer charisma, - and by the mere fact that work has been put into them - and there is little else to hope than the next effort of Mukerji will regard the rigorous invention and sculpting of colorful structural anatomies as the most paramount of tasks to be done, as currently the artist is mildly - and only mildly - suspect of amending sonic environments that are just too safe to be in, to be locked in, even though his music looks so much better when out exploring, instead.
This is a particularly strong album. It can be tough to pull off an instrumental disc that never really falters or feels redundant, but that's just what we have here. The mix of sounds are most often centered on fusion, but there is plenty of rock along with world music built into it. I think that the tinkering with balance from song to song is one of the elements that makes this work. No matter the explanation, though, this is an effective set with some impressive guitar playing.
I got this last week and I was blown away. This is a new guitar player thats coming out and we'll let the audience discuss ...
Encompassing world rock guitar, even metal at times, jazz, ambient grooves, middle eastern percussion, and bringing together flavors of Indian music, Ma De Re Sha is a fusion album of the highest quality of musical excellence.
Mukerji’s guitar style and various tones alone could make for a page-long exposé. The compositional themes jump from eastern rhythms to hard rock and jazzy progressive fusion-rock, with the guitar work front-and-center throughout. Sometimes clean and crystalline in it’s tone (especially on the acoustic tracks) but also tastefully processed electric sounds, which can inspire a dreamy ethereal introspective mood, as well as kick out a hard rock jam with the best of them.
Otro especial de Glass Onyon Presenta, en esta ocasión, el soberbio guitarrista Indio Rahul Mukerji y su estupendo disco debut titulado "Ma De Re Sha" en una línea que combina rock progresivo, música de su país y guitarras explosivas;
(Another Glass Onyon Special On this occasion, he presents the superb Indian guitarist Rahul Mukerji and his great debut album entitled "Ma De Re Sha" in a line that combines progressive rock, country music and explosive guitars;)
Rahul has a strong guitar presence and a style that you will definitely love. This twelve track album has such great cuts as Exit 13, Fingerprints, Children of I-2, the title track Ma De Re Sha, Event Horizon and much more. This album was very well written, recorded and performed. I highly recommend this album to your rock library.
A strange duck of a record that finally got made because it just had to after all the frustration the artist endured. A wild mash up of everything, almost all at the same time, in the era of deconstruction, this is the kind of set that could speak to those looking to break through and feel thwarted at every turn. Wild, wild stuff that's the sum total of Murphy's Law, it could find an easy home in the ears of malcontents that have aged out of commercial malcontentism but are still looking for their sound and fury.
Fusion guitarist Rahul Mukerji is preparing the release of his debut album "Ma De Re Sha." Born in India, Rahul now resides in Maryland and uses his experiences to express himself through his music. He brings together the rhythm of his Indian culture with some fresh and exciting guitar licks on the album's opening tracks "Exit 13." He delivers an international sound, bringing both genres of music together with "Sita," while the smooth progressive rock feel of "Children Of I-2" shows off his outstanding guitar skills. He electrifies the album with the solo of "Zidd" and "Ma De Re Sha," before slowing the pace down for the Eastern tones of "Train Ride from Siliguri." The album closes with the acoustic finger-picking of "Event Horizon" and the hard rock assault of "Sinner." To find out more about Rahul Mukerji and his latest release "Ma De Re Sha," please visit mukerji.us.