Talent First

Vijay Durbha may be a one-man band but, on his first digital ‘Collage Album’, he utilises a stellar cast of singers for support: Kalpana Patowary, Karsan Sagathiya, KS Chitra, OP Rathore, Mahalaxmi Iyer, and Mohit Chauhan.  He focuses on their respective vocal talents through the gamut of various genres on this album: pop [Janana], dance [Boondon Ki Baraat], mainly instrumental [Mood Of The Monsoon, Togetherness], folk [Mera Dildar], devotional [Saraswati Invocation], a combination of new age with spoken words [Patjhad Ka Sapna, which also appears as an instrumental], and even jazz [Haseen Shaam]. All this is supported by what is now becoming Vijay’s musical style: a full dynamic sound overflowing with the power and passion of his musical influence[s], mixing intense rhythms and virtual grand-scale orchestrations with a flair for varied melodies, and poignant lyricism, courtesy his mother, who goes by the pen name of Swahili, on eight of the nine tracks! Vijay’s production is augmented by electronic instrumentation combined with the sounds of flute, sitar, santoor, violin, and what appears to be the ghattam, adding additional texture to Vijay’s compositions. This is a surprisingly pleasant album that retains an appropriate collage of warm feelings.

Listen and Download the songs here: http://www.artistaloud.com/vijaydurbha

– Review by PARAG KAMANI.