Abum Review: Raghu Dixit- Jag Changa

Hi,
    My name is Surjo, and I'm a professional musician. The songs you're hearing (hopefully) are from my debut album 'The Key Has Turned' and you can buy them here.

   The album up for review is 'Jag Changa' by Raghu Dixit. This is the second offering by the multi-lingual folk rock outfit. The name has been shortened from 'The Raghu Dixit Project' to Raghu Dixit, which of course is the frontman's name. He's the man with the loud voice and the calm demeanor, and has a most interesting life story that people should definitely learn about. I had the pleasure of meeting the man once more than 5 years ago, when they were just beginning to gain traction after their first album, and he was kind to me when he didn't even have to talk to me. I was in a band that was his opening act that day. Let's dive into this.

You can buy 'Jag Changa' here

 

'Parasiva' starts off the album with music that wouldn't be out of place in the background for a King's entrance in a Bollywood movie. This song is in Kannada, so I had to look up a translation for the words. The song is almost a spiritual, and it speaks of the convictions of the faithful in the benevolence of Shiva, or more precisely, Parasiva, the invisible form of Shiva. The musical soundscape is vast, with massive Indian drums, horns and percussion sitting at ease with distorted guitars and his massive voice. The mix is spot on and it's a rarity to hear this strain of music in commercial music, but Jag Changa has been the highest selling independent album in India for the last 2 years, so Raghu clearly knows what he is doing. 

 

'Rain Song' starts off with a lilting acoustic guitar arpeggio, and Raghu scatting along after a couple of bars. I don't know why, but this song reminds me of another Indipop/Bollywood song from back in the day, but I can't remember which one. This song is in Hindi so I was able to follow along just fine. He has beautiful vibrato in the slower songs. The pakhwaj, an Indian drum, is the percussive instrument in the song, and it sounds wonderful with the sarod, a string instrument. The words speak of love and has a wonderful ebb and flow in the music. Raghu's voice fits the scheme like a glove. 

The title track 'Jag Changa' is next with one the most intriguing acoustic guitar riffs followed by some fun scatting. The mood set up from the get go is one of enjoyment. The words speak of the degradation of human existence and makes some astute observations on the condition of our society, and how we've dirtied the beautiful world given to us as a result of our covetous nature. The song flows really well, the arrangement is spot on, and it's difficult to put such a heavy message through such a fun tune. Oh, this song is in Hindi too. 

'Yaadon Ki Kyari' starts off with a ukulele riff, now that's just a whole lot of cool points man. Then is followed by a melodica theme, wow, just take all the cool points boss. Then as it turns out, a mandolin is playing over the vocal line, which is in Hindi btw. I'll keep stressing on the language of each track, because they do sing in 3 languages per album, so that effort and creativity should not be overlooked. The song is essentially a nostalgic look back to his childhood, and the memories are beautifully expressed in words. The arrangement is brilliant, it's muted because of the lack of massive percussion, but that doesn't take away from the immense musicality in the song. 

'Amma' is the Tamil song in the album, and Raghu's first song in Tamil. I've scrambled to the translation so as to keep up, although the word in itself means mom. The song starts off with a beautiful acoustic guitar riff on which a lilting violin melody is played. The words are an ode to Raghu's mother, and could be an ode to any one's mother. Once the percussion and bass kicks in, it pulls in a lot of cool points on the groove quotient. The words are fantastic, just fantastic. As a songwriter, I related majorly to a couple of lines in particular, man that hit the spot hard. Big ups to Madan Karky for the words. 

'Lokada Kalaji' starts off with an electric guitar riff that was somehow reminiscent of the James Bond theme in the picking style, but it descended into almost Bela Fleck country madness with a banjo playing in the background. That's Abigail Washburn on the banjo, and what do you know, she has played with Bela Fleck before. My musical radar is spot on. Btw, I'm listening as I'm writing so I'll have to go back to the words, because they're in Kannada, and I'm just swaying with the groove man. This album has some grooves that'll make your body move boss, and I can tell you, and so can my friends, I'm not a body move kinda guy, so cool points all around. Ok, so the words basically deal with a 'don't worry, be happy' theme. Which is super appropo, because I ain't worried about anything listening to this song. Mad energy in the trumpet solo. Ok, cool points to Bryden too for his guitar solo. 

'Sajana' starts off with a really melancholic Sarangi melody. They've left no stone unturned in employing as many instruments as possible for their creation, that's for sure. This song is in Hindi. the song speaks of the agony of a lover who's separated from her partner, with some very eloquent metaphors used to convey the message. Ok, they're a married couple, one line specifies that. The line about her eyes turning to stone while waiting is just top notch in my book. There is a string section in the song, performed by the 'Bangalore Strings'. Very little programming in the album, and the organic feel is one of the standout features through all the songs. 

'Kodagana Koli Nungita' closes out the album. It's in Kannada. Starts off with an middle-eastern guitar riff, and horns on it too. Cool points. The translation of the song left me scratching my head till I realized that was the message of the song. 'The hen has swallowed the monkey, the goat swallowed the elephant, the wall swallowed the whitewash, the drum swallowed the actor playing it.' A supremely involved instrumental break before the 2nd verse. Frantic energy there. It's a song basically talking about the possibility of the impossible and how we should always keep our spirit tuned to that possibility. Another really franctic instrumental break before it a really sweet violin solo. Raghu shows off his considerable vocal power and range in the bridge, and the song finishes with a bang too. 

The album is full of musical diversity, and they've taken a lot of chances, and I must say that it has paid off. They are very confident as a musical entity, and they just really explore within the style. A very creative album, and the wonderful thing is, the lyrics don't fall behind the music, and for that I must give kudos to the team of lyricists used for the album. That takes a lot of humility, to really seek out the best pieces to the jigsaw puzzle which'll be your album, so that nothing looks out of place. An album to be proud of, and it deserves all the success it has had and frankly deserves a lot more.