“14 tracks contemplating the Raga”

Indian classical music is framed by melodic templates that dictate the shape, colour and mood of each piece, a modal blueprint known as a Rāga. The influence on contemporary music has been evident through the last eighty years, with the likes of Ravi Shankar and Ali Akhbar Khan first bringing the sound to a bewildered American audience. The style of playing was eventually picked up by the likes of Sandy Bull, Robbie Basho, Steffen Basho-Junghans and, most famously, John Fahey, a group of musicians who would soon create their own Raga-indebted sound. Fahey's Takoma label in itself became a huge influence on a new generation of guitar players mesmerised by the meditative discipline of the Raga, with disciples like Richard Bishop, Harris Newman, James Blackshaw and Ben Chasny taking the templates into the 21st century. This selection offers a broad overview of the Raga, ranging from 1930's India through to contemporary and experimental variations from the new school.