Namesake
Fans of British composer Nitin Sawhney excited to see his name connected to this soundtrack should be aware that Sawhney's music accounts for just 26 minutes of this nearly 56-minute recording. In addition, most of the 12 tracks he contributes are plot-advancing cues, not fully realized compositions, which clock in at under two minutes (four run one minute or less). Eight other artists are represented here, including vocalist Susheela Raman with two tracks found on past solo recordings. Other selections range from '60s Indian vocalist Geeta Dutt and the traditional chant of Lakhan Das ("Baul Song") to Argentina's Federico Aubele ("Postales") and a brief rap from Mykill Miers. The divergent musical sources reflect the old world/new world conflicts that entangle an Indian family following a move from Calcutta to New York City in a film from respected director Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding).  For his part, Sawhney (principally using acoustic guitar and strings, often embellished with Indian vocalese and instrumentation) lends elegant, modern-traditional brushstrokes to the film's more reflective moments that underscore the characters' cultural conflicts. It is a broadly varied recording that on occasion beautifully captures--usually all too briefly--moments of deep inner searching. The disc concludes with "Falling," Sawhney's collaboration with Matt Hales from Aqualung, from Sawhney's 2003 releaseHuman.--Terry Wood