Shri Durga
If there's one hallmark of the global DJ culture, at least outside of the Jamaican tradition, it's youth. European and North American DJ projects all smack of the artists growing into a scene that's resolutely alternative to any singular, pop-tune-oriented mainstream (commercial, even radio, successes notwithstanding). And DJ Cheb i Sabbah might mix tracks like he's got the youthful bug, but in truth he's been spinning tables since the mid-1960s, moving from Paris to the Living Theatre to, ultimately, San Francisco. This collection extends his art form into one of the most extensible musical forms around, Indian-Pakistani ragas and vocal workouts. Cheb i Sabbah makes swirls of found sounds and altered percussion warps amid the drones and cyclic patterns that infuse the seven episodes here. He's expert at contrasting a drop-time rhythm with flighty violin, using the drone to prismatically spread the ear's intake of sound. Then there are the vocals, which Cheb i Sabbah manages to work in almost polyphonically on the bases of contrast and juxtaposition without ever extracting them from their core role. In fact, despite the DJ moniker and approach, this is a collection that the fan of Sufi devotionals, ragas, and even Indian film music will find fascinating.--Andrew Bartlett