Close (India) - Ghost Desert

Hear The Track Here

It's rare for a month to go by without me finding something to rave about and although I know I am a mucial liberal (as it were), I'm still picky, picky, picky about the tracks I want to keep close by me. Which also means, of course, that these tracks (the Must Haves) are then put together at the end of the year to help me put together the year end review - The Stevies. Yep, is it that time again? Almost. And - as it happens - Close got in there with the very first track to pass by my ears; Always Winter (October 2007). This turned out to be a wonderful blend of East and West that had me sighing with pleasure, which definitely raised some eyebrows in my family who couldn't hear what I was hearing.

So it goes without saying that I am bounding up and down like an excited puppy (Ed: THAT has to be a serious misprint) waiting for this to get its review turn. Close are a duo from Mumbai, India who - judging by the two examples I have heard - take great delight in creating works of seemingly effortless musical beauty. Ghost Desert (Premptive Attack) to give it its full title, builds on the musical flexibility that was displayed to great effect on Always Winter using the same combination of Western and Eastern instruments. Not surprising really considering that Abhishek plays all the western instruments (guitars, basses, snyths) while Bhushan contributes tabla and other percussive detail.

What makes all this special are the voilin parts, written by Abhishek but performed by Abhinav Shankar, an ideal compliment to what duo are doing with their respective instumentation. Ghost Desert also has the same highly competent mix and production that made Always Winter such a standout track, and it does the same for this track. As I mentioned in my previous review, Close's music is about as good a blend of East and West as it has ever been my pleasure to hear and Ghost Desert is a most worthy follow-on to the first track. Glancing (as you do) at the Stations Playing section of the website I noticed that they haven't got many stations playing them as yet, but the names of the stations that do are resoundingly familiar to anyone who knows how this place really works.

Very classy world blend. Highly Recommended and a MUST HAVE if you want the set :D