Hun nai hatda seems like the most accessible start to the album, almost pop-style complete with catchy chorus and a superb Ranjhaa kardi interlude by Mukhtiyar Ali, all set to enchanting backgrounds. Saiyyon assi gets its piano and guitar combo brilliantly well! Vasundhara gorgeous vocals gel really well in the ambient, new-age style tune concocted for this age-old song! There’s something like the musical equivalent of an optical illusion in Sajan bin; Mukhtiyar starts on a scale and Vasundhara chimes in seamlessly, in a different scale… both sounding fabulous! Range so range tests Vasundhara’s range and she sounds distinctly Western thereby reducing the impact of an otherwise haunting tune. Tum se is the album’s most filmy, almost like a Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy number – great listen, overall! Man atkiya sounds very Indian Ocean, and demonstrates great vocal interplay between Vasundhara and Mukhtiyar. Mera sona sajan touches upon a raaga that one can seldom go wrong with – Ahir Bhiarav, and comes out victorious! Kahun na powe is the album’s weakest, with a tune that seems undecided on what it wants to achieve. The Shah Hussain Project Volume 1 is a delightful experiment getting everything mostly right; looking forward to the next volume!
Keywords: Vasundhara Das, Mir Mukhtiyar Ali, #200, Roberto Narain, Rajan Tisge, Vishal J. Singh, Hemanth Diwakaran, Shalini Mohan, Shadab Rayeen, The Shah Hussain Project Vol 1
Note: Given the album’s digital-only distribution, here’s where you can get it – | . Project home page:
