The "Asian Underground" wave of neo-Indian sounds has, for the most part, rarely betrayed much knowledge of its roots. With the exceptions of Talvin Singh and Karsh Kale, much of this music has been little more than drum 'n' bass with an ethnic spin, all hopelessly out-of-tune tabla samples and rigidly repetitive loops. The electronica always seemed to stomp all over the rasa, essential emotional/spiritual pull at the core of true Indian music.
Enter DJ Cheb-i-Sabbah with his second album, "Krishna Lila." He takes almost the opposite approach, allowing a large cast of North and South Indian musicians to engage in some liquid, ecstatic solos, while only insinuating a groove into the mix. Besides the purely Indian elements, the only hints at modernity are Bill Laswell's bass, Kale's tabla-sympatico drums, and some dabs of echo and delay.
The Indian rhythms are mixed loud, clear and steady, as if aimed at the dance floor. Indeed, the only thing separating a track like "Anjali" -- a supple vina solo over galloping dual percussion on ghatam (musical pot) and mridanga (double-headed drum) -- from purely traditional Indian music is the emphasis on the rhythm, which custom usually relegates further back in the mix. A track like "Lagi Lagam" also begins in pure Hindustani style, with a graceful bhajan (devotional song) vocal by Radhika Rajiv and a pensive sarod solo by K. Sridhar. It's only when Laswell's bass enters, underpinning the finger cymbals and tabla, that somehow, organically, a deep dub vibe arises.