REVIEWS
SHREYA BOSE
30
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
Awakening Beyond ( Tina Turner and
collaborators): Rock ‘n Roll queen Tina
Naaz (Aisha): Self-love. Self-worth. Pride in
oneself. Those hippie-dippie sounding things
that none of us seem to have time for in the
middle of exhausting lives that seem set up to
break you. Who has time to like themselves
when you have bills to pay and expectations
to meet?
You do. So insists Aisha, the Bangalore
based vocalist whose single “Naaz” offer
some resounding advocacy for liking oneself
and feeling proud of everything that one has
achieved. The message is, in my opinion,
much needed. With all the advertisements
telling you that you’re missing out on life if
you don’t have that piece of jewelry or that
insurance plan or that fairness cream, one
could use a healthy dose of FTW.
Naaz is a series of catchy sounds made
memorable by uplifting lyrics and a video
consisting of ordinary folks revealing
the extraordinary feats they achieved by
sticking to their own guns. Someone started
a business after 50, someone came out to their
mom, someone realised that they don’t have
to be a guy to win the world. The music is
appealing, easy to hum along to and leaves
you with a good feeling. That’s pretty good for
those exhausting days when you need to be
reminded of your own magic.
Turner lays out the nuances of faith with
an ensemble of female vocalists that gives
you reason to restart that meditation habit
you abandoned because it meant having to
wake up earlier. The album idolises peace
and embodies the longing for healing that
an anxious, exhausted world suffers from.
The divergent, nuanced orchestral melodies
shimmer gently amidst tones from various
regions of the world - an Arabic prayer for
rain, a lullaby from Spain that traveled to
Israel, mantras and prayers that seek to heal
gaping wounds and remind of the possibilities
that emerge when hostility is set aside. As
always, it is the voice of Ani Choying that
offers the most soothing balm, but each
vocalist brings forth the enchantments of her
culture. The Indian element is set alight with
Shende Sathaye, who intones mantras and
tunes in a voices trained by her grandmother.
This album seeks to soothe, and that is an
intention that can be nothing short of pure.
Anyone reading these words will know how
human existence creates a deep, almost
incurable exhaustion. Every word on this
string of songs gently exhorts the listener to
take steps upon a healing path. Each song is
revelatory of the beauty that still exists but
is often lost in the clamor of car horns, cash
registers and overblown egos. The songs teach
mindful presence, caress you with compassion
and guide you to the joy inherent in letting go
of toxic, tiring ideas. Find it, listen to it, and
you might find yourself meditating on how,
when you let yourself be, things are not that
bad after all.