Sacha Silva
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Sacha Silva

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"Review of “Anatomy of a Coup”, Michael Stone, Contributing Editor, Rootsworld.com"

Even if juxtapositions like Indian classical singing, Middle Eastern percussion, and flamenco guitar have become increasingly common ingredients in the commercial "world-music" blender, it's not often that the qualifications "guitarist-composer" and "development economist" appear on the same résumé.

Enter Sacha Silva, born in Canada of Sri Lankan and Bulgarian descent, teamed with fellow economics student and UK-Indian singer Munya B. (Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay) and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Morgan (not incidentally, also a composition fellow at the Royal Academy of Music). Anatomy of a Coup reflects upon an extended stint of travel and work in the global South, including the 2006 Fiji military coup to which Silva was witness. Dappled with radio-broadcast snippets from the U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983, an extract from Fidel Castro's farewell address to Che Guevara, extended prophetic quotes from W.B. Yeats, and more, Anatomy is audacious precisely in eschewing the customary pretense of dogmatic idealism and multi-kulti "world-beat" mishmash.

Sidestepping the deadly tedium of all that (albeit not without a committed, non-sectarian humanitarian politics of its own), this is an impressionistic recording of manifest artistry that gives the music the last say. Singing in Hindi and Bengali, Munya B's soaring soprano leads the way in a spare setting wherein guitar, classical strings, and percussion weave a shifting field of sonic textures that carry the music forward without ever getting in the way.

Aligned with "a new generation of global wanderers, travelers, immigrants, expats and half-breeds," this project is one astute answer to the challenge of bringing one's own cultural sensibilities to the international encounter, in a nuanced appreciation of the role that crafted musical dialogue can play in this, our impertinently globalizing world.

~

[Editors Note: Michael Stone is a cultural anthropologist , writer and translator. He is Executive Director of the Program in Latin American Studies at Princeton University].
- Rootsworld.com


"Review of “Anatomy of a Coup”, Robin Sukhadia @ SAMAR Magazine 10.11.2008"

Sacha Silva's Anatomy of a Coup conveys the heroic and tragic nature of humanity's struggle against circumstance through north and south Indian musical influences, flamenco guitar traditions, and western classical music.

Anatomy of a Coup, Sacha Silva's latest album, is a sonic examination of humanity and its complex relationship to oppression. The album's human message is conveyed through the crucible of the 2006 military coup of Fiji. It is a message that is not conveyed overtly. Rather, it emerges subtly through a beautiful interplay of historical audio artifacts, vocals, cello, flamenco guitar and hand drumming. With these very organic elements, Sacha Silva is able to achieve a simple yet richly textured musical landscape that is at times both delicate and intense. North and South Indian musical influences, flamenco guitar traditions, and western classical music converge deftly to magnify the trio's two-year experience traveling through the South Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Listening to Anatomy of a Coup, it becomes clear that the trio, comprised of Sacha Silva on guitar, Munya B on vocals, and Drew Morgan on percussion and cello, were not merely vacationing on these travels. Their time was spent in deep dialogue with those most affected by military, economic and political oppression across multiple national boundaries and has resulted in an album that attempts to convey the heroic and tragic nature of humanity's struggle against circumstance. I say heroic, because the beautifully produced and presented album celebrates the resilience of the human spirit in the midst of unimaginable tragedy.

Sacha Silva (the flamenco guitarist who leads the group) has been intensifying his study of Hindustani music and Flamenco music in both Delhi and Spain. A Canadian of Sri Lankan and Bulgarian blood, the musical studies have followed stints working as a development economist. The hard work combined with global work and travel is paying off, as evidenced by his graceful arrangements of musical and political elements in each of the songs in Anatomy of a Coup. Regarding the development of Anatomy of a Coup, Sacha explains how "...it was a time of a lot of racial tension, a lot of letters back and forth in the paper about the colonial heritage, much talk about the usefulness (or uselessness) of democracy, and a very difficult time for the Indo-Fijians. After I left Fiji, I traveled through Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and South America and kept seeing the same tensions over and over again." In this album, Sacha Silva is making world music literally travel around the world.

There is a theatrical quality to the entire album, beginning with the opening track of the album, "nostalgia (i)", which instantly transports the listener into the world the album portrays. It is our world, we realize, when we hear a radio sample describing the brutality of a military coup. Complex layering of more street recordings, people chanting, and radio commentary are grounded by Munya B's delicate yet powerful Hindi invocation of history as a river from which we must all drink. The trio enters in full force with "The Circle", presenting the listener with a relentless percussive arrangement rooted by Drew Morgan's drum kit, frame drum and doumbek. The track evolves harmonically with Sacha Silva's flamenco guitar and Munya B's impressive vocal range and control. There exists a clear creative synchronicity between these three musicians, as evidenced by the circle, one of the most lyrical and poignant tracks on the album. Here, we learn from the liner notes, traditional flamenco poetry has been translated into Hindi and then rendered into song. This kind of intelligent cross-pollination of cultures appears everywhere throughout the melodic arrangement of the album. When combined with finely executed percussion, cello and guitar elements, the universally human message of the album becomes even more compelling.

Sacha Silva's approach to crafting "world" music is one obviously rooted in deep respect and understanding of musical traditions. Each member of the trio has approached their study of their instrument with true deference and rigor. This, ultimately, is the only way to understand how to sensitively merge world musical traditions together. "There is fusion and con-fusion in world music," as the great Sarode Maestro Ali Akbar Khan is known to repeatedly say. Anatomy of a Coup is a clear achievement of fusion, in the most successful sense of the word.

Sacha Silva, with Anatomy of a Coup, joins a very special group of world musicians like Nitin Sawhney, Oliver Rajamani, Word & Violin, and Rupa and the April Fishes, who successfully marry masterful musicianship with insightful examinations of the human condition.
- Samar Magazine


"Review of “Anatomy of a Coup”, Anthony Worman, host of Global Warming, WCUR 91.5 FM"

The more the Sigur Ros comparison grows, the more it seems like Sacha is an accessible version of them. However, Silva's album won't get airplay because the foreign language the band sings in are too obscure, and the instruments too alien. True. It's far from pop-friendly, and those who listen to it won't get it because it's so easy to overlook the treasure inside when Silva's Indian-sounding wails can trigger a quick genre-based dismissal.

But none of that changes the fact that this album, Anatomy of a Coup, is a hidden jewel. The inspiration for all of the songs comes from a military coup in Fiji. This backs the album with a certainly felt message about the militial force. Track 02: "the circle" kicks off the album with a percussive build that resembles a soldiers' march. Spoken word recordings, sometimes in English, sometimes not, are sprinkled throughout. This also gives the music a sense of urgency in its message.

As for the overall sound, it's another one of those melting pots that acclimate so many different cultural roots into a single sound. Yet all of Silva's influences blend so perfectly that it'd be difficult for some ears to decipher this. Sacha Silva is a Canadian-born of Sri Lankan and Bulgarian descent who has studied both flamenco guitar in Spain and Indian classical music in Delhi. When this is known, it all shines through with incredible clarity. Track 05: "awakening" seems to borrow a lot from sitar ambience without evening having one in it. Track 03: "free" is even more Indian-feeling throughout, but climaxes 3/5 of the way through, settling the final 2 minutes in a vividly Indian-Arabian fashion (strings, ceramic drums, and moaning). Track 04: "the argument" stands out as a triumph of blending influences: a Spanish flamenco guitar and beat gets integrated with unmistakable Indian strings halfway that carry the song until the end.

The originality and the awe of Silva's composing definitely makes the album more listenable as art, not to be heard on pop radio. The blend of sounds on Anatomy are rich. Silva successfully explores with each song, but does not waste any time. Unfortunately, it is not popular, it is not catchy or danceable, and it is already marginalized as "World" music. Its sound also leans toward ambience. None of this is going to make anyone reach out and grab it. Moreover, I assure you that what this band has put together is foreign but rich, traveled but unifying. It's sung in a foreign tongue and separates itself from many musical standards, yet when listened to it makes so much sense.

SONGS: The tracks that caught me right away were Track 05: "awakening," with its classical Indian ambience, and Track 04: "the argument," which integrates Spanish flamenco guitar with the Indian sound so perfectly that it's easy to forget that the two forces are working together.
- "Global Warming" WCUR FM, West Chester University, USA


"CDBaby Five-Star "Editor's Pick" Review of "Susurro""

While mixing together North and South Indian classical music with flamenco might not be the first thing to come to mind when considering world fusion, Sacha Silva does so with jaw-dropping beauty and sophistication. Perhaps it is the embellished and ornate nature of both musical cultures, but the dance between styles, scales, harmonies and cultures in "Susurro" is unforgettable and startling in the most powerful of ways. Combining the passionate cry of Spanish guitar and cello dialoguing with Indian Charukeshi raga as well as the poetry of Spanish poet, Federico García Lorca, sung in Hindi over traditional Karnatic and flamenco rhythms, Sacha Silva has unveiled a stunning, captivating voice that leaves a lasting impression. - Tamara Turner, CDBaby.com


Discography

Susurro (2005)
Anatomy of a Coup (2007)

Photos

Bio

Sacha Silva is a Canadian-born of Sri Lankan and Bulgarian blood, whose music grows from his double life as a guitarist-composer and globe-trotting development economist. Together with singer Munya B. (UK/India), composer Drew Morgan (UK/USA), percussionist Rohin Khemani (Canada/India) and cellist Elliott Green (USA), the band creates a new kind of world music, one which speaks to a new generation of global wanderers, travelers, immigrants, expats and half-breeds.

The band’s unique and accessible blend of Spanish, Indian and modern classical influences reflect the band’s beginnings in the global melting-pot of London. Their bold, remarkable sound quickly garnered rave reviews throughout the world music community right from their debut CD Susurro, which was called “unforgettable, passionate and startling [with] jaw-dropping beauty and sophistication” by indie pioneers CDBaby.com in a five star “Editor’s Pick” review.

Critics and DJs on four continents called their latest CD, Anatomy of a Coup, an “audacious [and] impressionistic recording that gives music the last say” (Rootsworld magazine) and “a beautiful album [that] celebrates the resilience of the human spirit… Sacha Silva joins a very special group of musicians like Nitin Sawhney [and] Rupa and the April Fishes, who marry masterful musicianship with insightful examinations of the human condition.” (SAMAR Magazine). The CD is based on Sacha’s two-year journey through the South Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and was inspired by the 2006 military coup in Fiji. Anatomy was recorded at the idyllic Hatch studios in the English countryside with pre-production at Calle Noray in South of Spain.

The band was formed in London in 2000 when three global wanderers ended up as next-door neighbors: Sacha, studying trade and poverty after three years of performing flamenco and Indian classical music in San Francisco, Southern Spain and New Delhi; Munya, studying economic development after years of performing for All-India Radio; and Drew, a Fellow of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London who’d just moved from Chicago. These three students began performing and recording together, inspired by the idea of making a new kind of world music. The trio became a quintet in 2007 with the addition of percussionist (and Sacha’s childhood friend) Rohin Khemani and cellist (and now Munya’s husaband) Elliott Green. The band members are currently based in Malaga (Spain), Bogotá (Colombia), New York City (US) and Oxford (UK).