Junun

"[In Ben Tzur] Greenwood found a composer splitting his time between the Middle East and India, who has managed to develop a unique fusion form that is constructed from several traditions - including Bollywood-style brass exuberance, the devotional Qawwali music of Sufi Islam, and bowed-string instruments associated with the Manganiar community. The result is a mix that includes folk feel and studied arrangements ... Longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich (...) succeeds in presenting this detailed music with precision. While Greenwood's presence guarantees a certain level of interest, the newsiest takeaways from this album involve the skill of Ben Tzur and the musicians of the Rajasthan Express. The ensemble's playing and the leader's compositions make Junun an easy stretch - though, crucially, not a condescending one - for listeners otherwise unfamiliar with the great variety of methods often obscured by "world music" market-speak".

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"This latest venture from Radiohead multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood finds him teaming up with Indian-based Israeli songwriter Shye Ben Tzur for an excursion into qawwali ... Throughout, Greenwood contributes subtle embellishments - occasional electronic beats, as well as understated guitar and bass - rather than any scene-stealing showboating. Indeed, the real stars here are the Rajasthan Express's six-piece brass section, who come into their own on the joyous "Julus" and "Junun Brass"".

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"You will easily forget the fact that Indian music isn't calibrated to Western scales. You'll just be humming along to what Ben Tzur is singing. You'll be tapping your toes to what the rhythm section is pounding. You'll be enjoying the soundtrack to a film that you don't really need to see ... That's one of the beautiful things about taking your own little road-less-traveled ... The simple stirring together of a few elements can make a brew that is as intoxicating as it is fresh. "Junun" should go down as something far more than an intellectual curiosity or the patronage of another culture's "exotic" sounds, it should also go down as a downright enjoyable piece of music that can't help color the air as well as move the feet".

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"Tunes are densely percussive, by turns rousing and hypnotic. The brass playing is in the "rough but right" style which will be familiar to fans of the Jaipur Kawa and Bollywood Brass Bands. The vocals weave in and out, adding to the abiding sense of mysticism and ecstatic abandon (think Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and you won't be far wrong). Wisely, Ben Tzur and Greenwood don't over-complicate thigs, keeping their Western instrumental and electronic contributions to a supporting role ... A powerful and very entertaining celebration of a musical culture well worth celebrating".