Harry Manx

or go back to the
sitar / India crossovers index
or go back to the main index


Dog My Cat Rec. Harry Manx : Mantras for madmen (CAN,2005)**°'

Harry Manx spent 12 years in India, which left its trace of course. Harry often now plays the mohan veena, which is an Indian guitar very suitable for Indian music. Besides this he also plays solo 6-string and lap slide guitar. The album is dedicated to that period in his life and to music inspirations in general. It tends to find a fine balance between what he calls the blues of the earth and the Indian music of heavens. Basically both areas are approached with respect, a close heart and with love for the stylistic territories. In some way he found that connection, not specifically in a style, but in spirit. The connection lies in details which are hard to recognise in theory but one can feel it, how blues songs melt perfectly with Indian flavoured instrumentals. The album starts in relatively simple and recognisable blues melody lines. It is a kind of nice warm, self assured, grounded, blues we hear expressed in song. Also participating are some nice close harmony female vocals. “Afghani raga” is much more Indian style. “Talking Turban”, the last track, perhaps is the best example of Indian style with a more bluesy flavour. A mostly blues album which makes for fine listening.

Audio :  "Don't Take His Name Away" & on http://www.supertoniccds.com/...
& http://www.cdconnection.com/bin/nph-search/nmYo9Cg9gQBk.lf?part=28204
& http://aol.musicnow.com/az/album.jhtml?id=5589614
& http://www.fusion3.com/works/DMCR_13982/
Homepage (with audio) : http://www.harrymanx.com/
Info : http://www.dogmycatrecords.ca/
with entry of this release (with audio) : http://www.dogmycatrecords.ca/products/cd.asp?id=9
Other reviews : http://www.minor7th.com/ & http://www.acousticmusic.com/fame/p03527.htm
& http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/11/18/074130.php
Article : http://www.thejournalnews.com/...
Another Harry Manx contribution can be found on Niel Golden's release (2008). See review here
REVIEW PAGE 4 : Indian Rock & Bluesfusion :

Drongomala, Harry Manx, Church Of Betty, The Unseen Guest, The Tinku Band
Fang RecordsChurch of Betty : Comedy of animals (US,1998)**
Telegraph Company     Church of Betty : Fruit on the vine (US,1999)***
Fang RecordsChurch of Betty : Tripping with Wanda (US,2002)*°
Fang RecordsChurch of Betty : Revenge of the hippies (US,2003)°

I always encourage combinations of styles which are not obvious. In the case of Church of Betty their combination of styles is unusual for sure. For I would never think of combining Indie Pop with Indian music. Does it work ? I personally think they're working in a dangerous territory. Those who have a tendency to like 'Indie Pop' or 'Indopop' or even crossover styles with constant fusing aspects, might be left high and dry, for they get here a group's individual choice. Those who like some kind of 'progressive' fusions might not find all expected elements, while for the mainstream public defies categorisation. Also I had to find the right "entrance" point. The label owner writes "in today's collapsing and chaotic corporate music industry, the non-formulaic approach of this music is practically a commercial deathwish." Well here they confirm their choice is not so obvious. Where usually Indian music is fused to uplift the mood into another transforming or transcendent exploration, here Indian music is fused very differently. On the covers of the CD's are in stead parodies on Indian & religious symbolism ; Shiva with the 6 arms is on two covers presented as a whore like figure with 6 arms. "Revenge of the hippies" seems to be more like a revenge to the hippies in this context. Fang Records spokesman Peace comments "the title.. pokes fun at disillusioned refugees of '60s idealism who have gone straight and sold out." Still when we take some kind of neo-60's psych pop flavour, song oriented music as fundament to orientate on, with a more straight forward 80's Indie pop approach and with an Indopop flavour, I think this order of inspiration describes the music of Church of Betty somewhat. I personally prefer the songs overladen in Indian sounds. 

At the first album, "Comedy of animals" I would have preferred the band to have worked more with their full band's sound, for they are talented enough to give a fine expression, but often the song and songwriter takes the lead, which for what the group sound has in its core is not the most necessary expression or musically most interesting. Chris Rael's voice on this album annoys me most. Although his singing influenced by Indian music can be interesting, his voice can sometimes be also somewhat sharp, too much suppressing to the foreground. (audio)

On "Fruit on the vine", I think the balance is at its best and at its most enjoyable. And the singing is a combination of the Indian melodic and Indie music, which is fine. The inspiration and music is still not transcendent (except on a personal relation level sometimes, mostly it's more a "let's be together" and things) but the music is surely interesting from a pop point of view. Musically it's a very personal  Indopop style, often nicely arranged, even with some orchestrations. A consistent and enjoyable album. (audio :  "The Magic in You", "I Swim in You").

Review : http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/c/church-of-betty/fruit-on-the-vine.shtml

"Tripping with Wanda" is a bit more pop, but the achieved Indian flavour in music & voice remains. Also glad still to hear some orchestrations. A dream for a pop singer-songwriter to have such a accompanying group. But the group is mostly just accompanying the singer. Some songs have a neo-sixties flavour, without still belonging in the 60's. But there's also again some more 'straight forward' moments, trying to be rockin', bringing down all musical potential to something more mainstream.
(audio)

On the last album, "revenge of the hippies", what annoyed me on the first album resurfaces, namely the use of a sharp straight forward voice, with the singer completely on the stage front again (not only on the cover) this brings it even more than one step back to the mainstream. (audiosample)

Info : www.churchofbetty.com & www.fangrecords.com
Soundfiles : http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cobetty
I noticed there's also one side project from Chris Rael & Deep Singh: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rael
PrivateThe Unseen Guest : Out there (SING,2004)**°°

Two musicians, Amith Narrayan and Declan Murray met when travelling through South-India. After weeks of jamming, busking, singing they became friends. A year later Amith mailed Declan asking to participate in making an album mixing Malayali music with western. With the help of Malayali musicians (tabla, mridangam, mandolin, veena, carnatic violin), and themselves singing, playing acoustic guitars, slide guitar, bass, piano, bongos, mandolin, and veena, it became actually for most tracks a mostly western styled, rather sweet singer-songwriter/pop music album with unusual instrumentation on it. Only a track like “Mangala Express” starts from an Carnatic/Indian mode, combined with Nick Drake like guitar and slide guitar. "Sandalista" I think is also a very succesful blend between the variety of styles. The production is perfect. As a singer/songwriter product it was very apreciated in the singer-songwriter radioshow on Radio Centraal, Antwerp.

Info : www.unseenguest.com & (with some soundfiles) http://cdbaby.com/cd/unseen
This album will be released in Europe 11th of April.
Info from label : http://www.tuition-music.com/unseen-guest.html
Review : http://www.whisperinandhollerin.co.uk/reviews/review.asp?id=1582
GO TO NEXT REVIEW PAGE->
Flying Mountain Rec.      Drongomala : Scale (UK/IND/GR/I,2005)*°°

At first, because I was used to hear Indojazz and other kinds of Indian Fusions, I was confused by rockartists who participated with Indian musicians without moving a dime from their Western standards (just like Harry Manx on this page, even more than rock artists like Unseen Guest and Church Of Betty, -also on this page-, who still did make attempts to fuse and blend Indian ideas with their own vision). Never-the-less the interest in Indian music is here, but perhaps a bit more for the use of their instruments and musicians, more than for the inner musical aspects. What I mostly would expect of people interested in using Indian instruments is a high degree of an intuitive stylistic aspect in music, emotionally driven or not, which is not the case here. Basically many tracks are slightly bluesy indiepoprock.
There has been put much effort in making well produced arrangements and in creating a full sound (there’s funky brass on 1, some backing vocal arrangements on some tracks, there are some traditional rock forms, and always present somewhere are the Indian instruments), and there’s an attempt to a certain groovyness. I think guitars and some keyboards were added afterwards in the studio.
After several listens I still didn't grab all aspects of the singer-songwriting inspiration yet.

Audio : "Love is a Lifeboat" & http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=3399610&from1=QUIA
Out of them all” linked at http://iacmusic.com/songs.aspx?SongID=16362&ArtistID=31737
Info on Drongomala : http://www.flyingmountainrecords.com/artists/drongo/drongoabout.htm
& http://iacmusic.com/artist.aspx?ID=31737
Homepage : http://www.drongomala.com or http://www.flyingmountainrecords.com/records/scale.html or http://cdbaby.com/cd/drongomala
Biography : http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.asp?epk_id=48692
Other review : http://news.dmusic.com/article/19541
Mystic Rage Rec. The Tinku Band : Superman -EP- (AU,2005)**°

We should be aware that India has several traditions. Here in the West we are mostly confronted with the Hindustani classical music, and with some Karnatic traditions. 'Singhs' living in Punjab have a different musical tradition. When I was in the 'pink city' Amritsar, I heard music playing in some shops and how they used lots of rhythms. This tradition has potency to mix with rock and pop music, which at least one hit last year or the year before proved. Also this music has felt this inner power and succeeded very well to bring a hit-potentional poprock feeling, especially on “Superman” and “Crazy Things”. Seemingly they also build in calmer moments into the tracks, like on “Not in your head”.
The group consists of Tinku, lead vocals and bass guitar, Electric Larry, cittern, guitars, Gurjit Singh, vocals and tabla, Sardoo Singh, sarode and Gregg Kett, drums.

Audio : "Superman", "Crazy Things", "Not in your head", "Life Is"
or (with info :) http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/tinkuband2 
Video here
Description : http://www.waterfrontrecords.com/releases/...
Homepage : http://www.tinku.com.au/