Combining his renowned musical skills with Niladri Kumar’s inventive sitar, Englishborn Chinmaya Dunster invigorates the New Age music scene with Yoga Lounge, a fusion of Eastern and Western instruments and influences. The story of these artists’ initial meeting is inspiring: Dunster first heard Kumar in Pune, India, when Kumar was improvising The Beatles’ ‘Norwegian Wood.’ Dunster knew he had to meet this talented multi-instrumentalist, and a powerful musical partnership ensued.
On Yoga Lounge, Kumar’s sitar is set against Dunster’s slow, easy grooves on eight tracks. Kumar at times plays his sitar almost like a guitar. As Dunster writes in the liner notes, Kumar seems aware of chords where other sitar players are concentrating on melody and rhythm. Yoga Lounge is a downbeat classic that works as a backdrop for yoga, the meditative arts, and evening relaxation.