Although the music of Mahamaya Experience is replete with the sounds of South and Southeast Asia, Ranjit Makkuni has never been someone to make music in isolation. And whilst some of his music may be woven purely from the sonic strands of that part of the world, much of his music is flavoured with sounds and styles that lay far beyond that part of Asia. Dancing in Her Light is a great example of this meeting of worlds, this gentle clashing of cultures.
Dancing in Her Light, like most of the music he makes under this name, might be based around the sitar’s sweet sound and soaring sonics, but her, for example, it is to the Cajon and all manner of Venezuelan percussion that he turns to drive the song forward rhythmically. East meets West in a gorgeous harmonic dance.
Taking as its theme the various stages of love, from those first overwhelming stirrings to the rush of emotion as love takes hold and on to later memories of those feelings as they cool, we pass through all its stages. But the real message of the piece is how we often look to those feelings to solve our own lack of inner happiness, missing the realisation that true contentment is only something that we can find within ourselves, not something that others can provide for us. Relying too much on “love from without” to restore our balance and inner harmony will find that supposed love turning into its exact opposite.
As always, Ranjit Makkuni’s sitar work is breathtaking. It flows quickly and effortlessly through these sonic themes and, as always, makes us think about what the music means as he draws wisdom and understanding from each note that he plays.
