Album Notes

Das Dhoom is up to something new! Built from the best of what has come before, but without idolizing anything. The band calls their style "Folk & Machine." This moniker is I believe is meant to draw attention to how Das Dhoom mixe's acoustic and electronic sounds, but also reminds you to listen to the carefully crafted lyrics of singer/songwriter James Whetzel. Like the West African proverbial bird Sankofa, Das Dhoom looks back at the past to step forward into the future. "Poetry of Dhoom" sounds like what might occur if A.R. Rahman & Robot Koch were to produce an album by DeVotchka. James Whetzel sings and plays sarod and beats, Sebastian Lange brings violin, drum machines, and synthesizers galore, Special guests include Indian dhol and tabla player Deepayan Acharjya who graces severals tracks and "tha sensitive Raggamuffin" Mista Chatman who sings on "Le Chat de Dhoom," and gospel singer Verna Haley who provides backing vocals for "Life is Dhoom."

The whole album is great, and diverse in style and vibe, especially recommended are "Poetry of Dhoom," "Life is Dhoom," "Everything Becomes Dhoom," and "Voyage of the Seven Dragons of Dhoom." By the way "dhoom" means a bass hit on a South Asian drum, and "Das" means "the" in German, and "ten" in Hindi/Urdu. So the band name means the/ten bass boom! Anita Darbo, Stochastic Reviews.