This July, World Village is delighted to present "RISHTE", the impressive collaboration between British/South Asian singer NAJMA AKHTAR and American guitarist GARY LUCAS. Akhtar fuses jazz with updated arrangements of the Indian ghazal, (love songs and spiritual songs), as well as traditional bhajans, Indian Semi Classical vocals and the occasional Bollywood hit; she has collaborated with Ian Anderson, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and Andy Summers. Lucas is a GRAMMY® nominated songwriter with over a dozen solo albums, who has worked with Jeff Buckley, Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart) and most recently Chris Cornell, to name a few. Longtime fans of each other’s work, they decided to collaborate on a project after meeting in London in May of 2007.
“music epic in scope and intensity... Najma’s voice remains extremely graceful, an instrument that conveys innocence and sorrow. Lucas creates remarkable patterns of sound... Rishte is dynamic and challenging" - FROOTS
"their collaboration here works brilliantly...As for Akhtar, her voice is a heaven-sent gift. If she had made this album with that other noted blues aficionado, Robert Plant, it would surely sell a million and win a Grammy." - SONGLINES
"[Lucas] ragtime vamps provide elaborate drones for traditional ghazals such as 'Daaya' and 'Parda', while Skip James' 'Special Rider Blues' gets a eastern-tinged reading on the National Steel." - UNCUT
"Weaving her lyrics around Luca's instrumental templates, Akhtar shapes the sweetest of melodies...far from being some polite fusion project, Rishte is vital and red blooded..." - MOJO, 4 STARS
