jatinder singh durhailay & david edren: tea notes

Jatinder Singh Durhailay and David Edren released Tea Notes as a cassette back in April of 2018. London-based Jatinder Singh Durhailay is a painter and student of Indian Classical music. He has trained in both the sitar and the Hindi singing technique, Dhrupad. He also plays two traditional Sikh instruments; the bowed, stringed Dilruba and Taus. Poetic Pastel Press issued his solo debut, The Last Ballad Of Mardana, in 2017. David Edren's expertise lies with machines and modular synthesis. His kosmische and new age-inspired electronics have featured on numerous cassettes, and compilations, produced for imprints from the current Belgian underground, such as JJ Funhouse, Social Harmony, and Ultra Eczema. These recordings appearing, since the turn of the millennium, either under his own name, or the moniker DSR Lines. Jatinder and David's collaboration, Tea Notes, is a celebration, a meditation, on both the beverage, and the communal time-shared imbibing. The coming together to partake in its ritual. Each of the six tracks represents a different infusion. The opening piece is a tribute to semi-oxidized "Oolong", from China's Wuyi Mountains, with hammered dulcimer-like glissando. Gongs shimmering, gently crashing, as if signaling a change in the weather. A calm of thin, stretched synths and Ai angels introduces "Tulsi" from India. The Holy Basil of Hinduism, used in the worship of Vishnu, Krishna, and Rama. A traditional herb of Ayurveda and Siddha medicine. Automated arpeggiated sequences raising a vibrating wall of hallucinatory sound. "Ceylon" is a modern twist on the classical raga. Serving to tell the story of a tea smuggled into Sri Lanka in the 19th century. Plants stolen from South West China, where the brew had been enjoyed since the days of the Shang Dynasty (1766 to 1122 BC). Muted organ and sleepy, treated sine wave microtones describe "Kava", the Polynesian fireweed root, whose extract serves as both sedative and euphoriant. "Shincha" are the first young leaves of the season. Picked in Southern Japan and steamed to prevent oxidization, retain their flavor and green/gold color. Melodies treated with subtle sustain and delay denote "Pu-Her", from the Yunnan province. The only truly fermented black tea -- made distinctive by the action of bacteria, molds, and yeasts. Recorded January to March 2018 in Antwerpen and London. Mastered and cut by Anne Taegert at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. Artwork by Victor Robyn.