By all accounts, London Undersound is a love letter to England’s capitol. Inspired by the July 7 bombings on the Tube three years ago and the murder of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menzes, the record is Sawhney’s attempt to address today’s paranoid, multicultural society through music. The highly celebrated composer reckons that “London’s heartbeat has changed” after those shocking events and his eighth record sees him coming to terms with this with the help of collaborators from various ethnic/stylistic backgrounds that include heavy hitters such as Paul McCartney and Imogen Heap rubbing shoulders alongside some more underground acts such as Natty, Faheem Mazhar and Roxanne Tataei.
London Undersound is a beautifully made album. Whereas some collaborative efforts get drowned by the sheer weight of numbers (and egos), Sawhney has ensured his acts are given room to grow. There are a number of highlights on this deeply personal opus, but the best tracks have to be Macca’s effort ‘My Soul’ – which features the best vocal performance in years from the former Beatle – and album opener ‘Days Of Fire’ which is sang by Natty (who actually witnessed the Tube bombings and de Menzes murder) and is as raw as an open wound and could put goose bumps on goose-bumps.
Full of more exciting musical misadventures than most bands have in their career, Sawhney has arguably made his best work to date.