This is Gayatri Taal, a 31 beat cycle being played on the tabla. This taal (Tabla rhythm) has been derived from the incredibly potent Gayatri Mantra, which is chanted by followers of the Hindu religion. The Gayatri Mantra is a prayer to the absolute supreme being who inspires our intellect.

The taal has been created from transforming the syllables of the words in the Gayatri Mantra in to bols (beats) on the Tabla. The words in the Gayatri Mantra each have between 1 to 4 syllables. The total number of syllables in the Gayatri Mantra is 31.

In this recording you are listening to the Theka (fundamental cycle) of Gayatri Taal being played in both single and double speed.

Gayatri Taal

This is Michael Parson's Pentachordal Melody (May 1998) reproduced using Table Top. The instruments used are a tone matrix and keyboard.

This version fills the rest beats using a constant note on the tone matrix. It also uses the keyboard to emphasise the only repeated number clusters which are 1, 23, 21 and 24. It is being played at 96bpm (legato phrasing).

Pentachordal Melody

This tabla cycle was inspired by the Pentachordal melody composed by Michael Parsons.

In line with the nature of the melody, it uses five well known tabla cycles that are arranged in an order that produces four lines of 48 beats each, just like the Pentachordal Melody.

The cycles or "taals" used are teen taal (16 beats), Jhap taal (10 beats), Ek taal (12 beats), Kehrawa (8 beats) and Dadra (6 beats).

Penta Taal

This track has been developed from a monthly commodity price data series spanning 35 years from 1980 to 2015. The data was annualised before being converted to notes on a Steinway Grand Piano.

Where silence is heard during the track, this is where the commodity prices could not be translated to the frequency of any of the keys on a Steinway Grand Piano.

Chicago Soybean Oil

Nadia is a very beautiful song that was produced by Nitin Sawhney. The song represents separation, a calling across a river to a world you are no longer a part of. WestfieldRoad has composed a version of Nadia on the Tabla which was inspired by the Coke Studio @ MTV track where Nitin Sawhney brings together a number of talented musicians and singers including Nicki Wells. The Coke Studio version contains shlokas in the introduction which can only be described as "meditative". WestfieldRoad has attempted to recreate this on the Tabla by deliberately utilising a slower rhythm throughout, almost like fingers moving across a Piano/Keyboard, with short intermittent bursts of speed to reflect the fact that speed is an integral part of the song. The taal being utilised is the 16 beat cycle called Teen Taal.

Nadia

WestfieldRoad has captured in an experiment what can only be described as the heart beat of Qawwali - the rhythm of famous Sufi qual 'Man kuntau maulau fa' ali un maula'. 

This statement is know as the Seal of the Prophet and translates to 'Whoever accepts me as master, Ali is his master too'. The statement refers to Imam Ali who was a leading companion of the Prophet Muhammad from whom he received mystical esoteric knowledge. The qual was written by the poet Amir Khusro and has been sung by the likes of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen and Tanya Wells. WestfieldRoad was inspired to produce this piece through the Qawwali genius of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the passionate singing of Tanya Wells.

This rhythm attempts to reverberate the mystical Sufi chants through beats.

Man Kuntau Maula

Sason ki mala pe simroon main pi ka naam, literally translates to "On the garland of my breaths I have bejewelled my beloved's name". This bhajan was originally penned by the Hindu saint Meera Bai who lived around the 16th century. It was written by Meera Bai as an expression of her great devotion for Lord Krishna.  It later took the form of a Qawwali song and was regularly sung by Ustaad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. 

WestfieldRoad was accompanied by Chetan Bharadwa playing the Harmonium, to produce this instrumental version. The taal which accompanies the Harmonium is Ek taal, a cycle of 12 beats, which was chosen by WestfieldRoad as an alternative to the six beat taal that is often used in the Qawwali. Ek taal is more ornamental in rhythm and therefore appropriate to the character of Lord Krishna and complements Meera Bai's yearning for him through the chords of the Harmonium.

Sason ki mala pe simroon main pi ka naam

Prashant is a freelance Tabla player in Leicestershire. His Tabla playing roots originated in the indian genre of music (classical and folk), but he accompanies western musicians on modern, contemporary and experimental pieces. He has a passion for composing music using digital apps. Prashant is confident with integrating the Tabla in to unfamiliar musical score and liaising with musicians to compose music with an edge. He has a knack for abstract thinking which would suit composers working on unconventional pieces.

WestfieldRoad

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