Guy Buttery met prominent music therapist Dr. Kanada Narahari in 2017 seeking help for his chronic and crippling fatigue. What followed sparked possibly one of the most pivotal cross-cultural musical collaborations I’ve ever heard.
Nādī translates from the Sanskrit as The Channel or An Internal River – and in itself, the album is a unique channel for creative freedom. “Guy and I tried to wander as much as possible, without any speculative, preoccupied ideologies or limitations,” explains Narahari.
The album was written and recorded in Durban – which is also home to the largest Indian community outside of the subcontinent. It’s an expertly formulated compilation of sound: fine-tuned yet experimental enough for it all to sound like one extended, well-timed jam session.
Buttery’s intricate guitar work meets Narahari’s sitar counterparts and blossoms – navigating an echoing and open-ended ambient sound. Grounding percussion roots down “Sonokota” and “Kya Baat” – while the latter builds into almost frenzied acoustics. “Miyan” is gossamer-fine and drenched in silvery harmony – and “A Dichotomy of Sorts” is fraught in intuitive texture and even-tempered melody.
It’s a groundbreaking, yet wholly intricate and subtle piece of work which somehow stitches together sound across the expanse of the Indian Ocean.
