Blues Odyssey – A Journey Beyond Borders by Avra Banerjee Turns Blues Fusion into a Global Rhythmic Sojourn –

Avra Banerjee broke the monocultural mould with Blues Odyssey – A Journey Beyond Borders, an exhibition of how many culturally diverse facets of blues reverence there are in this collaborative tour de force of creative synergy.

The official music video, which has now reached almost 50k streams on YouTube alone, shows artists from different corners of the world locked into the rhythm of each other’s grooves, adding expressive touches of zeal, colour and culture which could only have manifested through an arrangement such as this. Sitar, swanky keyboards, grounding reverberations of bass, fingerpicked acoustic guitar notes and raw electric guitar riffs all converge in the exotically elemental instrumental sojourn across the world that will leave you arrested, giving only your rhythmic core the permission to break out of the stupor of being scintillated by a collective so gifted with rhythm.

There are shades of Ry Cooder’s borderless curiosity, Taj Mahal’s deep-rooted blues spirit, and the transporting instrumental richness of Ananda Shankar in the piece, yet the composition holds its own identity through the sheer generosity of the interplay. Conceived by Avra Banerjee, with contributions from a formidable ensemble spanning sarod, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, keys, and drums, the release stands as a testament to how expansive blues can become when handled with vision and reverence.

Blues Odyssey – A Journey Beyond Borders is now available to stream on all major platforms. For the full experience, watch the official music video on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast