While Dhebashish Bhattacharya is not the first musician to have adopted the slide guitar as an instrument for use in Hindustani classical music (that distinction probably belongs to Brij Bhushan Kabra), he is by far the foremost living exponent of the instrument. He has designed unique instruments suited to Indian music (with lots of drone strings, among other innovations) and has demonstrated how classical tradition can continue to thrive within a context of modern expansion. On this album he plays a series of original raga-based compositions, each oriented towards a different hour of the day or night. Occasionally you will hear slightly hints of Western influence (an apparent blues lick here and there, for instance), but this is music that balances a progressive outlook with deep respect for tradition.

– Rick Anderson