BRG 8 2424701262 2
It isn’t very often that a whole new sound is created in music. When all
hope seems lost, a band such as Hamsa Lila steps up to bring the musical
landscape into a whole other level. Gathering One is the debut CD
from Hamsa Lila. They hail from San Francisco, California. They were also
voted "San Francisco’s Best International Band" by the SF Weekly, and have
shared the stage with String Cheese Incident, Jane’s Addiction, and Femi
Kuti.
Gathering One is quite the impressive release, blending many styles
of music. The sound is very exotic and is highlighted with various unique stringed
instruments including the gumbri and sintir. The track "Full
Moon Flow" blends a unique form of jazz with rhythms from India and Africa.
The vocals on the track are very soothing and quite observant to the fact
that world harmony needs to be obtained.
The album also lays down a very danceable beat. Most tracks on the CD
display a groove that makes the body want to move harmoniously with Mother
Earth. The tracks are all very mellow as not to want to make the listener
jump in a mosh-pit, but to the point of invoking various forms of the Indian
belly dance. If you don’t feel relaxed and want to move to the ancient
harmonious rhythms of Mother Earth while listening to this CD you need to
listen to it again.

Lyrically, the album is very hard to understand unless you have knowledge of
many foreign languages. Some tracks such as "Full Moon Flow" are in English
and have a very clear message of saving the Earth, loving your fellow man,
and living and loving life. Other tracks such as "Pacha Mama" are not in
English, but in the liner notes contain some of the translations of the
lyrics. The lyrics and vocals are very soothing and meditative with a good
message.
Gathering One, the initial release from Hamsa Lila, is a very solid
CD. Everything blends together symbiotically from the different cultures to
the different vocals represented on the CD. The CD contains a very
danceable and soothing beat that listeners will enjoy while meditating or
relaxing after a drum circle. The beats are very primal, almost to the
point where they can be found in everyday life or in the mud that makes up
the Earth.