nick walters: padmāsana
Francisco Espregueira
Breathing in & exhaling out inspirations from the immense Indian subcontinent, trumpeter, composer, bandleader & producer Nick Walters delivers Padmāsana, his 2nd studio album of the year for D.O.T. Records. Over seven tracks he showcases an exquisite mix of jazz fusion, electronic and traditional Indian sounds, with these being recorded by a a portable sound recorder that Walters used to document some of the interesting sounds he encountered. The ethos and main ideas for this project were later pieced together at his studio in East London, featuring live contributions from Tenderlonious on flute, Kieran McLeod on trombone, Tim Carnegie on drums, and Walters himself on trumpet and synthesisers.
Using those field recordings as the centre element here, Nick Walters creates each song around samples from the streets of India. We hear mysterious religious calls in Coonoor, children screaming on trains through the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, snippets of a busker in Jodhpur, wedding bands in Udaipur or a yoga teacher singing his daily prayers in Kerala. The album lines for this record are worth to pay attention, while Padmāsana unfolds with warmth and generosity from the people that Walters encountered in his trips through India, celebrating the country’s rich culture with an amazing project of unconventional and touching soundscapes. A fine example of Nick Walters genius, Padmāsan is available on vinyl, courtesy of D.O.T. Records.
.The album is named after the Sanskrit word for the classic lotus position in yoga - an ancient position commonly used for meditation in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions. The album cover depicts the white lotus flower beautifully painted by Lorna Robertson, in a style inspired by the visual aesthetic of traditional Indian artwork.