Album Review: Adi Shakti by Vidya-Liselotte Sundberg
The album, Adi Shakti, by Indian-Swedish singer, Vidya-Liselotte Sundberg (generally known as just Vidya) and released by Prophone and Naxos Sweden is an intriguing piece of work. Adi Shakti is a Hindu mantra meaning ‘primal power’ and it was this as well as a poem by the 13th century Persian scholar and mystic, Rumi, that inspired Vidya’s album. The project is an impressive collaboration with British jazz guitar virtuoso, Rob Luft, who was a co-composer on the work. Noted Scandinavian musicians, Jon Fält (drums), Magnus Bergström (bass) and Lisa Rydberg (supporting vocals) complete a stellar lineup.
The album comprises eight songs. Vidya sings with a warm, distinctive, voice although there are some interspersed spoken passages. Her singer-songwriter style is unique and difficult to characterise. Folk-Jazz-World Music, perhaps? Rob Luft’s sublime, ethereal, guitar is beautifully interwoven throughout the songs and plenty of space is given to Fält’s drums and Bergstrom’s bass, notably on the track “Wohoo”. Other song titles “The Ship”, “The Field,” and “Desert Blues” evoke images of changing physical landscapes and suggest a physical and spiritual journey. My only criticism, if it is such, is the relatively raw presentation of Vidya’s vocals on some tracks. This is particularly evident on “The Ship”. To my mind, a little more mixing would have not gone amiss but maybe this exposed quality adds to the intrigue of the song?
Overall, this album is an interesting piece of work: Vidya has written a unique set of songs with personal meaning and performed them with panache in the company of some highly esteemed musicians. Well worth a listen!
John Morrow
