With a name like Bombay Dub Orchestra there's a lot to live up to. If your sound isn't dub enough, Indian enough, or sufficiently orchestral, there's a risk the whole project will be brushed off as a gimmick, either by afficionados of Indian music or those of dub. The precariousness wasn't lost on Garry Hughes and Andrew Mackay, the artistic core of Bombay Dub Orchestra, and the resulting sound is surprising indeed.

1. Compassion
2. Rare Earth
3. Mumtaz
4. The Berber Of Seville
5. To The Shore
6. The Greater Silence
7. Feel
8. Dust
9. Sonata
10. Unexpected Rain
11. Beauty And The East
12. Remembrance
13. Rare Earth (the forest of thieves mix)
14. Feel (the diamond cake mix)
15. Beauty And The East (the marine drive traffic jam)
16. The Berber Of Seville (the berber of suburbia mix)
17. Dust (the pigment of your imagination)
18. Compassion (the continental drift mix)
19. The Berber Of Seville (orchestral version)
20. Remembrance (fires remix)

Offering far greater parts improvised Indian melodies than dub, mixed with a fair amount of Western classical string arrangements, Bombay Dub Orchestra's dub style shares more in common with the likes of Thievery Corporation than either the twisted genius of Mad Professor or strong reggae vibes of Lee Perry, as the dub focus is placed squarely on smooth, deep, dubby bass lines.

The duo worked with a great number of instrumentalists, including a 28-piece Indian orchestra (located in Bombay of course), and numerous solo artists and vocalists throughout India and England. As the album progresses, the soft beats and varied percussion dissolve into increasingly atmospheric and sparse orchestrations. However, that's not to say the whole thing isn't sublimely relaxing. Every song delivers (in different measure) epic arrangements of sweeping strings, Indian vocals and instrumental solo's involving everything from sarangi and sitar to cello, piano and violin.

This is a 2-disc affair, where you'll get both stronger dub grooves and deeper ambience off the second one.

This project could have pulled off a name like Bombay Ambient Dub Orchestra. There is no question that anyone into strongly Indian styled, yet undoubtedly Western influenced music with a romantic, classical slant should fall completely in love with this album. Beautifully lush.

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