Music Review: "The Unveiling" and "Crossing Over" from Rimi Basu

Rimi Basu is an Indian-American musician whose music is a hypnotic blend of both Bollywood and Western pop / electro.

Today I have her two latest EPs to review - "The Unveiling" and "Crossing Over", each with a distinctly different sound and unique stories to tell.

Both of these albums have dominated the Indian music charts, so it's wonderful to be able to bring this music to the Whim blog today!

The first EP I listened to was "The Unveiling", with the beginning track titled "Surmayee". I really enjoyed this sweet melody, and it was a beautiful showcase of Rimi's stunning and calming vocals. I loved the indie-inspired beginning, as well as the calming guitar and the track's overall dream-like quality.

Songs such as "Mat Ja", "Keh Du", "Maahiya" and "Habibi Remix" contained electro overtures, and dramatic instrumentals, while "Habibi" also showcased Rimi's sweet singing ability.

"Maahiya" was another favourite of mine for its beautiful guitar riff blending perfectly with an electro beat. It had a Spanish guitar 'flavour' to it, and was relaxing whilst making you want to dance at the same time.

"Crossing Over" was the next EP that I listened to and this one had an entirely different sound to "The Unveiling"! The first track, "Nesha Nesha" had a more sassy feel to it and even contained a short rap sequence entirely in English. Soft and calming male vocals also appeared in the song, which added a lovely touch.

The EP took me on a journey through various genres of music and sounds, including sombre ("Ele Na"), quirky and upbeat ("Phire Jao"), Jazz ("Jaani Jaani"), French-inspired ("Sayeba") and futuristic ("Shonay"). Rimi certainly wasn't lying when she said that her music was a showcase of various sounds!

I also loved how Rimi provided some back-story about this album and why she named it "Crossing Over", so thought I'd share this with you:

"This project is a first step in refreshing the Bengali music industry with something new and never heard before, inspiring the youth to stay connected to their roots despite the rapidly globalizing world. It is the "crossing over" of boundaries between regions, and the filling of cultural gaps with the resonance of music."

I encourage you to experience the beauty and versatility of these two albums yourself, and you can listen to "The Unveiling" here, as well as "Crossing Over" here. You can also find out more about Rimi by heading over to her website and following on Facebook. Enjoy!

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- This review is part of our ongoing Music Review series where Whim is introduced to an array of artists from Independent Music Promotions.