Writings About Music

Apollonic Radiance

I can’t recall the last time I was so taken by a singer new to me. On second thought, that would be Susheela Raman, and also Jessy Lanza, the vocalist for Caribou.

Hurt You First by Niia. The spinning computer of our mind instantly scans for connections, and there are fleeting references to Sade and the opening tones of Hearts made famous by Marty Balin. But Niia has her own spell and navigational coordinates. She has feel, timbral deliciousness and time current made for Indian ragas. Would love to hear her sing Bhairavi in the form of a song based upon that raga.

Thank God for artists like Niia, Susheela and Jessy, suffused with rasa and prana, who bring beauty into the world and help feed both my lyrical and corporeal aspects.

- Michael Robinson, March 2017, Los Angeles

 

© 2017 Michael Robinson All rights reserved

 

Michael Robinson is a Los Angeles-based composer, programmer, jazz pianist and musicologist. His 177 albums include 151 albums for meruvina and 26 albums of piano improvisations. Robinson has been a lecturer at UCLA, Bard College and California State University.