Worlds Within

The multi-instrumentalist who calls himself Govinda was born Shane O'Madden, and his primary instrument is the violin. Under normal circumstances you might expect his music to draw on Celtic traditions, but Worlds Within is actually a dark, slinky exploration of gypsy, Indian, and Middle Eastern textures and modalities, all wrapped up in percolating breakbeats and dubwise production techniques. At times the music threatens to get mushy, but numerous guest vocalists help prevent the proceedings from dissolving into generic electro-worldbeat pablum: Juliana Sheffield contributes gorgeous Elizabeth Fraser-like crooning on "Los Golondrinas," creating something that sounds like a fusion of Cocteau Twins and Harold Budd; "10,000 Years" rolls along nicely on an ethereal funk beat, helped out by dancehall chatting courtesy of an unidentified DJ; on "Something," Kayt Jourdanson lets her cool, laid-back voice be used as raw material to be shredded like silk and wafted along on a Hindustani-inflected modal groove. Very highly recommended.