Among the more interesting band names I've come across, Manooghi Hi, has got to be one. A strange name only seems appropriate for a fittingly intriguing band and that’s exactly what Manooghi Hi are. Composed of six members this group fuse Asian influences, metal, chill out, and atmospheric sounds to create something that sounds like Trans-Siberian Orchestra would if it was from India. This is global music on a rock and roll tip and Manooghi Hi’s album Silence is a fascinating exploration of such a culture clash.
With vocalists Mehnaz Hoosein and Ava Chakravarti leading the way, Manooghi Hi create a swirling dizzying musical experience that’s old vs new. Mixing Indian lyrics and vocals with English ones they create a multi-lingual and open minded environment where old traditions and new ones are melded into one. It's pretty cool stuff that when you add one heck of band on top of that multi-lingualism you’re faced with a record that alternates between sounds so easily and so non-descriptly it’s hard to keep up with. There are tablas, distortion pedals, pianos, and everything in between all playing together in unity and harmony. It's an impressive effort and Silence as a result is anything but silent. While I enjoy the traditional sounds a bit more, their rock and roll side is just as impressive and their take on Led Zep's classic, "Kashmir," would make Robert Plant blush.
Silence is a diverse record that proves time and time again that the old world can mingle with the new world in harmony. This is a sweeping massive record whose instrumentation and vocal prowess is simply fantastic. Manooghi Hi are an open minded global thinking group and their songs coexist within eastern and western worlds and that's something you can't Silence.
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