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Love the Waves of the Here and Now – Mahamaya Experience (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

By Dave Franklin

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 July 15, 2024 

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The music of Mahamaya Experience always works on so many levels. Yes, music generally falls into the realms of entertainment and/or information, but even that doesn’t cover the many layers and hidden depths that make up a piece like Love the Waves of the Here and Now.

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On the surface, you encounter a masterful display of sitar playing from Ranjit Makkuni, here joined by the exquisite rhythms and beats of tabla player Mithilesh Jha. Still, such feats of skill are always to be expected from a Mahamaya Experience. But it is when you go beyond the brilliant playing that you uncover its real wealth, are rewarded by true beauty and glimpse its most closely guarded secrets.

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On a technical level, you can marvel at the cross-rhythms at work, the way that counts of 12 and 16 roll over each other, sometimes gently contrasting, sometimes brilliantly complimenting each other into a rhythmic ebb and flow of sonic waves. Below these waves are the deep waters of inspiration and the track’s true meaning.

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As we become more consumed with the technology, science, education, and academia of the modern world, we are tricked into thinking that the flow of time and our experience of living in it can be controlled and predicted. So much so that we try to plan and second-guess the patterns of our lives instead of living in the moment, experiencing only the here and the now.

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The song suggests that rather than researching and seeking advice to find complex solutions to what are usually emotionally simple problems, we should instead focus on solving the ‘now’ now and not later. It’s quite a simple yet elegant way to live life when you think about it. And thinking about it is all you need to do.