Iona lane & Ranjana Ghatak’s ‘Cove’ is a beguiling and transfixing EP; a memorable listening experience, and a thing of great beauty.
The contemporary music world appears to be blessed in terms of being awash with first-class cross-cultural musical collaborations, Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita, Eleanor Turner & Mendi Singh in their Tala Tarang line-up, and Touamani Diabaté & Béla Fleck all immediately spring to mind. A new pairing can now be added to this illustrious list as Iona Lane & Ranjana Ghatak deliver their debut EP Cove.
Both artists are well-known to Folk Radio. Leeds-based folk singer Iona, who studied under Nancy Kerr, Jim Moray and Stuart McCallum, released a masterful debut, Hallival, in 2022, described by editor Alex Gallacher as “one of the most rewarding albums of the year”. An entirely self-composed album, the songs and music reflected an admiration of, and reverence for, the natural world in its many facets.
Ranjana, a singer, musician and composer born in London, began her journey by learning the classical and devotional Hindustani vocal traditions and having been tutored from 2000 by Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, an exponent of the Patiala-Kasur gharana, one of these vocal traditions or styles of music. She has continued to explore traditional music, often assimilating it alongside contemporary instrumentation, living and performing, until the end of 2020, in the United States and teaching at the Ali Akbar College of Music, an Indian Music School in San Rafael, California.
2022 also proved to be a propitious year in other ways, as both musicians were selected to be fellows at the prestigious Making Tracks, an international music exchange programme based around the twin themes of musical traditions and the natural world, comprising an annual UK two-week residency, during which new collaborative works are spawned, followed by a tour. It was here that Iona and Ranjana first met. The realisation that there was a special, magical chemistry between their voices was immediate and, in Iona’s words, “After the residency, we decided to continue to collaborate and create something from the process…”. The tangible result of this collaboration is Cove, named after the location of the Making Tracks residency, an EP recorded and mixed by Andy Bell at Heriot Toun in the Borders in April and mixed by Sam Proctor.
This release is somewhat of a departure from their previous modus operandi for both artists. In Iona’s case, she forsakes song writing and returns to music from the British folk tradition and beyond, whilst, for Ranjana, this project sees her forgoing her tanpura and harmonium, collaborating solely with her voice, the only instrumentation being provided by Iona’s shruti box.
The three tracks follow a similar pattern in that, as the titles reveal, each one comprises two songs, respectively, in the main, being delivered by one singer, although there are some elements of unison. Sometimes these lyrics, rendered in differing languages, are delivered alone, but intriguingly, on many occasions, they are performed simultaneously, making for a wonderous mélange of vocal dexterity.
The first offering is Vaishnava Jana To – Quiet Joys Of Brotherhood, four minutes and 34 seconds of exceptional music. After an initial chant-like refrain (here Om Shanti is chanted three times – for peace in the body, mind and spirit), each singer synchronously delivers their chosen song. The former is a version of one of the most popular Hindu bhajans, written in the 15th century and incidentally included in Mahatma Gandhi’s daily prayer. This bhajan (devotional song) tells of the life and ideals of Vaishnava Jana, a follower of Vishnu. In translation, the song emphasises the importance of empathy and selflessness, the lyrics stating that
One who is a Vaishnav (Devotee of Vishnu)
Knows the pain of others
Does good to others.
without letting pride enter his mind.
… Tolerates and praises the entire world.
Does not speak ill of others
Keeps his promises, actions and thoughts pure …
Iona’s exquisite interpretation of the Richard Fariña poem The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood, very much in keeping with the Making Tracks philosophy outlined above, speaks to environmental issues and respect for nature.
As gentle tides go rolling by,
Along the salt sea strand
The colours blend and roll as one
Together in the sand.
And often do the winds entwine
To send their distant call,
The quiet joys of brotherhood,
And love is lord of all.
Closing, in perfect cyclical symmetry, with the chant that opened the track, this is a remarkable collaboration. One minor request, maybe hindered here by the track length, but if and when performed live, it would be great to hear the third verse of Fariña’s poem.
The second offering pairs Agar Main Panchi Hota with Lark In The Clear Air, the Sir Samuel Ferguson lyric, catalogued as Roud 24701. Iona comes in first here with her shruti, then delivers the first three lines of the opening verse solo before Ranjana accompanies her on the fourth, a pattern repeated with the following four lines. At this point, Ranjana begins her song, which I believe translates from Hindi as I Am A Bird, rendering one stanza before Iona returns with the Lark. The two continue, simultaneously to complete their songs. The crystal clarity of the two voices on this E.P. cannot be over-emphasised and is exemplified to perfection on this track; never has the “beauty of bird-song” analogy been more appropriate.
Closing this short collection, we have Surya Pranam alongside Let No Man Steal Your Thyme. Ranjana’s mantra has been described as a rejuvenating chant that aligns the chanter’s gratitude and energy to the All-Powerful Sun – Surya, referring to both the sun and solar deity in Hinduism, whilst Let No Man Steal Your Thyme, replete with botanical symbolism, is a cautionary tale, warning of the dangers of false lovers, the lyrics here seemingly the ones sung previously by Anne Briggs. The delivery of this pair of songs is contemplative and spiritual, with, at times, echoes of medieval plainsong.
Cove is a beguiling and transfixing EP which provides for a memorable listening experience The juxtaposition of two exceptionally fine voices from such diverse musical backgrounds is a thing of great beauty, and the pairing of the song choices extremely well-judged, both in terms of lyrical content and melody.
Iona Lane: http://www.ionalane.com/
Ranjana Ghatak: https://www.ranjanaghatak.com/
Hudson Records: https://hudsonrecords.co.uk/product/–cove