Morcheeba - The Antidote

Kaberi recommends (week of June 7):

Morcheeba - The Antidote. You can download the album from http://drop.io/morcheeba

Why I liked it:

My relationship with Morcheeba dates back to 2003 or so when my brother gave me alot of music the summer before I went off to college and I burned some mixed CDs which had Slowdown, The Sea, Part of the Process, Trigger Hippie and Undress Me Now among others. It wasn't until 2006 when I moved to London that I revisited Morcheeba. Now that I look back, there must have been something about living in London that magically connected me with that trip-hoppy, electonic sound that is so integral to the London musical pulse. So I got ahold of their latest album at the time, The Antidode and it played on my ipod pretty much the whole year. Even now when I listen to it (Lighten Up is playing right now), it takes me back to that period in my life, walking down Kingsway to school, getting on the train to go the Cambridge or just wandering around the city and it makes me smile.

What I love about Morcheeba is their unique and individual sound, which ironically, has not been diluted in the least by their frequently changing lead singers (read About the artist below). And that has everything to do with the very distinctive sound that the Godfrey brothers have created. And despite the musical turmoil they could've descended into when they parted ways with Skye (let's face it, Skye was and is a phenomenal singer and only her haunting vocals could've made The Sea the sensation that it turned out to be), their music just became more rock solid than before.

The Antidote is a powerful album that makes a resounding impact with their opening song, Wonders Never Cease and closes just as impactfully with the very fitting God Bless and Goodbye, while telling a compelling story in its journey, both musically and lyrically. It gets a big 5 from me because it's been five years of my life, many cities with this album, many situations and well, The Antidote really works! Try it.

About the artist:

Morcheeba is a British band comprised of the Godrey brothers and for The Antidote, singer Daisy Martey who was hired to replace the original singer Skye Edwards who was let go of because of musical (and possibly personal) differences. Martey was also dismissed, a little unceremoniously, during the promotional tour of The Antidote in 2005. Morcheeba waited till 2008 before releasing another album and interestingly, the brothers decided to avoid potential drama and go with a bunch of singers instead of just one in Dive Deep (also worth checking out). It now seems that they've made their peace with Skye. She's going to be performing on their newest album Blood Like Lemonade out this month. I can't wait.

Oh and the word 'morcheeba' means 'the way of cannabis'. Etymologically, 'mor' is middle of the road and 'cheeba' is an informal name of cannabis. I personally don't think of their music or their style in this vein though.

Favourite tracks:

#1 Wonders Never Cease - The beat and the melody just adds a spring in my step. It always manages to awaken the adventurer in me. All that stuff about taking a leap of faith and facing the change of pace - I know I can do it when I hear this song.

#3 Everybody Loves a Loser - I love how tongue and cheek the lyrics are and Martey's smokey voice sings it so effortlessly. Again, the rythm and vibe of the song carries the mood the album along perfectly.

#7 Lighten Up - This is the only song that I feel is a bit of a departure from the general feel of the album simply because it is uplifting and the whole is album is a little bit dark, or grey at the very least (London, of course!). But it plays an important role in the story the album is telling.

A little bit (more) about Kaberi:

I work for a capital markets start up called Percentage Play in Bangalore. This month we will finally launch what we've been working towards for nearly a year - a web based platform that discloses, on a real time basis, our proprietary trading activity to interested investors, who can then replicate certain or all trades and make the same profits. It's a novel concept that's never been done before and we're excited and nervous to see how it all pans out.

I also teach at the National Association for the Blind. My students are young adults who have recently become blind or are losing their sight gradually and need to learn or re-learn basic computer skills to be employable. I conduct interactive discussions about business events so as to keep them informed about the job world that they will hopefully enter while developing their analytical skills and their understanding of basic economics and business cycles. My students are fantastic and inspire me every week. I also maintain a blog for NAB. Please do check it out (http://nabkarnataka.blogspot.com) to learn more about this wonderful organisation dedicated to the service of the visually challenged in India.

I've recently become very keen on fitness, whether it is the gym or yoga. And strangely, I'm also deeply into baking. I guess the universe has orchestrated this balance.