Reviewed by Andy Cooper

Six tracks presented here, some apparently from their forthcoming album. Instruments, voices, melodies and rhythms from around the world are expertly mixed with dance and electronic rhythms and sounds to produce an engaging and interesting audio collage. "Guru Rabbi Teacher" contains Indian percussion and vocal styles, "Beatmaster" supplies Far Eastern melodies, and "Salaam" begins with an amazing solo on what sounds like a Chinese harp (but I 'm sure the Archivists could correct me). "Little Flower" is a remastered track from their previous album and is one of the most beautifully haunting pieces of music I have ever heard. The final track, "Teshuvah" returns to the Indian theme, merging trip hop beats with the traditional tabla. I hesitate to compare this music to that of anyone else, but I shall do it anyway, for the benefit of those who have never heard of these guys before: the most obvious comparison would be to Talvin Singh, though the Secret Archives arguably draw from a much wider sphere of musical influence. Rarely do you find music or artists with such character, musical maturity and individuality.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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