bmurator
What a truly wonderful album! Somewhere between Folk & Raw Black Metal. Plus, being from India makes it exotic & I totally love Eastern music of any kind so... :) Thanks Harul! Highly recommended!!!
mourner
Meditative and folkloristic music often tends to bore me. When it doesn't it's nearly always beautiful, relaxing and makes for quite an introspective experience. Harul does that for me and feels unique due to its origin and the way it is on display in the songs.
Favorite track: कुआळी.
Includes unlimited streaming of भराड़ी घाट / Bharari Ghat
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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Deluxe Edition CDs
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
In association with Old Mill Productions (Canada).
*Comes in a jewel-case with a 16-page booklet containing researched information on the Western Himalayan myths, language, traditions, folklore and culture.
*Includes a translation chart to translate the nearly extinct Takri script of the Western Himalayan region into Hindi and English.
*Includes illustrations in the CD booklet and the CD by myself.
*Edition of 100. Artist copies limited to 30.
Includes unlimited streaming of भराड़ी घाट / Bharari Ghat
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Sold Out
HARUL "BHARARI GHAT" 4-sided Long Sleeve Shirt
T-Shirt/Shirt + Digital Album
"Harul - भराड़ी घाट / Bharari Ghat" long-sleeves in collaboration with Grim Graphics (@grimgraphicsgso).
Art direction and border design by - Nikita Dhamija.
(@nikita.psd)
Each shirt is hand printed using HSA water based inks on Gildan Ultra Cotton long sleeve shirts to ensure a soft hand and durable garment.
Includes unlimited streaming of भराड़ी घाट / Bharari Ghat
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Sold Out
HARUL "BHEEM" T-shirt
T-Shirt/Shirt + Digital Album
PLEASE REFER TO THE SIZE CHART WHILE ORDERING. ALL SIZES ARE MEASURED IN INCHES.
These 100% cotton,180gsm, bio-wash T-shirts will be screen-printed using professional-grade white plastisol ink. Images shown are mock-ups and the finished print may vary slightly in color/print size.
Packages will be shipped with tracking via India Post (Registered Mail).
...
Special thanks to Kunal Lokhande (@kunal.png) for the border work and setting up the layouts.
Includes unlimited streaming of भराड़ी घाट / Bharari Ghat
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
कुआळी / Kuali
(The Ever-ascending Path)
...
।। आस्सारी-तुस्सारी दूरा-पारा री हुई;
तुस्सा लोड़ी बाग्गा रा भउंर,
आस्सा लोड़ी तालरु री कुही ।।
(Pahari couplet, dialect: Kulluvi)
English
Your ways and my ways are far apart;
You seek the Flower of the Garden,
I seek the Wild White Rose.
...
So I, who asked for nothing better than to live among my mountains, travel after my death through all the lands of the Earth.
-Franz Kafka, The Hunter Gracchus
कांडे / Kaandey
(Thorns)
...
।। नेडै री झूरी, घड़ी - घड़ी रा मेळा।
दूरै री झूरी, लौम्मी सराळी रा फेरा ।।
(Pahari couplet, dialect: Kulluvi)
English
When one's beloved is near, every half hour is a feast of joy;
When one's beloved is far away, it is like a long snake coiling.
ढिप्पी / Dhippi
(The Bridge)
...
चाँद कितनी कोशिश क्यों न करे, वह रात को दिन नहीं बना सकता।
लेकिन आदमी हँसता है, दुख-दर्द सभी में आदमी हँसता है। जैसे हँसते-हँसते आदमी की प्रसन्नता थक जाती है वैसे ही कभी-कभी रोते-रोते आदमी की उदासी थक जाती है और आदमी करवट बदलता है। ताकि हँसी की छाँह में कुछ विश्राम कर फिर वह आँसुओं की कड़ी धूप में चल सके।
—धर्मवीर भारती, गुनाहों का देवता
Østenfor Sol Og Vestenfore Måne
(East of the Sun and west of the Moon)
...
Østenfor Sol og vestenfor Måne
Dit kommer du sent eller aldri
Til Verdens ende bærer det
English
East of the Sun and west of the Moon
There you shall arrive late or never
To the end of the World you are headed
(Lyrics: Ulver)
After 2020's much-loved debut single "A Beginning" which found its way to the minds and hearts of many listeners across the world, Harul presents its successor: a much more elaborate, introspective, and darker outfit titled "भराड़ी घाट" ("Bharari Ghat").
While the local Western Himalayan themes were still forming with "A Beginning", they have manifested themselves into something more concrete and are much more cohesive and central to the themes and sounds this time. In every possible way "भराड़ी घाट" is a definite step up from its predecessor. The "Himalayan Doom Folk" tag finally justifies itself.
Guided by the spirit of exploration — both of the Western Himalayan culture, arts, and traditions and its slow but imminent extinction — "भराड़ी घाट" presents eight sprawling tracks bemoaning the ongoing loss of this culture and the mindset that encourages it. Through these dense acoustic soundscapes which allude to the many facets of nature (within and without), the pastoral, folkloric, shamanic, and atavistic integrity of the Western Himalayan region has been sought to be brought up.
The need to learn, understand and express the matters that so closely concern the folks of this area lies at the heart and core of this album.
In "भराड़ी घाट", both the fire and the flame, the Draat and the Daach, the tree and the seed, and each minuscule component of the forests of the Western Himalayas have alike been hailed.
The urge of the animalistic fire to annihilate the thick layers of ignorance shall emerge victorious. This holy flame shall shine bright and end the darkness and slumber of the spirit. Through fire shall purification be attained. Through this process, the will to strive shall emerge and shine bright and flare like the very forests of the forsaken lands of Bharari Ghat.
...
Some fieldwork was conducted in the autumn of 2020, and the full repertoire of the Pahari Baja (Himalayan Ensemble) of Kotgarh village was recorded properly (credits: Himalayan Folk Collective) for archiving purposes. These very earthy recordings have made their way to the album. With this, some of the write-ups in the CD and cassette tape versions have sensibly used the nearly extinct Takri script of the region.
As far as the lyrics are concerned, lines have been adopted from ancient poems of the hills and valleys of Himachal Pradesh (in the Kulluvi dialect). With this, an excerpt from Kafka's short story "The Hunter Gracchus" and a hauntingly beautiful passage from Dharamveer Bharti's magnum opus गुनाहों का देवता ("Gunaho Ka Devta" / The God of Sins) have also made their way to the album.
Along with this, properly researched information regarding the shamanic practices, beliefs, rituals and the nearly extinct Takri script of the Western Himalayan region has made its way to the spectrum as well, adding a hitherto missing but much-needed dimension to the project (credits: The Himalayan Folk Collective & Mrinalini Singha).
Folklorists and academicians, or simply anyone who has an interest in learning and exploring something new, should find it interesting.
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Recorded, mixed, and mastered during the Monsoons of २०२१ at Forest Chants Studios (Shimla, Himachal Pradesh) by Aasheesh "Aghori" Mehta and Harul Vinay.
supported by 79 fans who also own “भराड़ी घाट / Bharari Ghat”
Merci Déhà for the download code. Lots of bands use these ingredients – pretty female vocals over doomy guitars always sounds good, but usually that's where the ideas run out. That isn't the case here. Each song is packed with ideas and evolutions, genres and references it's boring to list but not at all to listen to. A pleasure to have been introduced to this. Luke