December 2, 2022

Cassandra Jenkins & Suhail Yusuf Khan - Chale Jaana


For a surprise Bandcamp Friday release, Cassandra Jenkins has shared a new collaborative EP with Suhail Yusuf Khan that reimagines tracks from last year's incredible An Overview on Phenomenal Nature.

Recorded live in a studio, Chale Jaana is a new joint EP from Cassandra Jenkins and Suhail Yusuf Khan that finds the two artists collaborating together through improvisational measures that give new vantage points to some of Jenkins' best work. For 28 minutes, the two artists meld their minds as these new versions come sharply into focus, each track given new textures and sounds to compliment the gorgeous arrangements Jenkins carefully crafted for their original go around. The new layers make the already dreamy work even more remarkable, adding new sonics and varieties of melodies that offer something totally unique and breathtaking. Field recordings blend with Jenkins' transfixing vocals as Suhail Yusuf Khan embellishes the hypnotic nature with newfound approaches that elevate the works without taking away from the original brilliance. An already promising album in its original form (it was my favorite of 2021), hearing these new takes not only provides another chapter to the elegant story, one that began with the album's initial follow-up An Overview on an Overview on Phenomenal Nature, but continues to prove that this record has so much more to offer than perhaps originally intended. Even if the story ends here, it's compelling enough to leave things on such a high note, but suggests that even more could potentially emerge. What we have currently is a sign of true greatness that solidifies Jenkins as one of the best songwriters of the moment, one we should be truly enamored with at every turn. Now, take a deep breath, count to three, and get lost all over again in the sublime work of this mesmerizing songwriter.

Chale Jaana: Cassandra Jenkins & Suhail Yusuf Khan Live is out now, exclusively on Bandcamp.

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