London has always been a vibrant centre for the fusion of diverse cultural influences, giving birth to unique blends of food, fashion and music. The sounds of Ajay Srivastav are a prime example of this open and dynamic attitude, combining the wistful blues of the Mississippi delta with the spiritual introspection and rhythmic complexity of his ancestral home of India.

Often music that seeks to combine such disparate styles can end up fractured or shallow, yet here they sit perfectly naturally together. This deceptively complex feat owes a lot to a subtle approach to arrangement throughout, as made clear in the title track “Karmic Blues”. Driven by an interlocking tabla and double bass groove, plenty of space is provided for the vocals and traditional twang of the resonator guitar, as the introduction of the sitar drone in the breakdown drifts the listener back towards the Indian subcontinent.

Though the majority of the album leans towards the blues side of this east-west fusion, the closing track “Surya Namaskar” inverts this and provides a contemplative resolution, led by resonant drones, tabla and choral vocals. This rounds out an album which, although based lyrically on fairly familiar Eastern spritual sentiments and musically on pretty straight forward Western blues, manages to provide a masterclass in soulful and reverential fusion.