A Foreign Affair is an album by American jazz fusion band Spyro Gyra. The album is the story of five men and their love affair with music. The album contains a Hindi song Khuda sung by Arijit Singh, composed by Sandeep Chowta and co-produced by Chowta and Spyro Gyra. It is the first time a Western group has released a song with lyrics entirely in Hindi.[2]
| A Foreign Affair | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 13, 2011 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 60:47 | |||
| Label | Amherst | |||
| Producer | Spyro Gyra | |||
| Spyro Gyra chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Music | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Caribe" | Jay Beckenstein | Spyro Gyra | 5:27 |
| 2. | "Khuda" | Shabbir Ahmed, Sandeep Chowta | Arijit Singh | 4:44 |
| 3. | "Sweet Ole Thang" | Bonnie Bonaparte | Spyro Gyra | 4:26 |
| 4. | "Falling Walls" | Julio Fernández | Spyro Gyra | 6:31 |
| 5. | "Shinjuku" | Tom Schuman | Spyro Gyra | 5:08 |
| 6. | "Chileno Boys" | David Broza, Alberto Ríos | Fernandez | 6:23 |
| 7. | "Samba for Two" | Schuman | Spyro Gyra | 5:18 |
| 8. | "Canção de Ninar" | Beckenstein | Spyro Gyra | 4:21 |
| 9. | "Antigua" | Beckenstein | Spyro Gyra | 6:29 |
| 10. | "Last Call" | Fred Knoblock, Danny O'Keefe | Keb' Mo' | 4:36 |
| 11. | "Dancing on Table Mountain" | Scott Ambush | Spyro Gyra | 7:24 |
| Total length: | 60:47 | |||
Release and chart history
editThe album was released on September 13, 2011. Upon release the album was positioned at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart.[2]
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | September 13, 2011 | CD | Amherst | |
| India | Digital | Sony | [3] | |
| United Kingdom | February 13, 2012 | CD | In-Akustik |
Critical reception
editAllMusic's Jonathan Widran opined that "the most interesting tracks are the beautiful, poignant vocal tracks by Keb' Mo' and Fernandez" and stated the band "still had something fresh to say while fearlessly entering their fifth decade of recording".[4] JazzTimes's Brian Soergel concluded the review stating "this is the CD that many casual Spyro Gyra fans have been waiting for".[5] Howard Dukes from Soul Tracks praised the songs in the album and stated "The ease in which the band amalgamates different international influences on A Foreign Affair is a reminder of why we call music the international language".[6]
Personnel
editCredits for A Foreign Affair are adapted from AllMusic[7] and Discogs.[8]
Spyro Gyra
- Jay Beckenstein – saxophones
- Tom Schuman – keyboards
- Julio Fernández – guitars, vocals (6)
- Scott Ambush – bass
- Bonny Bonaparte – drums, percussion, backing vocals (6)
Additional musicians
- Pedrito Martinez – congas
- Sandeep Chowta – duduk (2), tabla (2)
- Tosin Aribisala – percussion (11)
- Arijit Singh – vocals (2)
- Keb' Mo' – vocals (10)
Production
edit- Leonard Silver – executive producer
- Spyro Gyra – producers
- Sandeep Chowta – co-producer (2)
- Paul Antonell – engineer
- Connor Milton – assistant engineer
- Elijah Walker – assistant engineer
- Martin Walters – mixing at Big Time Audio (Jonesborough, TN)
- Adam Ayan – mastering at Gateway Mastering (Portland, ME)
- Peter Ambush – cover illustration
- Phil Brennan – design, photography, management
References
edit- ^ Widran, Jonathan. "A Foreign Affair". Allmusic. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
- ^ a b "Sandeep Chowta goes global". Anusha Vincent. The Times of India. October 24, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
- ^ "Sandeep Chowta's 'A Foreign Affair' with Spyro Gyra". Madhusree Chatterjee. Planet Radiocity. September 13, 2011. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
- ^ "A Foreign Affair Review by Jonathan Widran". Jonathan Widran. AllMusic. September 13, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
- ^ "A Foreign Affair Review by Brian Soergel". Brian Soergel. JazzTimes. October 9, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
- ^ "Spyro Gyra - A Foreign Affair (Advance Review)". Howard Dukes. Soul Tracks. October 9, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
- ^ "Spyro Gyra – A Foreign Affair – Credits". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. October 16, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
- ^ "Spyro Gyra – A Foreign Affair – Credits". Discogs. September 13, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2014.