Composer, producer, musician and founder of Omnesia Records, Anuj Rastogi (left), has created a musical tribute to Mumbai.

“This piece came to me as I heard the names of each victim recited by individuals here in Toronto at the candlelight vigil on December 7,” says Rastogi.

“We always think about the numbers, but each one of the people had a story, had dreams, and wishes like you and me. Every one of us in every country is affected. We must not break, bust come together and unite. Jaago means awaken, and is directed to all of us and our leaders. Ending this madness is in our hands.”

187 Candles can be heard at www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr4TDxaOxgM.....

The music has been composed and arranged by Rastogi with Falitaa Chhabra doing the vocals.

More info on Anuj Rastogi at www.myspace.com/omnesiarecords.

DesiNews Magazine, January 2009
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With a bold fusion of traditional and modern styles, Toronto-based composer and producer Anuj Rastogi makes a striking debut with his CD Omnesia. Lead single "The River" features the beautiful vocals of Falitaa Chhabra, singing in Hindi over a lush orchestration that weaves sitar sounds over trippy ambient beats. Chhabra is but one of many talented vocalists that appear on the CD, gamely lending their unique voices to Rastogi's exotic and experimental productions. On follow up single "Jaane Do" Sandra Chilbuluzo does the honors, using the haunting beauty of her voice to add a gorgeous melancholy to a song that owes as big a debt to Mary J. Blige as it does to Indian alaaps. Other performers featured on the disc include Nadia Syed, Avatari Dey and Branko Boras – each performing in their own native language. With the album's fourteen tracks emerging from a multitude of styles and orchestrations, it's this commitment to diversity in sounds, people and ideas that works to make Omnesia special and unique.

The debut release of Toronto's Anuj Rastogi is a passage almost as varied as the city he hails from. Hindi, Celtic and Slavic lyrics coalesce easily enough with electronica - glitchy and otherwise - and organic instruments to create a solid first effort from this young producer. Already well known in local Toronto circles as one-half of the Dishoom parties - the other half being IndianElectronica.com founder Qasim Virjee - Anuj is now poised to emerge on the world electronica stage as force to be reckoned with and this record is his vehicle to do just that.

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1. String Theory (pick)
   
2. Blue Orchid
3. Anatomy
4. Breaking News (Reflections)
5. Breaking News (Revelations)
6. C'mon
7. The River (pick)
   
8. Under The Streetlight
9. Let It Go
10. Jaane Do
11. Celtic Haunt
12. Turmoil In The West
13. Turmoil In The East
14. Grasshopping (pick)

"Omnesia" has been featured in the 'Editor's Picks' in the 2007 Entertainers of the Year issue of Inside Entertainment Magazine. Inside E is Canada's most widely distributed mainstream entertainment magazine. Check out the little review, and the full image in this months issue, now on newsstands and distributed in the National Post!
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Inside Entertainment Magazine
December 2007

Omnesia

Omnesia

Ten Points for the name. Ambient electronica 'takes chai' with rap, sitar, tabla, saxophone, spoken word and Hindi-pop. This self-titled sonic journey from born'n'bred Torontonian Anuj Rastogi ventures excitingly close to AR Rahman territory. - KP
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Music

Review: Raj Beri

South Asian electronica artists in Canada? Not something the big red and white is normally known for being home to. While the U.K. and the U.S. have been the breeding ground for many notable modern South Asian electronica artists over the years, Canada has not seen much homegrown talent in the genre. With the release of Omnesia, Anuj Rastogi is trying to change that. Hailing from Toronto, Rastogi has put together a solid debut effort with Omnesia. More ethereal and mellow - in nature than danceable, Omnesia is reminiscent of some early Nitin Sawhney fare. Rooted in Rastogi's compositions and instrumentation, the album mixes in jazz stylings (Anatomy) with spoken word imbibed offerings (Breaking News) and beautiful vocalist accompanied downtempo pieces (C'mon). While the album could use some more production value and some of the tracks are a little out ofplace, there are flashes of brilliance on the album that show Rastogi is definitely an artist to keep an eye out for in the future. Having been on the Canadian electronic scene for the last five years, Rastogi has played the Indian Electronica Festìval in the U.K. and Toronto. Rastogi's saxophone-playing melds well with his low-key electronic beats to give Omnesia some soul; it is chill-lounge music at its very essence and tracks like Jaane Do which feature haunting vocals, stand out as some of the best on the album. Overall, it's good to see some original South Asian electronica coming out of the T-dot, and
hopefully enough people will pick up Omnesia to give the new 'movement' some legs. Visit omnesia.com.

My biggest fear was that it was going to be esoteric drum'n'bass, all at the same tempo, with meandering spoken word over the top (and I've already saturated that market thank you very much), but what I actually heard was proper, good ol'fashioned, simple Plain-Jane SONGWRITING on display. It was a joy to hear, as the closest thing we have to songwriters are Asian Dub Foundation, who fly through their songs with polemical urgency, and Nitin Sawhney, who needs a vocalist on the song to ensure it keeps to classic songwriting.

Reading the sleeve-notes was a revelation, as I found Rastogi had played pretty much every single instrument on the album. I was also surprised to learn that it was not in fact his voice during the female caterwauling moments [ha! -Editor].

So, to the record, it starts disjointed, with a broken rhythm on 'String Theory' with the strings pulsing out from under the drums to create a mournful soundscape. Soon, we're lurching into the political area of the album, where Rastogi creates a long subdued and melodical backing track, seeping in classical Indian elements, before launching into one of the album's few voices, with some spoken word about his reflections on himself when surrounded by the world today. He sounds unsure and contemplative and it makes for a musically honest moment. More spoken word please.

'The River' is the album highlight for me. It teases you with a rhythm that never quite explodes as you expect it to. What you get is 6 blissful minutes of introspective beautifully harmonised music, the percussion leading the way with it's teasing off-kilter hits. 'The River' is his work of art, the album's gem. With all the strings and sitars, and tabla and beautiful keyboards all over the album, with the singing samples and the liveness of the whole project, the non-reliance on samples, the focus on creating these musical lines himself, all this is showcased to perfection in 'The River.'

This is a talented musician with a lot more to say. Especially when he hides his spoken word capabilities on two songs on the album. Here is a man who can only get better and surpass a strong first album. Whatever happens, this is most definitely the place to start with Anuj Rastogi's work.

A stroke of Omnesia