The unexpected offer of the first listen to and a talk-through of the tracks on the as yet un-mastered Philtre, due to be released in April, is too good to turn down, and the album kicks off with a downbeat track 'Everything' featuring regular Jacob Golden, followed by 'Dead Man', a rootsy blues with an American Deep South vibe, with Ninja Tunes' Finn. 'Dead Man' tracks two lives being lived at the same time in parallel universes, and Finn's gruff bluesy vocals are set off to great effect by the contrasting tones of Bengali vocalist, Nina Miranda, who provides the parallel life in the track.

"This album is definitely the best stuff I've ever done, everything flows and I'm really happy with the energy..."

'Journey' features the smooth and deep breathy vocals of Vikter Duplaix (Jazzanova) and builds into a deep drum and bass track, interweaving rhythms of the voice and instruments playing off each other, and 'Mausam' with Reena Bhardwaj singing the Hindi lyrics, is "a bittersweet song about how the seasons and the weather change throughout life" adding yet another layer to the complex meeting of styles and sounds.

Other tracks on the album include an as-yet unnamed haunting gipsyesque tune which builds up into a storming dance track featuring Spanish flamenco group, Ojos de Brujo, and 'Flipside', an R&B tune with a 70s funk influence presented by a tight rhythm section brings back into the fray the idea of parallel universes.

Recorded mostly in his London studio, with some string sections layed down in Madras, Philtre has a depth and complexity to it to rival Nitin's previous albums (no mean feat), and boasts an energy which was lacking in his last offering, Human. Vocal talent on the album is particularly pronounced, and is as diverse as the styles presented throughout, from drum and bass to flamenco, classical and raags to R&B.

Nitin talks with equal enthusiasm about all the musicians he worked with on the new album, some of whom are household names, but many of whom are unsigned: "I'm really happy with how it has come out, because the musicianship and the singing and the vibe of this album is definitely the best stuff I've ever done, everything flows together nicely, and I'm really happy with the energy with it."

Immediately conspicuous by their absence are the overt political messages of previous albums, as are the overarching themes which pulled together previous albums Displacing the Priest, Beyond Skin and Prophesy.
"The albumÖis a series of vignettes, of thoughts and ideas, there is no overall theme - I wanted it to be more about feelings and emotions. I tried to do an album about the flow of music."

"We've got to revise the way we trust certain people to run everything for us, and what their motivations for doing that are"

So why, in the midst of conflicts Nitin continues to speak out against strongly, does a musician we expect to make bold statements choose to avoid politics in his latest work?
"The reality of what people say quite often is drowned out or distorted by the way it comes back, so you will say something and it will come back incorrectly. I got to the point where I think music is the true way to express myself.

"We've got to do something pretty radical at this point, because politics just doesn't work. People who are desperate for power become the politicians: people who, by nature, are desperate for power and will do anything to maintain power and they don't care what that is. We've got to revise the way we trust certain people to run everything for us, and what their motivations for doing that are. Clearly it's pretty twisted right now, what's going on; there's so much imbalance in the world.

"I'm so sick and tired of the bullshit and rubbish that's coming through in the media from America, from our government, the lies and the deceit, it just gets to the point where everyone's talking about it. Everyone knows how we are being hoodwinked - you only have to watch something like The Power of Nightmares on the BBC to think what a load of rubbish is coming at us all the time.

"I thought rather than just keep going on about it, I wouldn't mind getting away from these themes altogether right now, and just make an album that's just purely about focussing on music and the power of music. I need to get away from messages right now I just want to get deep into music because music is the thing that gets past all the bullshit really."

"Philtre means healing potion, and that's what I think music really is, and without making that statement and shoving it down people's throats either"

Is it possible to bypass politics in music as a socially aware musician?
"I think when you make an album that's constructive and about collaboration of people from different backgrounds, different cultures, all different ways of looking at things and they can come together and produce a cohesive body of work and it flows and it feels natural, that's enough of a statement... I think we are saturated by people ramming things down our throats, and a lot of it I think is disguised as stuff that is supposed to be powerful and hard-hitting, and actually it's not.

"I just want to make an album which gets into talking positively, or making positive statements of how powerful music can be and lots of different feelings, emotions and ideas, and how that can flow through people coming together from all different backgrounds.'

"Philtre means healing potion, and that's what I think music really is, and without making that statement and shoving it down people's throats either. I think what happens, is when people are speaking against what's going on with the war right now, we are desensitised to hearing it. I think there is so much saturation of coverage about Iraq that I think people haven't got any perspective anymore. You see pictures of what is going on over there -- and there are just a few simple facts: One is it's an illegal war, with no justification going over there.'

Finally, what does 2005 hold for you?
"I'm doing a film score for Mira Nair for her next film, and I've just signed to CAA, which is a Bollywood agency so I might do some more film scores, and also I'm working with Akram Khan, a dancer. Aside from that I'm probably doing some more stuff with orchestras. I love writing for classical orchestras, it's a big buzz when you hear an orchestra playing back something you've just written.'

Nitin Sawhney is appearing at Buxton Opera House Four-Four Time festival on Saturday 26 February and at Shepherd's Bush Empire on 3, 4 May.

Links
Official Nitin Sawhney site
More about Nitin, including samples