“You feel this music on your body”: Shye Ben Tzur and Jonny Greenwood return with new album Ranjha

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The album was produced by Sam Petts-Davies and recorded at Greenwood's Oxfordshire studio, marking a shift in setting from the 15th-century Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur where its predecessor Junun was cut back in 2015 with Nigel Godrich.

“It was about getting a clearer sound in a more controlled environment, but using the features of the studio to be creative in a completely different way,” Ben Tzur explains. “So I think it sounds very different.”

The album brings together a cast of 21 musicians, with the Rajasthan Express providing the rhythmic and brass heft that defined the group's earlier work. Also appearing is Tom Skinner, the jazz drummer and Smile member, who plays on the album's title track, released today.

The songs themselves began taking shape several years ago, with writing sessions occurring during Radiohead tours in 2017 and 2018, and later in Italy and while the pandemic delayed progress, the material was eventually realised in Oxford. Ben Tzur, who relocated to India after first encountering the country's music as a teenager, remains focused on the physical impact of the sound. “You feel this music on your body,” he says. “Then it affects your emotional state when you hear the melodies. Then come the words and the lyrics.”

Greenwood, whose recent work includes film scores and the Middle East-focused record Jarak Qaribak with Dudu Tassa, describes the process as one of careful navigation: “With Shye’s songs, you feel dangerously like you can ruin them quite easily by imposing western chords on them, like you’re forcing a square into a circle,” he says. “But at the same time, a lot of the songs just seem to come to life as soon as there was some of that... I’ve always wanted to turn this band into a funk group.”

Ranjha is presented on red and coral splatter vinyl, CD and download, and is available to pre-order now.