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Swati Starts Out with a ‘Big Bang’

The New York-born singer/songwriter Swati started making a name for herself in the late ’90s, performing countless gigs at popular Manhattan club outlets such as Arlene’s Grocery, Nightingale’s, and the Living Room. Famed producer Steve Lillywhite caught one of Swati’s many lower east side gigs and offered to record her demo. Now in 2007, armed with an arsenal of guitars and a painfully beautiful set of chops, Swati issued her debut album, Small Gods. “Big Bang” is just one of the many sprawling cuts found on the Brandon Mason-produced (David Bowie, The Secret Machines) effort.

The bare bones of “Big Bang” starts off literally with a big bang — intricate guitar picking molded against rough electric riffs and prog-like synths are layered among Middle Eastern influences, while Swati’s swirling lyrical chants match the likes of Ani DiFranco and Rodrigo y Gabriela. Had Ravi Shankar and Joni Mitchell gotten together, Swati may have been their next of kin. Small Gods is out now via the Bluhammock (Cary Brothers, Kristoffer Ragnstam) label.

Now Hear This:
Swati – “Big Bang” DOWNLOAD MP3

On the Web:
Swati at MySpace
swatilive.com

Talk: Does Swati make a ‘Big Bang’ here?

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