Yorkston/Thorne/Khan announce third album 'Navarasa : Nine Emotions', share "Westlin' Winds"

Yorkston/Thorne/Khan—a trio of James Yorkston (guitar/nyckelharpa/vocals), Jon Thorne (double-bass/vocals) and Suhail Yusuf Khan (sarangi/vocals)—are pleased to announce their new album Navarasa : Nine Emotions, to be released on January 24, 2020.

At the heart of YTK’s transporting new album is the Indian subcontinent’s navarasa; the nine (nava) emotions or sentiments (rasa) of the arts. This central unifying underpinning is a centuries-old organizing principle and directly connects an emotion to each song on the album: Sukhe Phool – Karuna (sorrow), The Shearing’s Not for You – Bibhatsya (disgust), Thumri Bhairavi – Raudra (anger), Westlin’ Winds – Adbutha (surprise/wonder), Song for Oda – Shringara (love/beauty), Theo’s – Hasya (laughter), Twa Brothers – Bhayanaka (terror/fear), Waliyan da Raja – Veera (heroism/courage), Darbari – Shantha (peace/tranquility).

The first track to be shared from Navarasa : Nine Emotions is “Westlin’ Winds,” which is paired with Adbutha (surprise/wonder).

“Westlin’ Winds” starts with the life-destroying Act I of Robert Burns’ poem Now Westlin Winds, (And Slaught’ring Guns) and transplants its disjointed, nature-extolling and life-affirming Act II onto Indian soil with a composition “in Purbi, a specific dialect of old Hindi. I learnt the song,” says Suhail, “by listening to various qawwali [Muslim devotional song] singers singing at Hazrat Nizammuddin’s dargah [shrine] in Delhi. Its source is Hazrat Amir Khusrau.” 

YTK unite one of the key spiritual visionaries and architects of Hindustani art music, the poet-philosopher Hazrat Amir Khusrau with the key literary visionary of Scottish and Scots-language culture, Robert Burns.

This bricolage of diverse cross-cultural elements is apparent across Navarasa : Nine Emotions, and all of what YTK create. James Yorkston weaves in Scottish folk, sangster and literary strands; Jon Thorne is grounded in jazz and groove; what the New Delhi-based, eighth-generation hereditary musician Suhail Yusuf Khan brings to this feast of pulses and cycles is northern Indian classical, light classical (thumri, for example) and Sufi devotional musical and literary forms. What binds these diverse musical strands together is, in James’ phrase, “a dark happiness.”

Navarasa : Nine Emotions is the trio’s third record and follows Everything Sacred (2016) and its successor Neuk Wight Delhi All-Stars (2017). It is available to pre-order on deluxe double vinyl (colored vinyl with three exclusive songs), double vinyl (with the three exclusive tracks), CD, and digitally.

Tickets for the tour dates below are available at https://www.yorkstonthornekhan.com. 

Upcoming Yorkston/Thorne/Khan live dates
Jan 22 - Celtic Connections @ Drygate Brewery, Glasgow
Mar 10 - Colchester Arts Centre, Colchester
Mar 11 - Kings Place, London
Mar 12 - Mac Arts, Birmingham
Mar 14 - The Met, Bury
Mar 15 - Music Room Liverpool Philharmonic, Liverpool
Mar 16 - Folkhouse, Bristol
Mar 19 - Stapleford Granary, Stapleford
Mar 20 - Selby Town Hall, Selby
Mar 21 - Catstrand, New Galloway
Mar 22 - Summerhall, Edinburgh
Mar 23 - Perth Concert Hall, Perth
Mar 24 - One Touch Theatre, Eden Court Inverness
Mar 25 - The Old Bridge Inn, Fort William
Mar 26 - Woodend Barn, Banchory
Mar 27 - Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh
Mar 28 - Eastgate Theatre, Peebles

James Yorkston Solo Tour Dates
Dec 16 – Newcastle, Cluny 2
Dec 17 – Birmingham, Kitchen Garden Café
Dec 18 – London, Lexington (SOLD OUT)
Jan 24 – Kilkenny, Cleeres
Jan 25 – Waterford, Grimes
Jan 26 – Cork, Coughlan's
Jan 27 – Dublin, Workmans Club