Galitcha is proud to present their second full length recording. Recorded in June/July of 2006, the disc, entitled Célébration Blé d'Inde Celebration, was engineered by James Stephens and co-produced by Stephens and band leader, Kuljit Sodhi. It features Sodhi on vocals, dholki (North Indian folk drum), tumbi (one stringed gourd 'banjo') and bells; Chris MacLean on vocals, harmonium, guitar and dulcimer; Linsey Wellman on flutes and saxophones; and Shawn Mativetsky on tabla (pitched East Indian hand drums), dhol (barrel drum), santoor (Indian hammered dulcimer), conch shell, ghatam (mud pot), glokenspiel, resonating bells, suspended cymbals, hi-hat, triangle and tambourine.

The CD boasts 8 new original tunes and 2 Québécois songs which were a collaboration with accoridan player and founder of La Bottine Souriante, Yves Lambert. M. Lambert also sings and plays guimbarde (jaw harp) on the recording. Special guests include Matt Smith (mandolin, slide guitar); James Stephens (fiddle, bass, tenor guitar and background vocals) and Henna and Shanae Sodhi on background vocals.

The music on Blé d'Inde ranges from the two aforementioned "Indo-Quebecois" pieces, to the festive traditional-style bhangra number, "Chuk Dhay"; the jazzy "Ik Mela"; and the English-language folk song, "The Road to Bamako," a moving tale about the plight of orphans in Mali. The songs on the new CD reflect Galitcha's progress as a group and tell the story of their travels both geographically, historically and musically. They are sung in Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu, French and English.

Blé d'Inde literally means Indian wheat, but is the name given to the multi-coloured corn cultivated by the native peoples of North America. The name also refers to traditional celebrations held in Québécois kitchens at harvest time, when friends and family gather to shuck corn (remove the outer leaves), share a meal, play music and dance. One ear of 'Indian' corn is buried in the pile to be shucked and whoever gets the red or multi-coloured corn wins the right to kiss whomever they choose. The name is also given to a handfull of summer festivals, including one in Saint-Célestin QC and another in Whitehorse Yukon. Galitcha chose this name as the album title to convey the energy, celebratory spirit and multi-cultural vibe of a Canadian celebration.

Produced by: James Stephens and Kuljit Sodhi
Arranged by Kuljit Sodhi, Linsey Wellman, Chris MacLean and Shawn Mativetsky
Engineered by: James Stephens
Mixing: Dave Bignell, James Stephens, Kuljit Sodhi, Chris MacLean at Heat of Sound, Ottawa, Canada
Mastering: David Cain, SoundMaster Studios, Ottawa, Canada
Graphic Design: Chris MacLean, Wunderdog Creative
Photography: Mike Beedell (all the good photos), Chris MacLean and Kuljit Sodhi

We acknowledge and appreciate the financial support given for this project from the Ontario Arts Council and also from the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Music Fund) and of Canada's private radio broadcasters.

Sound samples from the CD
Chuk Dhay - (1 mg)
J'entends le Moulin - (922 kb)
Shukria - (812 kb)

LINER NOTES

Célébration Blé d'Inde Celebration is distributed by Festival Distribution and is available after October 5th at record stores across Canada and immediately at:

Compact Music, Ottawa
downtown 613-233-7626
Glebe 613-233-8922

In November 2002, Galitcha released it's first full length recording to a sold out packed house at The Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield Quebec. The recording, entitled, SATRANG, was engineered and co-produced by James Stephens. It features core members, Kuljit Sodhi (vocals, dholki, percussion), Chris MacLean (vocals, harmonium, guitar, gopichund, dulcimer) and Linsey Wellman (flute and saxophones) on 7 original tunes and 2 traditional East Indian songs. Contributing artists add layers of sound reminiscent of many world traditions including Celtic, North American Folk, Indian and Chinese Classical and African. They are: James Stephens (fiddle, viola), Ravi Naimpally (tabla), Hassan El-Hadi (oud, banjo), Jeremy Moyer (gaohu), Shawn Mativetsky (tabla), Kamaljeet Channi (dholki), Ken Kanwisher (cello, bass) and Narinder Bhalesar (dhol).

The songs are sung in Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu.

SATRANG, the title of the CD, literally interpreted means seven colours. Here, Satrang refers to the the emotional spectrum of love and devotion. Galitcha's Satrang is orange for longing, green for serenity, red for passion, pink for arousal, turquoise for joy; yellow for faith and indigo for loyalty.

Produced by: James Stephens and Kuljit Sodhi
Arranged by Kuljit Sodhi, Linsey Wellman, Chris MacLean
Engineered by: James Stephens
Mixing: Dave Bignell, James Stephens, Kuljit Sodhi at Heat of Sound, Ottawa, Canada
Mastering: David Cain, SHARK FIN, Ottawa, Canada
Art Direction: Andrée Pouliot
Graphic Design: Chris MacLean, Wunderdog Creative
Photography: Susan Bernard
Recorded at STOVE Studios, CHELSEA, QUEBEC, Canada

Sound samples from the CD
Shama Ainya - (1.1mg)
Tujey Dehka - (1.6mg)
Shetti Shetti Wug - (2.8mg)

SATRANG is available at the following stores:

The Ottawa Folklore Centre - 613-730-2887

Librairie R. Martin Inc.
598 St-Viateur
Joliette, Qc J6E 3B7
Tél.: (450) 759-2822

Musique du Faubourg
623 rue Saint-Jean, Quebec
Telephone 418-529-4848