Dhani Harrison (named after the 6th and 7th notes of the Indian music scale dha and ni by his Indian-music loving Dad) has been quietly whittling away at his own musical legacy since winning the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for his work on father George’s “Marwa Blues”. It’s been 15 years since the younger Harrison formed thenewno2, releasing two full length albums and a film score recorded at Abbey Road with a 100-piece orchestra under his own personal direction. In addition to scoring music for five different television shows Harrison has found time to painstakingly curate his father’s history making guitar collection for mixed interactive media as well as over-see the maintenance and restoration of the elder Harrison’s entire solo catalogue. His tenure as organizer of the first ever Concert For George and the subsequent GeorgeFest shows seal the deal for someone uniquely positioned to make it a full time occupation securing his father’s musical legacy for all the ages. It is only now the 39-year-old Harrison has found time to turn his attentions towards his first ever solo record.
In Parallel finds Harrison working in pure Cinemascope on a broad canvas fleshing out every aspect of the 59-minute opus from the tiniest minutiae to the boldest brushstrokes. Throughout, his cinematic background is evident, as is his immersion in the dark brooding electronica of his youth. As highlighted by Sounds & Revelations, Harrison’s Spotify playlist accompanying the album’s release, the genesis of much of the music on In Parallel can be found on ‘90’s records by Orbital, Portishead, Tricky, Massive Attack, The Prodigy, Leftfield, Aphex Twin and a host of others. A grand sweeping statement, In Parallel is an all ‘round splendid time guaranteed for all, not just the diehard Beatles fans.
Rating: 8/10