Cards on the table: I don’t listen to a lot of modern music. I think that’s mostly because my dad raised me on a steady diet of classic rock, so a lot of modern jams don’t seem to hit my ears quite right. But there’s one dude out there whose tunes transcend genres (not to mention languages). A dude by the name of Jeffrey Iqbal.
As much as I enjoy the classic rock ballads of yesteryear, Jeffrey Iqbal’s melodies have an almost magical quality to them. Not in the sense that they turn water into wine (though that’d be pretty cool), but in the sense that, however he plays and whatever instruments he has backing him, I always feel this sense of calm and tranquility wash over me. Even when he covers Indian songs and I can’t understand the actual lyrics, his intent is conveyed loud and clear: peace and love.
Jeffrey’s latest work is another of his cross-cultural mash-ups, this time between Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You” and AR Rahman’s Tere Bina. It’s actually kind of amusing; unlike some of his previous works with fancier camera work, this mash-up just features him along with his collaborator Purnash squatting comfortably outside on a pleasant day, armed with mics, drums, and some kind of remixed accordion. I didn’t even know digital accordions were a thing, so that’s pretty awesome. Give this mash-up a listen, and feel that wonderful globe-trotting peace wash over you like a snuggly blanket.
