'VIRA' means 'Brotherhood', and on this disc it represents a sort of fraternity between two outstanding soloists, the flute player Rakesh Chaurasia and the inimitable tabla player Talvin Singh. Both musicians have, in the past, taken their respective instruments into uncharted territory, so it was only natural that they should play for a duet album like this one. Talvin Singh has long experimented with sound and despite his training as a classical Indian musician has sought to find a texture of sound that while remaining true to the classical tradition also reflects the latest sound technology. In a traditional classical recital, the soloist always has a repetitive background drone provided by the tanpura (or tamboura.) This provides a kind of background, or mat against which the solo instruments really stand out. But instead of using a single tanpura, this recording features a richer background and texture with the use of special keyboard pads. Rakesh Chaurasia, one of the foremost flute players of his generation, has already worked on numerous Sona Rupa projects and has also performed with Talvin Singh. But the opportunity of doing this kind of one-to-one recital with Talvin Singh was one that he welcomed eagerly. There were no rehearsals, and once the Raags were chosen, the recording was done in a spontaneous, improvised way in a London studio.