By Alisha Woolery
Enquirer Contributor
for Cincinnati.Com

Members of Mohenjo Daro rehearse a set in Sayler Park. (Photo courtesy of Mohenjo Daro).

L I S T E N   U P

Check out these tracks from Mohenjo Daro's CD, "Baksheesh:" • "Masmerdo" • "Volta" • "Diwali"

Sitting in a semi-circle in a small room in Sayler Park, surrounded by exotic instruments and their cases, the three members of Mohenjo Daro play hypnotic blends of Indian and Middle Eastern music.

Jim Feist plays the tabla sitting on the floor, his fingers and palms alternating on the drum face in a mesmerizing beat. Next to him is Zach Mechlem, who nimbly picks and strums a guitar, and Johnny Ruzsa, who sways rhythmically while playing his flute. The sounds spin around the room in colorful circles, the music lyrical without the use of words.

Technically, this is called North Indian Classical Music. Its origins are thousands of years old, and listening to it conjures ancient people dancing in faraway places. Feist has traveled to India to learn the complexity of playing the tabla, an instrument steeped in tradition.

This kind of music has no harmony, Feist explains, so the melody and rhythm qualities are richly embellished.

What is created is a layered and often haunting sound that can either urge a listener to his feet or provide a soothing focus for relaxation or meditation. The group brings many world influences to its Eastern-style music, including Hindustani Raga and devotional music, Arabic belly dance and North African trance.

While Mechlem plays the guitar, a banjo-mandolin hybrid or a type of drum known as a doumbek, Ruzsa plays the flute and alto flute. A recent addition to the band, Ruzsa heard Mechlem and Feist playing at the Aronoff Center and was immediately drawn to Mohenjo Daro's style. He played with the group's latest CD "Rajdhani Express," due out in September. Like Mechlem and Feist, Rasza has a diverse musical background that includes rock and roll bands and classical training.

With Ruzsa in the group, both Mechlem and Feist are excited about Mohenjo Daro's future. Their first CD, "Baksheesh," released in 2000, received positive reviews, but Mechlem says this second round of music is a more accurate representation of the group.

"Simply put, it's way better," he said. "We've matured so much as a music group."

One of the songs soon to be released, "Chappelwallah," is rooted in Feist's experience in Bombay when his sandal broke. He took the shoe to a man who fixes sandals, and waited while he quickly patched his shoe. When he went to pay the worker, the cost translated into mere cents in American dollars.

The discrepancy in wealth between Feist, an American, and the Indian man deeply affected Feist, and is translated into an emotive, swaying song. In contrast "Mesmerdo," an earlier composition, is wildly stirring, the music building into a frenzy of dancing notes.

While it might seem odd for a world-music group to live in the foothills of the Ohio River Valley, Mohenjo Daro has found a receptive audience locally, as well as in Canada. They often play at York Street Café, and are experiencing a growing interest from yoga centers.

"We're constantly getting new audiences as we progress," Mechlem said.

With the Sept. 11 attacks and the anti-Muslim sentiments that exploded in the United States, the group members were initially concerned about the reception of their music. Surprisingly, the event actually spawned more interest in Indian music, as people reached out to learn more about their world neighbors. There are no lyrics, no political ideas or religious persuasion. Feist believes it is simply music that stirs something deep inside you.

"What we do transcends politics and religion," Mechlem said.