Joel Veena’s ‘Cardinal’ Builds Something Real with Strings, Drums, and Intention

Joel Veena (Joel Eisenkramer), a Vermont-based slide guitarist steeped in the Hindustani tradition, returns with Cardinal, an eight-track collection that pulls from deep traditions and newer collaborations. Eisenkramer has built his career around the 20-string Indian slide guitar, and with Cardinal, he moves with quiet assurance – tracking ideas that matter to him, in a way that feels close to the ground but never stagnant.

The album feels like a convergence point. Tracks like “Just Give Thanks” draw from sung poetry, while “Raag Bageshree” leans into classical north Indian structure with full respect for the raga’s mood and shape. There’s also “Resistance,” a rare inclusion of electronic beats that don’t clash with tradition – they pulse underneath it. None of it feels forced together. These pieces belong side-by-side because Eisenkramer makes space for them to.

“Reminder” is the first-ever documented collaboration between Hindustani slide guitar and jori (a deep-toned cousin of the tabla), featuring Jasdeep Singh. Singh’s jori playing is responsive without being reactive – letting the tones of Eisenkramer’s slide guitar bend and extend without needing to chase them. That one piece alone marks a quiet milestone in contemporary South Asian music, not because of its novelty, but because it feels musically necessary.

Eisenkramer recorded most of the album in Vermont at Root Cellar Sound, with sessions from UK and India seamlessly integrated. He doesn’t mask geography or tradition; instead, he invites it into the process without stretching it into something artificial.

Cardinal could sit well in film scenes needing atmosphere that’s grounded in acoustic resonance – particularly meditative, reflective moments. But its first purpose isn’t function. This is music as a form of attention. Nothing ornamental, nothing filtered out.