A Foreign Affair (Spyro Gyra album) explained

A Foreign Affair
Type:	studio
Artist:	Spyro Gyra
Cover:	A Foreign Affair.jpg
Studio:	Clubhouse Recording Studios (Rhineback, NY) Menekeys Recording Studios (Union City, NY)
Genre:	Jazz
Label:	Amherst
Producer:	Spyro Gyra
Prev Title:	Down the Wire
Prev Year:	2009
Next Title:	The Rhinebeck Sessions
Next Year:	2013

A Foreign Affair is an album by American jazz fusion band Spyro Gyra. The album is the story of five men and their love affair with music. The album contains a Hindi song Khuda sung by Arijit Singh, composed by Sandeep Chowta and co-produced by Chowta and Spyro Gyra. It is the first time a Western group has released a song with lyrics entirely in Hindi.^[1]

Release and chart history

The album was released on September 13, 2011. Upon release the album was positioned at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart.^[1]

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
United States	September 13, 2011	CD	Amherst
India		Digital	Sony	^[2]
United Kingdom	February 13, 2012	CD	In-Akustik

Critical reception

AllMusic's Jonathan Widran opined that "the most interesting tracks are the beautiful, poignant vocal tracks by Keb' Mo' and Fernandez" and stated the band "still had something fresh to say while fearlessly entering their fifth decade of recording".^[3] JazzTimes's Brian Soergel concluded the review stating "this is the CD that many casual Spyro Gyra fans have been waiting for".^[4] Howard Dukes from Soul Tracks praised the songs in the album and stated "The ease in which the band amalgamates different international influences on A Foreign Affair is a reminder of why we call music the international language".^[5]

Personnel

Credits for A Foreign Affair are adapted from AllMusic^[6] and Discogs.^[7]

Spyro Gyra

• Jay Beckenstein – saxophones
• Tom Schuman – keyboards
• Julio Fernández – guitars, vocals (6)
• Scott Ambush – bass
• Bonny Bonaparte – drums, percussion, backing vocals (6)

Additional musicians

• Pedrito Martinez – congas
• Sandeep Chowta – duduk (2), tabla (2)
• Tosin Aribisala – percussion (11)
• Arijit Singh – vocals (2)
• Keb' Mo' – vocals (10)

Production

• Leonard Silver – executive producer
• Spyro Gyra – producers
• Sandeep Chowta – co-producer (2)
• Paul Antonell – engineer
• Connor Milton – assistant engineer
• Elijah Walker – assistant engineer
• Martin Walters – mixing at Big Time Audio (Jonesborough, TN)
• Adam Ayan – mastering at Gateway Mastering (Portland, ME)
• Peter Ambush – cover illustration
• Phil Brennan – design, photography, management

Notes and References

1. Web site: Sandeep Chowta goes global . . Anusha Vincent . October 24, 2011 . December 4, 2014.
2. Web site: Sandeep Chowta's 'A Foreign Affair' with Spyro Gyra . Madhusree Chatterjee . Planet Radiocity . September 13, 2011 . December 4, 2014 . December 18, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141218223859/http://www.planetradiocity.com/musicreporter/celebrity-news-story/Sandeep-Chowtas-A-Foreign-Affair-with-Spyro-Gyra/2875 . dead .
3. Web site: A Foreign Affair Review by Jonathan Widran . . Jonathan Widran . September 13, 2011 . December 4, 2014.
4. Web site: A Foreign Affair Review by Brian Soergel . . Brian Soergel . October 9, 2011 . December 4, 2014.
5. Web site: Spyro Gyra - A Foreign Affair (Advance Review) . Soul Tracks . Howard Dukes . October 9, 2011 . December 4, 2014.
6. Web site: Spyro Gyra – A Foreign Affair – Credits . Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. October 16, 2011. December 4, 2014.
7. Web site: Spyro Gyra – A Foreign Affair – Credits . . September 13, 2011. December 4, 2014.