Gurtu is right: God is a drummer, she told me so, and this is a God that celebrates peace, reverence, life, all unrecognising of nation or religion. With God Is A Drummer, Gurtu has drawn together his 50 years in recording to pay homage to the those he holds dear.

Thus ‘Obrigado’ summons the spirit of Joe Zawinul, notably in his Syndicate era, with a riotous groove interpolated by konnakol rhythms and spikes of strings. There’s a 1980s touch too in ‘Holy Mess’ which evokes the hip drum shit of the man with the yellow drums, Tony Williams. Woven throughout are four tabla interludes that serve as punctuations so that the culture leaps between the songs don’t clash but instead are sewn together by Gurtu’s Indian heritage, which itself is rich with many traditions. That’s hinted at by the poignant ‘Madre’, evoking classical Indian song and indeed memories of Gurtu’s own mother, classical singer Shoba Gurtu. The summation of Gurtu’s career, God Is a Drummer celebrates difference even as it brings worlds together.