Nitin Sawhney, Royal Albert Hall, London

Music without frontiers

The composer, multi-instrumentalist and erstwhile comic Nitin Sawhney has pushed the boat out again. Two years ago, he played a gig at the V&A; now he's opted to play at the Albert Hall, over the road. Once again, he's brought with him a small army of vocalists, from classically trained Indian singers to rappers and iron-lunged soul divas. And if that's not enough, there's a string section, a drummer, guitarist and tabla player. There can be up to 12 people on stage at one time.

The show opens with the hyperactive JC001, the man listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's fastest rapper, transforming himself into a human beatbox. As he hunches his shoulders and assumes an expression of utmost concentration, a huge bass sound thunders across the auditorium, its propulsive force threatening to reduce our ribcages to dust. He is quickly succeeded by the classical singer Jayanta Bose, a biblical figure in long robes who soothes our battered senses with his other-worldly chanting.

Sawhney makes connections between sounds and cultures that may, on the surface, seem utterly incongruous. Not only are his records political and philosophical essays, tackling such thorny issues as nuclear testing, racial identity and spiritual enlightenment; they are also intuitively eclectic. His previous albums have married flamenco and jazz with drum'n'bass and soul. But on this year's Prophesy, he takes his magpie instinct further, recording with Australian Aborigines, Native Americans and tabla players in Bombay, alongside the English Chamber Orchestra and the London Community Gospel Choir.

Our host sits to one side of the stage, flanked by his keyboards. He's a kindly presence, lavishing praise on his singers but rarely drawing attention to himself. This is a man who has discussed the world's ills with Nelson Mandela and taken tea with Paul McCartney. Above him, a screen flickers with images reflecting his preoccupations – London housing-estates, the military strikes on Afghanistan, asylum-seekers.

The songs pretty much span the composer's musical career. "Breathing Light", a track from the latest album, is sung by Jhelisa; it is, Sawhney says, about "positive energy". The elegant yet melancholy "Letting Go", featuring the delicate vocals of Tina Grace, is dedicated to the memory of George Harrison. "Street Guru" is an instrumental track with the barest of breakbeats and features the recorded musings of a Chicago cabbie.

The cultural juxtapositions just keep on coming, reaching their apogee when JC001 goes head to head in a rapping duel with Bose. It's a breathtaking cultural collision that draws attention to the similarities between East and West, rather than underlining the differences. Happily, both of them emerge victorious.

Fiona Sturges