Tigerstyle - Kawan 2 Remix EP

Tigerstyle are getting ready to release the Kawan 2 Remix EP, which is out tomorrow. Bikram Singh and Gunjan's reinterpretation of their own modern classic has at last received the Digi-Bhang treatment.

The remix version of Kawan 2 is a great EDM track. It has depth, sparkle and three impressive drops. However, for me the original Kawan remix works better than the remix of Kawan 2. The vocals and lyrics are an important in both versions of Kawan. When Bikram and Gunjan sing together, it's gorgeous. But in this remix of Kawan 2, the vocals were cut substantially and I missed them.

The remix has a video. Its dark mood mirrors the track and the two work well together. It is impressive and simple, two things other Bhangra producers should be aiming for in their videos.

Sharaab - Deva Review

Sharaab, a recording and mix engineer who has worked with Karsh Kale and the Midival Punditz, has released an EP called Deva. 

Deva is five tracks long and is the follow up to Asura. There are three original tracks and two remixes by Spectik and Jamal Rusk. The EP is typical of Sharaab's unique style. Lush deep chords, sympathetic bass, hints of darkness and beats in all the right places.

The EP opens with Yantra Force. It's a strong, powerful piece with tribal elements and a slightly sinister edge.

Fake Love is my favourite track on the EP. Featuring a Lata Mangeshkar vocal sample from Mughal-e-Azam, Fake Love is hauntingly beautiful. Right from the very first note the track draws the listener into its melancholic boudoir. I like the way the vocals have been edited and they mix seamlessly into the modern backing. The production is so clean, it's hard to believe they were sung and recorded over 50 years ago. The Spectik remix of Fake Love is good, but it somehow lacks the raw emotion of the original mix.

There is a middle-eastern feel to Wasteland. It starts off as a simple groove based track then evolves into something completely different. The contrasts in the track work well and I love the bass that comes in towards the end. The Jamal Rusk remix is an energetic take on the track.

Verdict: Sharaab is highly talented at what he does. Although Deva is short it is well produced and engaging. Perfect for the last of the dark winter nights.

Delhi 2 Dublin Make The UK Dance

Delhi 2 Dublin, the Celtic bhangra dance band from Canada, is currently on a UK tour. Seeing them perform live has been on my to do list for years and last weekend I was lucky enough to go to two of their gigs in Bristol and Devizes.

Compared to other artists I have seen live, there were a few things that D2D do differently. Fun audience participation, cute choreographed routines and an unmatched ability to get everyone moving, no matter what their age or ethnicity. It was amazing to see people who had never even heard of Delhi 2 Dublin surrender to the music and dance with the inhibition of a drunken uncle at a wedding.

Tigerstyle - Digi-Bhang Review

When Tigerstyle announced the release of their new album five years after Mystics, Martyrs and Maharajahs, no one knew quite what to expect. The singles they released sounded different to the tracks other producers were making. Sari-Clad Speakers was lucky enough to get a copy of this long awaited album and here is a world exclusive pre-release review of Digi-Bhang.

Tigerstyle have a way with bass lines like no other producers. The amount of styles, instruments and beats they pack into their songs is amazing. The production is so intricate that even after several plays of the album I am still picking up new things.

Digi-Bhang is a collection of 11 songs that work independently and are suited to the shuffle function on an MP3 player. If you listen to albums the old fashioned way (one song after the other in the order of the track listing), you may find it too intense as there are no slow songs to provide variation. Tigerstyle make great slow songs and I missed them on this album.

The lyrics on most of the tracks are all sung traditionally in Punjabi, so whatever Tigerstyle do with the accompaniment the song still has a desi feel. However, the bass line and accompaniment to the vocals is where Tigerstyle play around. mix things up and fuse sounds together. It makes it hard to classify the style of each song, especially when it changes halfway through. This is bhangra, but not as you know it.

Mere Dad Ki Maruti Review

Falling in love with a hot girl during the wedding season seems like the  perfect plot line for a Bollywood movie. Lose your Dad’s car during the film and it’s Yash Chopra Films’ version of Dude, Where’s My Car.

As the wedding is set in Chandighar, Mere Dad Ki Maruti has a Punjabi influenced soundtrack. There are some famous names in bhangra providing the vocals including Panjabi MC, Manak E, Yo Yo Honey Singh and Diljit Dosanj. 

Haay is PMC’s big Bollywood debut. Sadly he fails to make much of an impact and I find his vocals stilted and intrusive alongside Manak E’s. The women’s verse halfway through seems out of place and doesn‘t suit the song. Naturally as it’s PMC, there is a tumbi involved which sounds familiar!

Miss Pooja - Jattitude

Miss Pooja is a consistent artist. She regularly releases tracks tailored to her huge fan base and she never seems to change. My opinion of her also never seems to change. I have a love-hate relationship with her music which was still there when I gave her latest album Jattitude a listen.

Jattitude kicks off with Mundiya Nu Daure. It’s not the best start to the album as there is a disconnect between the vocals and the techno accompaniment. The English lyrics make little sense and I don’t see the point of them. Dashing Heer is similar in style to Mundiya Nu Daure and just as bad. Miss Pooja doesn’t sing much on the track and when she does the lyrics are repetitive. The mix of English and Punjabi is odd and the song is like a bad Bollywood house remix.

It’s my opinion that the traditional tracks work best for Miss Pooja rather than house tracks. Pheenghan and Maape Kehndy are two classic style songs which are brilliant. There are tempo changes in Pheenghan which add interest and stop the song from getting boring.

There are two versions of Shona Shona. In the original version there is far too much going on, but after a few listens it grew on me. The love mix version is better. It’s quieter and less busy but does not work as well as the original.

James Whetzel - Holiday: Sarod & Beats

It’s hard to believe that Christmas is almost upon us. With all the decorations, mountains of food and the promise of presents, December is a great month. However, the music around at the end of the year is usually dire. It’s the same old tired mix of Christmas pop, traditional carols and end of year party anthems. Last minute shopping is far more stressful when done to the sound of Last Christmas or Mistletoe and Wine. 

One musician has made a holiday album that is different from the usual seasonal music. James Whetzel, a Seattle based sarod and tabla player, has recorded eleven traditional Christmas songs and given them a twist. Holiday: Sarod & Beats uses a range of instruments such as the sarod, dhol and the mandolin to reinvent well known carols.

All the holiday songs are instantly recognisable but have an Asian touch. This is noticeable in the beats, instrumentation and the way each song is constructed. James has chosen the right carols to makeover as I think there are some traditional carols, such as O Come All Ye Faithful, which would not have worked.

Jab Tak Hai Jaan Review

Jab Tak Hai Jaan is full of big names acting, singing and collaborating together. AR Rahman, Gulzar, Yash Chopra, Shah Rukh Khan, Raghav, Rabbi, and Shreya Ghoshal. Accordingly the expectations are sky high and there is still another month of hype to go before the film releases this Diwali on the 13th November. However, the soundtrack was released a few days ago and is already number 1 on iTunes.

Jab Tak Hai Jaan did not sound like a work by AR Rahman on the first listen. The songs somehow lacked some of that intangible magic that AR Rahman’s compositions usually have. This is one of those sountracks that grows on the listener. It takes a few listens to fully appreciate the subtleties in the music and to understand all the lyrics.

The title track is buried towards the end of the album. It takes a while to warm up but the slow intro allows the listener to fully appreciate Javed Akhtar’s vocal talent. The song is good but lacks the grandeur of a title track and needed to be a bit longer to leave a lasting impression.

There are two Punjabi language songs on Jab Tak Hai Jaan and both have a reflective philosophical feel. Sung by Harshdeep Kaur, Heer is a girl’s plea to be one romantic literary character over another. It’s soft, lilting and traditional. Challa by Rabbi is well rounded and provides a good start to the album. It’s nice to hear his lyrics and vocals on a Bollywood soundtrack.

Delhi 2 Dublin Turn Up The Stereo

Thanks to the internet music is now a global industry. Artists can connect instantly with their fans all across the world. So it makes little sense to release music in just one country. I was devastated when iTunes told me Delhi 2 Dublin’s new album was only available in Canada. However, when browsing their website looking for international release dates, I found that fans outside Canada could purchase Turn Up The Stereo directly from the band’s website. But only for a limited time.

Delhi 2 Dublin have a sound like no other musicians I have heard and are one of the few bands who properly fuse different cultures together. Turn Up The Stereo is full of rich tones, dancing rhythms and intelligent instrumentation. The tracks are energetic and uplifting. As with their previous albums I did have to listen to Turn Up The Stereo a few times before I liked it, but by about the third listen the album was on repeat.

Turn Up The Stereo kicks off with Our House. Out of all the tracks, this was the one that stuck in my head most and I won‘t be able to look at an Indian house without yelling “sadi koti“.

Tarli Digital - #Digitaal

#Digitaal is Tarli Digital’s latest album. At eleven tracks and an intro, it’s a hefty album. I like the title and the colourful album sleeve with its sharp straight lines, so the first impressions are good.

Tarli doesn’t mess around with his Bhangra, which is a good thing. Songs are kept simple and traditional. They have a classic feel to them and nothing sounds out of place. But there were a few tracks where I felt Tarli could have experimented a just a little more.

There is a good mix of singers on the album, but disappointingly there are no female ones to add a bit of variety and contrast. Dalvinder Singh sings on three of the tracks on the album. He has collaborated successfully with Tarli before and this working relationship shows in the music. The songs that Dalvinder provides the vocals for have a more modern feel and were the better tracks on the album.

The first track with Dalvinder Singh was also released as a single. Mittran De Naal Karde is made for the dance floor with plenty of dhol thanks to The Dhol Foundation who feature on the track. There is some nice bass and I expect to hear this a lot over the current wedding season.

Dil Dhak Dhak Soniye was also released as a single. I first blogged about it here at the end of January and I am still playing it. With the current weather, it’s summery vibes have come into their own and it is one of the best songs on the album.

Ek Tha Tiger Review

Starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, Ek Tha Tiger is about a secret agent called Tiger and is set to release on August 15th. Sohail Sen composed the soundtrack, apart from one song which was put together by Sajid-Wajid.

With 8 tracks including three remixes and an instrumental, Ek Tha Tiger sounds shorter than it actually is. I generally dislike remixes as they make the album sound repetitive. None of these remixes were better than the originals or good songs in their own right and I was disappointed they were included.

Shooting for Ek Tha Tiger has taken place in ten far flung exotic locations including Iraq, Russia, Ireland, Egypt and Turkey. Three of the main four songs seems to have a different ethnic influence, probably matching the different locations that the film was shot it. The variety is nice but there is no common thread between each of the tracks.

Sukshinder Shinda - Rock Da Party

Rock Da Party is the latest release from Sukshinder Shinda. At thirteen tracks and no remixes, Rock Da Party is a hefty album. It follows on from Jadoo which released at the end of 2010.

Sukshinder excels at traditional Bhangra without making it sound clichéd. It’s no surprise that songs which are more traditional are the better tracks on the album. Amongst the traditional songs, Saari Raat Nachdi Rahi is the best. It has an energy to it which should translate well to the dance floor. Mucch Khari is also worth a listen.

Four of the songs open with speech dialogues. Dialogues are a pet hate of mine as they aren’t usually funny enough to listen to more than once and need fast forwarding. They can also interrupt the flow of songs in a playlist. The worst dialogue was from Zamana Fast Hogaya which took over a minute to do. There is an interesting irony in the song. The artist is bemoaning technological advances, some of which he uses to promote his music.

Rock Da Party has two singles already released by Sukshinder. Hurr has been widely played and the opening dialogue to Hurr is an annoying attempt at self promotion. Nanka Mail is the better single of the two. But I thought that this song was overlooked because it’s video acts like a full blown film. The chorus brings in a nice contrast to Sukshinder’s vocals. Even though it is over eight minutes, there was enough in there to hold my interest right to the end.

Swarathma - Topiwalleh

Bands promoting their albums via facebook is old hat. The Bangalore based folk rock band Swarathma decided to take a novel approach and asked their followers to don a colourful topi on their profile picture to support the release of Topiwalleh. The resulting gallery of mad hatters would have made a great promotional poster.

Swarathma have a way with rhythm and folk influenced percussion. Throughout the album the syncopated beats the band use are infectious. The use of traditional instruments and how Swarathma blend them with more modern musical instruments techniques is innovative. I particularly liked how the violin was given a starring role in many of the tracks. Sanjeev Nayak is the rabbit that Swarathma pull out of their hat each time they want to give a song a special finish.

There is a message in the music that Swarathma make. Ghum is a dark and sinister track about child abuse. It’s atmospheric and the contrasts in the song are excellent. The lyrics of Topiwalleh take a dig at Indian politicians while beachy summer vibes play underneath. There is a great laid back reggae groove to the title track of the album which makes a great opener.

Cocktail Review

Cocktail is the next big release that Bollywood is getting hyped up about. Starring Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Diana Penty, Cocktail is a romantic comedy with a love triangle. Pritam is responsible for the soundtrack which is a substantial ten songs long.

The album kicks off with the peppy Tumhi Ho Bandhu. It has a nice summary feel and is quite catchy. Daru Desi is somehow subtle and understated. With its minor key and dark tones the song is quite unique and sophisticated.

Second Hand Jawani is indeed second hand. It is a copy of Some Boy by the Kray Twins. Even though I didn’t instantly recognise her voice, I never thought I would hear Punjabi singer Miss Pooja on a Bollywood album. But the song is a waste of her vocal talents. Second Hand Jawani is one of the weakest songs on the album as there are too many elements which do not fit together and the lyrics sound odd. The soundtrack lacks a big Bhangra number and it’s a shame that Miss Pooja didn’t have the opportunity to provide it.

Jatt and Juliet Review

 I don’t often watch Punjabi films. The storylines are usually clichéd, cringe worthy or make no sense. If I do watch one, I end up laughing for all the wrong reasons. But when a film called Jatt and Juliet claimed to have the most viewed Punjabi film trailer ever on youtube I had to take a look. The pun in the title, lifted from a famous Shakespeare play also made me curious.  

The internet marketing for the film is impressive and obviously aimed at Punjabis abroad. The plot seems like yet another “boy meets girl via Canada with a bit of humour” story, but the music seemed less clichéd. The album consists of just seven short songs and five of them are sung by Diljit Dosanjh who also takes the lead role in the film. He is a good singer, but I would have like a little more variation on the album. The only female vocals on the album are backing ones and the songs seemed to run into each other.

Teri Meri Kahaani Review

Teri Meri Kahaani is the next big film from Bollywood releasing this month. Starring Priyanka Chopra and Shahid Kapoor the film is a love story set in three different places in three different eras. Sajid-Wajid have composed the music and features the usual Bollywood playback singers including Shreya Ghoshal, Mika Singh and Sonu Nigam.

The opening of Mukhtasar, which starts the soundtrack, sounds like the beginning of a bad eighties tv advert, but it gets better as the song goes on. Wajid's vocals are brilliant, but his vocals are drowned in a thumping beat. The remix of Mukhtasar is tolerable and adds even more electronic beats on top of Wajid's vocals.

It seems like every Bollywood soundtrack these days needs a track from Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Allah Jaane is Rahat’s track on this album. It’s typical of what we have come to expect from Rahat - lyrical and beautiful. In a film that spans three different eras, it is clever to have a song that sound timeless.

Romay - True Vision Review

Romay, a producer who set up his own record label called Acoustic Science, has released an EP called True Vision.

The EP consists of four electronic drum and bass tracks. It is short, but the songs themselves are all over five minutes long. This length allows Romay to properly develop and explore his ideas in each song. There is lots of rich bass in each track which Romay balances nicely with vocals or other instruments which are lighter in tone.

Rain or Shine is a heavy drum and bass track with simple repetitive lyrics. A break in the middle prevents it from becoming too intense. A live version of the track recorded during a performance at Royal Festival Hall is on Soundcloud. This live version has female vocals instead of male vocals which gives the it a completely different feel.

Rise of the Sungas opens with a sitar sample which is repeated throughout. There are lots of different elements in this track that work well together. The song constantly changes and this makes the track seem a lot longer than it is which is a good thing.

My favourite track on the EP is True Vision. It starts with some classical male vocals which evoke a past era. The bass then kicks in and Romay ensures it goes together wonderfully with the vocals. In an interview with Nihal, Romay said he had spent a lot of time engineering it to make it sound right and this hard work shows.

1st Contact takes the listener all the way to the final frontier. It begins with a message about exploring space and conjures up images of flying through space. A picture may be worth 1000 words, but this song manages to describe a whole universe in just five minutes.  

Verdict: Romay is talented at what he does. Although True Vision is short it is well produced and full of fresh ideas and sounds. Perfect soundtrack for a cosmic holiday.

Rowdy Rathore Review

Bollywood films do not always make a lot of sense. "Don’t angry me" is the tag line from Rowdy Rathore, which stars Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha. It must be one of the oddest tag lines for a film and character that I have heard. It’s grammatically incorrect and doesn’t quite make sense. Thankfully most of the music does.

The album consists of seven songs composed by Sajid-Wajid and unusually for a Bollywood soundtrack contains no remixes. I consider remixes to be filler tracks and hate it when there are more of two of them on a Bollywood album. Rowdy Rathore is a better album because of the lack of remixes.

With its nonsense lyrics I find the chorus of Chinta Ta Ta Chita Chita slightly annoying. It has a good beat to it, but I think another song would have made a better promo. Dhadhang Dhang has a similar feel and features Shreya Ghoshal singing alongside Wajid. Both song are energetic, full of different beats and have great vocals. 

Like all good masala films, Rowdy Rathore has an item number. Aa Re Pritam Pyare stars not one but three item women. It contains excellent vocals from Mamta Sharma and Sarosh Sami. It is catchy and has a folksy touch which is reflected in the small costumes the item girls wear. This song has more energy than a toddler eating jelly beans. Expect it to replace Sheela and Munni at parties. 

Panjabi Hit Squad - World Famous Review

Panjabi Hit Squad released World Famous about two months ago. As soon as it came out I put it on my list to review. But everytime I sat down to write about it I just ended up listening to it instead.

Due to an injury which makes typing difficult, this review is in podcast form.

Culture Shock - Legal Tender 2.5 Review

With over 100,000 downloads so far, Legal Tender 2.5 by Culture Shock must be one of the most successful free downloads of the year. When it was first released some fans were unable to download it because it was so popular and the servers could not cope with the demand. A sign of just how much people wanted to get their hands on this album. Some of the songs on the mixtape were previously released, but for the purpose of this review I will ignore this and look at each track individually in the context of the album.

It’s clear a lot of hard work has gone into making and promoting the album. Each track is well produced and it is nice that the group have made themselves available to fans for questions and feedback. Lyrics are usually hard to get hold of, but each song has its own video on youtube complete with sing-a-long captions. An English translation in these videos would have been a nice addition.

After listening to the album a few times it appears that many of the songs have a similar structure: strong beats set against an electro bass background, a language change in the vocals halfway through the song accompanied by a change in tempo then back again. This is a successful formula, and forms part of Culture Shock’s unique style, but makes some of the songs sound similar to each other and at times I would have liked more variation.

Some of the tracks have the same title and come in pairs. They will either be in different languages, or will have the Punjabi removed from the other version. I like the concept, especially as it reaches out to those who don’t want to listen to music in another language, but it makes the album feel repetitive at times if you understand both languages. 

Beautiful is a song that has two versions in different languages and the lyrics in the English version hint to the title of the album. The addition of the female vocalist makes a nice contrast in the English version, but I found them distracting in the Punjabi version. Choppy syncopated beats open Drum Roll. The Punjabi contrasts nicely with the English vocals and I preferred the Punjabi version to the English only version of the song.