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.

Take Five: Sports

The Olympics kick off this Friday and the whole world seems to have gone mad for the games. Even Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachan is a torch bearer. Here are five songs which are related to sports.

Lagaan - Mitwa

A film about beating the British at their own game of cricket which was India's entry for the Oscars. During Mitwa, Amir Khan persuades his fellow villagers to play cricket with him to get out of paying their tax. Brilliant soundtrack from AR Rahman.
 

Azaad - Kabadi

Even though it was played at the Berlin Olympics in 1936, Kabaddi is still not an official olympic sport. But if it was this song by eighties Bhangra band Azaad would be its theme tune. Pack full of eighties guitar and retro beats, this original version appeared on an album also called Kabadi. A slightly different version was released on Azaad's Greatest Hits compliation, but the original is the best.

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.

Smooth and Nindy Kaur - Tut Gaya Dil

Nindy Kaur has released her tribute to Kully Ral of RDB who passed away in May. Tut Gaya Dil features urban rapper Smooth who collaborated with Nindy on her track in Aloo Chaat. It is a moving song with emotion from both Smooth and Nindy.

Like Yaadan, the tribute video from Manj and Surj to their brother, the video for Tut Gaya Dil is simple. Throughout the video there are clips of Kully presenting RDBtv. There are shots of Smooth and Nindy is partly shown in shadow.

Tut Gaya Dil has been written by Nindy, Smooth and Kuly's father Harjog Singh, and is scheduled for release later this month through Three Records.

Interview with Jassi Sidhu at Cardiff Mela

Despite the recent rain in the UK, the sun was shining at Cardiff Mela last weekend. Cardiff Bay was alive with the smells of Desi food and the sounds of heavy bhangra beats. Jassi Sidhu sang an impressive 12 songs in just 20 minutes! I grabbed him after his set for a quick chat.

In an interview after the split of B21 you said you still had student debts. Have you paid them off yet?
Did I say that? I didn't know that! My debts weren't that bad so I was alright. I've done pretty well for myself. I'm all right.

You tweet more about football than music! If the England team had asked you to do a song for them to support them in the recent Euro 2012 championship, would you have sung one?
I always say that on my twitter account! I don't like talking about music because honestly it is not that interesting. Most of the artists that talk about it are just making it up. I hate England - can't stand them! I support Liverpool. I am a Liverpool fan not an England fan. I'd do anything for Liverpool, anything that they wanted.

Some of your hit songs were sung by other people first. Which of your songs would you like covered and by which artists?
We sang them when we were younger, when we didn't really know what copyright was. If they get the right clearance, good luck to them. They can sing anything they want.

MoFolactic - Jaan Vs Out Of The Blue

MoFolactic, one half of the DJ and production duo MixtaBishi and MoFolactic, has released a track he made for the Friction Lab. The mashup of the Talvin Singh's Asian Underground classic Jaan and Out of the Blue by Sub Focus was first aired on Bobby Friction's show last week. 

The balance between both tracks is brilliant and in amongst all the special electro effects there is still an Asian feel to it. The mashup is fresh, exciting and modern and succeeds at making a new track which sounds different to the songs it is made from.

It's available for free download, so get it now from SoundCloud.

Syrene - Main Hoon Deewani

Syrene, a singer who started her career performing in shows with her father, releases her single Main Hoon Deewani tomorrow. Syrene worked with producer Shayal to make the track.

The single is repetitive and catchy. Main Hoon Deewani has a crisp beat with a modern feel. There is an electro vibe to the song, but the emphasis is on the vocals. Syrene shows off an impressive vocal range and can sing well. A recent live session on Nihal's Radio 1 programme showed her singing Bollywood style with just a guitar for support.

Main Hoon Deewani has a video to accompany it which is simple but striking. Whilst I don't think Syrene's wardrobe is outlandish enough to warrant the "Lady Gaga-esque" tag that she has been given, Syrene's sense of style is unique.Women in music videos tend to wear traditional Asian clothes or something short and tight, so it's refreshing to see something different. With the snakes wound round Syrene's arms, there is a dark atmosphere to the video which draws the viewer in. Even though I don't like snakes I could not stop watching.

My Big Fat Indian Wedding

Every good Bollywood love story has a wedding party music number where everyone is dressed up, dances and feels happy. However one upcoming Bollywood film has decided to do this a bit differently using some interesting lyrics. 

Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai releases in August and one of its songs is called Big Fat Indian Wedding. The promo shows a typical Bollywood wedding scene, although it seems small when compared to other wedding scenes in films such as K3G. When I stumbled across this, it was the words to the song that surprised me most. "Today is the day of my big fat Indian wedding" is sung without any sense of irony. It's cheesy and funny for all the wrong reasons.

The soundtrack has been launched, but is currently unavailable on iTunes. Having briefly watched the song previews, the rest of the soundtrack sounds average. The story is a Romeo and Juliet tale about a couple who fall in love but belong to families who are enemies.

Considering the cost and scale of some the weddings that happen these days, Big Fat Indian Wedding  would be an appropriate song to use in the background of the video. But somehow I don't think that will be happening this wedding season.