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.

Beat It Boliyan - A Tribute to Michael Jackson

It has been three years since Michael Jackson passed away on 25th June 2009. His work inspired may artists including Rajeev B. To mark the anniversary, producer Rajeev B has made his own tribute track called Beat it Boliyan which uses the vocals of Sani Surinder.

The track uses a sample from Beat It by Michael Jackson and combines it with some high energy bhangra.  Sani Surinder's vocals are excellent and the whole song works well. The accompanying video is interesting and tells the story of a Michael Jackson fan dancing and winning a talent contest.

Beat it Boliyan is available as a free legal download from www.E3UK.com

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.

Parichay - She's A Playa

Parichay, the Canadian artist who won Zee Tv’s Antakshari at the age of 12, has released a new single called She’s a Playa on itunes. It’s the first song from his forthcoming album Surprise.

The video is directed by Jason Matos and full of content. It shows Parichay breaking up from his girlfriend and reminiscing about their happy times together. They are shown on various different scenarios including a stroll in the park and a guitar lesson.

There are some odd shots of the girl putting on her makeup and I’m not quite sure how they fitted into the story line. As the song is mourning the end of a relationship, the video could have had more scenes of Parichay showing emotion and looking forlorn and heartbroken. I liked how the couple were shown in different locations and situations. It made the story seem more believable.

She’s a Playa has a nice laid back pop feel to it. The tone of the song switched between happy and sad and this caused a slight disconnect between the slow and faster sections. It is less memorable than Parichay’s other tracks but is still catchy. Songs about being wronged in love can be sad and self indulgent. But this had a nice mellow sound that was more upbeat than depressing. Helpfully the lyrics and English translation are on you tube if you feel the need to sing along. Parichay’s vocals are excellent and he switches languages seamlessly.

Overall, this is a great song to come out after All New Everything. The video is of a high quality and the song shows off Parichay's talents well. She’s a Playa is a solid offering from Parichay.

Bhangra At The London 2012 Olympics

A song by bhangra producers Tigerstyle is on a list of tracks that could be played at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics. Nachna Onda Nei is on the list of 86 songs, which was apparently leaked to the media.

Danny Boyle, the film producer behind films such as Trainspotting and 28 Days Later, is the artistic director for the opening ceremony who put the playlist together. Along with Tigerstyle, songs by other musicians including the Beatles, Eric Clapton and Amy Winehouse feature on the compilation. The opening ceremony will be broadcast to a global audience. It was estimated by The Washington Post that as many as 4 billion watched the opening ceremony at the last Summer Olympics in China in 2008.

However, this playlist has yet to be officially confirmed. An Olympics spokesperson refused to confirm the the musical line up. She said in The Sun: "There is endless speculation about the content of the show - much is simply guesswork - and we are keeping the rest of the show under wraps."

Nachna Onda Nei was originally released on Tigerstyle's debut album The Rising back in 2000. The song uses a sample of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean with vocals by Kaka Bhaniawala over the top. It was used by dance duo Signature in 2008 on the second series of Britain's Got Talent, who went all the way to the final stage of the competition.