Nindy Kaur feat. Raftaar - BBM

Nindy Kaur, who used to save up her lunch money to buy Bhangra records, has released her new single. BBM features Raftaar who worked with RDB on We Doin' It Big. 

BlackBerries and iPhones have been mentioned in Bhangra music before, but BBM is the first track which includes a phone in its story line. The lyrics are simple, repetitive and incredibly catchy. BBM should strike a chord with women who have been annoyed by an admirer who just won't get the hint.

Raftaar's performs alongside Nindy and his vocals contrast nicely with hers. They add an extra dimension to the track and I'd like to see Nindy and Raftaar work together again. BBM has a nice mix of styles and a solid bassline that I associate with the RDB sound. It's one of those songs that gets stuck in your head.

RDB's Manj joins his wife Nindy and Raftaar in the video and plays the part of guy who won't stop messaging Nindy. The video is kept relatively simple with a few clever special effects like Manj popping out of a BlackBerry. I liked the big retro speakers.

Overall, some great work from Three Records' leading lady.

Romay - Ram Teri Ganga

Romay, the producer who set up his own record label called Acoustic Science, has released a Bollywood remix via his SoundCloud page. Ram Teri Ganga was made in the Friction Lab and first played on Bobby Friction's show back in April 2012.

The track is a remix of the title track from the 1985 film Ram Teri Ganga Maili. The remix starts off slowly and builds. In true Romay style the is packed with dark notes and an atmospheric bassline.

Romay has made Ram Teri Ganga available as a free download via SoundCloud, so make sure you add it to your collection now. 

Swami - Back It Up

Swami, whose name is an abbreviation of the phrase "so who am I", have just released their first single from their forthcoming album Upgrade. Back It Up comes in two different mixes: a Desi Mix in Hindi-Punjabi and an Original Mix in English.

Back It Up is instantly recognisable as a Swami track. Bhangra, dubstep and electropop are all blended together to create a unique dance track. It's a complex track with alot crammed into the four minutes of the song. There are some great vocals and I love how futuristic Back It Up sounds.

The difference between the Original Mix and the Desi mix is small, only the language of the lyrics changes, but this results in a subtle difference in the feel of each mix. It's hard to choose between them, but I think I prefer the Desi Mix.

Foji - Whatever!

Foji, the singer who staged a bhangra flash mob in Birmingham, has released the video for his latest single. Whatever! is taken from Foji’s next album and features the vocals of Sudesh Kumari.

The video is split between a performance of the song and the story of how drinking affects the lives of three couples. One of these couples is BBC Asian Network presenter Tommy Sandhu and Big Brother participant Deana Uppal.

The faux retro performance of the song with its sepia tint and lines was lovely. I would have been content if the video was just this. I liked how the storyline was set in the homes of the couples rather than at a party or in a club. The couples story was interesting but needed to be developed more. Each couple could have had a slightly different story to prevent it feeling repetitive.

I’m confused as to why Foji decided to call the song Whatever!. "Whatever" is not in the main lyrics of the song and the women’s attitude towards the drinking of their partners is not whatever, they are clearly hurt by the men's drinking. More thought was needed when planning this idea. 

The song itself is good. As wedding season come around again I can see this as a girls versus boys number. Sudesh Kumari’s vocals are great and I love the traditional feel to the track.

Overall, this video has a nice set up and a good storyline, but could have done with some more development. Foji usually produces videos that are different and Whatever! is an interesting video to watch.

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.