"Indystructable" you just gotta love that title man! This is the second offering from the immensely talented Indy Sagu. After the quality of "The Debut," I am expecting something special. We have heard the odd track from Indy on some of Untouchables compilations recently, but now is the chance to sample some pure Indy Sagu! So lets hope this gifted producer can live up to his reputation and award winning status!
The album kicks off with an intro called "All These Sacrifices" and is really different from any other intro I have heard before. It starts of with Indy speaking some deep shit about his place in the world but then it goes into the award ceremony from the Asian Music Awards where he is accepting the award for best newcomer. In his acceptance speech he thanks the fans, which is a nice touch to the intro.
"Putt Sardaran Dhe"
Again! Sang by the amazing Surinder Shinda, this is a classic track. This song is well sang and arranged but Indy seems to have caught the "sampling bug" susceptible to many bhangra producers! Indy you've disappointed me bruv, taking Still Dre and slapping some Punjabi lyrics on it like that
expected more of your opening track! The mix is good don't get me wrong, nicely put together and the dhol beat sounds heavy against Dre's beat, but at the end of the day it is Dre's beat and I personally think Indy is better than this.
When downloading the sampler's for Indystructable, the third track stood out for me. "Dovey Nachiey" is probably the best track on the album. Chandan aka Rhythm Ryder smashes it on this track, his flow is sick and he has been a revelation for the Untouchables crew. Long gone are the days of Metz and Trix and their nursery rhyme bashing lyrics! The beat to this track is contagious; it makes you wanna go flex your ting on the dance floor! But again this track falls on the same basis as many Untouchables tracks; the same 2-step garage beat. I think they are following the motto of "If it aint broke don't fix it!" but lets face it, were all bored of it! We want some variety and I think someone forgot to tell the Untouchables lot Garage died a couple of years ago! But I think I been critical enough, this is a very good track, vintage Indy Sagu and everyone will be raving to this hard!
When I read the title of the fourth track, I just prayed Indy Sagu hadn't done a Desi Hip Hop on us by re-releasing the same track twice! My Prayers were answered, as this "Mu Jor Jor" is different from his previous one! If I can cast your minds back you will remember Indy's original Mu Jor Jor, had a reggae vibe, well this one is pure desi! This track won't get you outta your seat to dance or anything, but it has a nice up-tempo beat and it's not bad to kotch to it. It's nothing really special but not totally bad either.
You know when you got all your family around and your drunk phufar / mamma / chacha asks you to be but an old skool track on but all you got is tings with mc-ing and dirty B-lines? Well "Sali Jijay Naal Nachdi" is the answer to your problems! I class this as a family track cos everyone young or old will love this track (especially if your dancing with you Jija!). The mellow beat and voice of Lembhar Hussainpuri are such a wicked combo that it appeals to all audiences, trust me your bibi will be popping to this! This is such a simple track yet it works so well, ill put my neck out and say that "Sali Jijay Naal Nachdi" is just as good as "Dovey Nachiey". Wicked Track.
"Kaveeshri" is the sixth track. Ummmmmmm
..I dunno really what to say about this song, to me its just kinda depressing man! Really slow and not much anything! This kinda track will put your arse to sleep! Sorry Indy, but this is just a space filler bruv!
I hoped "Kuriah Punjab Dhehai" would wake me up after Kaveeshri. The intro to this track is kinda slow but when the track hits 54 seconds, boy are you woken up! In comes a heavy tumbi accompanied by a lively beat, and here on in you are interested! This track is good in the sense it has variety, Indy has used different tempos and instruments to create a track you aint gonna get bored off in a hurry. The singers voice is a bit weak, but he just about manages to carry the track. A good track that highlights what an excellent producer Indy is.
"Club Chaleeay" is the 8th track and sang in the same melody as "Bari Kholkey" from "The Debut". At the start of the track Indy plays the track in an old skool style, but soon remixes it into a modern bhangra beat. Not a bad track in terms of production, the beat is ok but the lyrics of the track especially the hook smash it. I think the beat is to serious for the song, perhaps a lighter beat was needed, but in saying that towards the end of the track Indy puts a heavy beat over the top of the song. Quite a good track but really we expect more.
Indy has only used one Mc on this album
Rhythm Ryder, and he features on the next track "Dil Hildhay." This track has it all, heavy Mc-ing, wicked beat and sick singing/lyrics. The beat isn't a garage one (Thank God), instead it's very original and very catchy, and all bhangra producers please take note! The Mc-ing is from Chandan
need I say more? Kuldeep Purewal provides the old skool flavour in his singing making this an excellent track. I would like to see more of this kind of song make its way onto our bhangra albums we pay a tenner for! You wouldn't think I would say that of a track whose opening line is "We're not recording are we
.oh bollocks!"
This one is for all you old skool nuts (that includes you Kam!!) Manak-E provides the vocals on "Lakh Hilda." Me personally aint the biggest fan of old skool bhangra, I do like it but I do prefer my modern sh**, however this track has a certain quality that would even turn me into a freshie! Straight up, a lot of people won't like this song; it doesn't have a manufactured beat to it, just a dhol, tabla, bhaja and tumbi. But I think the addition of this track on the album shows Indy Sagu has the ability to make both Old Skool and New Skool tunes and it also provides variety which is lacking in many albums these days.
It's bad enough having one sample on an album
.but two is starting to take the pi**! Dil Wala Bhaid (11th Track) samples Busta Rhymes's "Put Your Hands Where I Can See Them." I know your think I'm gonna start bitching about sampling again but let me say one thing first, the actual mix is heavy
there is no doubting Indy's skill and ability to use Busta's beat effectively but that don't take away from the fact that it is still a sample. In this case he has actually added to the beat instead of ripping it off straight, which makes me cringe a little less!
The next track is "Viah De." Again this is an old skool kinda ting; and it doesn't really do much for me. A bit slow and the lyrics aint nothing to get excited over either, a track you will most likely skip past rather than listen to.
Ever heard of a singer called Dil?? Well I think you will hear more of her after this track, "Gal Nabani." Indy has gone with an acoustic vibe on this track similar to the Kangna acoustic mix. This is very chilled out and relaxed, totally different from any other track on the album. The only thing is the singer repeats the same verse throughout the track which is a bit disappointing, but never the less she has a good, unique voice and its good to see that female artists are coming through as the industry is seriously lacking in that department. This track is a good attempt at trying something different and unique.
The album ends with a track written by Indy Sagu
ummm that has trouble written all over it! When producers turn to writing, it doesn't usually work out and this time it's no exception. The track is called" Just Believe" and is sang mostly is English but a bit in Punjabi. Its quite a deep track but
.it sounds crap! Sorry bruv, you're a wicked producer and that but don't give up your day job to become a writer!
"The Debut" was gonna be a really hard act to follow, that album was packed with hits and this one did fall short of the standards Indy Sagu has set himself. This album isn't bad though, it has plenty of variety and some goods tracks but some of the songs lack quality. "The Debut" had 9 songs on it out of which 5 were of an excellent standard where as this album has 13 songs (allowing for the Intro and "Just Believe") of which 3 possibly 4 are of a close comparison. The lack of big name singers perhaps let "Indystructable" down, the best 4 tracks on the album all featured star singers; Manak E, Surinder Shinda, Lembhar Hussainpuri and Kuldeep Purewal. If Gubi Sandhu had been present as well, this album would have been much better. I rate Indy Sagu as one of the best producers in the Bhangra industry to date but he has slightly disappointed with this album that's why I'm giving it 6.5/10. A pretty good album Indy, but your fans expect more! |