Even though I was crying out for more Asian drum and bass when I reviewed the last release form the Nasha crew, the gap in the market has much remained, apart from the Shaanti album which covered all areas of Asian dance music. 'Eastern Drum And Breaks Volume 2' continues where its predecessor left off, giving us some much needed Asian influences breaks in the dance scene.

The introduction is mad enough!! 'PK757' is a great amalgamation of tabla and sitar with hi-hats, basslines and snares to create a great start to the compilation. Listening to the drumbeats and rhythms you will understand Ges-E's prowess as a drum kit doctor to make a beat to meet mood.

Track two is a bit more frantic, with more kicks and less high hat on the mysterious 'Sahara'. With a flute medley and ambience, which sounds like it could have been taken from an Indiana Jones film, the tides are changing with the thick and wobbly bass drop, which will nauseate your senses. I really like a lot of elements to this, and the way the mystery is replaced by that sinister sub-low it's a great piece, although it does start to get a bit repetitive as the bass does not change throughout.

Many of you will have heard 'So Gaye Hai' which was rinsed by many a BBC radio DJ last year, and it finally gets a 'proper' release on here. Ges-E and Equal-I's refix of A.R. Rahman's classic is best described simply as a beautiful piece of music. The strings soothe you, the vocal seems almost irrelevant as the clarinet sings that second melody and the bass purrs through the laid-back drum riffs. Hats off to an amazing musical experience and an example of how to take something beautiful, warp it through as much urban and underground influence you can and still make something beautiful come out at the other end. This version of the track has an extra kick drum than the one, which hit the airwaves and clubs a while back, and although it's still great, I prefer the slight delay on the beat we heard beforehand.

'Aaja' is the following track, put together by the whole of The Nasha Experience. A typical Nasha introduction of warped vocal sample is fused together with another fast paced D&B beat which will put your neck muscles into spasm. A barrage of bass punches contributes to an encounter, which grasps you at first. But, like all instrumental drum and bass music, there is a big challenge to keep your attention and 'Aaja' fails this about two thirds in.

Aktarv8r steps to the console for the next track, a more slowed down track called 'Shinkirou' that despite its reduced pace it still has a bout of pressure to it. This would actually be a great tune for a rapper to spit over, with its sailing melodies and hard-edged guitar chords.

Track six is called 'Electro K', which ups the tempo slightly but keeps it relaxed. With the desi elements playing second cast to its buzzing bass melody, it has a great sound and good production elements, particularly how the drums start and stop and are replaced by desi percussion but again fails to maintain attention.

'Elastic People' is next up, with the excellently names Phono 2 Mini Jack on the buttons. I didn't like this from the start as the b-line moves with a kind of lighthearted comedy approach that doesn't grasp me at all. The beat seems stop-start and the sprinkling of tabla does not serve much purpose.

'Afterwrath' is Aktarv8r's second outing and he keeps consistent with a slower paced track. There are some great sounds and the beat is very complex, although I struggle to find an Eastern element to the track.

"The greatest Americans have not bee born yet," proclaims the speaker at the beginning of 'The Gaza Strip', which is a monstrous track. The announcer - Saul Williams - is heard throughout this amazing construction of drum sounds, chords and rumbles and however much I love the production which is on top of Zahid's game, the words spoken count for so much more. "Not in our name," he continues; "will you wage endless war. There can be no more deaths, no more transfusions of blood for oil. Not in our name, will you invade countries, bomb civilians and kill more children…" Political music is so important as a creative right to freedom of speech. Never mind unsavoury cartoons in the Danish press make a speech on weapons grade music, its much more appealing.

The Iraq theme continues into the next track with 'Streets Of Basra'. It has no vocal content, so you have to guess what symbolises which parts of the southern Iraqi city, but what is important is that the Nasha collective are from Britain and the British armed forces have their middle eastern home in Basra. It's a good tune though, with the cut up melodies riding over a frantic and intricate drum pattern.

After a Qawalli inspired interlude, Arabic sounds enter the fray over Ges-e's tabla induced beats on Mann Industries. This track is slow, and when Ges-e does a slow track it can lose its flow, but if you latch on to the ostinatic tabla flow you will experience some very intelligent track building which does not sound amazing in tangibility, but the essence of production will take your admiration.

The penultimate track has Vani pressing some random buttons on the console to create 'Pyar Bina' which is interesting in its unsystematic approach. The quality of the instruments are nice but when Vani puts too many of them on at the same time it sounds messy.

The album closes with Osmani Soundz's 'Lushmeena' which has a beautiful opening and the ambience of the drums overcomes a great challenge in creating what you could call an instrumental D&B ballad. The sad wails from the singer and just about everything else rides together so smoothly that makes you struggle to pick out the simple yet stunning guitar chords which started the track.

There's no doubt that Nasha Records is home to some talented producers and they have made progress from the last CD in noticing that success is often built on big tracks and this album has three or four of them. It is the beats, which give this album a solid foundation and that is much down to the appeal of Ges-e's kicks and snares, but they have also got some really nice melodies to round things off. 'Eastern Drum And Breaks Volume 2' gets a 7.5 out of 10 and you can catch the collective in their element, DJ'ing at Herbal, East London, on the last Thursday of every month.