If fusion is what's going to take Desi music into the mainstream, then one of our big hopes must be Outlandish. They are a real spaghetti/curry/paella of different styles/estilos/moi and what can you expect from a trio that come from three continents and reside in Copenhagen.

As the trio are all different nationalities, there are a variety of languages on their stuff. Waqas Qadri hails from Pakistan with an Urdu influence, Isam Bachiri from Morrocco gives an Arabic input and Lenny Martín from Hondruas adds a Latin American Spanish edge. And that doesn't include the Danish, which they speak on the streets of the Brondby district in Copenhagen.

Their debut release, 'Bread & Barrels of Water', made quite a big impression on the mainstream market, with the lead track 'Guantanamo' getting played on Radio 1. The album's themes were not the typical hip-hop look, with guns and hoes replaced with love, religion, family and friendship, a breath of fresh air in my opinion.

The follow up, 'Beats, Rhymes & Life' is more of a breakdown of their style, with tracks from their main influences put on one album. There are a few new remixes from the Outlandish boys, but no brand new material.

We kick off with Rishi Rich's remix of 'Walou', which was on 'Bread & Barrels…'. The new edition is much more up-tempo and a big improvement on the original, which wasn't all that bad. The tune is getting rotation on MTV Base, deservedly so as its a cool tune.

Track two is a remix of The Fugees' 'Vocab', a back to basics hip-hop groove with some excellent lyrics and style coming from Lauryn Hill (it's not often I get to talk about lyrics on desitunes4u.com lol!!). It's about as typically Fugee as you can get. I'm a fan, and I can't wait for the Fugees to re-unite for another album.

More old skool hip-hop follows from French rapping crew Alliance Ethnik and Vinia Mojica. 'Respect' is very west coast with an R&B influence from Mojica, who sounds very like Zhane (of 'Hey Mr DJ' fame) or SWV.

Majid's 'Past, Presence, Future' comes next and is another laid back rap track. A little too slow for my liking, but it's got some intelligent lyrics to keep you occupied.

We then get the first Spanish track on the compilation with Company Segundo's 'Chan Chan'. It's a representative Latino track, with mariachi guitar over a simple bass and it's got a typically long Mexican intro. Not a track for the British Asian market, it's neither desi nor R&B.

Track six is the first purely Asian tune, and comes from Rachid Taha. 'Ya Rayah' is a Middle Eastern song, which isn't my kettle of fish and gets a little repetitive, but may interest those of Middle Eastern origin.

Then….BRRRRRRRUUUAH!!!!! Juggy D's 'Sohniye' comes next and adds some tempo and sing-along choruses. As we said when we reviewed it on PHS's 'Desi Beats Volume 1', it's real floor filler and will allegedly be the first single released from Juggy's album, which drops soon (but we've been saying that for a long time). Lots of bits to join in with, lots of 'hai hai' and 'balle balle' compliments some crisp Mentor production on a track, which will be played for a while.

The Indian influence continues with Sonu Nigam and Kavita Krishnamurty's 'Dil Se / Satrangi Re'. The tempo that was added in the previous track is removed with this creeping track, which probes through the choruses and has some wicked whispered lyrics from Kavita to compliment the clarity in Sonu's voice.

'Aicha' was one of the hits from 'Bread & Barrels', with its memorable opening lyrics "So sweet, so beautiful / Everyday like a queen on her throne…" making it a favourite. We get the Proper Pak mix of it on this album, and it stays as a nice modern love song, a bit slower this time and with a slow desi production instead of the Latin guitar riffs. I prefer the original but this is all right, and if everything they say about Aicha is true then I really want to meet her ;-).

The hip-hop setting returns on another dark and cool track, this time by DJ Jazzy Jeff featuring Cy Young and the talented Raheem with 'We Are'. It's very much like Common's stuff, with some thoughtful lyrics on top of a competent but simple beat that makes you listen.

The Goodie Mob gives us more of the same with 'Inshallah', which has a chorus, which is amazing, despite only being a repetition of the title. The rappers sounds like they have a grudge and the lyrics are good throughout. I think this is hidden in the middle of the album, along with the previous track, but the mood at this point is pretty coherent. I'm still unsure with where these guys come from: the rapping is English, the title looks like it's Arabic but it's pronounced with like a Spanish word but could also be Scandinavian. Answers on a postcard please.

The ambience takes a step to the darker with Danish rapper Petter Alexis's 'Min Tid'. The production is ok and scratching is cool but there's not much else to talk about because I can't understand the lyrics and it's intense rapping all the way through. As an English listener, I'd get bored of this quickly, but Outlandish have a worldwide appeal so this can't be discounted.

Then we get the first of two Spanish love tracks, this one by Pablo Milanes. 'Quien Me Tienda La Mano Al Pasar' (translated as Whom I Give The Hand of Suffering) is an emotional piece, which will only grasp you if you can understand Spanish. Milanes is a good singer, I've heard his stuff before and the music moves in harmony with his voice.

The second Spanish track is by Mercedes Sosa (but no C class Kompressors here guys), and is has the most dark and deadly lyrics you can imagine. 'La Maza' (The Mace) talks about ripping tendons and other stuff like that while asking herself questions over a sentimental guitar sound. The choruses are forceful and the passion of this song carries through language barriers.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's 'Sweet Pain' is the penultimate track and it's exactly what the title says. Dark cellos and bass add the painful undertones while the singing is sad and slow. Not a great track to listen to but its emotive context is brilliant. A good experience if not one to listen to over and over again.

The album concludes with 'Ghoom', a track by Junoon the Pakistani band. It's almost a classic rock track with Asian vocals and another tune not targeted at the British Asian market. Many people in this country will have rewound back to Juggy D by this point.

Overall, the album is of such diversity that for the average music listener is likely to like something or another on it. But such is the variance that's it's unlikely that is whole album, or even the majority of it is listenable for most. I think with this album their aim was to get their name on the map internationally ahead of their self produced 2nd album. Considering the fact that I am reviewing this album on an Asian perspective I'd give it 7 out of 10. Not saying that they have done a bad job but I think remixing is not what Outlandish are all about. They're an original act that are more at home creating music from scratch. I think their next album will be HUGE and this is what you could call a pre-curser to that.