It's been absolutely ages since I reviewed an out-and-out bhangra album so when Sukshinder Shinda's ‘Living The Dream' appeared on my desk I was happy to be back in the zone. The Music Man needs no introduction; he makes the beats for Jazzy B. Plus his own stuff is normally pretty spectacular as well.
The album artwork makes a big statement about Shinda; he is photographed in a white suit, urban denim and traditional Punjabi costume, reflecting his music's ability to draw inspiration from different cultures.
Shinda's ability to make different musical styles work with a desi twist is exemplified on the opening track. ‘Majajne' is made up of a fairly contemporary European dance beat showered with dhol, tumbi and mandolin and of course Shinda's vocals. Top party tune put together with aplomb.
Track two continues at a party tempo but with less of a Western influence on ‘Aao Gidha Palay-eh.' I found this song quite awful when it was on in the car, but it is totally different kettle of fish when you pay attention to it. An excellent vocal presentation from Shinda is the highlight of a track, which has been produced to perfection. Although it's not very catchy and not one to go on repeat, it is a track that you will appreciate for its technical prowess rather than love its music.
The pace slows for ‘Wanga', a tune that didn't particularly engage me. The vocal is nothing special and the rest of the music has no spark whatsoever.
‘Tera Bina' is the next tune and is on a contemporary R&B flex and Shinda pulls out that fast singing flow which he is the true master. Musically it's pretty good too, with intermittent lashings of dhol but the constants of drums and strings are great.
Shinda then takes us back to the pind on ‘Tara.' The tempo slows, the instruments become almost pure desi and we get a track that could be played acoustically. This is virsa boliyan and it's really nice.
We get back to the up tempo stuff immediately with ‘Lak Tera' and its booming dhol and bass with Shinda riding on the top. It's a bit of a filler, with nothing particularly innovative.
The Kalikwest crew get on side as we move into the second half on ‘Sangdi.' North American fans will love this, its got all the aspects that they love about hip-hop fused bhangra; the dramatic pauses and bouncy chords and the traditional rap verse which Don Revo drops really well.
After our north American interlude we then get transported to India for the sentimental ‘Vaada', which wouldn't surprise you if you heard it on B4U. It's nice and relaxing and a different face of Shinda that works really well and further grows his internationalist appeal.
Bhangra returns for number noh, ‘Ni Munde.' It's very desi and well made, but again there's no real spark for me.
Track ten gets my vote as the best tune on the album. It's got a break-beat, a darker tone and a great vocal performance. Although it's very western in form, the make up is very desi, with tumbi and Indian percussion. I can't fault this anywhere; it's massive!!!
Next up is ‘Mela' which is just typical throughout and nothing new.
After a fairly unfunny skit, we get the final tune, which I really liked. ‘Chardi Khalla' Although like the previous track this is all very typical and not fresh, it's just got that something which makes it sound a universe ahead. The backing vocals are total sing-along for the sharaabis and it's hands in the air for Shinda's show off long notes.
On the whole it's a good stuff as you would expect from a man blessed with such musical talent as Shinda. Although it blows cold in some areas the highlights make up for it. The composition of ‘Tara' and ‘Chardi Khalla' has a big influence from some Specialist and Tru-Skool material with the reggae rhythm chords, but Shinda's use of that technique is brilliant.
However… (sorry to rant)
Moviebox are on a profit protection scheme which means that I will probably never listen to this album again. Regular site visitors will be know I am a heavy iPod user and the record label have put some copy protection stuff on here which means I can't put it onto my iPod. The average retail price is around £10 which is a lot of money for a CD I will only listen to for a week. Not good value. As major labels explore ways of making digital music profitable we see the desi industry going the other way and trying to protect a medium with high-level encryption that doesn't work anyway as I guarantee someone somewhere will rip the CD and it will be available on the net for free download. The end result is that millions of MP3 player owners will not get any value out of purchasing this CD.
Anyways, well done Sukshinder on a really good album, you get 8 out of 10 from me!!! |
