Hey everyone its Rakesh here back with everything to keep you bhangra heads satisfied and basically what you need to know for this month!!
We kick off this month with Sahara who are all set to make a comeback in a big way. They have recently signed to Untouchables UK, which makes sense considering they are based in the same county (Yorkshire) as the label itself. The Gubi Sandhu album has been put on hold, it's now been pencilled in for a September 10th, to make way for an album release from Sahara. Irfan managed to grab a quick chat with the lead singer Herbie Sahara and this is what he had to say, 'The new 10-track album by Sahara will be called 'Undisputed.' It's got all the elements of our previous albums that we have released but it is without doubt the best Sahara album to date. Every track has a different feel to it and there are no album fillers. It's set to hit the streets in August.'
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Juggy D's debut self-titled album is ready to drop officially on the 23rd of August. The talented Mentor provides the production on 6 tracks and his cousin Rishi Rich works his magic on the remaining four. There are guest appearances from Don Dee and a duet featuring Jay Sean. The video for 'Sohniye' is in black and white and the 'doh point nau' crew drop some Punjabi lingo, which is well funny. It also includes the 'Sohniye' video, behind the scenes footage and exclusive photos. If you can't wait for the official release date to get your hands on this album then we have some news for you. The 2point9 crew will be selling the album at a couple of melas ahead of the official date, which are the Peterborough Mela (East England Anand Mela) on the 25th July and the Slough Mela on the 1st August. |
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The Asian Music Awards are back, and bigger than ever but this time you can be forgiven if you think your seeing double! The Br UK Asian Music Awards and the Official UK Asian Music Awards are both set to take place this year, however the situation is leaving fans and industry experts alike confused. Having said that I don't think having two awards ceremonies in a year is excessive so it's all good as far as I'm concerned. The initial nominations to determine the nominees for this years Br UK Asian Music Awards is currently taking place. This year has been a big year for bhangra and we've been working hard to bring you exclusive interviews, breaking news and unique reviews.
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Switching back to the 2point9 camp, Jay Sean went straight in at number 6 in the UK charts with his debut solo 'Eyes on you.' It's a massive achievement for the West London based singer, who has been busy touring the country promoting his single. The track slipped to no 12 in the 2nd week and no 15 in the 3rd week so it's done well to retain a 'Top 20' position for 3 weeks rather than spiral out of the charts as do many mainstream releases these days. He made his 2nd appearance on |
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'Top Of The Pops' and with the help of Juggy D who was on hand to provide his funky dance moves; collectively they absolutely smashed it. He also made an appearance on ITV's CD:UK were they performed the single as well. A variety of new tracks have been doing their rounds on the big radio stations including 'Who is Kamaljit?' which has caught the attention of many. It's set to feature on his solo debut album, Me Against Myself, which is set to drop in the coming months. |
DJ and producer Kasanova, has joined Panjabi Hit Squad, RDB, Rishi Rich Project, The Jackal and Shaati to front his own desi show on radio. The Manchester producer has a show called Devotion on Internet based radio station Unity Radio. His show has a mix of RnB, Hip Hop and of course bhangra beats. The show goes out Thursday 6-8 pm, and you can tune in online at www.unityradio.co.uk and show your support to yet more Asian achievement. Kasanova himself has been busy in the studio working hard on his new album that will be released towards the end of the year.
| Mainstream compilations of desi tunes have become somewhat of a trend now and the latest album of this sort is 'Asian Beat Bazaar.' It features desi anthems such as Panjabi Mc's Jogi, B21's Darshan, Dr Zeus's Kangna, Gubi Sandhu's Sah Rukh Dha & DJ Sanj's Das Ja along with mainstream Top 10 hits such as Raghav's So Confused & Jay Sean's Eyes On You. It's got 2 brand new tunes from Trickbaby, who are responsible for putting together this amazing compilation. This is probable beginning to sound like an advert but seriously this is without doubt the best desi compilation to date. It's a double CD release which features a massive 39 tracks (yes thirty-nine) which although some are not full tracks, they have been mixed 'in' the way you |
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would expect on a Mixtape resulting in over 150 minutes of non-stop quality music mayhem. It's all set to be released on the 19th July in the usual mainstream outlets and is set to be priced at around £14 in the UK, which makes it a must buy for all desi music listeners. |
Tigerstyle have taken three young producers from Glasgow under their wings and have been helping them to produce their debut album in Tigerstyle's Studios. The 10-track album will feature top vocalists such as Lember Hussainpuri, Kuldip Manak, Master Rakesh, Balwinder Matewaria and other top new vocalists from India. The new producers Tarv, Tanny and Lil Dev have been dj's in Scotland for a few years and have their own Urban Fusion Radio show on Friday nights (10pm to 1am) on Scotland's only Asian Radio Station, Radio Awaz, which you can listen to live via the website at www.radioawaz.com
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It's been a while since we last heard from Legacy, but their back with their latest album entitled 'Nachdi Sohni.' An eight-track album produced by top bhangra producer Sukshinder Shinda guarantees to be a monster hit bigger and better then "Teray Sadqay." The album is a mixture of RnB, dance, Hip Hop and is fused with traditional Punjabi vocals and music. This album introduces new fresh sounds with a combination of fast and mellow / romantic tracks. Two videos have already been shot for the album and a third is in pre production, so expect the album to be released this summer. Tariq Khan, the 'international man of mystery' as proclaimed by Tarli Digital in his interview with us has been busy ensuring the title sticks. He's just finished a mad tour of USA alongside RDB, Shahzad Roy and Sukhbir, which covered a massive 12 states. We'll be bringing you some 'exclusive' pictures from the tour real soon so watch out for them! |
Gunjan, formerly part of the Bally Sagoo's Ishq Records, features a track with El Feco called 'Like It Like That.' The version out at the moment just has Gunjan doing some background vocals, but another version with her singing a verse is in the pipeline. El Feco is a talented dancehall DJ based in Philadelphia, USA so it will be interesting to see if this track propels him into the limelight. The mix is all set to feature as a B-side mix on a big single in the states. Gunjan is also rumoured to be doing some work with the Panjabi Hit Squad in the future. Talking of the Panjabi Hit Squad, they have produced a remix for UK RnB talent named Fried. The track is possibly one of the best PHS mixes I have heard, and also features the lyrical talents of Wu-Tang's RZA. The tune is called 'Get Out Of Jail.' The track came out on the 12th of July but I'm not sure whether the PHS mix featured on the single. The original has a very Motown kind of feel to it.
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Apache Indian is all set release his brand new single, Shady, is set to Monday 6th September in the UK mainstream. He is current on tour in the UK with the Reggae Revolution Band from Birmingham. The single features a total of 6 mixes including one by his cousin Diamond Duggal (aka DJ Swami). DJ Swami with his Swami crew (which now includes Mc Sarpanch, S-Endz & Jagz) are all set to release 'DesiRock' on the 28th of July on the EnvyRoma label. The album has been making a lot of noise on the usual radio stations. DJ Swami caught up with Irfan recently to talk about the new release, click here to view this interview. |
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It's almost time for Khadija to drop her debut solo album appropriately entitled 'My First Time.' After a slight delay it's all set to be released on the 11th August on the AP Productions label. It features 8 brand new tracks all sung by the Blackburn based vocalist. She burst onto the scene with a series of hit tracks on the Untouchables UK label, then followed this up by re-creating some Noor Jehan classics on D-Classified and then more recently provided the vocals of the re-lick of 'Jado Hole' (Wrath Of Shabz Mix) on the Love Is compilation. This time it's going to be fresh new lyrics combined with her sweet vocals making this one a must to add to your collection. She caught up with our Mr Exclusive 'Masaeb' earlier in the year; click here to read this interview.
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Female singer Sumeet recently spoke to us and revealed a mainstream collaboration with dancehall rapper Elephant man, whose grimy sound will be interesting to hear along side Sumeet's soft RnB vocals. The extended single which featured four remixes was released in the US on the 13th July, however there are no plans for a UK release as of yet. She's been working hard on her solo album, which is progressing well so we'll keep you updated on that. Sumeet is 'proper talent' with a massive future ahead of herself so any UK mainstream labels should snap up her services up quick time before somebody else does. If you've not already read her interview click here to do just that. |
Genie Records are back and their making it clear with one of the best label compilation albums in recent times. Genie records have some big names on their roster and they have gone all out to flex their talent on this one. Featured artists include one of the biggest names of 2004, Aman Hayer from Leamington Spa teams up with rapper G Money on the opening track of the album Billo, with slick vocals from KS Makhan, other artists include Feroz Khan, Lember Hussanpuri, Kuldeep Manak and Manak E. Click here to read the album review. There's a lot more to watch out for from this highly under rated label.
That's all I got for you this month, but I'll be back in August with even more news and exclusives for you to impress your mates with. Thanks to Irfan and DJ Dev who contributed to this months update. In the meantime keep it locked to desitunes4u, Rakesh.
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