Wuss up people! Hope you all had a great Diwali and Eid, but its time to stop the party for a bit and listen up to all the news that myself Rakesh, Irfan and DJ Dev have got for you guys this festive season!
Starting with news on Jay Sean, Stolen shot straight into number 4 in the UK single sales chart fuelled by his recent top of the pops performance. Jay Sean recently released his debut album, Me Against Myself, click here to read DJ Dev's review of it. Jay seams to be the hottest property in town at the moment, with an appearance on Trevor Nelsons 'The Lick' show. Jay was also along side Juggy D at this month's Base Lounge gig in hackney, which show cases fresh new urban talent. We managed to track down the rising star for an exclusive interview; click here to check it now.
| Sticking with show casing new urban talent, I introduce Djinn (pronounced "Jinn"), a talented UK born singer and producer. Djinn style of production is truly unique a more spiritual side of music blended with soft and smooth bass lines. He is also known on the desi scene as a singer and his vocals are simple sensational. Djinn draw's his inspiration from such artists as Enigma, Jon B and Donell Jones. His debut EP that he co-produced with his sound engineer Tom Linden is called 'The Prophecy.' It is making a lot of noise on the desi music scene at moment. He has a somewhat unique background with his father being half Pakistani and half Puerto Rican and his mother is half Irish and half Welsh. He lived in Pakistan from the ages 5 til 15 where he performed with the likes of Junoon. Make sure you check out his site at www.djinnmusic.co.uk. |
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Streets Of Bollywood features the biggest artists from the UK, who have ridden the wave of smash hit Bollywood tracks from the Saregama catalogue. It's an urban-based mix of original Hindi film songs from 1998 to 2003 mixed or as some people would say they have been beefed up. Various established artists are involved such as Hunterz, J Skillz, Surinder Rattan, Kami K, Metz & Trix, Trailblazers, MC Drilla, Mc Intensity, White Rascul and Cheshire Cat. They have fused and blended all the elements of groove, beat and rhythm, attitude and a 'happeningness' to the everlasting melodies and oomph of the mega Bollywood hits. The project features 11 smash hit tracks from films like 'Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi', 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' and 'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun' which are all super hits. The album is a first of its kind and assures to take the dance floors by a storm and it is due for release on the 22nd of December.
A brand new series of Desi DNA charting the latest in Asian arts, lifestyle and culture across the UK, US and Europe has already begun. It's the complete Asian entertainment programme, which will be featured in a series of ten half-hour episodes. It's aired just after 11pm every Tuesday night on BBC2 so make sure you tune. It will be fronted once again by the three presenters in the form of Adil Ray (BBC Asian Network), Anita Rani (Network East) and DJ Nihal (Radio One). It is set to be aimed at a younger 2nd and 3rd generation British Asian audience, the second series was commissioned in June this year and is being produced once again by the BBC's Asian Programmes Unit (APU). It will feature the performances from the likes of Raghav and Jay Sean as well as showcase new talent.
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The legal case between Kismet Records UK Ltd and Tigerstyle came to resolve on 9th October 2004 when the, High Court of Justice, Birmingham District Registry ordered closure to the contracts between the two parties. The guys have just worked on a remix of Angel Eyes for the B-side of Raghav's next single out on the 7th February 2005. This remix features the vocal talents of highly acclaimed songstress, Gunjan. Tigerstyle are gearing up for their North American tour in Feb 2005, Australian tour in March 2005 and gigs up and down the UK this winter. Any promoter interested in booking Tigerstyle contact them directly through their site www.tigerstyleonline.co.uk which is being re-vamped. |
| The website will be launched on the 13th of December with all the latest music from Tigerstyle. |
A bit of artist pinching now, as Canada based Suga Kane Records announced that they have signed the producer Code Red of Sound Ministry from EnvyRoma. Code Red was one of the driving forces behind some of the biggest hits on the Birmingham based label. He is currently working on his solo album, which will be out in early 2005. Suga Kane records are also currently working with Dog pound and Death Row records rapper Kurupt on an album called West Coast Desi and will also be releasing early next year. Another artist on the label Bad Boy Squad are releasing a double album real soon which features the smash hit Jatt Glassy. The squad are a group of producers, rappers and singers from Newcastle and the album will feature the latest hip-hop samples, DJ brakes and AV8's. The album will feature the vocal talents of Surinder Shinda, Kuldip Manak, Hans Raj Hans, Surjit Bindrakia and many more.
The next release from Realtone Records is an album called 'In-house', a 14-track album, scheduled for release early February 2005. The album features various Producers under the Realtone Label, including, 'Mukhtar Sahota', and, 'Super Jones.' The album also introduces our new up coming Producers, 'Baby Blu', 'Magic Saffron', 'Nin', and 'Satchi'. This project has allowed the opportunity for us to expose new talent in music production and song writing. It features a diversity of producers and a combination of various styles of music. This album is the first in a series of albums to come from Realtone Records.
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Trickbaby have just returned from a three-week promo tour of India. The band kicked off in Mumbai with a 9 minute performance at MTV's prestigious Lycra Style awards, playing in front of a star studded audience of Bollywood stars (including Rekha, Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt and Anil Kapoor) and leading lights from India's fashion industry (as well as MTV's audience, 30 million homes), The band up followed up with three further concerts in Mumbai, then Delhi, Calcutta, Bangalore and Chennai. Slipping Through Your Fingers has been a massive hit in India throughout the summer following its inclusion in the movie Hyderabad Blues 2 (the soundtrack album has gone double platinum). Trickbaby will |
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| be releasing a 3 track EP in February 2005, Slipping Through Your Fingers - the video features members of the UK synchronised swimming team, December Blues (remixed from Asian Beat Bazaar) and new song 'Because You Know.' For more info on Trickbaby be sure to check out www.trickbabymusic.com. |
Scion Records proudly present 'Cheti Kar' a hot new track written and produced by upcoming solo artist Ajay. The London born singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and adrenaline infused live performer, Ajay is a multi-lingual solo artist whose distinctive vocals can switch from honey sweet soul, to heavy attitude rap in a combination of both English and Punjabi/Hindi. His music in an infectious melting pot of funk, rock, bhangra and urban grooves. He is no stranger to the music industry as he has already worked alongside the likes of Jamiroquai, The Brand New Heavies, Apache Indian and rock legend Gregory Isaacs. Now with his solo debut Ajay hopes to bring his fresh and funky sound to audiences everywhere with 'Cheti Kar' a soul tipped all hooks blazing feel good party anthem. He's set to release his debut album 'Sittin Down Too Long' in April 2005. Make sure you check out his site www.ajayhq.com for all the latest on him.
Taz presents his latest offering 'Rewind Selekta.' It's been penned due to popular demand from his fans from across the world. This long awaited album will come in the form of volumes 1 & 2. They will feature brand new tracks by Taz and also remixes of his big hits, by the likes of Dr Zeus, DJ Sanj, DJ Swami and Bally Sagoo, which just shows how big this established artist is. The album also features a fantastic collaboration of Taz and the female rapper Hardkaur who is now part of The Sona Family. This release comprises of styles such as dancehall and RnB, cross-fertilised with Punjabi/Bhangra. With these flavours blended together in a fruit machine we get a true cocktail of fusion… musically the eastern vibe is prominent adding a new spice to their established individual styles.
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It's not often that we get to introduce two new artists in the same month! So here's our second fresh talent, and this one is hot! The gorgeous rapper D'Luscious is making waves in the UK with her debut album D'Luscious Style, which features 14 tracks. D'Luscious is a Canadian born Asian, who like Raghav has seen the massive Asian industry we have here in the UK. The 22 year olds style of rap has been compared to such greats as Da Brat and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez of TLC. She's already established a name for herself in her native Vancouver and hopes to the same this side of the Atlantic. You can check out her website at www.d-luscious.com for all the latest on her.
Another new release is the return of Gubi Sandhu, with his second album entitled Sold My Soul released under Untouchables UK. The album consists of 8 tracks and features long time MC partner GI Jatt as well as the Cheshire |
| Cat. Following on the heels of the other recent Untouchables releases from the likes of Indy Sagu, Sahara and E=MC, Mr Sandhus second album has moved on from the two step garage MC Punjabi vocals sound that we have come to accustom with a Untouchables album. There is only one track Chori Chori which features the garage flavour with GI Jatt, the rest of the album is very more desi style. The video is out now on all Asian music channels; click here to check the album review. |
The new album by Panjabi By Nature called 'Settin The Standard' is out now in all good shops. The track, 'Nain Preeto De' is a top-notch desi tune that is making some noise at the moment. The eight-track album, which has been released by Limitless Records, features the vocal talents of Amar Arshi, Dippa Satrang and Devinder J. The album also features the Bollywood classic, 'Bindiya Chamke Gi,' which has been recreated into a smooth Asian influenced RnB joint featuring the immensely talented female vocalist, Sameira Singh. Panjabi by Nature already has two albums to his name in 'Second 2 None' and 'Next Episode' as well as featuring on the Blazin compilation.
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Yet another new name for ya, Rick Ramdehal who is from Guyana, South America whose ancestors (as early as grand parents) are from India and he now lives in New Jersey, USA. He is a very talented artist being a vocalist, instrumentalist and performer all in one. His vocal repertoire includes, bhajans, taan singing, soca, reggae, Indian pop, chutney, and mainstream pop and rock. As well as this his musical versatility is instantly recognizable, with a proficiency in guitar, bass, keyboards, and trumpet. Rick Ramdehal has been delivering music that has been taking the ears of the world on an enchanting musical ride since he was at the tender age of five. He has performed in over 15 countries accounting for over 1000 performances. The album SexyDancin' needs no penmanship. Simply listen to the samples. |
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'Word is Born' by the Specialist 'n' Tru-Skool under Easylife Records will be released on the 10th of December 2004. The album includes the smash hits 'Sanehvaal Chounk' and 'Saibaa Dha Khath' which have been pumping the airwaves and dance floors across the country over the last month or so. It also includes four tracks by Labh Janjua, one by Ranjit Mani and introduces Kulvinder Singh Johal, a vocalist who is already causing controversy in amongst the Desi crowd for his remarkable vocal resemblance to Kuldip Manak.
We'll finish off with some news in brief. Sabrina's tune 'I can feel it' produced by Sanj is due for release in December sometime on a compilation album from Envy Roma simply entitled Enyroma.com. The album is the follow up to D-Unit and also features girl band Rouge and Lil Sach. Manak-E is also bringing out his follow up to Da Next Session entitled Paisa from which the lead song features Usher's Yeah beat. The 2point9 boys have been doing some collaboration work with none other than Chinese rapper Jin, who is rumoured to have done a couple of tunes working with Rishi Rich and Jay Sean which are set to feature on their next solo albums. Aj Kal is another tune doing the rounds at the moment, which sees the teaming up of Veronica and Juggy again.
And lastly we got a mention in last months Cineblitz magazine, as a feature on the websites wallas section. With a short but sweet quick fire run down of the website, focusing on our 100% original content, fresh new interviews, and unbiased album review section. Till next time keep warm and keep the tunes blazing. Rakesh |
