It's time for the news again and like always we got the exclusives that you won't find anywhere else, so forget the cricket for 5 minutes and lets get down to business. Rakesh and Irfan join forces again to bring ya'll the latest!
'Mukhtar Sahota' and 'A R Rahman' are currently working on a charity single called 'DonAsian', for 'Save the Children India', for the victims of the Tsunami Earthquake disaster that took place on 26th December 2004, in South East Asia. The single will be featuring 12 artists, a collaboration of some of the top Asian artists alongside the upcoming Asian talent from UK and abroad, a very similar approach to the 'Band Aid' single. Realtone Records has spent almost 3 months contacting various artists and bringing them together on one project. The aim of the project is the 'Unity within the Asian community for the Tsunami Appeal.' Watch this space for the list of artists featured!
| The long awaited debut independent album from Sumeet is finally here! Deeper is available right now for pre-order exclusively on Sumeet's website [www.sumeetmusic.com] with the official release being on the 28th of March. Recorded at the best studios in NYC, the album runs nearly 70 minutes with tracks that are a unique fusion of R&B, Hip-Hop, and Dance Hall. The album includes her hits "Agony featuring Elephant Man" and "Wine Me (2 Da Ground)", as well as 13 others, with production by Jamaican crew Brukkout, UK's Djinn, and others such as 2004 Grammy Award Nominee Dave O'Donnell. Having already sold over 20,000 copies of "Agony", and with a deal in the UK to bring about a commercial release within the year, the |
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buzz on this album is deafening. "Not since Teena Marie has R&B heard a voice like hers" according to music writer Shelia M. Goss. And with her full-length album, Sumeet is poised to become a worldwide name. To view Richard's album review of Deeper click here now. |
Desi weekend radio is set to change for better from the 2nd of April as you can catch the new look album chart show every Saturday at 1pm til 3pm that will be presented by Bobby Friction of Radio 1 fame. If that's not enough, the Asian Network has also signed Panjabi Hit Squad's DJ Markie Mark from BBC 1xtra's Desi Beats show, to present a weekly bhangra show called Breakdown playing some of the biggest hits between 12pm and 2pm every Sunday. Irfan managed to ask the duo what to expect from their shows and this is what they had to say!
DJ Markie Mark 'The new show is going to be something completely different - every week I'll be breaking down what our music scene is all about, with behind the scenes interviews and documentaries looking at the real people who have shaped, and are continuing to shape, the British-Asian music scene. And needless to say, expect lots of Bhangra bangers and fresh Desi Beats!'
Bobby Friction 'Expect the first and last word on who's hot, and whose not on The Official British Asian Top 20 Album chart show. We'll have the latest new entries, chart climbers, exclusives as well as live guests and one off performances every Saturday afternoon from 1.00pm. Remember, this is the Official British Asian Top 20 and the only true way of measuring what's hot on the streets…through sales figures!"
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Staying with Bobby Friction, his album entitled 'Friction - The Album' is smashing it back in India. It's the first UK Urban Asian compilation album to be released to the Indian market though Sony India and Xlantic Music and is blowing up India's dance floors up and down the country. It features Rouge, Zeus, Raghav, DJ Sanj, Mentor, Juggy D, Dum Dum Project, Bhangra Knights, Panjabi Mc, Swami, Rishi Rich and Nitin Sawhney. Not surprisingly with that line up it went straight in at number 1 back in October and has been in the Top 10 ever since, showing that UK Asian's are no longer regarded as a talent less in South Asia. That wasn't enough for Bobby Friction he has also set up his own monthly club night called 'Cargo' which launches on the 25th March with |
| performances from Nitin Sawhney, Sona Family and Nihal. |
Now lets talk about some fresh new talent coming from north of the border. VIP Records are a new Record Label launching with its first release called Partytime on the 22nd of April. This will be the first Bhangra Label based in Scotland, hoping to give Scottish Asian music producers a label that will invest in them. We hope to follow in the steps of the world famous Tigerstyle by showing the rest of the world that Scotland has a strong Punjabi Voice. The label is headed by Vipen Kumar (DJ VIPS) who has been DJ'ing in Scotland for the past 15 years and over the past 5 years has been playing throughout the north of England. The VIP Roadshow is in constant demand in which VIP is a fulltime DJ with 3 other DJs and a group of dhol players called the Tartan Dholis. The Partytime album will be produced by the man himself VIP. The vocals for the album were recorded in Punjab back in December 2003 and it's been 1 year in production. All the tracks have been tested on the live party scene and we now feel that they are ready for the wider audience. The album consists of 11 tracks; the album will be supported by a 3-track medley video releasing end of March 2005. There are three other releases in the pipeline from VIP Records that are all due this year so watch out for something new. Irfan managed to catch up with him in Glasgow recently; click here to read this interview.
| Code Red formerly of Envy's Sound Ministry, now signed to Suga Kane Records, has finally finished his album titled "Believe the Hype." The 14-track album is to be released on the 2nd of April 2005. Industry insiders have already predicted this to be one of the phattest albums of the year. The album features all flavours, desi, hip-hop, and mainstream tracks. Big Suga Kane has claimed that Code Red was the man behind most of the hits at Envy and that's why he spent so much money on signing him. We'll have to see on April 2nd 2005 if the album backs up the claims. There are some promos of the album up at his labels website now at www.SugaKaneRecords.com. He caught up with Nizam recently; click here to see what went down. |
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Yet again we bring you a new face to watch out for in 2005, the debut album from Adil Hashmi entitled Manzil is the first of it's kind. Never before has their been a fusion between the Pakistani pop and UK urban genres. Imagine Ricky Martin meets Kanye West, and that is just a hint of the diversities on the album. There's an over-riding romantic tenderness to the whole album and this is accentuated by Adil's honey sweet vocal delivery. Now in his mid-twenties, talented singer-songwriter, Adil has been playing the guitar since he was a child. His 12 song album features rapper Shy and S.I.B and guests Hypnotize Crew, produced by London's very own bad boy Jackal. Adil Hashmi's Manzil is scheduled for release on the 27th of March 2005 on Nite Jackal Records. Be sure to check out his website at www.adilhashmi.com.
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Another fresh talent for us to introduce to you all is the artistic Mehi who is ahead of his time. He is a young man built on family values. His early influence came from his father, who himself is a powerful singer so you could say singing is in his blood. Growing up, Mehi has come across many of the greats, such as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Ghulam Ali, in the mehfil's in his hometown of Jalandher, in which his father was a regular participant and would always include Mehi in this musical experience. This early influence really left a mark on this wide eyed boy from Jalandher and can still be seen in this young man pursuing his dream on the other side of the globe here in the UK. He is all set release to an EP called 'Nazar' in May which will feature 4 tracks and 4 remixes and it will retail a considerable lower price as they are trying to update the dated single format which does not work on the Asian market and see this as a viable option in |
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its place. It is set for release on Glass I Records from London and is taken from his forthcoming album 'Its All About Mehi' which is scheduled for a summer release. |
New talent and desitunes4u; here goes one more! This time its East London's newest and freshest writer, composer and producer Prithpal Sirjeet. His debut album, entitled 'flip the sKript' can be described as unusual and twisted. His beats are metallic and industrial, with close attention to detail. Prithpal began his musical journey when he was seven and learnt the tabla at his local Gurdwara, where he began a master at the drums, learning complex figure patterns and exploring his own creativity. The result is an album, which has been stripped down to the basics and is for the streets. As well as the tabla, Prithpal has also mastered such instruments as the dhol and the dholak. Coming from DJ Ritu sister India, Prithpal has been in the game for a long time, and his debut album promises to innovate in all departments. The album features a rapper called JC001 who spits over a fast tabla beat, as well as full blown orchestral tracks complete with stings and piano. This is defiantly something different from the bass ridden tracks we are all used to hearing.
| Nitin Sawhney fans eager to get a first listen to his forthcoming album Philtre should check out i-Tunes store [www.apple.com/itunes] on the 4th of April when five tracks will be exclusively available for download, four weeks ahead of the official release! The sampler will cost £3.95 to download, and the first 500 customers will receive and exclusive, limited edition three track CD promo of previously unreleased live tracks from 'Nitin Sawhney: Live at the Royal Albert Hall, 2001.' The 5 tracks available from i-Tunes are Journey (Victor Duplaix), Mausam (Reena Bhardwaj and Murtaza Khan), Dead Man (Jayanta Bose and Reena Bhardwaj), Noches En Vela Part 2 (ft Ojus de Brujo) and The Search (Reena Bhardwaj). On the 2nd of May, the official release date, all 17 tracks will be available |
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| on i-Tunes for £9.99 and the sampler will be deleted. We shall have more information on this release next month. |
Doh point Nau member, Juggy D's latest single Akheer. Out go the "hoi hoi'" and "balle balles" on this one, as Juggy takes on a more deeper vibe for this track. Its was out on the 28th February, this latest offering was written by Juggy himself and takes a look at what it means to be a young Asian guy growing up in multicultural Britain. The track was produced by crewmember Mentor. The track is taken from Juggy's self titled album, which was the biggest selling Punjabi album at HMV last year and earned the Southall artist national recognition. Juggy is currently co-host an Asian show on London's Kiss 100 along side Jay Sean. The video for Akheer is currently playing on all Asian music channels and channel U.
The latest mainstream compilation coming from Outcaste Records is 'The Best Of Asian Flavas' which is set for release on the 4th of April 2005. The compilation is a broad overview of some of the major talents who emerged from the Outcaste stable, including Nitin Sawhney and the Bombay tabla and bass duo Badmarsh and Shri. It also includes several great floor filling anthems - the sitar-led funk of 'Mathar' by the legendary jazz vibist Dave Pike, the Knight-Rider sampling hip-hop of Panjabi Mc's 'Mundian To Bach Ke,' the hit 'Dance With You' by the Rishi Rich Project featuring Southall's R&B king Jay Sean. There are plenty of lesser-known classics, be they the cut-and-paste sampladelic funk of Sutrasonic and the Bollywood Breaks Orchestra, or the ambient epics of Niraj Chag and Ges E.
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British MC M.I.A [Maya Arulpragasam] has signed a deal with Interscope records. It is the home of rap artists such as Dr Dre, Eminem, Will Smith and 50 Cent, Interscope is owned by the world's biggest music group, Universal. The hotly tipped artist will release her debut album Arular in the United States on March 22nd and in the UK on April 25th. According to the deal her album will still be released by XL Recordings, and distributed by Fontana, the independent distribution arm of Universal Music Video and distribution. Interscope is involved with Arula on a licensing basis only. The signing is for future releases by the MC. The Sri Lankan born artist, who shot to fame last year with the release of her second single Galang, has spent an increasing amount of time building up a name in the United States. Galang reached number 12 on the UK dance charts. Maya came to the UK aged 11 when her |
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family fled war-torn Sri Lanka, later gaining a place at the prestigious Central St Martin's College of Art and Design in London. |
We'll finish of with some news in brief on some desi releases, which we've covered in the news but have been delayed for some reason or another. Popsy's Bangin that features the vocal talents of Shin [DCS] is due out on the 1st of April. Trickbaby's re-release of the updated version of 'Hanging Around' which features 3 new tunes is now out on the 18th of April. Tariq Khan [Legacy] album 'Nachdi Sohni', which is produced by Sukshinder Shinda, is set for release on around the 29th of April. Ms Scandalous's debut album 'Ladies First' will now be released on the 2nd of May; check out www.ms-scandalous.com for more info.
That's all for now, the best way I can end is to say One Nil… thanks to Dravid and Kumble! Maybe Pakistan's fortunes will change in the next game…we'll have to wait and see, Rakesh!
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