After weeks of neglect, we're back in business at Desitunes. To be honest we were all too busy watching the cricket (which allowed me to get one over a few of the other Desitunes4u writers - haha). Anyway, just thought I'd update y'all all on the goings on in the music scene.
| We start with the main man Panjabi MC. Organisation is the title for PMC's debut mainstream album. It is due to be released in July, and has reportedly over 20 tracks, with 7 hip-hop tunes. However there will also be UK as well as desi Bhangra. It will be interesting to see what kind of sound P comes out with, and what artists he will decide to feature. Jazzy B, the voice of folk bhangra is also looking to go mainstream. Details of the tune are sketchy, but it is thought to feature ex so solid crew member Harvey, and is entitled 'Who's Dancin'. |
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There are various mainstream tunes continuing to follow the trend towards Asian beats. The most exciting for me is the Method Man tune, which features Busta Rhymes. The tune is called 'What's Happenin' and samples the Dum Maro Dum backbeat. This combination of rappers is just awesome, and I feel the track holds it own without the sample, which is a good thing. UK rappers Ty n Iceberg Slimm have both also followed the craze of hindi lyrics in background with different tunes. Ty has teamed up with Roots Manuva to remix 'Oh You want more'. The tune has been getting heavy play among the UK underground hip-hop movement. Iceberg Slimm, no doubt influenced by his current work with Raghav, uses a hindi sample on 'Falling in Love', which sees him collabo with Koalishan, another underground UK act. Gemma Fox is also using the desi influence to break through. Her tune 'Girlfriends Story' also features MC Lyte, and has some nice Table beats.
Christina Milan's new tune features Fabolous & Shawna, and is called Dip It Low. It is a very commercial type of tune, and being on Def Jam, we are treated to a Panjabi Hit Squad Mix of the tune. Lil fizz, ex member of B2K and also Marques Houston's brother, has a tune with a hindi sample called 'Baby Got Dunka'. It's a nice tune, and has real potential. The track heavily features Snoop, and he spits lyrics reminiscent of Lodi Dodi. MH himself also features. This one's a definite party track. Talking of party tracks, Trailblazers, The Sona Fam's production outfit, have also produced their remix of the massive J-Kwon club hit 'Tipsy'.
Tigerstyle have been working hard in the studio. Their remix of Street Symphony's 'Baby Boo', will be featured on the B-side, and has been getting rave reviews. The tune can be described as being an old bollywood styl-ee remix. The same can also be said of their mix of Jody Lei's 'Just the music'. The Glasgow boys also featured on the album Immortal Shaeedi, which came out over Vaisakhi. Word is that the boys have almost finished work on both their own album, as well as Bikram Singh's, and are currently shopping around for the best deal. I've heard the Bikram joint called 'Giddhe Vich', which I hear is doing well in the clubs stateside.
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Metz and Trix have finally bought out some material, with a track called 'Homeboy'. The tune samples parts of Noreaga's Nothin', and is quite similar with bits of Nothin virtually interpreted. Overall, it's quite a weak track in my opinion, and I expected the boys to come out with something of much higher quality, after all the controversy. Still guess it's only a taster, and I'm still looking forward to hearing what kind of tracks they'll be bringing out on their album. |
Timbaland has been causing quite a stir among the Asians with his recent visit to the UK. He was taken to the streets of Southall for some CD shopping by the RRP (Rishi Rich Project) boys, where he spent thousands of pounds. However, he made some controversial comments on various radio shows. He branded Arabic and Indian music as the same thing. He admitted to listening to the Bobby and Nihal show to get some samples for his projects. All in all he came across as being very naive and ignorant. The man Timbo certainly deserves a lot of credit for getting the Asian sound in the mainstream, but sounds like he needs to wise up. I mean, the guy said he thought Bin Laden was from India! There was also the issue of Raje Shwari, who has parted company with Timbo. He made some somewhat confused comments, but did say that he virtually made Raje, and how he didn't believe she could connect the dots.
Raje has replied though and said "...there are two sides to every story, and unfortunately this is a classic case of a music industry diseased with middlemen that are hell bent on pitting good people up against each other with lies just to make their own dollars. Sadly, I have never had a one on one conversation with Tim himself about why I walked away, but I still remain with nothing but much love and respect for him. For those that will continue to believe in me, I'm grateful and still bustin my ass to prove all the doubters wrong. Sure, you can call me a hook girl, you can call me a so so singer, and you can even call me the dumb girl who walked away from Tim's camp...but you can't call me a sell-out." The way I see it Raje did just pull off a few hooks for Timberland, but she virtually made those tunes the tunes they were. Her debut solo track was very disappointing, using that number 1 Punjabi lyrics over the 'Dhola ve Dhola' riddim. However, I'm still willing to give her a chance, and from the sounds of things she has something lined up.
| Rishi Rich has also broken into the bollywood scene with a track featuring Veronica and Juggy D, called U'n'l (Mera Dil Vich Hum Tum). It features on a Yash Chopra film called Hum Tum, starring Saif Ali Khan. The track is fairly cheesy in my opinion, but could do well in the Bollywood market. Just shows how global Rishi's name has got. Jay Sean continues his excessive workload and a couple of his tracks are doing the rounds at the moment. Most exciting is the tune 'Eyes On You'. There is a desi club version featuring Juggy, which has been circulating the desi radio |
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Juggy D, Rishi Rich & Jay Sean |
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| stations. However, I much prefer the original version, which is getting heavy play on BBC's 1Xtra. The tune sounds like it samples a bit of a Joe tune called Stutter - quite a subtle sample if it is one. This is definitely a tune, and I expect it to do well, with its catchy vibe. |
2 Play is shortly releasing the follow up to 'So confused'. Again he teams up with Raghav, and this time features the MC Naila Boss. The track is called 'It Can't Be Right'. They have also produced a track called 'Seasons Change', which is a very summery track, and hence I expect it to be coming out in a few months. Both tracks have the same formula of Raghav singing with some kind of MC influence in between.
Bally Sagoo is back with Gunjan to cover 'Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha'. It has been released as a single, and has a mix with B.I.G.'s classic Juicy beat. I'm not sure which album it is going to feature on. The original seems to very discreetly sample the Nelly 'Dilemma' vocals. It is amazing that the same guy can produce the bhangra smash hit album 'Hanji', and this. Not that this is not of high quality. In fact it's an excellent tune. It shows what a high quality, versatile producer the man is. Very mellow, and Gunjan's singing shines thru.
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Rishi Rich is again providing his remix touch. This time he has collaborated with Danish group 'Outlandish' to remix their tune 'Walou'. The tune has Rishi's trademark Desi Kulcha feel to it, and is a decent track. I rate Outlandish highly, and feel they have real potential to represent on a much bigger front, not sure if this is the tune to do it for them though. The tune is from Outlandish's forthcoming album 'Outalndish presents... Beats, Rhymes & Life'. The album, which is due out on the 26th April, has a wide range of music genres, from Latino to Qawali based tunes. |
On the bhangra front it's been a bit quiet. Lil Sach has a couple of tunes floating about - namely, 'Dil Kuriyeh' featuring Jindi, and 'Kokkey' featuring Karan MC, which samples the smash hit Clubbin. They are probably of his forthcoming album 'Next Of Kin', which is due for release on the 28th of April. Also just recently released on the Envy Roma label was 'Desi Hip Hop', which featured tracks from Stin, Dippa Dosanjh, L'il sach, Surinder Shinda, Kuldip Manak, Subs, Labh Janjua and Sabar Koti. A very impressive line up, but it looks like some of the tracks at the end have been released in previous Envy releases.
Tarli Digital also has a tune doing well called 'Jaaniya'. It's a mellow tune, and also has the MC influence. An album, which has had umpteen number of delays is northern newcomer's, DV8's album 'Basic Instinct'. It has 10 original desi tracks and the main tune is called 'Pawarey'. It's been pencilled in for release in May 2004, but don't hold your breath! And finally, I can reveal Gubi Sandhu has been in the studio and his album is due for release around July time. And wait for this...there are no Bhangarage tracks - not even one! RDB have produced four of the tracks, and other producers are being kept secret at the moment, but keep your ears open. I know for a fact he's been spotted with some highly rated producers. He's also busy touring his hectic international schedule which includes Kenya, Pakistan, India, Norway, Denmark, Italy, USA, Germany & Dubai!
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