The Bhangra dance scene has been established for several years now amongst young British-Asians. It blew up around the same time as Acid House in 1987 and has continued in parallel since.
This compilation is one of the more enjoyable dance CDs I have come across. One of the problems with modern dance music is that the lack of variety is crushing, the obsession with a narrow band of technology in many cases restricts this music form to the enjoyment only of people with nimble feet who have ingested too many illegal chemical substances. This CD takes the tried and tested jungle (house) formula and spices it with thrilling asian language vocals and instruments. The album doesn't bear a lot of analysis - the lyrics are all in one or other of the various Indian languages.
"Sarke Sarke" is maybe the weakest - it features a rather lame synth wash of sound, thereafter picking up a little with vocals by Pammi, a female vocalist. The furious beat hardly lets up throughout the CD; it amazes me how anyone can dance to this rhythm.
"Challa" by Rashma has a good toast on it, and features a more interesting beat, for me. There isn't a lot of Indian instrumentation on this track, it relies on synths again.
"Kangna" by DCS uses Indian instruments to better effect, whilst throwing in a bit of cockney sloganeering and an old school acid 'riff'.
"Nastik" has a rhythm track that recalls some of the electronic pioneers of the early eighties such as Deutsche Amerikanische Freundschaft and Liasons Dangereuses. The sweet female vocal winds its way seductively round the fierce industrial noise. "Aja Mera Pind Di" has a fantastic male vocal backed with the by now familiar rhythm track. I am intrigued to know what they are singing- I would hope that its not "Everyone in the house say yo" in Gujerati.
"Southall Wich Nachdi" refers to the town of Southall, a suburb of West London settled for over two decades by a large Asian population. "Apna Sangeet Sings Apna Sangeet" (actually sung by Chardara Gill) starts with hiphop vocalising then launches into a superb hypnotic male banghra vocal.
"Jago Aya" starts in a banghra vein - with female chorus and tabla leading into the rhythm track. The more the banghra influence is made evident the better the song is, it seems.
"Kara Vajda (In Da Jungle)" starts with tropical noises, and is more of the same - relentless beat, but with quite interesting synth chord progression that conveys a bit of atmosphere.
"Doabe Dia Jatta" is Pammi's parting shot, she rushes along with the furious beat, though I'd prefer her to take things a bit slower. The indian drums are being hit as fast as the programmed ones, one realises. (Or have they been speeded up?!) This is the better of the two Pammi songs here.
Whilst many might find the beats intimidating and the lyrics mostly unintelligible, for those who like modern dance music with an exotic flavour - fans of Transglobal Underground for example - this CD would be a good investment.
