WOEBOT

I've been following Bhangra quite closely for a few years now. In 2003 the Dr. Zeus record grabbed me by the ears, not much really took me last year though there were flashes of brilliance like Specialist 'n' Tru-Skool's "Word is Born" (which I only caught up with earlier this year- and I noticed Blackdown was enjoying recently) and other stuff like Swami's "Desi Rock" CD (imagine a Desi-styled Chemical Brothers LP), Indy Sagu's "Club Cheelay" and the DJ Vix record (which was solid but not spectacular). Nothing really matched the height of Dr. Zeus's "Unda The Influence". If you haven't heard that make sure you hunt a copy down.

This year though two records have really established modern Bhangra's syncretic power. The first, Northern Lights "Sparked" is scarily good. These are two producers from Glasgow (the home of Tigerstyle), I wonder if Keith from Optimo knows about them? I'll wager he doesn't. Anyway there are three stunning tunes on it: "Janaab", the standout, moves about like a piece of Internal Affairs-era Reinforced records Darkcore, the speed at which the dhol is pitched is exactly at that forbidding tempo that the drums on "Ghosts of My Life" and the original version of "Drumz" roll. The way the beats pause, pick up and regroup before marching forth again, it's simply breathtaking. To boot "Janaab" has this chilling Reese undertow bassline, and is as usual topped with superhuman "glistening" vocals. So anyway, blah blah blah, buy it. Check the link to the Punjab 2000 site on the sidebar where you can get it and this:

Which proably ought to come as no surprise. He's done it again. If "Unda The Influence" was the template for post-roots Bhangra, the way to effortlessly match dholkey with breakbeat, the lead Northern Lights followed, then this is the next step. What's characteristic here is the almost contradictory way the music has become more rootsy (Harmonium, Algoza, Tumbi in effect) and more sinewy and electronic. Rather than settling for Bhangra's usual cast of thousands when it comes to singers and MCs (which serves RDB very well), he's done the entire record with Lehmber Hussainpuri, who is THE voice of Bhangra. Kind of like a self-styled "masterclass" on how to produce and sing in tandem, like those Opera workshops you used to catch occassionally on BBC2 with Kiri Te Kanawa- the suggestion of this carried through in the CDs title, with its hint of a super-session. I've counted no fewer than 5 stunning tracks on this. Again, buy it.

Although there are are other hotly-tipped records this year, Punjabi MC's "Steel Bangle", Unleased's "Sangra Vibes", Aman Hayer's "Groundshaker", Jazzy B's "Romeo and DJ Sanj's "AMW 3", take my advice and ignore them all. These two are the only records you really need. Music this good tramples all over the barrier to critical reception which can hinder one's enjoyment of stuff like Favela Funk, Kwaito, even Dancehall. The "I really like it, but..." factor. It'll have your spine tingling, your hair sticking on end and you gripping the seat of your pants.