1
Jan
2009
Top Albums of 2008
2008 was an awesome year for the total number of releases in the UK Bhangra industry. Every month had a steady flow of hit singles.
That last statement though sums up our music, and my conundrum. One or two great songs an album doesn’t make for a “top” album. But here goes.
Tigerstyle – Mystics, Martyrs & Maharajas
We had to wait six years and some reused vocals but, the end product was fantastic. Raj and Pops have found their own unique sound. Hopefully, we will not have to wait another six years for another album.
DJ H & DJ Rags – Reloaded
With a lot of chatter about how much and who’s money was spent on the album, coupled with the fact that H & Rags did not out-and-out produce this album on their own, almost makes me want to put an asterisk beside this album (like the ‘99 San Antonio Spurs.) However, the album was completely listenable from beginning to end, and contained the song of the year “Jawani.”
Panjabi MC – Indian Timing
I think we can all admit we were expecting a lot more from Rajinder Rai. But, I got my PMC fix for this year with some good production cues on half the album.
Jazzy B – Rambo
When this album released, the majority of us thought “What was he thinking?” Jazzy soldiered on though and the album made a lot of noise. I’m not the biggest Jazzy B fan, but the Shinda/Jazzy combo has been tried, tested and true.
XS-Bass – Amplified
A few albums could have gone here, but Harj did an excellent job selecting the songs for his videos, and the videos did exactly what they were supposed to do, sell the album.
Let me know what you thought were your top albums. If you need a reminder what was released, checkout the link for 2008 releases in the sidebar.
Comments are OPEN.
First off I am totally going to agree with the fact that 2008 has to be one of the best years for bhangra in quite some time. The last half was just insane with releases and some big tunes! Well here’s my top 5 :
1) DJ H & DJ Rags – Reloaded : Char Panj and Jawani enough said right there.
2) E=MC – FAUJ : Not a lot of tracks on the album but whatever was on it in my opinion was great. E is really lucky to have the vocalists he does and he really needed to bounce back from his last album which was absolute garbage.
3) Dj Phoenixx – We Are All : I wasnt expecting much from this one when it first came out but once I got to listening to it I was pleasantly surprised. Strong production, vocals and just a consistent flow throughout its in my top 5.
4) Tigerstyle – Mystics, Martyrs & Maharajas : Big ups Glasgow, you can always count on these guys to think outside the box and do something fresh. This was no exception. I was afraid for a little while that they wouldnt make an album like this anymore with that good run of Shaheedi Immortality discs (which everyone should get). Was at VACA night and when I saw one of the teams use Balle Shava in their jhummar, brap!!!
5) Panjabi MC – Indian Timing : This album was kind of like Spiderman 3. Tremendous hype, the previews sounded great but once it arrived you were kinda left thinking thats it? But at the same time were content what you got. Some big tunes on this one but there were a handful that I thought really didnt have to be there.
Indy Sagu – Reincarnated should have definitely made the list.
And honorable mention goes to Sanj – Bollywood Punk.