18
Jan
2009
Old School Sunday – Amit Rai “England”
This tune was in my CD player for a year. It’s funny because I took it from Canada and was still bumping it in the UK when i was there in ’02.
The early 2000′s saw an uptick in the number of samples being used unabashedly. “England” is from the 2001 debut album “Going Solo” by Amit Rai. The superb vocals were provided by Surinder Shinda, and in case you’re wondering, the sample is “No More” by Ruff Endz.
As for the video, I’ll say it had a creative idea, even though it had a cheap feel to it.
I have no clue what has happened to Amit Rai, he released two albums and left the face of the earth. I’m not exactly saying I miss him but, it would still be nice to know where he’s at.
England is definitely a classic in my books and one of the best songs to come out of that “era” of UK Bhangra.
His second album pretty much bombed though, so I guess he got out of music after that.
This song brings back so many memories… It was the first song that I remember being totally addicted to when I was reintroduce to the bhangra scene… Good choice!