15
Jun
2011
DJ Harvey “Bindrakhia Boliyan”
The last time I heard a Bindrakhia Boliyan remake was in 2009, when Northern Lights used the vocals of Jaswant Heera to pay homage to the man.
Today, with the aide of Nirmal Sidhu, DJ Harvey has taken a crack at his version of a “tribute”.
I feel like the vocals of Nirmal Sidhu and the music by DJ Harvey have come up short in paying true homage to the late great Bindrakhia. What do you think?
P.S. Where does one find an Adam Morrison Charlotte Bobcats jersey in India?
31
Dec
2009
The Best Songs of 2009
Capping the series of year end posts, let’s deal with the best songs of 2009.
There were a lot of albums released this year, and every album released, should have at least one “it” song. This list I have compiled is not based on sales, or anyone else chatting in my ear. The only thing in my ear was the music itself. People’s taste in music is subjective – but you guys should take me as an authority on this subject anyways (joke) – So the way I chose these songs, is based on what got the most airplay in my mp3 player.
Number 10 – PBN featuring Miss Pooja “Aashiq”
If there is one thing that the UK Bhangra industry in 2009 may be known for, it’s the rise in fame of Miss Pooja. Seems like everyone loves her. Everyone except me. But she still made the list – with PBN’s production skills of course – due to the fact this one song had a huge effect on the dance floors across the world.
Number 9 – Northern Lights featuring Ashok Gill “Nakreh”
This was an awesome debut song, and video for Northern Lights. I’ve talked enough about how good this album is, so enjoy the video.
Number 8 – Twin Beats featuring Jaswinder Daghamia “Twins Tappe”
I still can’t get enough of this track, the dhol intro is just too sick.
Number 7 – Jus Ritz featuring Raj Kaul and RKZ “Nehio Nibhani”
You may be surprised with this selection, but like I said in the intro, this track got crazy airplay from me. I was impressed with Ritz’ first track “Tere Na Te Glassy,” but when this track came out, it was like “whoa!” RKZ and Raj Kaul smashed it, and the video is a positive piece of work as well.
Number 6 – DJ Dips featuring Ashok Gill “Ek Gera”
Look at that, the vocals of Ashok Gill make the list twice. This track by DJ Dips did not get the video treatment. Quite surprising since it’s the best song on the album.
Number 5 – JK “Pat Liyah”
JK and Tru-Skool have made a killer combination, and although we’re still waiting on a full album release, this song held me over just well. I was mad at whoever made the decision to slowly release just singles after singles, but now I’ve changed my mind. These days, variety is the spice of life, and listening to one artist for ten songs straight get’s a little boring.
Number 4 – Dark MC featuring Jaswinder Daghamia “Chori Chori Takna”
This track is a monster, Dark MC gave us some great tracks a few years ago on “It’s Getting Dark in Here,” and although this album I feel, was a letdown, the one track you would find yourself continuously rocking out to is “Chori Chori Takna” with vocals provided by Jaswinder Daghamia. If you haven’t heard it, by all means go and search for it. I can’t post the video due to the lovely games MovieBox like to play.
Number 3 – Taj-E featuring Bee2 “B.I.G.”
In my opinion this is the biggest UK Bhangra dance floor track. Not many people recognise it as much as “Aashiq” on these ends still, but trust me when I say, I listened to this song almost as much as….
Number 2 – Swami “Sugarless”
Since the inception of Bhangraw.com, I’ve raved on and on about Swami. So why stop now? Even when I talk to people about Swami, they look at me as if I’m preaching about someone (I must admit, at times it sounds like I am.) This track continued in the footsteps of where they left off with the tracks on “Equalise” except, this was 100% all Swami right down to the lyrics.
Number 1 – Imran Khan “Amplifier”
I hate to admit it, but I ended up listening to this track more than anything towards the latter part of this year. Yikes! Any get together for any type of party, and it was this track that brought the masses together in a drunken stupor, trying to act out all the lyrics “On kara A/C!!!” Of course, if it wasn’t for the production of Eren E (who I think Imran Khan should take a bullet for if that should ever happen) on this track, it wouldn’t be as massive as it turned out to be. With the solid production, came that darn infectiously memorisable chorus “Nai woofer heh tu meri…meri, meh tera amplifier…FIRE!” And if that isn’t proof enough, the video has over 2.6 million views!
Go ahead, judge, criticise, mock. But these ten songs will go down for me as the biggest of 2009.
31
Dec
2009
The Best Albums of 2009
Moving on with the best of 2009, we have the best albums.
The sole purpose of this post, is for the mere fact that people should appreciate good music, and by appreciate, I mean supporting the artists who put forth an effort to make an album made up of more than just three decent songs.
So here – in no particular order – are the top three albums of 2009.
Northern Lights – Re-Lit
The album featured sixteen tracks, of which I say seven were absolute smashes, and the rest were still pretty decent offerings in which you could manage to listen without wincing.
When I first listened to the album, I couldn’t make up my mind as to what the best song on the album was. There was a wide variety of musical styles on the album, as well as the vocalists selected were also not in your typical album.
Obviously the Kaka track has to be one of the highlights on the album, but it was tracks like “Gaddi” by Ranjit Mani that stood out. The song had an old school feel to it, and it sounded like it was paying homage to the Manak track “GT Road Te.” It just sounded like one of those songs that you see your dad singing along to, or requesting when they’re hammered.
The biggest surprise on the album had to be “Ishqeh Da Toomba.” The track was sung by Amrinder Bobby. When I first listened to it, the feeling I got was, that this dude sounds exactly like Gurdas Maan. Well it wasn’t too long before my sister pointed out that Bobby (as she knew him) was actually Gurdas Maan’s back up singer, and that he had been looking for his own record deal since the early 2000′s. Bobby has been on a few Indian singing contest shows, and most of his songs have been Gurdas Maan covers. I really hope the man’s voice is utilised more in the industry, as we all favour Gurdas Maan’s voice, but also know how much Gurdas Maan Ji does not want to be “remixed” as he likes to put it.
Twin Beats – The Sounds of Punjab
I had a good feeling about this album ever since I started corresponding with Inder (one half of Twin Beats.) Then they went and made a Reproduced segment for Bobby Friction featuring tracks from the upcoming album, and I was sold.
The album features ten tracks, of which all of them have a unique flavour, yet have big percussion in common. I don’t think I need to talk much about this album. All you need to do is check out their video’s, and you’ll recognise real. The whole album is very consistent, and in today’s time, that’s all you can ask for.
All the tracks do it for me, but the one that sticks out the most is “Twins Tappe.” This song is best enjoyed in surround sound. Seriously. When the dhol kicks in, and pans from right to left/right to left/right to left…wow! Jaswinder Daghamia has a great voice, and it’s the rawness of his vocals blended with the dhol and tumbi that makes this track killer.
Taj-E – Sik ‘n’ Twisted
This was the first album that came out this year, that when I listened to it, I didn’t feel ripped off. Sure The Sound Pipe crew really know how to market their products, and they do make some questionable signings. But this album really did a number on me.
Featuring twenty-one tracks, this album was redonkulous when I first listened to it. There are some tracks that may make you hit the next button, but on the whole, this album featured the resurrection of Juggy D with “Vang Teri.” A sick remix that accompanied it, as well as what I feel is the biggest UK Bhangra track that came out this year; “B.I.G.”
The aptly titled “B.I.G.” (because as Taj-E states; “it will be BIG on the dance floors”) is exactly that. A huge track that appeals to all generations of people. I played this track in the car with my uncles sitting in it on a memorable drive back from a party one night, and they went nuts. As I did, they instantly fell in love with the desi feel of the sample used, which made this track authentic.
If you look at the promos Taj-E released leading up to the release, you can see that he put in an honest amount of work into it, and he did it himself. There cannot be any cries of ghost producing on this album, or for that matter, any of the three albums I listed. That’s also a large reason why these albums have been chosen. Not only were they the best of ’09, but they are all products of the people who actually have their faces on the album cover that deserve the recognition.
You may also notice that last year, there were five albums on the list. Bhangra better fix up in 2010, I don’t wanna post about just one good album next year.
3
Nov
2009
Northern Lights – “Nakreh” Video & “Re-Lit” Release
After the success of their 2006 release “Sparked,” Northern Lights is back with the release of “Re-Lit”
If you don’t remember “Sparked,” you missed some anthems in the form of “Aashiq Dig Dig,” “Billo Tere Nakreh,” “Janaab” and my personal favourite “Wrong Number” – which used the Clipse’s “Grindin” sample in a ridiculously sick way.
The first video to be released off the new album is “Nakreh” sung by Ashok Gill.
Not a bad track eh? I still have an issue with the lyric “Saal Solama Chari Jawani” but what can you do?
Since I posted this video after the release of the album, I thought I’d chat a bit about the album.
It has a wide array of musical genres, and I think it is really well made, and also somewhat different than what we have recently been hearing.
It’s got a total of sixteen tracks, of which six to eight I say, should be guaranteed locks to be in your mp3 player.
Hit up the iTunes store and listen to the following tracks;
“Put Jattan da Bounce” featuring Master Saleem. (There isn’t one Eastern instrument in the track, but it works)
“Nakreh” featuring Ashok Gill.
“Akhan de Ishareh” featuring Kaka Bhaniawala. (It’s Kaka. Nuff said)
“Ishqeh da Tumba” featuring Amrinder Bobby. (Dude has a Gurdas Maan like voice going on)
“Bindrakhia Boliyan” featuring Jaswant Heera. (It’s getting traditional now, and the homage paid to the late great is fantastic)
“Re-Lit Tappe” featuring Labh Janjua. (It’s full out traditional now, and by far my favourite Janjua track right about now)
“Gaddi” featuring Ranjit Mani. (Another great vocalist continuing the traditional vibe)
The last three tracks traditional flavour seriously has got me feeling ummm drunk? That’s how traditional they are.
There’s also a “Wrong Number” and “Janaab” remix, but I’m feeling the original version’s off “Sparked,” although this one uses the Lil Wayne “Lollipop” sample. The “Janaab” track does have a cool sounding Qawali feel to it.
I was pleasantly surprised by the scope of this album, and it definitely has got to be considered in the debate for best album this year.
