Asian Groove

When one considers that rhythmic groove and ecstatic self-expression are central to the traditional music of Middle Eastern countries it would take little imagination to realize that here are some very hot ingredients for a groove recipe. Perhaps with a little tinkering the Putumayo collection Asian Groove could be retitled Indian Groove…8 of the 11 selections are connected to the music from there. Singer Bally Jagpal who was born and raised in England fuses Indian Punjabi music with contemporary R&B, interweaves acoustic guitar lines and composes a great melody which he sings soulfully to the equally soulful responses of female vocalist Shakia Manzoor, to create Pheli War, a sure-fire hit.

Karmix is really a French/Algerian producer who studied Indian music. His groovily rhythmic Sabhyhata fuses Indian beats, floating female vocals, violin, hip-hop scratching and chants for a distinctive contemporary sound. German producers Mo' Horizons keep it pulsing along nicely too with a sitar over tabla cum dancefloor/ reggae beats. Singer A. S. Kang shows how soulful Punjabi music can be on a slow-beated scorcher. You get the picture.

The pounding rhythms of traditional Pakistani qawalli with its serpentine harmonium patterns are a perfect match for the contemporary beats provided courtesy of DJ Baba G on the entry by Badar Ali Khan, a singer who sounds uncannily like his late cousin Nusrat. And coming around the corner .. Mungal a Trinidadian of Indian descent with many years of studying Indian classical music to his credit plays the catchy melody to Awake on his sitar while Nitin Sahwney a leading musician in the UK whose popularity extends far beyond the Indian community adds drums bass and electronic effects.

Formerly a part of the USSR Uzbekistan has a rich and original music due to its proximity to so many different Middle Eastern countries. Honey voiced Yulduz Usmanova is its major star. Here the local lute the tanbur is given a modern flavour by bolstering the beats of the doira, a local percussion instrument, on the songstress's Kunglim Guri. Coming down the straight now….. the bansuri is the haunting-toned bamboo flute of Indian classical music. Bansuri virtuoso Deepak Ram's A Night In Lenasia has a sweet almost new age type intro before he launches into some stunning improvisations over hip-hop beats. The pentatonic blues of Sam Mill's funky guitar over African rhythms finds sympathetic consonance with UK based Indian songstress Susheela Raman who, incidentally was raised in Australia.

Listening to the keening vocals of female singers in Bollywood musicals, it might seem that the style would be impervious to modernisation. Producer Bally Sagoo however has one of his discoveries vocalist Gunjan nestling in quite comfortably with the producer's hip-hop beats and getting excitingly stratospheric when the piece called Noorie takes off on a supercharged reggae beat. Just seconds from the finishing line now….the vocoder is an interesting audio processor which was used to distort vocals during the disco era. Kam Dhillon uses the device to otherworldly effect on his driving bhangra/reggae, a party piece entitled Aankh Naal. As well as being an enjoyable listening experience for those with a sense of fun, Asia Groove might even open a few closed minds. Get two copies, one for yourself and one for your nephew or niece.