Various, Urban Asian (Nascente/Triton)

 |   |  <1 min read

Sonik Gurus featuring Rocky: Gypsy
Various, Urban Asian (Nascente/Triton)

Two of my sons live in Brixton and one of exciting things about walking the streets -- aside from being offered drugs every 10 paces -- is the soundtrack booming out of shops and cars: old reggae singles; Jamaican electronica; and most of all a mash-up of Indo pop and electronic hip-hop.

This compilation takes me right back there: it is noisy and raw, vibrant and shouty; and is a meltdown of Bollywood and Indian pop with urban dance floor and hip-hop.

It won't be to everyone's taste (I can guess some might say, "Is that Ali G?") but it leaps out of the speakers and has an exotic and edgy quality that is undeniable.

Compiled by music writer Toby Shergold, it is a collection of singles that probably never made the radio but would be blasting out of shops in Brixton or Birmingham.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   World Music from Elsewhere articles index

Various Artists: Caribbean Celebration (Putumayo/digital outlets)

Various Artists: Caribbean Celebration (Putumayo/digital outlets)

With Womad in the rear-view mirror and reggae the easy default position for many local artists, we point to this collection of Caribbean music beyond Jamaica. Quite far from there in fact, with... > Read more

Various Artists: Womad Australia and NZ 2017 Compilation (Cartell)

Various Artists: Womad Australia and NZ 2017 Compilation (Cartell)

Many people are so confident about having a good time at the annual Womad festival in Taranaki that they book for the following year immediately after the festival has ended. As with the Big... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

JOHN CALE INTERVIEWED (2005): Flipping the Velvet

JOHN CALE INTERVIEWED (2005): Flipping the Velvet

At the end of a digressive conversation with John Cale, I thank him for his time then add, "and I didn't even mention The Other Band". Cale -- Welsh, classically trained and fiercely... > Read more

PAUL McCARTNEY'S OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY REVIEWED (1997): Still can't buy the love?

PAUL McCARTNEY'S OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY REVIEWED (1997): Still can't buy the love?

Paul McCartney is the Beatle old fans love to hate: his sins are manifest in Silly Love Songs, a Linda and not a Yoko, the permanent Mr Thumbs Aloft attitude, the knighthood which his old colleague... > Read more