Monday, December 15, 2008

Osmani Soundz - unsung hero of Ethnic drum and bass

I have been a fan of Osmani soundz from the very time I heard about him on Adil Ray's BBC Asian Network show years ago. The track that I heard then is still one his most haunting creations called 'Lushmeena' from their album - Eastern Drum and Breaks.

The track puts together a Lata Mangeshkar sample (also featured on Yash Raj Films introductory melody) with some deep drum and bass. Though already a few years old, IMHO it is a classic that's going to remain current for many many years to come.

I also got to see OS spin live at the Jazz cafe after Nitin Sawheny's performance and it was amazing to see people go into a trance on the small dance floor.

www.myspace.com/osoundz

Sunday, November 23, 2008

I found it ... again! Ida Corr vs Fedde Le Grand

Ok this is becoming a menace now.

I reported a while ago how it took me ages to figure out a track I had heard a couple of times at clubs. It turned out to be Switch's "a bit patchy"


After my graduation party at the cuckoo club (where I had the privilege of playing a track or two for the crowd myself), the DJ played a song sort of latish in the evening after I was a couple of Patron shots down. The only thing I took away with me was the main rhythm which ended with 3 short sharp sounds. I picked up no lyrics whatsoever.

With that in my head I went looking for 3 months with no reward.

Finally, last week I was humming the tune in my head and suddenly had a mash up of this track with Fedde Le Grand's "put your hands up for Detroit" which made me realise they were quite similar in their structure. I immediately looked up other tracks from the man and Voila, I hit gold with the first one I picked.

Ida Corr vs Fedde Le Grand - Let me think about it.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Britney Spears - Womaniser

Is it only me who thinks that Britney's Womaniser is a really crap track. No surprise here because many of her tracks are rubbish.

What bothers me more is that people are totally giving her credit for her comeback without paying any attention to her comeback music. Fine she's been through a lot so give her credit for coming out clean and sane. But that does not change the fact that Womaniser is just not up to par.

The lyricist must have written "Womaniser, womaniser, womaniser, womaniser (instruction: repeat as necessary)"

At least when Eminem did not have anything to say he admitted it in "Just lose it" by writing "Tubba tubba tubba tubba tubba tubba tubba, I don't have any lines to go right here so Tubba"

Sunday, October 05, 2008

'Rock on - Socha hai' vs 'Indus Creed - Pretty Child'

I have been listening to Socha Hai from Rock on for a few weeks now but only today did I find the subtle similarities between this and Indus Creed's pretty child in the feel of the 2 songs (I ignore the similar-ish looks of Farhan Akhtar and Uday Benegal, the 2 lead vocalists because some might think I'm crazy).

The reason I found them similar is that while Pretty Child took Indian rock mainstream, Socha Hai clearly brings back the good old hard rock to India after a distinct hiatus. Thank you shankar Ehsaan Loy.

The big distinguisher is the heavy use of Tabla on Pretty Child and the tempo of the songs. However, the guitar riffs are almost cousins.

Now I'm not hinting at plagiarism but just appreciating the fact that finally good and simple rock is back in India!




Saturday, October 04, 2008

Nitin Sawhney - London Undersound tour

Nitin Sawhney has finaly announced the dates for his London Undersound tour and your truly has already secured his tickets for the london show at the shepherd's bush empire on 26th Feb 2009.

This album has been a long time in the making and I hope it is every bit as good as its predecessors. It promises a good set of collaborations just like Philtre which gives the albums a pleasant departure from the usual asian electronica/jazz albums.

I wrote about my last NS concert experience here.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Bachna Ae Haseeno - music review

The music of Bachana Ae Haseeno just works. I watched the movie today and am even more impressed with the music and how it lends itself to pace of the film.

The title track, beautifully remastered and remixed by Vishaal Shekhar, is used as during the intro credits. It sets the pace, colour, and attitude of the film. The song and its choreography highlight Ranbir's hunk quotient superbly. I am still amazed by how well Kishore Da's voice works for young lads like Ranbir even today.

Khuda Jaane stands out for me among all the tracks from the album. It received special treatment from the composers and also received the lion's share of exotic locations in the video. Both Ranbir and Deepika look gorgeous in the song. Also KK and Shweta Rao treat the song very delicately giving Ranbir and Deepika wonderful voices that suit them well.

Finally, Lucky Boy is the third track I really liked on the album. Bipasha has absolutely scorched the video.

The other 4 tracks are just ok and wont be remembered for long imho. They were pleasant during the movie though.

Even the background score is heavily rock influenced given Vishal's pentagram background (assuming they did the b'g score as well). Ranbir gets massive entrances on screen thanks to the background score.

Vishal Shekhar have given claim that they are 100% anti plagiarism. Pritam had his undies washed in public with massive TV reports on his recent shameful lifts in Jab We Met and Race. I have respect for V and S given their last few compositions have been quite good. Hopefully they keep giving us more stuff like this.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

DJ Antoine's 'This Time'

It's been a while since I heard any track that gave me the goose bumps. DJ Antoine's 'This Time (Klaas mix)' does exactly that.

At about 44' into the track, the DJ uses the effects to great use, drops all the Low frequencies and brings it to a peak. Then he drops it all and brings in heavy bass and a load of funky samples to make this a high point of the track. He repeats the same at about 2:45'.

The track can be found on the Summer House 2007 album.

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Download legally!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The different flavours of house

I have just discovered the wonderful world of house music. i am not completely in love with the genre yet but at least I know what type of house i am listening to when i walk into a cafe or a nice clothing store (they love house don't they).

I recently arrange for some music for an event (a small affair) and I was asked to get some good house music that will build a comfortable and casual atmospehere for the event. I eded up picking many artists from the ambient house, liquidfunk (more D&B than house) and acid house. All of these are more chillout type music that the the house you will hear in a club. Some of the artists i discovered are:

Plej (Evum,Blue, Lay of the land)
Kevin Yost (Free, Pendulum, Spanish Holiday)
Mylo (Otto's Journey, Zenophile)
Samim (Heater)
Jerk house connection (New York sytle)

Last.fm has been instrumental in my search because they help you find songs similar to others you already like and they have also used tagging very effectively to help you find new music in various genres.

If the music at hip bars and cafes attracts you then this is your genre. give some of these songs a try.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

"what goes around.../...comes around"

I have liked this song since the time the samples were released back in 2006. but only recently have i started appreciating the intricacies of the song and its production. and this story has almost everything to do with how i feel about this song now.

New found respect for Timbaland the genius and the other people behind the scenes.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Me the DJ


I have had the privilege of being DJ at a couple of events at school this year and here's a picture from one of them. I am flanked by a world class DJ who studies at school with me. I've Learnt a lot from him and at minimum I can keep a party going for a few hours on simple equipment without panicking.