Talvin Singh
OK

Expectations are high ... and that's usually not a good start.

We listened to this one often ... because we thought we should be listening to it.  Or, because we were trying to grasp what we were missing.  We still haven't grasped it, it's still missing.  It's not the instrumental talent - there's plenty of that here with instruments that we can't even pronounce thrown into the mix.  Tabla (the drums shown below, right), sitar, strings, keyboards, drums and bass, Indian singing - it's all there.  In fact, to make a commitment to this disc is to make a commitment to the tabla, Talvin's instrument of choice, itself.  The tabla gets beat a gazillion miles per hour, ceaselessly, throughout the entire disc.  Kinda hard to sit back and groove while that thing is going off with all the melody of a blaring car alarm.

But we listen once again.  After all, it's the whole Asian Underground thing happening here.  Nothing's hipper right now than Asian Brits mixing beats for the London underground.  I mean, even the cover looks cool.  But ... it ... just doesn't have a soul!

Ok, there we said it (the Kaz would appreciate that pun).  Now we're done feeling compelled to listen to it.

 

 

File Under: asian.underground

 

Read more:  Highlights: Traveller (01), Butterfly (02), Disser/Point.Mento.B (09)