March 31st-April 4th 2010, will be 5 nights of Yoga, Dance and Music in Indonesia. Billed as the ‘Bali Music Festival’ it will bring together a superb roster of international artists. Most notably Cheb i Sabbah who is playing 3 dates, starting this thursday, April 1st @ the Anantara resort for the Offical AfterDark launch party. An event not to missed especially if your in the need of a vacation.
The Underbelly of the Asian Underground is the Mumbai Mafia and they continually deliver great left-field concepts…first check out this old video from ‘serve and protect’ and then listen to their remix titled ‘Cab Driver Blues’ just below the video.
This is Trickbaby and they are contagious. Since their debut they have garnered attention from the likes of Johnny Deep to Abhishek Bachchan. Reason for all the attention ? because their sound is a true love affair between modern dance and bollywood. Its no wonder they are in 3 million homes worldwide from the various soundtracks, compilations and albums they have done. Expect big things from TrickBaby in the near future.
Its not every morning that you walk into your local sub-urban Starbucks and hear Asha Bhosle blaring on its speakers. This is because Starbucks released their ‘World Is India’ compilation album today. It is a rich, earthy and highly caffeinated capture of some brilliant moments in modern South Asian culture.
From the 1962- to 2008 ‘World Is India’ covers everything from the Asian Underground to the gorgeous vocals of Asha Bhosle. FREE DOWNLOAD
There is defiantly something about acoustic sessions that bring healing. Maybe its the live atmosphere combined with unplugged instruments that breathe purity into my soul or maybe its just a really talented artist by the name of Abi. Classically trained in Indian Classical and fluent with her talents on the “Veena“, Abi puts on one captivating show.
Highly Influential 2-step garage producers HorsePower Productions who have been known to stick dub step remixes on the b-side of their vinyls, bring us some heavy bollywood dubstep
There is nothing wrong with always having your game face on.
The image and title of this post are directly taken from the famous Sartorialist blog. Reason being, I absolutely dig this mans swagger. Its as if he wakes up every morning to lights, camera and action !
Now if I were to give this man a film score, it must be confident, cinematic and dark while at the same time weaving elements of sitars and violins to create the setting of an international espionage thriller.
I can’t tell you how amazing of a journey one radio show has given its listeners over the course of 4 years. That show is ‘Pathaans Musical Ricksaw’ and it ends next sunday morning. This exotic journey of global beats, eclectic grooves and asian chill will be gone from the BBC forever. The show truly is original and there is nothing else like it, especially when Pathaan gets producers to step up to his World Odysessy Mix Challenge. Here is our tribute to the show by recapping some brilliant mixes.
When I first heard Janaka Selekta did a remix of Matisyahu, I instantly knew it would be one amazing spiritual journey. In one corner you have New Yorker, Matisyahu, of Reggae/Hip hop fame and in the other corner Janaka, the globe-trotter who possess an intimate talent in Fusion Electronica. Its like if, Janaka and Matisyahu were a superhero duo, they would be fighting the evil “Dr. Negativity” by refusing to fall into his destructive ways and overwhelming him with peace and the belief that humanities purpose is to be positive. The message “Treat everyone equally and we can all look at Poverty, War and Corruption as history”.
When you press play on an LH1 track its almost impossible not to get a jolt of electricity shooting down your spine. From Electro House to Dubstep, LH1 has his own unique style that is ‘get-down irresistible’. So go ahead, press play and get electrocuted.
Today is Christopher Wallace’s 13th death anniversary and his accomplishments are still MOMENTOUS
Chaiwallas favourite tweet of the day:
@RealTalibKweli (Talib Kweli): I got 7 mac 11s, about 8 48s 9 9s 10 mac 10s the sh*t never ends. U can’t touch my riches. Even if u got @MCHammer & dem 357 b*tches #ripbig
What does a Punk Band from Boston and a Graffiti Artist from Paris have in common ?
The courage to speak their minds
Now lets take step back for a moment and not think about the headlines associated with the Kominas and Princess Hijab which are Islamic, Muslim and Hijab. All we need to focus on is the Art and Music. If your hearing of either artist for the first time you’ll be able to judge the work instead of associating it with the artists religion.
So, what do you see and hear ?
Could the photo above of Princess Hijabs graffiti work be telling us that consumerism brings out the worst of human traits like lust, gluttony and greed; therefore we should put restrictions on how corporations use sex to sell products ? Well thats what I see, what do you see ?
Below are audio streams of the Kominas and they show us what elements of Qawwali and Punk sound like when fused together. The rising of voices trying to reach the heights of heaven with sharp politically charged lyrics of Punk is what the Kominas are all about. These scoundrels have come to existence from the natural world that surrounds them. Part Pakistani, Part American they use Urdu and English together or code-switching in their lyrics and the message is profound and entertaining at the same time. The Kominas show us that one can embrace tradition, be progressive and still deliver a message of change. I think its too “Colonialist” to call them muslim punk rockers and rather they should fall into the category of Punk Qawwali.
So without any further adieu, here are the Kominas !
Raging Saturday Evenings and those wacky mistakes are the beauty of Sunday Mornings. If you just woke up with a hooker and are looking for some background music while frying an egg in your wife-beater. We got just the theme tune :) Seductive guitar riffs, bombay flutes and desire driven lyrics all diced up to some thumping Tabla beats is all you need when stuck between the gutters and stars. This remix is brought to you by Dhisk + Jointed and its best served with a hookers breakfast.
STREAM
We Won’t Break (Dhisk + Jointed Remix) – Zoot Women
My favourite past time is hanging out at locally owned record shops and digging. Its where I find some amazing gems like this record by Fun-Da-Mental titled “Erotic Terrorism”. Even though it was released in the pre-9/11 world of 1998, I found the record in 2005 and the title and Bollywood imagery were all so wrong, that I had buy it. As soon as I pressed play, everything was so familiar yet so new with samples of Qawwali to Moroccan drums to some hard-core industrial noise.
There is also a huge presence of resistance in the work of Fun-Da-Mental, especially since founder Aki Qureshi’s mother was one of the leading activists for Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party.
Recently while digging though the archive of my radio station I found a track from the ‘Erotic Terrorism’ album remixed by Transglobal Underground called the ‘Karachi Deathcult Mix’ and just had to post this.
STREAM
Ja Shaa Taan (Transglobal Underground Karachi Deathcult Mix)
Big Sound Systems and Big Rooms can deliver an epic vibe and if you have been hunting for some Deep-Eastern-Tech-House, you need Hamza’s new EP ‘Allah Ho’. With very spacious drums, funky baselines and somewhat dreamy elements, this is a must for those who want to relive the big room experience at home.
My ace for the past year during live sets has been a track titled ‘Cretan Star’ and it never fails to get folks moving. It starts off with a really funky bass-line and transitions into samples of a live Balkan band and you get this sensation your grooving with some Gypsy’s but then something unexpected drops, a raw Punjabi vocal and the crowd just goes bonkers. That feeling of making another human dance is such a pure rush that I would fall to addiction if it were available in the form of a substance.
I give you Gypsy Styled Melodies, some Funky Bass and a huge Punjabi Chorus !
With the British elections in June and the Conservatives in lead pushing a massive attack against the nations deficit, a proposal has been leaked by TIMES that the BBC will make cuts worth 600 Million Pounds, which would include the axing of the Asian Network and 6Music. Politics aside, with the TIMES being owned by Mr. Murdoch who is in direct competition with the BBC and the ever arrogant minds associated with the Conservatives. This is completely against the BBC mandate to cater to all tax payers who make the BBC happen.
and since then has blossomed into a cultural hub, where the globes South Asian Diaspora can turn to for opinions on issues facing them in the western world and more importantly the evolution of the modern South Asian culture itself. The Asian Network is a 42 year old momentum that faces extinction and if it is lost, alot of history will go with it. Not to mention alot of artists would have to rely on touring and gigs for money but how can they gig when promoters havnt heard of them since the BBC is gone ?
Either way, this can not happen and we at ChaiWallas BOOMBOX stand by the Asian Network and pledge to our readers to join the movement
please offer a professional opinion as to why South Asian Culture matters.
(i): Represent the different nations, regions and communities to the rest of the UK. (ii): Cater for the different nation…s, regions and communities of the UK. (iii): Bring people together for shared experiences. (iv): Encourage interest in, and conversation about local communities. (v): Reflect the different religious and other beliefs in the UK.(vi): Provide output in minority languages.
Remember the Asian Network could be the perfect bridge between Britain and the next Future Superpower India for Commerce and Education.
March 31st-April 4th 2010, will be 5 nights of Yoga, Dance and Music in Indonesia. Billed as the ‘Bali Music Festival’ it will bring together a superb roster of international artists. Most notably Cheb i Sabbah who is playing 3 dates, starting this thursday, April 1st @ the Anantara resort for the Offical AfterDark launch party. An event not to missed especially if your in the need of a vacation.
