5.0 out of 5 stars
Genre-defining bhangra album, January 17, 2010
This review is from: Panjabi MC (Audio CD)
If there's one album that can be credited with taking Bhangra to another dimension and priming it for the (Western) mainstream, this is probably it. Coventry's finest skilfully blended old Punjabi folk and film songs to Western beats in a way that was both true to the originals but at same time completely fresh and (then) pioneering. The sound resonated with young British Asians looking for something uniquely theirs, probably explaining why this album became so legendary. At the time of its release in 1998 on Birmingham's legendary Nachural label, it would still be a few years before ''Mundian...'' would become an online hit and get picked up by German dance label Superstar Recordings, chart there and prompt a UK mainstream release, catapulting Panjabi MC into the UK Top 5 and winning fans like Jay-Z (who would go on to remix the track for the US single release). It was a whole five years later and the song hadn't aged one bit. Writing this review 10 years on from the original release of this album, both the track and the whole album still manage to pack a punch. Other tracks like ''Challa'' with Gurdas Mann (reworked from an original film song performed by Gurdas in 1986) could have been made yesterday. Others like ''Neuke Phadin Jawanan'' have dated, but only slightly. If you're into bhangra, world music or just innovative dance beats; you'd be hard-pressed to find a such a perfect album today.
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