Untouchable Outcaste Beats

Various Artists

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 28, 1998)
• Original Release Date: August 11, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Tommy Boy
• ASIN: B000009OIN
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #259,811 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
London's Outcaste Records continues to sate those in the know with some of the most intriguing fusionary sounds on either side of the Atlantic. Untouchable Outcaste Beats, Volume 1 will serve as the label's American calling card--an amalgam of tracks from its roster as well as from other seminal works in the genre. Dance Music Federation's essential "Cybersitar" stands out as a pioneering work, lacing a furious breakbeat with confused sitars and repetitive chant. Artists like Shri, with his serene "Meditations"; Nitin Sawnhey, who takes it to the lounge with "Bengali Song"; and Badmarsh, who abuses the hardsteppers on the dance floor with "Jungle Sitars" all take the music on divergent paths yet still find roots both in traditional Indian sounds and more frenetic U.K. club rhythms. The Outcaste sound fails to be monolithic, and precisely because of that, it paves the roads toward tomorrow. --Jon Caramanica

Product Description
English version featuring different cover art. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out of Site!, January 23, 1999

By A Customer

The great thing about this disc is how it mixes older funk/psychedelic rock tunes with Sitars (Mathar and Streets of Calcutta)with newer techno sounding ones (Cybersitar) and songs that could be considered acid Jazz (The Hand of Contraband). It also captures more traditional sitar playing in its own rite. Listening to this disc is like taking a trip to different countries and worlds to hear many artists interpreations and styles of sitar playing melting with many different music genres. I can't stop listening to it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Th CD will open your eyes!, November 9, 2001

By	shardul shah (Birmingham, AL, USA) - See all my reviews

How good can a various artist Cd get? Is there a limit to a single CD's greatness? Can a Cd be so good that you cannot stop listning to it? Yes there is. This one. This CD is very unusual totally racy and expermental and is a true winner. Excillent tracks by some of the best artists to come out form the Asian Unnderground Movement. It also has some classics from the 60's and 70's flower prower era. Besides jungel standerds by the likes of Nitin Swahny, Shri and Barmarsh there are some excillent break beat hooks by Up, Bustel and Out and Pressur drop. In fact "the theam from outcaste" is probably the best electronic track i have ever heard period. Also T.J. Rehmi and Niraj Chag lend there fantastic expertiese to this already beautiful collection of stars and ofcourse there is the timeless classic Mathar....only song i have ever heard where electric guitar and a sitar actually work. I never review a Cd unless i am gonna give it 5 stars and trust me, I would give this one 20 if i could . Excillent cd.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exotic, October 31, 2001

By	Matthew Arieta "TheWebCoder" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This CD, while not nearly as well known, ranks up there with Sounds of the Asian Underground. I woudn't say that about many other indie mixes, except maybe Tabla Beat Science, and some of Badmarsh & Shri's best stuff.

Here's my breakdown:
1) The cover art is cool.
2) The title for the CD is pretty damn bold. I wondered if the music could hold up to a title like that. Happily, it does.
3) About the music: This CD moves in and out of traditional and modern techniques. We are presented with some of the ancient power instruments such as tablas and sitars, mixed with warm deep base, and electronic beats. The producers took care to let us enjoy each aspect fully. The past and the present are combined into something greater than the sum of its parts. In this way, we get a primordial sound that at once doesn't feel dated.

A must have addition to any indie collection.