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Raja pops up in an unexpected place!

Topic started by Sreeni (@ unknown-196-133.beasys.com) on Wed Sep 23 12:05:59 EDT 1998.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Raja-fans&others
This aint strictly TFM but this bit of info will be of interest to many,i'm sure.
Raja just cropped up on a drum n bass album by the redoubtable(and ubiquitous) Indo-Brit tabla-whiz Talvin Singh.His much hyped debut album "OK" is due out on Island sometime shortly and since it features Raja's contribution among others this may be the time for timorous TFM-fans to step into untested waters!
Read about it here-
http://www.island.co.uk/news/news401.html

I've obtained an advance copy of the album from a secret source and I love it,it has lush synth ambience overlaid on manic chittering drum n bass beats and tabla pyrotechnics.The tabla,however is either a computer program or acoustic tabla thats been processed,so expect some surprises-it sounds like Diwali crackers!Some heartbreaking flute playing by Rakesh Churasia.Its not clear whats Raja's contribution but it may be the string arrangements(which sound somewhat like the Bombay theme,which is another story btw) or the flute compositions...
Happy listening.

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Responses:

• From: balaji (@ schubert.crhc.uiuc.edu) on: Wed Sep 23 16:11:45 EDT 1998
  
  the link is
  http://www.island.co.uk/news/news401.html
  how do we buy this album??? any ideas sreeni??
  can u smuggle some more from the secret source??
  
  
• From: Sreeni (@ unknown-196-133.beasys.com) on: Wed Sep 23 17:56:43 EDT 1998
  
  I guess an extra character(return?) snuck in with the address I provided,thanks balaji for correcting that.
  I was being tongue-in-cheek about the "secret source",its actually a sort of mailorder concern(very trustworthy mind you) which somehow collects all sorts of really groovy cds and sells them for really low prices.What I got was a promo copy(which means nil packaging) that has been circulating around and I dont know how legal it all is.Plus copies are few and obviously availability cant be guaranteed.
  Just email JaySenese@aol.com and enquire if he has a copy of Talvin Singh's OK.Anyway it'll be officially released in the US in November sometime.Earlier in the UK.
  Good luck.
  Warning-Drum n Bass is not for the weak of heart!Takes some getting used to.
  
  
• From: Venkat (@ intrepid-317.fuse.net) on: Wed Sep 23 23:26:21 EDT 1998
  
  I loved talvins previous major release (ANokha - soundz from the Asian underground) which featured the ARR Bombay theme. Hmm...i need to get a hold of this OK thing. Incidentally, I am a big fan of drum 'n bass (Roni Size, EBTGs Walking Wounded are some of my faves)
  
  
• From: balaji (@ schubert.crhc.uiuc.edu) on: Thu Sep 24 00:14:34 EDT 1998
  
  i wrote to the address given by sreeni. i got this response.
  Hi, Balaji, at the moment we've sold out and we're trying to track down some
  more copies. We'll let you know if we find more and we'll see if you're still
  interested in one. thanks, Marie
  so , i guess we have to wait for some time.
  
  
• From: Sreeni (@ unknown-196-133.beasys.com) on: Thu Sep 24 12:06:40 EDT 1998
  
  Balaji
  Expect them to respond fairly quickly,that was how it went with me,you'll have to send them a cheque worth perhaps 9 or 10 dollars,you'll get the cd in a few days.
  At the risk of annoying Ravi,some more musings on this album-
  One of Talvin's USP's and his contribution to a great many Euro-pop albums has been the Bombay string sound as heard(and largely ignored by us) in the Bollywood soundtracks,a very familiar sound in practically all Hindi songs since the 40's to the recent Ghulam.Talvin has helped numerous Western artists incorporate this sound into their own productions,notably Bjork and Bim Sherman.
  
  Rahman has chosen to use this string sound rather more sparingly.Interestingly the first time he used it prominently was the Bombay theme which was the most praised track from the Anokha album(for various reasons too complex to go into here).Maybe to please these critics Talvin has gone for the Madras orchestra this time with OK and has sprinkled flute passages liberally over the whole thing making for an album thats a hell of a lot more melodic and accessible than your average drum n bass exercise.Clearly he's looking to break out of the drum n bass ghetto and be the next Enigma or Deep Forest who burst out of nowhere to capture the global imagination.The man reeks of ambition,a good thing I feel actually.
  
  Rahman couldnt do it with VM,can Talvin do it with OK?Lets see...
  
  
• From: balaji (@ schubert.crhc.uiuc.edu) on: Thu Sep 24 22:15:35 EDT 1998
  
  thanks, that was a good info. it will be premature for me to compare talvin's growth with deep forest et al, but i hope he comes up to that level.
  
  

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