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Indestructible Asian Beats
[urban tigers from the concrete jungle]
(Manteca)

Traveler '01
(Six Degrees)

Been to a good club lately? If you heard the latest from Madonna, Destiny’s Child or it was an ‘80s nostalgia night, the answer is “no.” The most ass-movingly inspired music right now is coming from the experimentation of traditional sounds from world cultures reinvigorated with electronica beats from chill out to drum-n-bass speed.

Manteca’s compilation steals blithely from the astounding Untouchable Outcaste Beats compilations from London’s Outcaste records. (The first of these compilations was released domestically by Tommy Boy Records; the second is an easy-to-find import on Outcaste.) Two songs on the Manteca compilation also appear on the first Outcaste compilation and about half of the tracks are from pre-2000. OK, so those are the negatives. On the positive side, this is a good gateway into the growing Asian beat genre. Mixing the London dance experience with (primarily) sounds from the subcontinent, the Asian beat includes some high BPMs, tabla, “Bollywood” funk, sitar, raga, lyrics in Farsi and more. Some big names are here (Talvin Singh, Asian Dub Foundation, Ananda Shankar) and ones that you should know as well (Dave Pike, Tabla Beat Science). If for some reason your local music purveyor is all out of the Outcaste compilations is this not a bad second choice, though it’s going to fight for playing time in my home.

The San Francisco-based label Six Degrees landed on the radar for some with last year’s release of Belbel Gilberto’s debut, Tanto Tempo. (Yes, she’s bossa nova titan João’s daughter.) The label’s mission statement is to find music featuring “genre-bending hybrids, as well as a mix of the ancient and the modern.” Just released is the third installment of the annual Traveler series featuring remixes of previously released tracks and some teasers of what’s to come from Six Degrees and its own imprint Climate.

This year’s model takes a few tracks to warm up, though Bob Holroyd’s devastating “Drumming up a Storm” is a slamming opening cut. My attentiveness seems to wane a bit after this. The usually rock solid State of Bengal are poorly served with too repetitive of a track with a jacked up BPM. Thankfully, this compilation gets back on track and ups the ante with the next track, the fantastic Brazilian tinged remix of Euphoria’s “Sweet Rain.” And from there on in the balance of this CD is top-notch. Newcomer Karsh Kale has one of those otherworldly female voices that reside in many chill out tracks. Her debut cut “The Longing” is extremely promising. And don’t miss the brilliant dub version of “Scarborough Fair” turned in by Another Fine Day. If you don’t have a travel budget, let your ears take a journey for you. Ratings: Indestructible Asian Beats - 6; Traveler ’01 - 8.

- Tim Frommer

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