Full title: Talvin Singh Presents Anokha: Soundz Of The Asian Underground.

From Talvin Singh's Anokha club comes the Anokha: Soundz of the Asian Underground compilation (featuring two of his own tracks). The album is a startlingly natural-sounding fusion of Indian music and instruments with drum'n'bass, breakbeats and electronics, unlike other worldbeat-influenced electronic recordings which feature an abundance of styles but rarely approach true fusion. Besides the Singh contributions and the two tracks by State of Bengal, the highlight is "K-Ascendant" by Kingsuk Biswas (aka Bedouin Ascent). ~ John Bush

This album is a cross-section of some of the dance/drum-and-bass/electronica/beats/ambient sounds coming from young India and those in other countries of Indian decent. The artists featured here mix electronically oriented sounds and samples of traditional Indian music to create a heady sonic stew that is mesmerizing (even if you're not a dance-dance-dancin' machine).

The contribution by State of Bengal, "Chittagong Chill," conjures visions of early 1970s Miles Davis playing with some Indian flutists doing the soundtrack to a film noir spaghetti western movie, with the whole thing mixed by Moby or Goldie. Lelonek's "Kizmet" is a punchy, dizzying drum 'n' bass workout, with driving, precise, relentless beats and sitar and vocal samples. This is a fine sampler for adventurous dance music fans, as well as those who want to get a handle on what's on-the-edge in electronica.

Rolling Stone (6/26/97, p.57) - 3.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...a collage of traditional South Asian sounds (sitar, tabla, female chants) set to modern Western dance beats--specifically, the frenetic, highly percussive rhythms of drum and bass (aka jungle)..."

Spin (7/97, pp.114-116) - 8 (out of 10) - "...should drive wack world-music fusionists like Deep Forest and Transglobal Underground clear outta town: Here are accomplished DJs sculpting sounds they intimately know and feel..."

Entertainment Weekly (6/27-7/4/97, p.124) - "From the Asian-Indo-British quadrant comes a hypnotic sonic stew, not quite ambient, not quite world-beaten, but pulsating with an East-meets-West energy..." - Rating: B+

Q (6/00, p.64) - Ranked #70 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" - "...This compiles a posse of artists intnet on pushing Asian tradition in a primarily drum'n'bass adventure..."