Tags: Asian

Review: Emotional Rescue has had this reissue in the works for a while, but it was delayed by the sad passing of Steve Coe after the rerelease of The Ganges Orchestra's The Dream. Finally, though, the right time has come for this one to be bacon the racks and it is a much-loved reminder of Coe's wizardry in the studio. It comes with plenty of Eastern flavours to bring something new to the dance floor, not least thanks to tabla disciple turned teacher, Jhalib (Millar), who helped Coe on this one back in 1982. The likes of Danielle Baldelli and chug dons like Andrew Weatherall long favoured it, and if it's good enough for them...

Review: Khruangbin might be the most logical and fitting choice for a Late Night Tales compilation in recent memory. The Texan psychedelic chill artists have always had a sense of the exploratory and unknown running through their blissful grooves, and the fundamental idea behind this series was always about opening up doors to new musical discoveries for listeners.

In many ways, the Houston trio have gone above and beyond. Melding a breadth of sounds that have emerged from an equally diverse set of cultures, we visit Hindi-disco, South Korean rock, African bass, Belarusian folk. Capped off with an exclusive version of Kool & The Gang's 'Summer Madness' conceived by the compilers themselves, it's a case of 15 gateway tracks all of which belong to artists and genres that are crying out for you to dive in.

Review: North East producer and DJ Anish Kumar has put together a brilliant selection of Bollywood-inspired tunes here that collide house-and-disco into exciting new forms. The boldly but correctly entitled Bollywood Super Hits! collections starts with the exotic house depths of 'Asha' with its whimsical vocals and melodies, then 'Sadhana' layers bubbling bass funk with percussive invention and 'Nazia' is all big disco drum funk and archetypal Bollywood vocals. 'Ananda' gets sunny with a fantastic flute lead and medley of string sounds and 'Lata' is a heads-down Bollywood techno roller.

Review: A decade has now passed since the birth of Harry 'Munir' Septiandry's Midnight Runners project, a studio outfit turned live band whose sound mines South-East Asian funk, soul and disco for inspiration. The Indonesian outfit's latest release, 'Nusantra Tropic Disco Volume 1', is arguably one of its' strongest yet. Rich in vintage 1970s synth sounds, tropical colour and live grooves that variously draw on disco, jazz-funk and library music, it feels fresh and exciting despite its nostalgic inspirations and authentic period instrumentation. Highlights include, but are no way limited to, vibrant and percussive disco opener 'Kaliuga', the spacey and warming 'Ratna and Galih' and soaring, future peak-time Indonesian disco anthem 'Kasih Bersemi'.

Review: Compiled from ultra-rare dead stock pressed at a Soviet-era vinyl plant in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, this first-of-its-kind fully licensed album is a supreme selection of Uzbek disco, Tajik electronic folk, Uyghur guitar licks, Crimean Tatar jazz, Korean brass, and genre-defying styles from Soviet Central Asia. Drop the needle, and you're not just hearing rare Soviet dance music. You're journeying along the Silk Roads, revisiting raucous USSR disco nights, and immersing in grooves that inspired Soviet youth to envision a different future, ultimately unraveling the Iron Curtain from within. Tracing an incredible historical throughline - from the gramophone engineers who'd been displaced from the Soviet Russia in 1941 after Stalin's reaction to Nazi invasion, to the establishing of a unique Uzbek pressing plant - Synthesizing Silk Roads: Uzbek Disco... is an unprecedented new anthology, capturing a small ream of a rarely-heard, authentic form of dance music (rarely heard outside of what was then the USSR, anyway).

Review: Black Truffle presents a formerly unheard live album by rudra veena master Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, recorded in the North Indian city of Vrindavan at the Druhpad Samaroh festival in 1982. Dagar was a nineteenth-generation descendant of the musical Dagar family, famed for their meditative approach to the tradition of Hindustani court music. The rudra veena is a large and low-pitched string instrument amplified by two huge, hollowed-out gourds, and Dagar became the first modern dhrupad musician to perform with it as an instrumental soloist. True to form, in this recording of Dagar, in which he performs the night raga 'Yaman Kalyan', we hear all manner of frozen tanpura stasis; twisting, hovering drones; gracefully bent notes. Dagar weaves a complex web, bringing the recording to a fitting, measured conclusion, in contrast to the unrestrained virtuosity rounding off most performances by his contemporaries. This edition is adorned with beautiful archival photographs of Dagar taken by Swedish percussion legend Bengt Berger and accompanied by detailed notes from Bradford Bailey.

Review: Anoushka Shankar is of course daughter of the acclaimed sitar player Ravi who was brought to global prominence through his association with The Beatles. Anoushka is just as revered in her own right and the sitar player, producer and composer is now back with a new mini-album in the form of her Forever For Now EP. It is the first of three releases which will come between tours and form an ever evolving story. Ti sone features featuring guest appearances by Nils Frahm on piano, glass harmonica, harmonium and slit drum as well as Gal Maestro on bass and Magda Giannikou on accordion.

Review: Born on the vibrant streets of Baku, Azerbaijani's gitara culture is a mesmerising fusion of indigenous traditions and global influences. Through eras of the oil boom and Soviet rule, the electric guitar has become a powerful symbol of cultural expression and Rahman Memmedli is a legendary figure who revolutionised this sound with innovative techniques and impassioned performances. Drawing inspiration from mugham music, Memmeddli's compositions resonate with soul-stirring melodies and electrifying solos and Azerbaijani Gitara Vol. 2 promises to impress listeners with its depth, diversity and unbridled passion, taking you on a journey through the heart and soul of Azerbaijan's musical heritage.

Review: Old Heaven Bookstore is in Shenzhen, China and it sells records as well as books. It is also a label that is more than 30 albums deep and this latest will show you why it has fans all over the world. Daulet's Halek is not only good-looking on a nice heavyweight gold slab of wax, but it is enchanting musically too. It was discovered on an old reel-to-reel that is through o have been recorded in the 80s and comes in two halves with the first being the artist's own interpretation of folk songs from other ethnic groups. The second is the guitarists' interpretations of Kazakh composer Kurmangazy Sagyrbaev.