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Bally Jagpal, the
man who rose to overnight stardom in 1997 and created mass hysteria on the
desi streets and dancefloors across the globe with his debut album "Live
& Direct" is back with "Dark & Dangerous". In between working on
these albums, he has been busy helping produce B21’s second hit album (By
Public Demand) and touring up down the country with Jassi Singh and Bhota
Jagpal, the other two members of B21. "Dark & Dangerous" is the next
big chapter in Bally’s career; he has achieved much as we all know in
short span of time. This album has a totally different sound from "Live
& Direct" or any other current release, it is more mature and it
develves into musical territory which is rarely trodden on by any Asian
producer. It is full of hard core thumping beats, mad sound effects and
groove cuts derived from both Eastern and Western musical cultures. The
vocals on this album are by two
virtual unknown stars: Amar Arshi from India and Shazia Manzoor from
Pakistan. The recording was carried out in England as well as in Pakistan
and India, making this album another cross border success. The album
begins with "Aaja Sohneya" probably the best track recorded ever, this is
an opinion shared by many people I have come across who have experienced
the magical effect of this track. It has beautiful lyrics, a brilliant
blend of beats, vocals by Shazia Manzoor which are just mind blowing.
"Kuri Kede Pind De" features Amar Arshi singing along to a sound which can
only be described as being manic, it has funky fast and furious beats,
which are reminiscent of the Prodigy’s "Firestarter". This track takes a
bit of getting used to, you need to give it a few spins to really
appreciate it and enjoy it. "Viah Karvake Ve" a classic Punjabi track by
the late controversial Amar Singh Chamkila and Amarjyot has been
brilliantly rendered by Amar and Shazia. Bally’s older brother Bhota
provides some wicked dhol beats for this track and the production is first
class. "Gunman" by Amar is on a more of a folkier up tempo vibe compared
to the other tracks, the guns shot sound effects are tops as well Bally’s
use of the flute, tumbi and all the other ingredients he’s used to produce
this track. Amar appropriately sounds all moody and serious whilst singing
"Dil-De-Jani", samples of the intro of Virasat’s "Tare Hain Baraati
Hain"
and "Boom Boom" from the film Diljale are used nicely. "Baas Ve" starts
off with a voicemail message, in which a girl drops her man, the whole
track has Amar singing from the girl’s point of view, Amar also sings a
snippet of Chamkila's "Akhiyan Dee Marr Borei". Loads of phat dhol beats
and slamming tumbi vibes are used throughout the track. There is something
for every lover of Punjabi music on this album, you got some hardcore
beats for the remix fans, loads of dhol for the all out bhangra lovers,
brilliant Punjabi lyrics, top vocals from Shazia Manzoor and Amar Arshi.
Nevertheless this album is nothing short of a masterpiece; we have a pure
genius in the Asian music industry. One can only wait and see what this
wonder has in store for us in the future. It took him over two years to
come out with this release; we may have to wait even longer to get an
album, which suppresses this release in quality. He is currently working
with his band on their third album, so you can expect an album from Jassi,
Bally and Bhota before the end of 1999. 5/5 - 101% Dark &
Dangerous.
Songs:-
- Aaja
Soniya
- Baas
Ve
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