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Nitin Sawhney - New Album 'London Undersound'

Bobby Friction | 20:36 UK time, Tuesday, 29 July 2008

Nitin Sawhney releases his new album on October 13th 2008 and I have been lucky enough to hear five of the new tracks.Ìý

Here are my first thoughts on this next level in Nitin's journey:-

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1. Days of Fire (Feat. Natty)

An urban-folk roller about the 7/7 bombings and the fear that followed.Ìý Natty sings / talks about the way London has changed "since the days of fire" - and with emotional lines about Brazilian men getting shot and how he used to "play on these streets" its defo Nitin in one of hisÌýpolitical moods.Ìý The mad thing is Natty turns it intoÌýa post-modern take on Middle English folk - It's almost like a nursery rhyme..

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2.ÌýLast Train To Midnight (Feat. Aruba Red)

Fifty seven seconds of Aruba Red's exquisite acapella vocal then turn into HEAVY dub b-lines Mad Professor style, with Qwaali-ish vocals weaving in and out of the beats.Ìý Its very Jah Shakah meets The Gotan Project with a touch of Massive Attacks remix of Nusarat's 'Mast Mast' - all tied together in that way only Nitin knows how.

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3. Shadowland (Feat. Ojos De Brujo)

Flamenco meets cut up walls of Sitar Drones - heavenly vocals that sound Gypsy-South American & Arabesque all at the same time.Ìý There's also a bit of cutting and scratching toward the end! Is Nitin becoming a bit of a Jazzy Jeff?

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4. Bring It Home (Feat. Imogen Heap)

Jazzy D&B beats with beautiful vocals from Imogen and a classic Nitin strings v's keys arrangement.Ìý She does wonderful things with her voice which reminds me of that wholeÌýEnya wall of vocals thing..It's lovely..xÌýThere's something very special about this track.

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5. Ek Jaan (Feat. Reena Bharadwaj)

The ridiculously talented Ms Bharadwaj pulls out an epic ode to love with a monsoon of melancholy raining through her voice. Accompanied by a single piano this is Shakespearian in its intensity and is big enough to make grown men cry like babies.

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So there you have my thoughts on five of the eighteen tracks on the album.Ìý Its cover has been designed by the artist Antony Gormley and on first listen it's the same Nitin we know and love but fired up with more political belief than ever - and just as much love.

You can hear some of the tracks on my shows on Radio 1 & the Asian Network...x

Ìý(This is the special art work Antony Gormley made for the cover of the album)

SAW_LondonUndersound_Gormleycoverart.jpgÌý

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