Techno Toddlers: Anokha Review

Anokha

Soundz of the Asian Underground (Quango/Island)

A few months back, Rolling Stone magazine featured the NYC's Hindi Underground. Pages away from Beck and Spice Girls, the black and white photos shared the next "Big Thing" in New York night life. There they were: Exotic second- and third-generation men and women of Indian-descent in a dark club-scantily clad in tight, sexy leather and trendy vintage clothes-"shookin' and jivin'' to their own version of rhythm and bass.

From mid '80s to early '90s, DJs and acts like Anakhi, Avatar Maniac, Achanak, Saqi and Johnny Zee fused traditional Indian sounds with modern musical genres. In what is known as "UK Bhangra," turbulent percussion beats and high-pitched women, who can easily kick Cecilia Bartoli's ass with their astonishing range, melded with their Western cousins-industrial-strength techno, reggae, pop, ska, hip hop and house-creating some wicked noise for even the most discriminating ravers.

That's then. This is now. Much like its motherland India, the U.K. desi scene had gained its own autonomy from the dominant "white" force. It moved out of the aegis of the British mainstream rave scene and became its own independent, thriving subculture. Enter Talvin Singh and Anokha. Anokha, meaning "unique and different from the norm," is also Singh's weekly club night at London's The Blue Note, and has become the most ingenious thing since Velcro.

In Soundz of the Asian Underground, Singh, hailed as "one of England's hottest producers and musicians," allows you to experience that ground-breaking madness on your own stereo. Even Bjork, Tricky (her ex), Neneh Cherry, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, among a host of other famed musicians, collaborate with Talvin, reaffirming his taste for shrewd sounds.

Evoking the images of Calcutta, this compilation from up-and-rising artists of the Asian Underground, such as Jaan, Kizmet, Distant God, Heavy Intro, Equation, K-Ascendant to name a few, tightly packs indigenous Indian ragas, tabla breakbeats and sitar-strikes with trip-hop and drum n' bass for a nice hermetic seal.

The album encompasses music from almost every corner of India and its subcontinents including Pakistan and Bengal. With this blend of cultural diversity, the young are setting an example for their parents and generations past-that it is possible to get along under the same roof if there is one unifying force. (Chris Hoover)