WOMAD

Anokha Soundz of the Asian Underground

From United Kingdom

The music of British Asians has thrived at club level over the past decade, notably through the success of bhangra acts such as Alaap (who mix traditional instruments and styles with pop song structures) and recently with bands from most of the major UK cities who have attached house and hip-hop beats to the style, producing a good-time form of dance music. Bhangra is pop - but there's a radical end to British Asian music as well, and Talvin Singh is right to the fore of it. Jungle beats, Bollywood strings ... it's all here.Anokha: Soundz of the Asian Underground is a showcase for this hugely diverse range of music coming up from UK club culture. The word "anokha" means "different" and when Anokha club nights started in 1996 at London's Blue Note, that's what they were - and still are. Artists featured at Anokha use Asian tunes and rhythms, ragas and folk songs, and mix them with drum 'n' bass and breakbeats. It's a radical, stripped-down sound, alternating between the urgent and the dreamy. Such was its impact that Anokha quickly became one of the key club nights in London with the likes of Tricky, Björk and the dubmaster himself, Lee "Scratch" Perry, turning up for spontaneous sessions. Tabla player Talvin Singh hosts the club nights and produced the recently released Omni/Mango album, 'Anokha'. He's worked with Massive Attack (playing on the 'Protection' album) and Bim Sherman and has established himself as an innovative collaborator at the cutting edge of modern music.Other acts in the Anokha stable include the golden-voiced Amar, State of Bengal, Future Soundz of India and Lelonek. All share a commitment to pushing back the artificial boundaries that separate the world's different musics. This year, Anokha club nights have been held around the country, bringing the music's mix of exuberance and experimentation with traditional forms to new audiences. What they produce is a blend where nothing seems forced and everything fits. This, you really think, is the way music was meant to be.