Naya Beat continues to champion South Asian musical heritage with the aptly titled Bhangra House Xtc EP featuring music from the late great Manjeet Kondal with remixes from Mr. Scruff and new tracks from label heads Filip Nikolic and Raghav Mani aka Turbotito & Ragz. It celebrates the overlooked influence of late 80s dance and dub music on Bhangra and comes complete with over-the-top artwork, an ode to Bhangra sleeves from the era.

This EP pays homage to a special and relatively untold time when Asian and Western producers collaborated to bridge musical cultures on the dance floor and when British Asian youths were finding their own space at daytime raves. It is in part a tribute to Bhangra innovator Manjeet Kondal, who passed away late last year, and part a tribute to the forgotten yet scintillating confluence of acid house and dub music with late 80s and early 90s Bhangra, now highly sought after as long out of print 12”s.
Kondal, a founding member and percussionist of the legendary band Alaap, left to pursue his solo career as a vocalist. He helped broaden the Bhangra sound by incorporating elements of dub and house into Punjabi folk and traditional instrumentation. His first album, Holle Holle became a household hit, and it is from there that the originals for this package are taken.

The famously deep digging and eclectic selector that is Manchester's Ninja Tune regular Mr. Scruff remixes Kondal’s proto-house banger Ishkaan De Mamle. He first became a fan of Turbotito & Ragz after their label’s superb Naya Beat Volume 1 release and doesn’t disappoint here with a sublime acid house-inspired take with the most infectious and bounciest of basslines. He also serves up an Instrumental Dub and Vocal Strip Down that twists the original into subtly different moods.

Next up, Turbotito & Ragz deliver a dub tribute that works with Kondal’s vocal stems from an assortment of tracks from his album ‘Holle Holle’. It's a compelling and vibrant sound with exotic instrumentals and dubbed-out low ends, all held together by hooky Punjabi vocals. It also comes as a Lovey Dubby Dub version.
With dance music now coming full circle and South Asian DJs increasingly regular faces on the mainstream festival, club, and underground circuit, this release is a fitting and timely modern tribute to the pioneers that came before.

A1 - Ishkaan De Mamle (Mr. Scruff Remix)
A2 - Pyaar
B1 - Ishkaan De Mamle (Mr. Scruff Instrumental Dub)
B2 - Pyaar (Lovey Dubby Dub) More

Bollywood rarities handpicked and remastered on a double LP release with laminate gatefold and multi-layered flower petal foldout. Featuring rare, overlooked or not-previously-on-vinyl music from Bappi Lahiri, R. D. Burman, Ilaiyaraaja, Kalyanji-Anandji, Anand Milind, Raamlaxman and Kirti Anuraag released between 1982 and 1986. Mastered for and cut to vinyl by multi Grammy-nominated Frank Merritt at his mastering studio The Carvery.

Naya Beat is incredibly proud to present the first in our series of ‘Awaaz’ (‘sound’ in Hindi) archival projects focused on uncovering the sounds of 1980s Bollywood Original Soundtrack Recordings (OSTs). Series 1 focuses exclusively on the musical output of CBS Gramophone Records & Tapes (India) Ltd. Active during India’s peak disco era – a time when synthesisers and drum machines became a mainstay in Indian popular music – CBS India became a home for established composers to be experimental, up-and-coming composers to get their start, B-movie soundtracks, and straight-to-VHS releases.

Expertly curated by Naya Beat co-founders Turbotito and Ragz, who were given unprecedented access to the original label archives, this compilation is not just a collection of four-to-the-floor Bollywood disco (although there are plenty of those). ‘Awaaz’ is designed to take listeners on a musical journey that includes everything from leftfield electronic and mood music to outrageous proto house.

Be it classic and hard to find cuts like Ilaiyaraaja's "Aye Zindagi Gale Lagaa Le" and “Mere Jaisi Mehbooba” (Bappi Lahiri’s Hindi remake of Herbie Hancock's “Rockit”), or the instrumental mood music of Kirti Anuraag’s VHS movie soundtracks, to the proto house of Raamlaxman’s “Dil Gadbad Jhala” and Kalyanji-Anandji’s “Aage Bhi Dushman,” or the synth and guitar drenched breakdance madness of R. D. Burman’s “Dekho Idhar Jano Jigar,” the music on this compilation captures the output of a label that was unique as it was unconventional.

An homage to the genre, every detail in this stunning release has been lovingly crafted. From the laminate cover to the absolutely incredible foldout, to the cut-out and collage design, to the font type and layout, there are countless authentic details and nods to classic Bollywood releases of the era. As much of the album has been made in India as is possible. The sleeves have been handmade in New Delhi. The liner notes have been compiled by music archivist Nishant Mittal (aka Digging In India).

A1 - Bappi Lahiri & Asha Bhosle - Deewana Dil Sangeet Ka
A2 - Amit Kumar - Hero
A3 - Zingadi to Zingadi Hai (Outro)
A4 - Asha Bhosle - Meri Ankhon Mein Zara Jhanko To
B1 - Urban Flesh Market (Instrumental)
B2 - Amit Kumar, Mahendra Kapoor, Chorus - Becho Becho
B3 - Birth Of Shiva (Music)
B4 - Kishore Kumar - Dekho Idhar Jano Jigar
C1 - Suresh Wadkar - Aye Zindagi Gale Lagaa Le
C2 - Kishore Kumar & Asha Bhosle - Baahon Me Leke Mujhe
C3 - Rural Flesh market (Instrumental)
C4 - Sharon Prabhakar & Bappi Lahiri - Mere Jaisi Mehbooba
D1 - Suresh Wadkar & Sadhana Sargam - Aage Bhi Dushman
D2 - Asha Bhosle & Chorus - Prem Ashram
D3 - Asha Bhosle, Behrose Chatterjee, Vinod Sehgal - Dil Gadbad Jhala
D4 - Instrumental Music More

Cult South Asian New Wave! Naya Beat is proud to announce its second release, Tere Liye, the highly
sought after and impossible to find New Wave album by the unsung pioneers of the British Asian music
scene, Pinky Ann Rihal. Remastered for vinyl by multi Grammy-nominated Frank Merritt at The Carvery
and available for the first time since its limited 1985 release, the album is as fresh and relevant today as it
was 37 years ago.
South Asian New Wave. Four words that you will rarely see together. Pinky Ann Rihal were the brainchild of
two London-based Punjabi immigrants and progressive rock musicians – Harry Rihal and Jati Sodhi – at a time
in the U.K. when progressive rock musicians were almost exclusively white and Punjabi musicians were almost
exclusively making Bhangra. Encouraged by their friend and disco pioneer Biddu (yes, that Biddu!), they
cut ‘Tere Liye’ – a one-off Hindi-language New Wave album with producer John Hamilton and vocalists Pinky
Rihal (married to Harry) and Anne Barrett (married to John). It is an album that exemplifies the cultural
collaboration and musical synthesis of the time. Complementing the rich, cosmic and layered synths and
drum programming of Hamilton and the distorted guitars of Rihal and Sodhi are the Hindi lyrics of vocalists
Pinky and Anne. The result is an amazing one-of-a-kind South Asian New Wave album. Nothing like it has
come out before or since.
Stymied on its original release by bungled distribution, poor marketing and plenty of bad luck, this incredible
album seemed destined to be lost to history. With Asian electronic music in the U.K. seeing a rebirth and
capturing imaginations around the world,‘Tere Liye’ can finally take its rightful place as one of the
pioneering albums of the Asian underground.
This is Naya Beat’s second release in a series of reissues, reworks and remixes, and compilations dedicated
to uncovering electronic and dance music from the overlooked ‘80s and ‘90s South Asian music
scene. Their first release Naya Beat Volume 1: South Asian Dance and Electronic Music 1983-1992 was
named by the Vinyl Factory as the Number 1 reissue of 2021.

Tracklist:

A1 - Tere Liye
A2 - The Indian Dance
A3 - Teri Yaad
A4 - Jabse Dekha Hai
B1 - Jagee Raat
B2 - Party Tonight
B3 - Meri Bahon
B4 - Tu Aaja
More

You might not have a fixed image of who or what Sault are, given their skill in maintaining a degree of anonymity, but as they notch up their sixth album it's hard to ignore the imposing presence they cut on the experimental fringe of modern UK soul. They started out in 2019 with raw funk and Afrobeat inspired excursions, reflecting on varying perspectives of the Black experience. On Air, the group shake off their previous groove orientation to offer something more orchestrally-inclined, and to their credit they pull it off in remarkable fashion. Lyrically they're focusing on self care and individuality within the Black community, injecting a sense of uplift into their message where they previously reflected on inherited pain and tribulations. Their rapid output doesn't come at the expense of the quality and depth of their expression, making this another essential step forward for one of the most intriguing crews out there right now. More

Dean Josiah Cover AKA Info's Sault collective has been one of the success stories of the last few years - a hard-to-pigeonhole outfit that manages to knock out inspired albums at a rate of knots. Their latest full-length, '11', is another brilliant and must-check excursion. Largely lo-fi, languid and laidback, it delivers a particularly loose and lo-fi take on soul - blessed with their usual nods to Afrobeat and soundsystem culture - whose instrumentation is deliberately sparse and laidback (think bass guitar, drums and guitar). The results are rarely less than impeccable, with the collective's vocals (both female and male singers feature) rising above vintage-sounding grooves and arrangements that variously doff a cap to Sly Stone, Cymande and - on the drowsy, warming and synth-sporting 'Higher' - the more tactile end of British 80s soul. More

The mysterious Sault troupe is back with a call to action and revolutionary soul soundtrack that really bangs the box. "Ain't nothing gunna keep us silent" the lead singer yelps on 'Stop Der', which is an immediate banger after the soothing ambience and closely mic-ed whispers of the opener, which muse on what it means to be black. The rest of the record is a hard hitting mix of crisp drums and empowering vocals, with elements of classic soul as well as contemporary jazz colouring the grooves. This is powerful music with an even more powerful message. More

The Sault re-issuses keep on coming and among them comes 'Untitled (God)', intended as the dourest part of this quintuplet offering to God. This 11-track arm draws on gospel and film music more than anything else. In our view, this is the most suspenseful LP of the lot, with synthetic string sections standing in for parts that, were it not the 21st Century, we'd expect to be performed by full orchestras. No affect is lost, though: spiritual spoken-word prayers like 'Guide My Steps' recall the post-ironic vision of Dean Blunt, while everything from acapella meanderings to funk detours to improvisatory 6/4 choruses continue to pepper this long-form wonder of an album. More

Very little is known about the collective of musicians behind the SAULT project, but their music in many ways speaks for itself. Earlier in the year they delivered Untitled (Black Is), a heartfelt, angry and righteous set of soul, funk, drill and spoken word tracks that provided a brilliant commentary on what it means to be black in 2020. It's a contender for album of the year, for sure, and the good news is that this speedy follow-up is every bit as essential. It's undoubtedly more celebratory than its predecessor, but every bit as musically detailed, combining cutting-edge electronics and all manner of infectious rhythms with enlightening vocals and all manner of live jazz, soul, punk-funk and jazz-funk instrumentation (as well as some seriously evocative orchestration). More

- Ltd. LP: (Limited edition first pressing - Silver Mirror Board - Embossed on front / Debossed on back / Includes information sheet insert)

Tracklist LP:
A1. I
A2. II

B1. III
B2. IV
B3. V More

Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke joins the Hoodna Orchestra, Tel Aviv’s number one Afro funk collective, melding his enchanting vibraphone playing with their brass heavy force across seven original compositions that play tribute to the classic Mulatu sound while forging fresh paths. Produced by and featuring Dap-King Neal Sugarman, the results are gritty, yet majestic, soulful and uplifting.

Tracklist
1.1Tension
1.2Major
1.3Hatula
1.4Yashan
1.5Delilah
1.6Dung Gate More

Since emerging in 2019, Inflo's socially conscious, politically charged Sault collective has delivered a string of inspired, impossible-to-pigeonhole albums that thoughtfully reflect on what it is to be black and British in the 21st century. Nine, the crew's latest set (and first of 2021) is every bit as incendiary, versatile and impactful as its predecessors, with the 10 collected tracks touching on everything from drowsy R&B, spoken word, classic soul and post-punk rock, to UK bass mutations, gospel, jazz-funk, Charles Stepney style excursions and hazy downtempo beats. Mixing live instrumentation and electronics with a wealth of spoken, sung and rapped vocals, Nine is a genuinely stunning, thought-provoking album full of razor-sharp lyrics and brilliantly executed musical movements. More

Cybernetic disco maestro Patrick Cowley returns to Dark Entries with From Behind, a collection of grooving and ecstatic covers of 60s garage and soul cuts. Best known for his chart-topping disco anthems, Cowley left us with an incredible body of work before his tragic death in 1982 due to AIDS-related illness. Since 2009, Dark Entries has been working with Cowley’s friends and family to uncover the singular artist’s lesser-known sides, including his soundtracks for films on compilation albums School Daze, Muscle Up, and Afternooners. From Behind reveals yet another facet of Cowley’s myriad influences; garage and soul. As a tripped-out teenage music freak who arrived in 60’s San Francisco, it should come as no surprise that these psychedelic sounds, both heady and visceral, infuse Cowley’s oeuvre. Recorded during Cowley’s most productive period, ‘80-’82, these tracks show the master flexing his virtuosity while paying loving tribute to the songs that shaped him. A rough draft of Loverde’s “Iko Iko” contorts the jaunty Dixie Cups classic into a slithering, monstrous bathhouse groover, the song’s signature claps draped in cavernous reverb. An unexpected hi-NRG cover of The Doors’ “20th Century Fox” has Paul Parker on vocals, ironically twisting the original’s overt heterosexuality. Via Cowley’s vocoder, The Who’s “Shakin’ All Over” is transformed into a haunting meditation on the loss of bodily autonomy that AIDS inflicts, while the Moody Blues’ “Ride My See Saw” appears in instrumental, amped up and synthesized for dancefloor impact. We’re also graced with instrumental demo versions of The Seeds’ “Pushin’ Too Hard” and The Electric Prunes’ “Too Much To Dream (Last Night),” which later appeared on Paul Parker releases. Things close out with a swinging version of the Four Tops’ Motown classic “Baby I Need Your Loving”, Cowley later reimagined for R&B artist Carl Carlton. The record comes housed in a sleeve designed by Gwenaël Rattke and includes an insert with photos and liner notes written by Louis Niebur. Arriving on October 19th in celebration of what would have been Cowley’s 74th birthday, From Behind gives us yet another glimpse into Cowley’s world: iconic, erotic, and more than a little cheeky. More