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Things start off on a strong R n’ B-meets Bhangra tip with Dum Dum Project’s club hit ‘Punjabi 5-0’ featuring MC 1shanti. Apparently Panjabi MC’s ‘Jogi’ was snapped up before it was released as a single, and is a joyous slice of high velocity Bhangra hip hop. Rishi Rich’s ‘Dance With You’ at first sounds like a cheesy slice of sub-standard Craig David fodder but what saves it are the soaring tones of Juggy D and producer Rich’s tight production. Shazia Manzur’s ‘Aoja Sohneya’ is a particularly satisfying slice of Bollywood ephemera from a Lahore artist who is fast building a reputation in the Pakistani film industry. New York based producer Zeb contributes the cutting edge flavour with ‘Bombay Mix’, a highly evocative mix of sitar and electronic beats. The best known of the tracks are Bhangra Knights Vs Husan’s ‘Husan’ used on the well-known Peugeot 206 TV advert, and Trellis’ ‘Bahibi Gajuna’ which doubles as the theme tune for Graham Norton’s Channel 4 chat show. The latter is the biggest throwaway track of the bunch because its specifically designed as a kitsch Turkish intro piece and only clocks in at 1min 30secs. However there is enough here to make Asian Flavours 2 worth the purchase price.

(Review originally appeared in Songlines Magazine)