The album is a celebration of what remains one of the most vibrant and exciting parts of the UK Club scenes once again bringing you the recent hits as well as the latest cutting edge tunes. The diverse selections of tracks include the Rishi Rich remix of Craig David's 'Rise & Fall' and one of the hottest Drum n Bass tunes of 2003 in the Calibre Remix of 'Signs' by Badmarsh & Shri.

REDHOTCURRY REVIEW

Redhotcurry Rating: (3 flames!)

Am I simply getting too old for this "s*#t!" or has this album, the latest in the 'Essential Asian Flavas' series failed miserably to convey the dynamism of the British Asian music scene? I'd like to think the latter, but you can make up your own mind.

The album is getting confused between representing the exciting parts of the UK Club scene with tracks like the Calibre remix of 'Signs' by Badmarsh & Shri, and the most laid-back, chill-out, unwind music like Jasmon Dimdanana (Green Empathy Remix). 'Essential Asian Flavas - The Future Cutz' can't make up its mind what kind of an album it is and will, as a result, be inflicted endlessly on diners in the upmarket curry houses of the future. New age "wallpaper" music at its best!

The Rishi Rich influence is as strong as ever, but if I hear his remix of Craig David's 'Rise and Fall' once more I'll puke. I was never too keen on the original anyway. Rishi's 'Nahin Tere Jeha Hor Disda' is more to my taste and I think he really should avoid being dragged down into the uber-hip Asian Underground scene and stick to more to his Punjabi roots. Commercialisation may be a dirty word among the artistes, but the punters really want value for money AND creativity. Well I do anyway!

Tigerstyle's 'Taakre' featuring Bikram Singh, and the Dr Zeus track 'Kangna' go some way towards getting back to the heart of "bhangra" which is what I would expect in any album about 'Asian Flavas'. Featuring the beautifully melodious voice of Master Rakesh, 'Kangna' brings a sort of bhangra/ghazal style of music that clubby types would not otherwise listen to.

The At Home Project track 'All in My Mind' has a real retro theme running through it - think about the theme from TV show 'Shaft', combined with Dev Anand's dancing and those really awful cinema adverts for local curry houses - and that should sum it up! The last track by Digital Jockey sounds like my washing machine on quick wash cycle - great for getting new-born infants to sleep but pretty uninspiring when it comes to relaxation music.

'Essential Asian Flavas - The Future Cutz' tries too hard to be "supercool" like Mr Nitin Sawhney's sound and fails lamentably. Personally, I just don't get this CD at all.

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