4.5 Stars

"Possibly the cheekiest sample CD title in the World! Hoggie and the Turbinators (guess which one he is on the sleeve), aka Paul Hodson and Hardeep S. Saini, have been at it for years. Sampling, that is. Featured are performances and single hits on Dhol, Dholak, Ghara, Tabla and Duggi, Chimpta, Tumbi, and Taiaan. Bpms are given where appropriate. All the samples sound as if they have already seen the inside of a Kurzweil K2000 (current sampler), S1000 (trusty companion) or something older. Some are a bit noisy / distorted. Then again, that might suit you-- gungy drum loops can add warmth and feel. In fact, Track 22 (Vintage Masala) has been my favourite so far, and the samples are positively filthy! From the top: Pora Dholak features 19 1-bar patterns, all at 125 bpm, recorded in wide, dry stereo, and all distinctly different from each other ( as opposed to marginally different, as is often the case with big self-consistent sets). This format is the norm for the specially-played and recorded loops that form the bulk of this CD (oh all right, yes, a few are presented in mono). There are similar Dhol, Tabla and ensemble sets at various tempos, with all constituents topped and tailed, and ready to roll along with your dance beat. For a change, why not spice up your top end with Tailaan (finger cymbal) pattern? Forget the dodgy looping. Forget the hiss. You won't hear much of either in the mix. The same advice applies to the Chimpta, whose sound is akin to a tambourine. Track 24 houses a set of 20-odd single hits. Some of these are noisy, but having sampled the lot, I found that a low-pass filter coming in behind the attack portion of each one cleaned them up without removing essential energy. And being dry, the sounds don't half take reverb! The Baja, which is up next, sounds like a cross between an accordion and a violin . There are three multisample sets, two natural tones, and one synth. All are useful, and the synth set is especially fine. The Tumbi follows, a simple one-stringed, plucked instrument. There's a multisample set, followed by several specially recorded riffs and loops. The Mandolin is given the same treatment, minus the archives. Some ensemble patterns give way to a Santoor multisample set ( which sounds a bit like a 12 string guitar). Finally, there's two pipe riffs, a multi of the same, and then you reach 'Vindavox shouts'. A small group of exuberant males shout words like 'Areepa' and 'Bhangra' in stereo. A wistful accapella female winds up the voice bank. For the remainder of the CD, the samples revert to type; yet more Bhangra loops. On some, I could hear some low-level spill, suggesting that they had been lifted from an analogue multitrack session tape. Others appear to have digitally recorded in ultra-wide stereo. Both live playing and programmed beats are featured, and many patterns are quite sparse, suggesting that layering would be successful. Conclusion: There's something good about this product. The fidelity is OK, except where vintage samples are used, in which case, never mind the noise, feel the feel. But the real boon is that it's a bit of a first -- never before have so many Bhangra ingredients been offered to the masses in such accessible form. Try them out in unfamiliar surroundings, and you might start a trend: I'd suggest Hip-Hop, for starters."