Shaanti - Mighty Asian Beats

The famous Birmingham club-night drops another compilation, arriving years after the first one, but losing none of the flavour or edge in the process.]

Shaanti's main man, Manga, has assembled a decent selection of tunes ranging the entire gamut of Asian-influenced club music. From the sublime hip-hop of Foreign Beggars (dropping a great Jehst remix of ‘Black Hole Prophecies, though I must confess, I prefer DJ Vadim's original) to Sharaab's completely unhinged and mental ‘Nosering' to good ol' bhangra, with the funky and furious stylings of Punjabi MC, the pace never abates.

If there was to be one hindrance to the CD, it wouldn't be the selection, more the pacing in places, but this is understandable as it goes from high octane drum'n'bass to hip-hop to bhangra in a matter of songs. This is a small gripe on a good CD, bringing a great selection of tunes.

I had heard of most of the artists so hearing the songs was like hearing old friends, however, the big revelation to me was the Asian grime of MDK Cartel. I've heard loads about these boys, but had never actually heard their stuff. After hearing them on this CD, I might end up a fan. In the meantime, there aren't that many compilations out there that sum up the Asian dance music scene (apart from IE's own compilation) and so this is a good example of who to check, what to hear and where to go to dance to it all.