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Jay Sean leaves Cash Money Records — the label that made him a star — and returns to his R&B roots, while fusion act Swami ‘does it again’ with new song Do It Again

What’s up party people! As 2014 draws to a close I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! What a buzz to see the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in town last month. A great speech with inspirational words, let’s hope he continues to back this up with action. It’s been a good start so far. I also had the pleasure of MC-ing at a special Melbourne Cup Day event presented by Moshi Moshi Bollywood Nightclub Singapore. It was a great night and I’d like to give a special shout out and thanks to Ricky, Puran and Jyoti, to the beautiful international dancers from Moshi Moshi, singer J-Star, Dholi Paul-V and DJ Nash. Nuff respect.
Jay Sean has left Cash Money Records, the label that gave him his big break taking him from talented urban Asian artist to global superstar. Of course it all started with the smash hit Down but before that he was an amazing singer who’d brought out several tracks most notably with Rishi Rich. He just needed a platform and I’d personally like to thank the team at Cash Money for giving him this. Jay Sean’s rise to fame was a matter of pride not just for the Indian, Punjabi and Sikh community but for all British artists. No one from the UK had succeeded in the US like he did. He broke records and made history. Now it’s time for him to write the next chapter in his story, returning to his R&B roots. Check out his new mixtape and free download The Mistress II.
Plenty of urban tracks doing well at the moment. Jaz Dhami the man behind High Heels, Zulfa and Meh Punjabi Boli Ah has dropped a new single Pasina. Mitran De Boot by Jazzy B and Dr Zeus has been well received. Zeus has also kicked some ass with Mainu Single Rehna featuring Fateh and Rajvir. There’s also Broken Star by Intenso, My Girl (Deep Jandu & Gangis Khan), I Need A Girl (Nasif & GV), Calling (JS & JP), Nain Nashiley (Parneet Hundal) and Att Goriye (Tigerstyle, Hard Kaur & Preet Harpal). Yo Yo Honey Singh’s Desi Kalakaar is an entire urban soundtrack in itself. On the flipside I must say that Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai from the film Khoobsurat is a shameless rip off of Honey Singh’s style and work. How embarrassing can you get. You can do better than this Bollywood.
Some cool electronic vibes. One of my favourite fusion acts is Swami and I’m excited to see them return with a new song Do It Again from Upgrade. This tune is absolute quality with its pop sound coupled with Hindi, Punjabi and English lyrics. Be sure to give it a listen. While you’re at it I also recommend popping into the iTunes store and sampling some of their other tracks like Sugarless, Electro Jugni, Desi Rock, Challa, Back It Up, Dumdaraka, Hey Hey and Mehbooba. Trust me it’s worth it, these guys are fresh! You might also like a new release Gal Sun by JC Sona and Noordeep Lally though the singer’s a bit hyper with his hardcore Punjabi vocals!
On the bhangra scene, Canadian band Enkarma has brought out an album Enkarmafied featuring Dil Naal Khede and Tu Nach Handiye with DJ Vix. It’s interesting to hear the sound of Canada’s main live outfit, it reminds me of the UK bhangra bands of the 1990‘s in a good way. Sukshinder Shinda’s Collaborations 3 is dropping this month with vocalists Diljit, Jazzy B, Abrar Ul Haq, Richa Sharma, Kamal Khan, Surinder Shinda, Don Revo and Shazia Manzoor. His work is always highly anticipated and this one is no exception. Bups Saggu has teamed up with Manjit Pappu on Jump To The Bhangra. Elsewhere there’s Nach Nach (Jus-H & Jag Bancil) and Dil Kho Geya (G Deep).
If ballads are your thing there’s some Punjabi style in the house from Bups Saggu and Sikander (Sajana), Sunny G and Parineeta Narula (Akhiyan), Sona Mohapatra (Naina from Khoobsurat) and Ayushmann Khurrana (Mitti Di Khushboo). Ayushmann’s acoustic ballads are always a pleasure to listen to with Khushboo following on from the success of Pani Da Rang (Vicky Donor), Sadi Gali (Nautanki Saala) and O Heeriye. So too is Arijit Singh’s music with one of his latest hits Sajde featured on Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s soundtrack to Kill Dil. Not to mention his duet with Shreya Ghoshal Manwa Laage on the aptly titled Happy New Year.
That’s it for this month! For more on the latest in the scene, check out my weekly radio show Mumbai Masala at www.pbsfm.org.au (available on demand online or live in Melbourne on 106.7 PBS FM, Monday evenings 7pm-8pm). You can also listen using TuneIn app or PBS Radio’s iPhone and Android apps. Get in touch with me on Twitter and Facebook. I’d love to hear your feedback on this column and the show via my website www.richimadan.com, info@richimadan.com. Peace out.

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