Beyond Skin

Now that's a diverse album! Nitin Sawhney and his female vocalists (who, for reasons I can’t fathom, aren’t named in either the Wikipedia article or on Spotify - according to my research, they are Sanchita Farruque, Tina Grace, Nina Miranda, Swati Natekar, and Sushmita Ghosh) create a unique blend of electro, jazz, and Indian influences. Since the songs are so vastly different from one another, it’s nearly impossible to single out any one in particular. A truly powerful concept album - that’s how it’s done! And of course - completely unexpected for me - five stars.

This was decidedly odd. Impossible to pin down. Liked some parts, didn't like other parts. A new experience, and mostly enjoyable.

I'm surprised by the low rating for this album, and how dismissive some of the reviews are. This is an ambitious album, bringing together trip hop, a little drum and bass, and traditional Indian instruments and vocals, with consistent themes throughout. The beats, vocals and production are all great. Some tracks would fit perfectly on the latest Gorillaz album, The Mountain (which is high praise - it might be my album of the year). Selfishly, I would probably cut a couple of the non-english tracks that break up the album's flow a bit and make it overly long, but maybe they're important to the album's themes if you understand them.

I just going to assume I don't get it

Pretty Good

I have no idea what I listened to or even how to evaluate it. I'm not confident that I actually dislike this one, I just don't know how to even begin approaching it.

Conference: voices as tabla. Incredible!!

Amazing how little impression this one left on me.

What?

This is so fucking good. “Life is like a puzzle not pieced yet” THE CONFERENCE? Oh my god. Comedy king over here. V good concept album leading me to deep dive India-Pakistan nuclear conflict. In light of the liner notes cited (“… My identity and my history are defined only by myself – beyond politics, beyond nationality, beyond religion, and Beyond Skin”) I think this will need time to fully process.

Nice concept but not for me, too soft and bland.

This album was not as cohesive as I'd have liked. However, the tracks were moving and I loved the Indian political content. I won't return to it much, but I'm super glad it was on this list. More diverse voices please! 6/10

Бля ну угар здесь есть. Я щас чувствую что с годами оценки стали менее радикальными, поэтому 4 рискану

Solid avant-garde record with Eastern influences that tells a story of displacement, love, and character.

Leider ziehen sich einige lieder sehr ansonsten eine positive Überraschung. 3/5

A bit of scrambled egg mess, with weirdly seductive trip-hop ballads that I liked even less than the Indian fusion lounge music electronica or the Spanish guitar sketches about nuclear war

Ничего интересного в этом конкретно альбоме, даже не знаю получится ли дослушать до конца этот альбом, отдам лучше остаток дня для того чтобы дослушать Боуи. Два. (3)-1-3

The subject matter is neat, and it's a cool blend of styles that I haven't really heard before. There's a lot of tracks I don't like, but the good ones are good. Nostalgia and Nadia were my favorites.

sort of spike spiegel smoking against a lo-fi rainy cityscape vibes, with an indian soul that turns it pretty cool and unique. overtly political radio interstitials are dope. i think a big chunk in the middle of what is a fairly long and lingering album stops innovating and gets very boring, but, still neat. favorite song is Broken Skin or Homelands. soft 3

# Album Name: Beyond Skin # Artist: Nitin Sawhney # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: First two tracks are decent. The rest is dire. # Top Tunes: broken skin / letting go / homelands # Would I listen to it again? No

Super interesting album with great blends of Latin and Asian influences on top of great modern beats

A little too one note for an entire album. Two stars seem a little harsh, but I wouldn’t give it three stars. There’s no track I’m interested in hearing again.

Plenty of Nitin's I could pick with this album, not least of which is that at it's core I think it is adult contemporary. That said, there is plenty I really like as well such as the variety of genres it explores and the deft incorporation of a social message.

Some decent songs but a whole lot of mumbo jumbo that was not very listenable

First few tracks were genuinely really cool then it tanks pretty hard. Borderline not fun to listen to for the second half. That's me personally. First couple tracks were awesome though

Started off really strong but then lowkey became unlistenable to me

p interesting. didn't care for the rapping but some cool tracks.

The Indian influence is definitely a refreshing rarity in this list. A compelling album.

Quite liked this.

Yow. Here's an album that started out okay, and then like an Indiana Jones action sequence, launched itself down a long slide into a pit of misery. At one point, I thought to myself, "Did the album end and Tidal started playing Nickelodean theme songs?" That's when I turned it off.

2/5 - This started off OK, but, as an album, I can't get to yes on this.

Musically impressive.

This album has no place on the list of important works.

Nitin Sawhney - Beyond Skin (1999) A bizarre album. A few good tracks (Homelands, Nadia, Serpents), some meh stuff, and then there’s The Conference which is a couple of guys doing some very high speed scatting which is kind of impressive but a bit odd. This album is a mess. But it’s not terrible. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was surprisingly, pretty good. The production and sound was highly entertaining and it the idea behind the concept of nuclear weapons in India and Pakistan is a good backdrop for bringing the issue to Western/British audiences. The book has had some weird 90s Anglo-Indian albums in it but I'd say this one was the best India related album I've heard.

Sometimes the music on this album is great and other times nothing is going on for long stretches. Feels more like a soundtrack than a record.

Mixed feelings but it was never boring

Quite pleasant

Elements reminded me variously of Bjork, Boyywood, Jazz, Drum n Bass and Roots Manuva. I can see why this won the Mercury prize but it left me a little cold although there were some good elements in there. Second half dragged on a bit and the scatting on The Conference wasn't great and Immigrant was quite ambling. 3 stars.

An interesting introduction with a remarkable topic for a pop album. Musically often surprisingly o.k. especially compared to the nowadays so-called megastars. But it looses a bit tension around tracks 7-9 and the vocals are not always my favour. Not easy for me to decide between two or three stars but because of the courage for this topic I give it the weak three stars. favourite: "Tides" 2,5

17/10/2026 I am not going to pretend that I liked this, but I did not think this was completely terrible either. Spotify listeners: 159.6k

A complete nothing of an album.

This was different which is nice but it wasn’t that good to be and was pretty long

Not something i"d really encountered before. It was ok. 4-5 tracks in i was really enjoying it but by tbe end i felt there was too much to take in in one sitting.

Not for me.

Listened to half of this, came back to it with shuffle accidentally on and it took me ages to realise I was hearing a song again. The first couple of tracks were the best I think, there was one that made the most use of a piano melody that would come back again a few times (I think, or I just heard it a few times), and I didn't mind that. Largely though, sort of ambient house music, with some stuff about nuclear weapons and some Indian touches. Music didn't seem to engage with the theme at all really.

Had no idea what to expect with this. Closest thing I can compare it to would be massive attack I guess, but Indian.... I'm not really sure what the theme was, but it seemed to mention nuclear weapons in parts? Lost on me whether it was. Interesting enough, but electronica generally isn't for me. probably around 2.5

Kind of artsy, trip-hop - very 90s. Some decent moments, but overall just a bit too pretentious for my tastes. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ ★★★☆☆(5/10) Total reviewed : 455 Already owned : 99 Purchased : 25 To buy : 3 Nope : 328

This is like British South Asian Portishead or Massive Attack. The rap on Pilgrim reinforces my belief that if no one from the UK ever rapped again, we'd all be better off. This guy is obsessed with nuclear tests...I guess the timing for South Asians is important since India and Pakistan were testing at the time this came out, but it does not make for a great album. The chattering on The Conference is one of the most annoying things I've ever heard...South Asian skat.

It's amazing how time can change your perspective because, if I had heard this back in the late 90s or early 2000s, I probably would have been a huge fan. Hearing it now, though, it's definitely a product of its time, almost like a time capsule. Overall, it's a very worldly, smooth downtempo album with the atmosphere of a rainforest. It's pretty much the type of album you'd listen to on a dark, cold, rainy night in the year 2000.

Very different. Didn’t love it

Very cool record. Nice to hear some international music

At a crossroads between 3 and 4. In some part, it’s really a genre I like to listen to, in another some of the songs I was not the biggest fan of. Looking back, I’d rather not come back to it again, so 3

Listened before?: never Broken Skin - 4/5 Letting Go - 3/5 Homelands - 4/5 The Pilgrim - 2/5 (not a fan of the rapping) Tides - 5/5 Nadia - 3/5 Immigrant - 3/5 Serpents - 2/5 Anthem Without Nation - 2/5 Nostalgia - 3/5 The Conference - 2/5 Beyond Skin - 3/5 Average score: 3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ this is likely the first asian underground album i've listened to, and it's definitely not the kind of music i'd ever discover on my own without getting a recommendation from someone (like the author of this list). i didn't really know what to expect going into this based on that strange album cover, but honestly, i was pleasantly surprised to enjoy the fusion of downtempo and hindustani classical music on this album. reminds me of Portishead at times the execution of the mixing of genres is better on some tracks than others of course (i disliked the rapping on The Pilgrim, for example), but it was otherwise a pretty nice listen. it seemed like Sawhney was trying all kinds of different ideas here in terms of vocals and instrumentation, so i guess these choices make sense. regardless, i could see myself letting a few tracks play in the background on a nice rainy evening

Very interesting album, lots of genres touched on. Indian music with light rap, new age, etc overtones. This album is supposed to be based on nuclear weapons (India vs. Pakistan).

A good surprise. 2.5/5

More soundtrack than songs, maybe would grow on me with time but nothing memorable after one listen.

It's good enough.

After that listen I understand the wailing man on the cover.

This is an interesting concept for an album, and I enjoyed most of the first half. Unfortunately, it loses me in the second half, and by the end, I wasn't nearly as engaged. A promising start, but it doesn't quite hold together for me.

Funnily enough I thought I had reviewed this album already! I think I came across it when I was looking over past Mercury Prize winners and nominees. It's not a bad album, but is a bit dated - I feel like this blend of genres and slightly pretentious, overly earnest songwriting was everywhere in the late 90s. There are some really great songs on here, but it is very hit and miss. Tides for example, is brilliant, but Pilgrim immediately before it has aged like milk. The first 3 songs are quite good. Some of the non-English songs I found to be more interesting than enjoyable. Overall it's a very listenable album, and undeserving of the amount of negativity on here I think, but not perfect. It's like an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach that gets a bit tiring after a while. Immigrant is a song that I completely vibe with the sentiment of, but the delivery just made me cringe. Overall it's a bit over-polished, cheesy, and too long.

I liked this, but wanted to like it more. The collaborators were uneven and downright spoiled a couple songs. But there's also some good trip hop beats, especially at the beginning of the album.

Makes me wish I was listening to Yeti Season...

I was worried when I saw “breakbeat” in the description but this was a nice surprise as an electronic album that felt genuinely attuned to Indian music. Overall I was not really drawn in but it’s a good album.

Great downtempo album, I really like the vocals on this one. Also the drums. Not sure why they decided to include the horrible rapping on "The Pilgrim", though. Hopefully this artist's other works are just as good, this album was great and I want to hear more from him. :3

Some of it I really like… but the rest… very uneven. But I think that is kind of his thing.

not crazy

Sadly, just a bit of a boring, nothing album.

found this creepy

Not for me at all

Never heard of this before - better than I would have expected if I'd known what it was. Still not really my sort of thing though.

Feels like an evolution of those IRS records of the early 90s

It's interesting, but interesting doesn't always mean that the record is good. There's a unique set of sounds here. Some hit and some miss. Favourite Track(s): Homelands, Immigrant, Tides Least Favourite Track(s): Nadia, Serpents, The Conference

Not my favorite album, but one of the more interesting ones

A very solid and enjoyable trip hop journey. Tides was a highlight for me but I didn’t hear a bad song on the album. I thought The Conference was hilarious and kind of brilliant… that’s how most of my conference calls at work sound to me.

Awesome album cover. A few songs are pretty interesting - The Conference is fun. Other than that it was an hour I won't get back.

moody sophisti-pop lounging boutique store music with a lot of South Asian motifs. kinda feels like someone found a bunch of cutting room floor scraps of A Tribe Called Quest's backing tracks, then overlaid a bunch of jazz / world music samples. definitely a bloated album but it wasn't a terrible time listening

hatte mich mehr als ich anfangs dachte. bin ja eigentlich nicht so fan von electronic, aber dieses auf migra gehen und fusion hat mich!

Some (most?) were pleasantly interesting. A few mildly annoying but we’ll let those pass

Is this someone's, ANYONE'S, favorite album? I mean it can't be, right? Why is it on this list? This is one of thise albums where you wonder (hope) to yourself if you just listened to the last song. And that started with the 3rd song for me.

Pretty eclectic and overly long mix of oddities that ranged from meh, did not care for, to ugh, definitely did not like, to geez, make it stop.

Chill.

Very nice and etherial for the most part. Quite enjoyable

What the hell was that pseudo intellectual bullshit.

Some tracks were ok but too many were so bizarre I skipped them.

This started out as a 4, since it reminded me musically of Zero 7, but it went downhill somewhat after that.

It was different and unique

interesting, just not my thing

Too many weird, random noises

This is way better than I expected. I found it fascinating and novel. Also Tides had a strong Vince Geraldo vibe without being derivative. Enjoyed this.

Sawhney ist britischer Musiker mit indischen Wurzeln, und Beyond Skin von 1999 entsteht größtenteils dort, wo er zu Hause ist: im eigenen Spirit Dance Studio. Ein paar Mixe laufen bei Tony's, die Postproduktion übernehmen die Whitfield Street Studios. Erschienen ist das Ganze bei Outcaste Records – klanglich irgendwo zwischen Downtempo, Drum and Bass und den südasiatischen Klangfarben, die Sawhneys Musik seit jeher prägen. Was mich am meisten packt, ist der Bogen des Albums: „Broken Skin" öffnet mit einem Sample zur indisch-pakistanischen Atomkrise, und am Ende zitiert „Beyond Skin" Oppenheimer aus der Bhagavad Gita. Dazwischen liegen „Homelands", mit seiner fast schwebenden Vocal-Linie von Nina Miranda, und „Nadia", bei dem Sawhneys Klavier die programmierten Beats erdet. Es ist selten, dass ein Album so schwere Themen trägt, ohne dabei die Leichtigkeit im Klang zu verlieren – hier gelingt es. Die Aufnahme war ein Erfolg: Mercury-Prize-Nominierung, South Bank Show Award, später ein Platz in „1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Ich frage mich manchmal, ob ein Album wie dieses heute noch genauso ankommen würde – die politische Wucht hat sich verschoben seit 1999. Aber die Musik trägt trotzdem, auch ohne den zeitgeschichtlichen Kontext. Beyond Skin funktioniert für mich am besten als Album, das man nicht nebenbei hört.

Enjoyed the first 2 songs then it took a turn and I liked the totally originality and mix of genres and languages.

DNF. There is some nice stuff, but it’s mostly covered by samples and garbage.

An interesting listen, a bit uneven as far as enjoyment for me

Interesting concept. I understand why this album is on this list.

Trip hop is one of those genres of music that came from the 90s but one way or another has managed to stick around into that patented early 21st century sound. Beyond Skin is a concept album about the disasters of nuclear weapons and uses the blending of South Asian and 'Western' music (though electronic music to me is more universal even if it started in the west) as a way to illustrate that it's a global problem rather than a national/political one. At 343 albums in, Beyond Skin is maybe one of the more unique albums I've heard on this list thus far (at least for first impressions on never hearing it before, otherwise ...Endtroducing probably is the "most unique"). Maybe part of that is that trip hop's time in the music mainstream kind of waned off in the 2000's and music of that type isn't as commonly released as its own genre but rather blended into other genres, or that its themes are an evergreen story until that story concludes at the hands of a few, dangerously powerful people in charge of nations. It does not matter what group of people or how they present themselves to each other in clusters of masses behind racial or national lines, when the bombs go off, we're all going to go. This album felt very poignant compared to the mindless fun many other 90s albums were having, especially the care free rave/drum and bass/techno/house/etc scenes that were huge at the time. Nitin Sawhney manages to turn electronic music around into a more overtly serious and existential lens that might have had themes or subjects brushed upon for a song or so in a KLF song or something. Certainly a lot more grave feeling than a Prodigy album or any rave song.

There's limits to how much I can clown on something that's better than any music I'll ever make, but that doesn't mean I have to pretend I enjoyed it. It's a little too late-90's world music cool.

This is a great album. It's alternately interesting and cool and beautiful. The first 3 tracks were my favorite but there's stuff to like all over this. The fusion of Indian music, drum and bass, electronica, and downtempo is turned compelling here.

Great individually but a wee bit disjointed

Enjoyed bit of this, liked Immigrant!