Beyond Skin

Urban rainstorm taxi music

Got a bit of a smooth jazz vibe. Some great world music influences.

Suprising listening, I liked the different influences of western and eastern music styles and the up tempo drums in some of the songs. As a whole, not I project I will return to.

Pleasant album at times. It promises to be less bland than it sounds.

Maybe a little overly dramatic, but in general I enjoyed the variety of styles.

Fun!

Chill and pretty good. Very enjoyable vibe and very calming. I liked it.

Beyond Skin – Nitin Sawhney (1999) | Electronic / World Fusion / Multi-Genre | Avg: 7.05 | Favorite Song: “Broken Skin”* This album really had me going back and forth. Beyond Skin is ambitious in scope and sonically diverse to the point of whiplash—sometimes in a good way, sometimes not. The opener, “Broken Skin,” hit me right away. It’s soulful, cinematic, and sets a strong emotional tone. But as the album unfolds, it becomes clear that this record is juggling a lot: smooth vocal ballads, sharp political interludes, abstract beat experiments, and some spoken word and rapping that doesn’t always feel locked in. From a reviewer’s standpoint, this is definitely a “high ceiling, wide floor” kind of album. When it lands, it’s powerful and inventive. But when it misses, it can feel unfocused or even grating. Some of the vocal textures hit the ear in a weird way, and a few moments felt like they were going for meaning over musicality. Still, I admire the intent behind all of it. Beyond Skin is aiming for something personal and global at once, and while it doesn’t always stick the landing, there’s a lot here that’s worth sitting with.

I doubt I would have ever listened to this album if it wasn’t for this site, and I’m glad I did. At its best it gives portishead / Massive attack vibes, but there’s two or three too many elements/genres trying to be mixed in here for it to fully work.

I already really like Broken Skin! It feels like a chill song I could do homework too, but I could also enjoy and appreciate the lyrical content. Other than that, some of the music isn’t for me. For example, The Conference is just rhythmic noise to me.

I didn't overly enjoy this, but I'm glad I listened to it. I'm not a fan of this genre of 90s-00s electronica, but I liked the Indian twist put on it.

I felt pretty intrigued with the first half of this album. It sounded unique and was grooving to it. The Indian influences worked well on songs like Homelands and Pilgrim. Somewhere after Nadia I started feeling sort of bored and stopped paying attention closely. My attention perked up at The Conference, but not for the right reason because it was super strange. All in all, this feels like this lands in the 3 territory, but probably on the lower end of the spectrum.

I can absolutely get down with some soulful downtempo. For as unsettling a name as it has, Broken Skin vibes nicely with the strings and vocals. I will say this has a distinctly 90s aroma, but I honestly don't mind. Letting Go is an extremely tranquil downtempo jam as well. Love the little elements in the production poking through. Homelands is the first with a distinctly more "ethnic" sound, which is fitting I guess given the title. I really like the use of strings and hand-percussion. Pilgrim draws from a similar playbook of foreign instrumentation; however, with a more traditional hip-hop forward beat. Makes for an okay enough song. Tides is among my favorites on here. While it isn't terribly interesting, I just enjoy the calming piano and flow. Nadia is a toe dip into Dn'B with Middle Eastern vocals. Remainder of the album is fine, though The Conference is a bit much. I'll say this was an enjoyable enough album, but I found myself sort of growing tired of it through the second half. For that, I'll say this falls into high 3 territory.

Pretty relaxing album with the soft downtempo and singing. The Conference got a little nutty though with whatever the language that guy was singing in with the crazy words. Id say this is a respectful 3

This started out pretty solid but then I lost all focus from it after about 20 minutes in. I just don't think I'm a huge D&B fan, but I did enjoy some of the eastern influences on it. The Conference was definitely impressive af.

Really liked, wondered what i was listening to at "the conference" but the album is very chill

Some really good soft, touching songs in here. Some of the instrumentation (Flutes on Serpent) and vocalizing (like on The Conference) is pretty cool. Back half is a little weaker than the front half in my opinion. The concept is interesting but I don't really see the thematic tie between the soft chill vibe of some of the music and global thermonuclear war.

"Beyond Skin" is the fourth album by English musician, producer and composer by Nitin Sawhney. Downtempo and drum and bass are the Wiki-listed genres. Ah, they could have thrown a few more in. The album focuses largely on the theme of nuclear weapons and plays over a timespan that runs backwards from the 90's India-Pakistani nuclear situation to Robert Oppenheimer quoting the Bhagavad Gita "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Sawhney uses s number of guest musicians and singers. Commercially, the album reached #44 in the UK. "Beyond Skin" begins the album with a man talking with an Indian accent in English. A downtempo beat, an organ and a synth with uplifting riffs. Sanchita Farroque comes in with a very soulful voice. There's people talking in the background about war. A song about the Indian-Pakistan nuclear situation. Strings begin "Homelands. There's Indian percussion (tabla), acoustic flamenco guitar and the strings. An interesting vocalist mix of Brazilian singer Nina Miranda and the Pakistani Rizwan Muazzam Qawwali. World music indeed. In "Tides," Sawhney stays straight-forward jazz with a piano and jazzy drumming. Simple and one of favorite songs on the album. "Nadia" combines Sanskrit lyrics/vocals with start-stop drum and bass beat. Two wonderful lead singers ,Nicki Wells and Ashwin Srinivasan, tell the story of two lovers on opposite ends of a river. As previously mentioned, the closing song "Beyond Skin" is back to the 1940's and Robert Oppenheimer. An American reporter describes a mushroom cloud. Various news report are followed by an acoustic guitar and a woman singing mournfully. The music covers a lot of styles: downtempo, Indian (Asian), trip hop, soul, jazz and drum and bass. There's also a fusion among these styles. A lot of different singers are used as well as languages. Sure, the album is bookended by historic nuclear war history but in between, Sawhney's songs appear very personal with his experience as an Indian (Asian) growing up in England. Overall, I liked the variety of music and vocalists. The experience was interesting and never boring. I recommend this for anyone willing to listen to or enjoys a variety of musical styles.

Really interesting listen, but I can't see myself reaching for it too often.

stick to yer nitin

All this easy listening stuff with heavy infusions of jazz, samples and electronica - which is my attempt at describing "Café del Mar" without using that exact phrase - was... very easy to listen to when it was the hot shit. And I did enjoy a lot of that back then (without being overly into it). Grand music to work on an essay/novel/lengthy email to, or to make love to your partner to, or to cook to, or to dust off your shelves to, or to stare blankly at the ceiling to. It sort of still is, but for some reasing it really hasn't aged well. Maybe because it carries a sort of carelessness and easy living attitude that's difficult to recapture these days. Both because of the state of the world - but also because I'm not in my 20s any more and there's just more responsibility and less time to work on some essay/novel/lengthy email, to make love to your partner, to cook, to dust off your shelves, or to stare blankly at the ceiling (except in depression, in which case this album doesn't help at all). Kind of a weird 3/5 because the world would be a better place if this was more easily enjoyable today. And aspiring to go back there isn't a bad thing.

Interesting album, with an important running theme. But just not the kind of thing I'll end up going back to. Few tracks really held me and I had to skip rhythm penultimate song (just because it was not commuting music).

this was weird. i liked it. not enough to add it to my library, but you just never knew what was going to happen next. what was the conference? why are we suddenly quoting oppenheimer? keeps you on your toes.

This was fascinating and eclectic. Started like portishead, but went off into mouth drumming and one track in the middle that sounded like seal. It wasn't my favourite thing and some bits were influences I don't really enjoy, but overall the unpredictability was very enjoyable and the soundscape was good.

I suppose I should begin by saying that I hadn't really been intending to listen to this album that closely. I mean, I remember reading the genres on Wikipedia back when my group first got this thing (yes, this is another backlog fill-in). This is some kind of electronica/Indian classical fusion record. I'm thinking, it must be something like that Talvin Singh album we got, 'OK'. I could probably just listen to this in the background while I read 'Darths & Droids' and judge it based on its vibes. I mean, sure, it says there's samples of Oppenheimer on, but I figured that meant there'd just be some scattered samples here and there to explain the album's concept. No biggie! I can deal with that! Then track one opens with singing. Like, words. Singing words. And suddenly I hafta pay attention. OK, OK, sure. I wasn't prepared for this, but I can switch gears pretty quickly. And I did go all out with this. I followed along with the lyrics, looked them up when Spotify wasn't showing 'em, translated the ones that weren't in English . . . I even went to Discogs to read Nitin's explanation of the album and its themes in the liner notes. If I had to pay attention to this thing, then by goodness, I wanted to make sure I was paying attention **properly**. Which just makes it that much more of a bummer that actively paying attention like I was didn't too much for me. I really did give it my all here, but I'unno. Most of it ended up washing over me like "Fiiiiiine." It's obviously good stuff; I just never heard anything that really made me go "Wow!" and get any kind of excited for it. Even the parts I liked, where either I thought they were pretty or they were just a slice of Indian music that I really appreciated . . . not enough. Maybe the problem was just that I never truly got a grasp on what everything meant in regards to the concept. I know that it starts at the Indian-Pakistan nuclear situation and runs backwards through time to Oppenheimer's famous "Now I am become death" quote — that much I'm clear on. It's an album about nuclear weapons. But it's also about identity? Y'know, there's the part in the liner notes where Nitin says that his identity is "beyond skin," and I hear some of that theme in "Pilgrim" . . . and then, by extent, it's **also** about the Indian diaspora? From the lyrics I translated, that's what "Anthem Without Nation" is about. And what does any of this have to do with nuclear weapons? I mean, maybe it's just a framing device for these other things? A fellow group member says this album can beat you over the head with its themes and message sometimes, but I guess it just missed me entirely, because I honestly had no idea how either of those ideas were supposed to be related. And it wasn't from lack of trying, let me tell you! I'll concede, the problem's probably just with me. I'm a dummy with AuDHD, and unless something's explicitly spelled out for me I can't really "get it," more often than not. And it somewhat makes me feel like a bad listener for not "getting it" like I feel I should — but, eh, y'know, I tried. Can't get on my case for that. And in my failure to fully grasp the concept, that's where the music should come in to save the day, but, y'know, as I said . . . I mean, this is all kind of a big ol' "oops," I guess. In the end, I just kind of don't have many strong feelings about this album. Honestly, I'm not sure if I wouldn't have actually been better off just trying to listen to this thing casually. "Serpents" probably would've still sounded to me like an endless six minute build up to nothing, either way. As I said above, it's far from a bad album, and there are for sure spots I like . . . but I feel like I'm gonna get beyond this album before too long.

Pretty good, nice vibes.

mildly interesting electronic. Might be worth another look.

Pleasant, not amazing.

Dad- 7 Mom- 9 Mike- NA Lori- 6 Michael- Miles- 5 Cole- NA Avg- 6.75

De los que he escuchado hasta ahora, creo que este álbum es el más ecléctico en lo que a estilos se refiere: música tradicional hindú, R&B, electrónica downtempo, drum and bass, jazz, flamenco, sonidos atmosféricos y hasta rap. Y precisamente esa amalgama de estilos lo hace tan interesante como irregular. Algunos temas me han encantado (los más "étnicos" por llamarlos de alguna manera), mientras que otros (los más "pop") se me han hecho súper tediosos. En general, los temas son demasiado chill como para atrapar mi atención, pero cada cierto tiempo llegan partes muy interesantes. Sobre todo la parte central del álbum me ha parecido especialmente buena. Por su parte, las letras (en múltiples idiomas) me han gustado bastante. Tratan de conflictos internacionales, la experiencia de ser inmigrante y, en definitiva, son una meditación acerca de la identidad y la globalización. Un álbum muy difícil de calificar, así que vamos a dejarlo en tres.

Pleasantly surprised 3.5 stars

Interesting, although not entirely successful

This was fine. It had a very late 90's feel. That combo of electronic and world music. Most of it was dream-like. I didn't love it, but I liked it.

3.5. Really nice and unique album. Aim to relisten to this in the future to reassess.

Great album with lots of feelings in every song. While this kind of music is something where I often think you need to be in the right mood to listen to I didn't feel that with this album. Its an easy enough listen that I could see myself having this on in my everyday life and not get dragged down in sadness straight away.

Not really my thing but at least it was interesting enough to listen to the whole way through. 2.75/5

Very similar to the follow up album Prophesy, on that it's a genre fusion exercise with some kind of quasi philosophy lecture. For the most part it successfully bridges these, although it's perhaps a little on the preachy side.

Hadn't heard of Nitin Sawhney before, so wasn't sure what to expect from this album, turned out quite pleasant and chill, (I mean apart from the undertones of nuclear dread).

What an interesting album, it's like an Indian R&B album. But also with sound samples of Oppenheimer's "I am become death" quote. Some of it was amazing, but some of it was like a Disney soundtrack. I don't even know what to say about it.

I'm writing this after a second listen, a week after my first listen. I wasn't quite sure what to make of this album, and honestly, I'm still not quite there, but I think the second listen made me understand what it was doing more. The combination of chill drum and bass and ambient sounds with lyrics depicting the fallout of nuclear war and of the struggles of immigrants seemed like a mismatch at first, but I think the simple yet driving nature of the music allowed the message to get through clearer. Not all of the songs were hits--"Pilgrim" is incredibly grating, the vocals provided by a constantly off-beat and awkward sounding rapper--but some, like "Immigrant" and "Nostalgia", were incredibly pretty. I generally prefer to write my reviews focusing on albums as a whole, instead of focusing on specific songs, but due to the uneven nature of this work, it's easier to pick out what I liked and what I didn't like in that manner. Overall, while it did create a nice vibe and was an easy listen, I wasn't overwhelmed by it. A solid 3/5.

Okay, we've definitely hit on something newer (at least in my lifetime) that I've never heard of. Let's listen to this. Hmmm. Honestly, there was some early Massive Attack sound that I liked, and then there was some alternating boring or annoying pop songs. Wow. Another really interesting and uninteresting album. Three stars because it had legit five- and one-star moments.

Triphoppy

Interesting for sure and a nice change

Poop (lol)

It wasn't all bad. Some nice instrumental tracks.

Yeah, quite different. Liked some tracks more than others, stylistic wise. Glad i listened.

soft gentle jazz... nice voice... unremarkable

Interesting beats and variety. Interesting themes too, but no particular track stood out to me, probably not something I would go back and listen to.

6/10 Ah, so this is what inspired the Weird Al Yoda chant! Anyway, it wasnt really my cup of tea, but it was interesting and varied Highlight: Homelands

Sorpresa y golpe bajo. Indefinible. Estoy en shock

Really like the theming and the sounds on this one, not super cohesive but very atmospheric and quite emotional in places.

Nice.

I didn't hate it. 3/5 #102

This was okay. It was at it's strongest when it fused electronic pop and Indian sounds.

I like a bit of Nitin Sawhney. Lovely lavish productions. However, this is all a bit too nice and midrange to draw me back regularly. Pretty good concept arc tying it all together though.

Liked it. Multi-genre, and I love her voice and Indian influence.

It is such an understated record that it feels like it needs more than one listen to fully unpack it. I've given a three but it's possibly a 4 ic it fully clicks with the listener.

liked it. not all but it had a great start.

First record that I had never heard of and this was an odd one. All very ambient, vibey music. The kind of record you would listen to if you were at a trendy European cafe in the early 2000s. Or the kind of music you would hear at the beginning of a Pierce Brosnan Bond movie. Not that it’s bad per se but it’s very ambient and tough to listen to without having your mind wander elsewhere. There are also these moments where they’ll randomly have news clips about India having a nuclear program which makes me think there’s a political back story to this one?? Maybe… but if you ever wanted to listen to a safer Björk record this is a pretty decent one to listen to. Stand out tracks for me include Tides and that’s about it.

Correcto

A mixture of different EDM styles and world music. On some tracks it works very well, on some it doesn’t. Favorite song: tides.

Had to chew on this one for a few days. It's a little bit of a spotty album, with some areas being very lush and invigorating and other moments being relatively uninteresting trip-hop. The spoken word bits are OK. I like the chanting. All around an interesting experience. 3/5

3/5

Wow this was fucking weird, but honestly I thought it was pretty effective and thoroughly interesting despite some songs being way too freaking long.

Meh

Pretty but boring. The piano instrumentals were pretty good but too long. I think it’s a good album though. Its inclusion on the list is worthy, I think, if it’s more “you should hear this” instead of “this is one of the best 1001 albums ever”

Felt more like a compilation of songs from different bands - some of which I like, some pissed me off.

Esch crazy wie vel Musigrrchtige I eim albom (and z. T. I eim Lied) chönd sie. So rächt indisch aber au jazzig met schön Klavier ond so, möngisch aber au weder sehr harmonisch oder de weder Rap. S meischte esch halt eifach okay, aber ned bsonders guet.

This album had some highs and lows for me. I liked many of the individual tracks that featured vocals, tabla and other percussion, and one of the piano tracks was really good. As a whole it was a little all over the place though, and it was just ok for me. 3/5

Also like nothing I've ever listened to. Very eastern. Very experimental. Some R&B and psychedelia mixed in. Altogether enjoyable though. Definitely wouldn't listen to it again though

Bom! Agora eu não entendo americano vir criticar um disco desses e adorar rap/hip hop que é bosta de cachorro!Good! I don't understand americans criticizing an album like that and loving rap/hip hop that is dog shit!

Can't comment on most of the lyrical content but, despite the gravity of the album content, I did like the general rhythms and melodies of its presentation.

Soulful and varied. One time listen for me, but not a bad album. There were some themes that seemed to repeat that I perhaps couldn't quite understand on first listen. I got the sense they were unique to the cultural milieu, but I'd have to listen again.

Did I listen to this album in a past life? I recognize a good handful of these songs, but this isn't something I would typically seek out. There are some interesting rhythms and melodies here. Decent!

was hoping for more here. had some interesting things going on, nothing that totally Grabbed me though. tracks without singing were superior imo

We listened on the way to Chicago for the Shakespeare theater. It improved after the first two tracks, it went on a journey from beginning to end. It was very interesting and a wide variety of musical experience. But somewhat boring at times and probably won’t put it on again.

It's a great album to try out headphones with. It's atmospheric and the instruments sound great. It feels more like a playlist tho. I guess Nitin is more of a composer or producer. I really liked the 4 songs Tides- Serpents and wished there was more of that. I dont know what language the woman was "rapping" in, but I liked it. I did not like the English language songs as much and did not get the nuclear war theme.

This was confusing

On one hand not on the level of Massive Attack or similar Electronic 90s ppl, but also not Call of The Valley. Not my favorite, but an interesting listen.

É um álbum com algumas músicas interessantes, mas na sua maioria muito medianas.

Llegando a fin de abril, vamos con un artista que me es completamente desconocido. Suena muy chill, tranca, ideal para un viaje en ruta en bici o en un auto un día nublado. Hasta mañana, gentes.

This album started out with a couple really good songs, then as the album went on, it was like a rollercoaster. It would go from really good songs and quickly drift in to boring, then would repeat through the end of the album. It's another one of those albums I'm satisfied with having listened to it once, but won't ever come back to it.

I don’t know, this definitely sounded better through the headphones. I get what his aim is here it just doesn’t quite hit the mark for me though. The spoken samples are a highlight, particularly ‘destroyer of worlds’ which is chilling. 2.5

Very nice

Interesting. Not my standard fair, but I didn't hate it.

Nuclear war concept albums are neat. Not my favorite style wise, but it was a good train listen.

Reminded me of Enigma, but lacked that strong hook throughout.

I found this one interesting (in a positive way). Definitely a bit different than my usual listening, but I enjoyed the variety it offered. I thought the album worked well as a whole, maybe greater than the sum of its parts. Not sure I'll come back to it with much regularity though. Still, a solid album. Overall: 3/5

Pre-listening thoughts: cannot decide if I love or hate this album cover Post/during listening thoughts: well my one revelation while listening to this electronic (?) jazz (?) trip hop (?) ambient (?) music is that it is still freaking everywhere. Especially in corporate settings like hotel lobbies or coffee shops. We haven’t progressed at all past this since 1999. What the hell guys. Anyways this is fine. I would never willingly seek it out but if I heard it in a coffee shop or hotel lobby, I wouldn’t complain. I’ve heard worse in public settings. Thinking of that one time I was in a coffee shop and I heard a really terrible indie ukulele style cover of Pumped Up Kicks. At least this isn’t that. 5/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: nope Fav tracks: Broken Skin Least fav tracks: Homelands

The trance feel, unusual vocals and ethereal sounds kept me tuned in throughout the album. I did know what to expect from song to song. A couple of the more traditional didn’t resonate as much but overall solid.

Idk.  Rhythmically this album is tight. But the voices which seem to range from Lisa Stansfieldish to gypsy kingsis to q-tip lite and then some traditionally - maybe qawwli singers - into the mix - feels a bit of a hodge podge instead of a diverse album.  My favorite track is Tides - an instrumental. And I did really enjoy about half the album. I will return to it...

sì comunque

I like the idea of this album, and it still has parts that I do like. There are moments that sound like Lauryn Hill, moments that sound like Kate Bush, both of which are artists I love. But on the whole it still does meander quite a bit.

Har sine moments

This one was a bit hit and miss for me. Some of it was hauntingly beautiful, some annoying. It's an intriguing concept for an album, but the execution was a bit off.

kinda cool sometimes Will I listen to again: 5%

Immigrant is an immediate save to favorites. Great song

This was an odd ride. Some I was ready to punch out in within about 30 seconds, while it also had some very interesting moments. “The Conference “ was awesome. Strange nuggets like that is what makes this excersize so interesting. 2.5/5

What a strange yet interesting listen. Really liked the world-beat songs especially. And the use of space within the songs really helps deliver the message and is a nice nod to the production. This one left me wanting more only to confirm like one song said: that life is indeed like a puzzle yet to be pieced together.

Man, this eff’d with my head, especially listening through AirPods. Felt like it was moving all around so not sure if that studio engineer was fading back to front and side to side. Kinda cool but not great for a full album. 2.5 but rounding up because it overall didn’t offend me. How’s that for a review?

I’m not sure what I just listened to…but I think I kinda liked it. I preferred the more Indian influenced tunes like Homelands. Doesn’t rise to great level status but enough here for a middle of the road rating. 2.75/5

Interesting. Didn’t hate it but it wasn’t rabe worthy

Another total unknown (to me) for today's selection, and thankfully a much more interesting and engaging mystery than yesterday's Kelela album. In many ways this album plays more like a soundtrack than an album per se (or maybe the soundscape for a museum exhibition on identity and spirituality and politics), but it's still very enjoyable, even when I don't understand the lyrics at all (e.g. "Homelands"). I particularly enjoyed the opening track "Broken skin", "Tides", "Nostalgia" and the title track. I do wish there were fewer (or no) drum-n-bass tracks (like "Nadia"), but given when this came out it's probably not too surprising. Although the Wikipedia entry for this album is unhelpfully brief, the "1001 Albums" entry and the Wikipedia entry for Nitin Sawhney are defintiely worth reading, and fill out a portrait of an intriguing and multi-talented person whose life experiences are all over the map. Funny how this album kind of mirrors his life. I'm really torn between three and four stars for this album, but it feels just a bit too long and a bit too eclectic for four stars.

Nitin Sawhney was new to me, and I liked the theme of this album. Didn't really connect to the music though.

Nitin Sawheny Beyond the Skin Before listening- I have absolutely never heard of this band, so I have no preconceptions Broken Skin- whoa- IMMEDIATELY started tapping my feet- just a few instruments on this track- maybe the most important one is the snare drum keeping time- looked up the lyrics and the topic is crushing Letting Go- forgive my ignorance, but there is a strong North African/Middle East vibe on the backing track Homelands Pilgrim- I am not up on modern hip hop, but this is surprisingly modern for something made nearly 30 years ago Tides Nadia- not sung in English, and I was listening at school, so the websites with translations are blocked Immigrant- beautiful piano ballad about why people immigrate, maybe emigrate? Serpents- repetitive chant- finger cymbals, flute? Recorder? Very cool- haven't listened to anything like this before Anthem without Nation - if the translation that someone provides on YouTube is correct, this is a wonderful poem Nostalgia The Conference - not loving it, but at the very least, I think I am picking up on an artistic version of “a conference” lots of voices speaking quickly, all at one time Beyond Skin After listening- bingo- this is why the list exists- I never heard of this artist, I never would have picked this up, and I thoroughly enjoyed it- the lyrics are moving, the vocals are wonderful 3.5 stars- I thoroughly enjoyed it, but would I buy it?

Transcendent. Jazzy, cinematic. Mood music.

Legalize nuclear weapons

Weird, but was ok to listen to

Nice background music for work

This one has enough disjointedness to take it down to 3-3.5 range for me. Definitely a handful of really cool songs though, I feel like cutting the vocals from a song or 2 would've gotten this an easy 4.

Great sound

Very cool.

I enjoyed some of the songs on here but quite a few had little value to me. 3 stars

At times, this sounds like a post-MJ relic, with the vocals to match. It's pretty good. I'm in awe of the reviews that describe this album as boring, because it's anything but that. Complex percussion rhythms, an enormous variety of singing styles, and some wacky chord progression in tracks like Letting Go and (especially) Tides. Really, the only obvious stinker tracks are Pilgrim and Serpents. The former features an annoyingly repetitive monotone vocal line. That song in particular seems to be catering to fans of 90s hip-hop, and I'm not one of them. The latter sounds pretty nifty at the beginning, but the musical ideas aren't developed at all. And the lyrics throughout the album – at least, the English ones – could use some work. As an example, the song Immigrant sounds fantastic, but when you dig deeper into the lyrics, they're pretty clumsy and shallow. But "boring"? Nah, man, nah. Maybe the wide variety of genres mixed into one bubbling, mind-bending pot is a lot to wrap your head around, but once you do (or even before you do), the music is undeniably interesting and engaging. The complex vocal lines on Immigrant, the beautiful and atmospheric instrumental Tides, the use of electronic sound effects. The album does lose a bit of steam in the latter half, but the above elements surely can't be discounted. Beyond Skin sounds fresh and different, and it's gonna be hard to argue otherwise. 3/5 Key tracks: Broken Skin, Homelands, Tides

feels like an early version of tv girl, very creative and nice instrumentals but vocals can be annoying sometimes 3/5

I don’t know if I’m just not in the mood, but the last couple albums here have not done much for me. This one is good, but just not grabbing me. And just like that, the songs have shifted and they are grabbing me more now. I appreciate an artist trying different things. “The Conference” is absolutely wonderful! This took me by surprise and I love it.

Quite eclectic, some vocal-driven, some heavy with sampling, some more like beat-centered dance music. And a mix of languages. Wild that this is one album.

Very interesting record. A mix of r&b, hip hop, and Asian influence. It's a very easy record to listen to and the harmonies are very pleasant throughout. Happy I had the chance to learn of this one.

Appreciate the effort in genre-fusion and typically enjoy the more worldly entries on the 1001 project. This really wasn’t holding my interest for a deep listen, but was decent background music. Unobtrusive electronica kept this from being overwhelming. 2.5/5

A few interesting tracks but also some that aren't really for me. I enjoy the chilled DnB vibes. Not a fan of some of the Indian-style vocals. I might investigate some of Nitin Sawhney tracks, I expect I will like some. But I don't think I will ever want to listen to another album. There is potential for something that I would really enjoy here, like a cross between Four Tet and Etherwood, but it doesn't quite deliver. Now I want to hear a collaboration album between Four Tet and Etherwood.

Enjoyed some of it, but not sure if i'll come to any of it. Tides was a high point, i've often thought there isn't enough overlap of drum and bass, and piano

Interesting mash ups but not my vibe

Brand new for me. Pretty good!

Memories of high school with Chel chaya. LoFi baliwood. Good stuff in general and pretty chill.

OK, not my thing, started strong but got a bit boring

new type of music for me, It was fun

Good album overall. Not a rap fan but there was other good stuff and the female vocalist was excellent. Would be better without excessive and repetitive references to atomic testing. Not that it’s a bad thing but it’s just overdone.

I have questions, but I’m not that mad about it.

Ihan kiinnostava teema, sekä muiltakin osin ihan onnistunut downtempolevy. Jotain olisin kaivannut lisää mutten ihan tiedä mitä. 3/5

Ok, mostly enjoyed it.

There were a few songs I enjoyed and didn’t hate the rest. Unique fusion of genres I hadn’t heard before Rating: 3.2

3+

Exotic and relevant with depth.

Some pretty orchestrations and a beautiful voice, but not really my cup of tea.

Intialaista pop musiikkia..intialaisköyhäläisten irtokynnet kimaltavat ja ydinaseet räpsähtelevät intialaisten maantäyttö budjettiesitys intialaisten kannalta täynnä hyvää ja kaunista...

This was different. While I will never feel the need to revisit this, it was a good change of pace.

It’s ok

Even though I didn't really enjoy about half of what was here, the highlights (Broken Skin, Letting Go, Tides, and Nostalgia) are so good it was worth slogging through the throwaway tracks ten times over

Very cool. Original blend of jazz, soul, hip hop, groove with Indian flair

This was fun! Really varied sounds. I love how he would switch between jazz, hip hop, traditional Indian music, electronic beats and sounds and then crazy Hindi yodelling?!? This was wild and goes really hard.

It felt at times more classical and Indian influenced then electronic. Overall it didn't get me extreme electronic vibes. It also had a lot of instrument sounds that were pure and not electronic. So it was not what I was expecting (dance/rave vibes), but it was also refreshing to see a different way electronic music could be used. I liked pieces individually, but sometimes they were just so on the nose (Immigrants) that the lyrics didn't have as much depth. I also don't think it was super cohesive as an album. It was really all over the place in terms of the style of song. Each piece alone wasn't bad, but together I didn't always get it.

I thought this would feel darker based on the description, but it's actually super pretty and chill despite its theme.

3.5

Never heard this before. Interesting variety of music while still seeming to follow a theme throughout the album. I guess I'm glad I've heard this, but it doesn't really resonate with me. I did like The Conference. Soft 3 stars.

I must say this album impressed me. I did not know this artist nor the album. I found that the multiple tracks showed a good range of different genres, some better than other but overall, a good listen.

Interesting listen. Lots of different sounds. Good background music

The concept is a very interesting one, but the music itself doesn't really inspire me much. There are a couple of bangers here, and a few of the chanting tracks were really mesmerizing. I found a lot of the ambient, atmospheric stuff to be really bland though, especially Nostaliga, which ends up coming across like a bad Bjork pastiche. Best Track: Nadia Worst Track: Nostaliga

Quite enjoyed that ...definitely something I wouldn't have heard without this list and life's all the better for the eclectic mix

Enjoyable, but not my bag.

Hot tip for listening to albums like this: Only listen when traveling alone by night - by car, train or walking through a busy city centre… The mode of transportation doesn’t matter. Just don’t listen in broad daylight.

Alright

Intéressant dans son hybridité et ses influences indiennes. Les chansons plus électropop « actuelles » (à l’époque) m’ont semblé moins bien passer l’épreuve du temps, elles se dénoncent elles-mêmes.

This was an interesting album. I am not sure I could say I liked it, but there were a lot of different types of music that would be hard to categorize. The vocals and music were good, but I'm not sure about how it all came together.

There some interesting stuff, reminiscent of Badmarsh and Shri (and even Ravi Shankar). More western than I’d hoped…

3 - This is just a bog standard 3, because I really just don't know how to feel about the album. It kind of annoyed me in parts, where it started really great and then just elements would come in and not really fit. Dunno, just felt off but hard to put my finger on it.

Decent enough listen but didn't really move the needle. Fairly uneventful

Well that was something.

This was pretty good. Interesting. Nothing amazing, but certainly well made. Indian trip hop, very mellow and thoughtful. Good for disco naps. 3/5

This was interesting to listen to -- love the Indian influence here.

Interesting album. Some things were a bit whiney, others were quite interesting and enjoyable.

This was a pleasant surprise. For some unknown reason - probably musical prejudice - Ive always steered clear of Nitin. My mistake. There's some wonderful melodies fusing with music from all around the world. I didn't understand the thread that held it all together, but it did sound like a complete body of work, from start to finish. Off to investigate more.

Not really my genre, but the vocals were nice.

Another one that I wouldn’t have sought on my own, and isn’t quite my cuppa, but I’m glad to have heard it. I will always be more receptive to niche genres and interesting misfires than competent-but-complacent albums on this list.

it's giving indian bjork

I really enjoyed the way this album started off, but as the album wore on I don't know if I was feeling disconnected with the changing styles or if it was just going to far in areas that for the most part don't interest me. It is beautifully produced and I can see why some people would get something out of this. But for me after "Broken Skin", "Letting Go", "Homelands" and "Tides" nothing else quite reached me. After the first five tracks, I was aiming for a strong four, but after the Journey of the subsequent seven tracks, I'm landing on a (2.85) ★★½

Lots of diverse sounds, but overall pretty sterile and dull. Much of it has the feel of a film score, where it work nicely in the background of a scene, but it's not interesting enough to be a standalone work of art. It's not bad, but it's not that great either. Light 3 stars.

3.5

This is definitely case where the album cover really does not reflect the music. I get it as there's a theme of nuclear war, and the image drives home the seriousness of that danger. But musically, you really expect something more dramatic and heavy than what we have here. But maybe it's more striking that way because it's not a heavy metal album, which often have an element of self-parody. As for the album itself, 'Beyond Skin' is a decent example of world music mixed with Western influence, especially drum n bass. It's similar to Talvin Singh's work, though it's a much more serious statement. There are two ways to listen to this, as background music in a trendy coffee shop, or as a serious contemplation of the fragility of the modern world. The former is easier, as it's tempting to ignore the subtle clues about the dark theme and just let the (somewhat Westernized) images of India wash over you. But then you suddenly hear Robert Oppenheimer's chilly words (quoting the Bhagavad Gita, tying things back to India). They end the album in stark contrast to the very light music. It rips you out of the comfort of your travel daydreams and urges you to listen to the whole album again, but paying more attention this time.

En sjov omgang. En masse som lyder ultra generisk, og nærmest moderne, men så er det lige krydret med bollywood lyde, og en indisk Scatman John. Homeland, og Serpents var især sjove. Tides var ret fin og stemningsfuld, og god kontrast til det skraldet rap forsøg der var inden. Jeg nød det meste, grinede højt af flere sange. - The confessor, er lyden af knallert! Altså hvis en døv skulle gengive den.👌- Albummet er en 4er, men fordi den også er ufrivillige komisk, så ender jeg på 3.

Noget af det er interessant. Jeg får sådan lidt nogle vibes af indisk trip-hop. Men pladen kan ikke holde min interesse fast hele vejen igennem

Interesting non American offering. Mindful

Cheesy listening, but quite pleasant overall. Nothing groundbreaking.

This album is all over the place. I think that adds some charm to its record, though.

But boring at times, great at others. Really a middle-of-the-road album.

Cool

Soul, RnB, indian world, Rap, 1999 -> 3

Solid background music.

Ok this is a cool album that I'd expect to see in a list like this. Very interesting, I enjoy the nuclear weapon themes throughout. Musically very cool downtempo with Indian and I'm sure many other influences. Fan of this.

I'm actually glad we got this, very different and right up my alley. I love Indian/Pakistani music, and some moments in this album I really liked. My issue is that for every great thing on here there was something that made me skip the song. Nadia, for example, had fantastic lyrics that I immediately feel for but then the beats and clicks were way too fast for the music. Others similar to that prevented me from keeping many I would have because I know if they came up in the playlist I'd like them for a bit and then skip. I felt like the guy on the cover, fully absorbing but also turning to stone.

Here's a shot out of left field! Departures are always welcome, especially when it means something not from the US/UK. Oops, wait a minute, it's an English artist. But it's got a world music feel, Indian influence I believe. Apparently it's all about nuclear weapons, and I got that only with the Oppenheimer quote at the end. Aside from that though, a couple neat tracks, especially the hectic vocal performance on "The Conference," that's incredible. Worth the price of admission for sure. Wish I could say there was more that registered with me, but a good bit of it is just wafty jazz-type music, and not the exploratory, challenging jazz that I love. Favorite tracks: THE CONFERENCE, Letting Go, Tides. Album art: Horrifying, haunting. Plaster cast of a guy from the shoulders up, wailing in agony from what it looks like. Immediately distinct and memorable. 3/5

I did struggle with it, yet I remember liking it a lot more when it came out, felt a bit of its time

Weird as fuck. Half of this is cheeks but some is good. Ez 3 for being different.

Interesting concept, often boring but some flashes of greatness in there. A unique addition to this list.

Another one that is better than expected

Really liked the beginning but it slowed down and became monotonous

It is was weird and interesting, and I'm not really sure why it's on this list.

I really liked the Indian music and Hindi themes, but I did not enjoy the singing.

Not bad for background music, but kind of all over the place.

One of the best things this list has done for me is show me things in music I have never seen before. And retroactively, it has made me more open to things I would have never experienced if not for this. I have not had the best track record with world music. Specifically the traditional Hindustani classical variety. I also haven’t had the best track record with electronic music. Now, those two worlds have collided in a manner I didn’t know possible. That form of classical music mixed with down tempo, similar to what you might hear on a Massive Attack or a Portishead album. It seems like this was received decently well from a critical standpoint. But it also doesn’t seem to be that well known. I’ve definitely never heard of this artist. But I fully respect what he did here. A genuinely unique artist with unique fusions of ideas is hard to come by. The subject matter of this album is also important. It centers around the theme of nuclear weapons, and even uses sampled conversations regarding the India-Pakistan nuclear situation. I think this theme is cool. And I appreciated the use of Oppenheimer quoting the Bhagavad Gita on the last song. Until they used the same sample again at the end of the same song. Kind of spoiled it a bit. The singing on many of these songs is really beautiful. And I love how fleshed out the drums feel with the keys and strings backing them. I’m not sure why he started rapping on Pilgrim, but it sort of made me cringe. Thankfully that’s the only time he does it. This got off to a strong start, but unfortunately fizzled out around the half way point and became far less interesting. Bottom line is, this album is cool. It’s not perfect, but people trying new things is always commendable. Rating: 5/10

Sehr ruhig….

This was quite interesting, a bit all over the place in genre but it was good background music.

Interesting. Diverse influences and types of songs. Sounds so "of the late 90s/early 2000s" - kind of triphop but kind of electronic with some sampling too

This was very fucking weird, and I dont know if I really liked it, I guess just some songs. Beyond Skin is a very original and particular album, that combines electronic music with alternative and indian music. This weird mix is what you can found in Beyond the skin, and sometimes its good, but other times it sounds like Indian Geometry Dash music. The main flaw of this is its inconsistency, because it has some renarkable moments, and some awful ones. Lets start with the things I liked. The first tracks of the record are great, they have some beautiful vocals, very interesting production and peaceful guitars and even violin. The album haves a very strong message against the India vs Pakistan conflict, and the nuclear tests that were realized during it. It explores loneliness, inmigration, nostalgia and desolation; and I think its very well-explored the theme throughout the album, and the final song "Beyond the Skin" ends with that famous quote by Oppenheimer "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds", and really sums up all of what Sawhney is trying to talk about. Now, let's go with the bad points; first of all, the inconsistency make the album hard to listen as a whole, because some tracks were truly unbearable to me, or at least boring. The downfall starts with "Pilgrim" which sounds like a minecraft villager rapping, "Nadia" sounds like Indian Geonetry Dash music, and Serpent follows the same line, but its more disturbing. "Anthem without a Nation" its an indian guy whimpering for almost 6 minutes, and "The conference" its and indian guy mumbling for 3 minutes. Other tracks were just boring like "The inmigrant" or "Tides" (I liked the waves sound though). Overall, I think its an album which is honestly difficult to listen, but that has some very memorable moments that sadly are just the same number as the bad ones. I think Sawhney develops very good what he's trying to say, which is remarkable considering most songs were 90% mumbling/instrumentals and 10% lyrics.

Interesting

probably the most variety of sounds i’ve heard in one album. But the song writing really isn’t up there with the production.

Really relaxing music and interesting Indian vibes

Anti nuclear concept album from the millenium change.

2,5

A truly unique listen. A bit haunting at times but give the subject matter that’s expected. Fav songs: Homelands, Immigrant, & Beyond Skin.

This was sort of hit or miss for me. Some of it I kinda of enjoyed, but other tracks really fell flat for me.

Quite interesting, but also distracting while at work

Wikipedia classes Nitin as Asian underground, which upon further research, makes sense.... Asian underground is a term associated with Asian musicians (in this case, British Indian) who fuse traditional Asian music with Western underground dance music, like trip hop or drum and bass styles. Favourite songs: Immigrant, Broken Skin, Nostalgia Least favourite songs: Nadia 3/5

Listened Before? N Nice! An apocalyptic concept album! I am a sucker for things like this and this one is no exception. I wish a bit more of it was in English, but it makes sense not to be. I enjoyed almost all tracks, but Homelands is a standout. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Homelands

It’s ok. Slow, vibing music with an Indian flare.

you wouldn’t think that mostly middle eastern inspired music mixed with dance music would work, yet here we are. not really my thing normally, but interesting album that i might use for background music.

i heard sinead o connor's faith and courage here.. apparently he did not produce on that album but they were flatmates for time (!!). I'm convinced he did some sneaky work on it. Cool to know about this guy even though I didn't love listening that much

- War ziemlich spannend - Man hört sehr stark einen scorigen bzw, filmusikalischen Charakter in seinen Songs. Außerdem gefällt mir der teils asiatische Einfluss sehr. - Für Hintergrund oder als Material für Kreativarbeit sehr geil. - Bis auf Nadia und Beyond Skin sind jetzt aber keine markanten Stücke hängen geblieben. 2,75/5

This is like new age Indian electro pop, good for a couple of songs then the tedium set in

Interesting.

Fantastic and not someone who has ever crossed my path. A real gift of this challenge. Beautiful production, big themes, bold choices throughout. It felt current but it was two decades old.

I don’t know why I like The Conference so much. I feel like I need to do some serious introspection.

Very technically interesting. Wasn’t exactly what I was in the mood for but I appreciate the artistry

Basically good, I guess. Kinda boring for me

Interesting. Maybe a little too "International" for my taste, but enough good sounds to keep me engaged.

3.5 stars. Really pretty and well-produced Indian influenced down tempo drum & bass. "The Conference" really fun speed-singing/chanting. Standout is "Homelands".

Very distinct middle eastern influence and style. The sound remains dynamic as it incorporates some other wordly genre elements and styles, with the most prominent and forward being R&B and flamenco rhythm. This album is so unique and cool, very much worth listening to for a global music perspective. Big soulquarian vibe on this album.

Proficient in every genre it tackles. Unfortunately, I don't care for enough of the genres to fully love it. I can still respect the hell out of what I heard, but it's missing a lot.

me gustó bastante lo que me sorprendió igual por ahí se iba de mambo paraaaaa. 7,5/10

Album cover doesn’t match the type of music that comes to mind. Each song is so different, middle eastern notes, Indian, a few tracks that sound a bit rappish.

Such a weird mix of music I really like and music I find completely unlistenable.

interesting but don't know if i'd revisit

You can't put curry on everything. It felt that many of the songs Sawhney forced a lot of things into his songs, and sometimes ... it just doesn't work. "Immigrant" is one of the songs that comes to mind, where the woman is singing and there's the Indian singing along with it. The two just didn't mesh for me. The first two songs felt. like they were the same tempos and drums, I almost thought it was the same song. Sampling Oppenheimer as well? It just felt very much like he was throwing everything possible into some of the music. And putting every spice into a food is just... overwhelming.

Didn't mind it. It felt like a variety of hip-hop, soul, R&B, and electronica - of course with Indian backdrops. I think I liked the non hip-hop songs better (like Letting Go, Nadia, or Anthem without Nation), and the less singing the better (like Homelands, Tides, or Beyond Skin). Serpents and The Conference were both a little strange - wonderful and annoying at the same time. I could see myself letting this play in the background but it didn't quite get me out of my seat.

Pour du drumm and bass c'était bien mieux que la majorité des autres albums du genre que j'ai eu. Ça aidait que l'instrumentation ne reposait pas entièrement sur le beat. Le fait que la majorité des pièces avaient des voix intéressantes aidait aussi. Le mélange d'influence était très respectable et généralement bien exécuté. Je n'ai pas été complètement séduit, mais je peux reconnaître l'effort. 6/10

Interesting album will get another listen

Ok, but not for me

Though there were some songs that I found compelling, the high pitched dinging on some pieces goes right through me and hits the annoyance center if my brainstem. Happy to have heard this, but I'm not going to seek it out again.

Hell yeah, lo-fi, trip-hop style beats. Good ethereal singing, good instrumentation. And now he's rapping... and now some drum n bass. I'm really on-board with this first half or so. It definitely falls off in the second half and that brings the score down unfortunately, but I'm still on board overall. I get that people are annoyed by some of these tracks, but slightly bewildered by the barrage of 1 star reviews. 3.5 rounded down

Very interesting album. Genuinely not sure if I liked it or not!

Honestly, when this started, it was a 2 at best. But through the listen, it grew on me. Thematically, there is a lot of interesting material here. Musically, it fluctuates. The diversity helped it from growing stale, though. Still, it sounded a little bit 90's, and not in a nostalgic way. Something about it feels outdated. I think it would grow on me with repeated listens, but, meh.

Better than I thought it would be. Gave it several listens all the way through and it got better each time.

1. broken zkin - 1.5 2. letting go - 1.5 3. homelandz - 1 4. pilgrim - 0 5. tidez - 1 6. nadia - 2 7. immigrant - 1 8. zerpentz - 1 9. anthem - 1.5 10. noztalgia - 1.5 11. conference - 0 12. beyond zkin - 2

alright this is pretty chill. Not blowing me away but easy to listen to and a fun twist on what I had expected given the little summary. Fair minimal electronic hip hop with a lillllll hint of indian influence. I had a crazy work day so I only got through a few songs and the rest of this week is poised to be the same but I can't imagine this getting anything other than a 3 from me

Well, it’s certainly ambitious. But perhaps the album is not the best format one could choose to expound on nuclear proliferation. There’s some pretty nice sounding stuff in here but it was buried in what almost felt like college reading. The Conference was interesting.

Don't really know how to describe this but it was an interesting mix of jazzy sounds with traditional Indian music blended in. Have never heard of this artist and not likely I will listen again, but better than hearing another lame britpop record.

I have absolutely no context for this but I think it was well put together. It seamlessly mixed Indian music with jazz and electronica which is cool, but I don’t think I’d ever need to hear it again.

Very different fare. Reminiscent of Dead Can't Dance with the mix of rhythms and cultures used. Not bad

Some weird. Some awesome. What genre is this???

I'm really liking this album...granted, I'm working so it's background music at this point. I'll have to sit down and soak up the content at another time.

Pretty bizarre album, effortlessly spanning several genres. having said that, i had no idea who this artist was going into this listen and still none afterwards. a pleasant enough listen, but not sure it's one I'll be returning to any time soon.

innocuous

An interesting collection of politically charged lyrics. Likely needs a return spin to dive deeper.

Interesting. Kind of all over the place. There's some things I dig (middle eastern westernized pop) and things I don't (western pop).

Interesting and challenging album, glad I listened but not one ill come back to.

Buen disco

The wikipedia page for this album promised me drum and bass. I did not get any drum and bass. It's not the album's fault that someone somewhere mislabeled it. But. I don't go to electronic music for vocal performances and I wish that this album had about 50% of the *words* as it did. It was a good downtempo album to listen to, and the concept was strong.

I don't think I had enough attention to devote to this today. It sounds fresher and more futuristic than 1999.

I've never heard of this artist, looking forward to something new. Really interesting trip-hop/rock... hard to pin this down in a genre. Apparently Nitin Sawhney is also a composer and producer. I will have to try and check out more of his work. A lot of this is really good, especially for background music while working, but it's not my favorite. 3/5

Definitely interesting, Certainly some very cool parts, but wasn't particularly enjoyable - 6/10

I expected it to be terrible with the name beyond skin but it wasnt too bad. It started pretty good but the last couple songs were kinda annoying 5/10

A good listen, I've never heard of them, but i didn't feel like skipping. I don't think I'd normally seek them out though, so that's why i went with a 3

Good eclectic mix of sounds there all arranged around some unnecessary political intros but good none the same.

Album #666 2nd 90s British electronic album with a grey, screaming face on the cover this month. Unlike the Prodigy… well it’s pretty much nothing like the Prodigy. A bold celebration of disparate music styles, AND a meditation on nuclear weapons. Hard to believe the piano jazz of “Immigrant” and the scatting in “The Conference” are part of the same project. Though I didn’t enjoy every track, there’s something to be said about an album that resists comparison so strongly. HL: “Tides”, “Nadia”, “Anthem Without Nation”, “Homelands”

Cool stuff with good soundscape. Certainly feels like it's from the 90s but I thought it was well done and provocative.

I've never heard of this album or artist before, but I tend to enjoy electronica, so I had decently high hopes for it. The album's overall theme of nuclear proliferation was interesting, and I liked how the songs started with the present day (well, 1999, but present day for the album's release), and then worked backwards. It worked well, in that it had a sense of "well, this is where we are, but how did we exactly arrive here?" The songs that dealt with Indian diaspora felt a tad out of place, but I did like that they tied back to the first song, and how India was now in a new phase as a nation, having developed nuclear weaponry. I really loved "Tides" and the way it used water sounds while discussing the French island nuclear tests. "Immigrant" was great too, and had the best melodies and vocals of the whole album. Conversely, "Pilgrim" was my least favorite track to listen to; its song-spoken chorus was just really grating and annoying, and it felt like it made up about 75% of the song. Overall, this album does just enough to distinguish itself from its peers. Sometimes that's a good thing, other times, it's not such a good thing. There was so much electronica music coming out at the time, and what this album did thematically and lyrically makes it stand out, but musically, it really doesn't set itself apart. Sure, the arrangements are pleasant to listen to, but I feel like I can say that about a lot of this album's peers. I would be down to listen to this album when I just want something nice to listen to, but there are so many other albums that I'd rather throw on.

Beautifully produced, expansive electronica, enriched and lifted by its South East Asian influences.

The first half was some pretty cool trip hop but the second half was pretty dull

(3) I like what this album was going for conceptually more than I like the execution. I think the synthesis of trip-hop, jazz piano, and Indian music is really interesting at times, and overall the production is very polished, but I found some of the songs to be hit or miss. Last track went hard, though.

interesting, havent listened to anything like this before

Good background music. Glad I heard it.

Soothing and interesting. Very different than what I normally listen to.

Eksperimentalni padzit, neke nisu lose, atmosfericne

life is like a jigsaw

Interesting and cinematic and worldly (obviously). One prefers the instrumental and more abstract pieces (e.g., "Tides,"Serpents"). Loungier cuts are also good (e.g., the opener). "Nadia" is best of the vocal cuts. A little too self-consciously complex and a bit too long for its own good, but clearly NS offers a lot as a composer and one is inclined to seek out more. Not sure how much the audio clips and anti-nuclear preachifying adds. "Homelands" was a bit overexposed all those years ago and hasn't got any less annoying. "Beyond Skin" is a strong closer.

Beautiful music about some of the ugliest things humans are capable of

01) Broken Skin - 8,0 02) Letting Go - 7,5 03) Homelands - 8,0 04) The Pilgrim - 7,5 05) Tides - 7,5 06) Nadia - 8,5 07) Immigrant -6,5 08) Serpents - 6,0 09) Anthem Without Nation - 6,5 10) Nostalgia - 7,0 11) The Conference - 5,0 12) Beyond Skin - 6,0 TOTAL: 7,00 (70/100) I read the reviews before listening and expected very little of this one. But it started quite well, let's see how it will go. Half way through, the songs are starting to sound a bit repetitive, but still very pleasant listening. It reminds me of Deep Forest or Enigma, and I like that kind of music. "The Conference" sounds just like that, a bunch of people mumbling rubbish at the same time. At the end, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. "Nadia" is my favorite track.

Musically it is interesting, but it's not so nice to listen to it.

Interesting stuff, I like the blend of Indian Classical and RnB. Really makes me want to listen to more Indian classical, most of all. 3 stars

Interesting New sounds. Liked the political take and messaging

Very interesting and unexpected but not fave

Quite a bit of hate for this album in the reviews ha but I didn't mind it! Occasionally gave Tricky or Portishead vibes

Meh, it's ok.

Enjoyed listening to it. Huge variety from track to track. A few very much had the intangible late 90s sound to it that spans multiple genres, but you can still hear when it was released .

Good album, gets pretty world musicky

When it hits its fire, but there is also some filler here as well

Standout: Immigrant 3.5

Some of the songs are pretty not my taste, but still good music. Tides is some actually amazing piano trio music. The beats have been pretty good, and the singing is decent, although the middle eastern type singing isn't something I prefer. There's some weird stereo stuff going on, it's kinda neat, but also disorienting. "The Conference" is both absolutely amazing and kinda horrible. It's this beat box-esche tongue mouth noises, like they're sounding out rhythms in band class and it is cool, but also annoying.

A record like this is why I enjoy this project. I've never heard it nor is it of a genre that I often browse. But I enjoyed listening to it and will likely give it a spin again.

Interesting

A couple decent songs but nothing to really go crazy over

I was entirely unaware of Nitin or his work. Wow. Pretty good. I much prefer the non musical theater kind of tracks by far. It’s all quite nice.

We used to call this 'soft soul'. It's pleasant enough and interesting to the extent that it has an Indian/Asian influence, which is unusual. But it does nothing for me.

Good album.

It was an interesting electronic album

That second song 'Letting Go' sounds like it was written to be played in The Bronze on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Strange, unexpected concept-y album that kept me on my toes. Radio snippets with war/bomb themes, and Indian inspired style. They also threw some rap in.

3-3.5

Like some of it, felt meh about some of it

There’s definitely things on this album you need to get used to. I like the Indian influences on this thing, but there’s a lot of moments with the genre fusions and other things I feel are out of place. It’s ok, not the worst but not the best.

Great "coffee shop vibe" style pop. Lush, bright, not too self-indulgent, and not over-produced. Only gripe with the production is the (tired) use of vinyl scratches in various parts to give the record a quasi-vintage ambiance, which doesn't really work for me. Overall, a very solid record. Recommended for chilling out.

Wasn't really my thing. It had a very unconventional sound but did contain some very good tracks.

Odd but not bad enough give it 2 stars

A nice mix between world music, trip hop and drum & Bass. But I fortunately the signing really annoys me.

I definitely wouldn’t have picked this album without this project, which is a big part of why I’m doing it. To listen to music I wouldn’t normally and expand my horizons. Many of the songs were beautiful and had full sound, something I really value. I did get a little bored in the middle, but the best parts make it a great album. The fusion of electronic and Indian and a very 1999 sound was excellent.

Not sure what to make of this album. It's unique. A mix of Indian music and late 90's electronic music. Not sure I'll come back to this one again but I didn't hate my listens of it.

Interesting mix of styles, I enjoyed it.

overall summary: unusal yet typical 90's rnb and hip-hop with some unique indie and classic indian influences some songs (especially serpents, nadia and nostalgia) have elements that remind me of other obscura/indie bands of the era that i adore (bands like kitty craft, stereolab, ect.) there are definitely some songs on the album that i like, but i don't really see myself having this as a staple to put in every playlist though if you are a fan of experimental or electronic 90's jazz, it's totally something that you should check out.

A well intended concept album that's bookend by the title track, Beyond Skin sees Nitin Sawnhey approach the true potential of his musical strengths. Utilizing the tried and true trip-hop template of female vocalist (and one male rapper) being the forefront of most songs, the album does take strides at times to keep the mood fresh with instrumental passages that serves its purpose whilst being a bit long and monotonous for its own good. Ending with a speech from the rather timely (to my ears) excerpt of J. Robert Oppenheimer, Beyond Skin is a curious piece from one of England's more adventurous composers. Favorites: Broken Skin, Letting Go, Homelands, Pilgrim, Tides, Nadia, Anthem Without Nation, Beyond Skin.

Interesting Arabic elements! Apart from that just okay

Good!