Beyond Skin

Lost interest pretty fast and never pulled me back in.

Not my thing, but interesting

They encapsulated on their album cover the exact way I felt listening to their album.

Standouts: Broken Skin Tides

Rating: 5/10 Meh.

There's definitely something there and most of it's bad.

The song Serpents did something to my brain that I can’t say I’ve ever experienced before, nor do I want to experience again. It was like someone had put a wet towel over it: weighed down and sort of confusing. The physical sensation was not unlike a sinus headache, not painful, but there was a sense of pressure - like my surroundings had been dampened temporarily. I could think clearly, but everything felt heavy, like I had to push hard to focus and get a thought out. The second the next song started, it dissipated. It was like sensory overload, maybe. Needless to say, I’m not a huge fan of this record.

Album 797 of 1089 Nitin Sawhneyr - Beyond Skin (1986) Rating : 1.5 / 5 Electronic, jazz, and South Asian influences. Interesting but no real appeal to me.

I can appreciate the cultural significance of this album, but I really felt like halfway through I had to drag myself through the rest. Not for me.

Ummm yeah, not sure what this was

Blend of electronic and Indian music. Didn’t really work for me. A little too disjointed. 2/5 Won’t listen again

Beyond Skin was just… weird. I went in not knowing much and came out kind of confused. It jumps between so many styles and sounds that it’s hard to get a feel for what the album is even trying to be. There are moments that almost click, but then it veers off into something totally different and loses me again.

It was hard to find an identity for this album. The production was clean and clearly intentional; however, I couldn't find myself getting absorbed in the album. Definitely a lot of pretty parts, but not really for me as a whole. Nadia is a good DnB song. Strong 2

This was okay, didn’t need to hear it but some of it was pretty interesting. Dimery, including this doesn’t absolve you of ignoring almost the entirety of non-western music. Strong 2/5

Was going for a 1 but I liked the Gran Turismo menu music one. This chillout kind of music doesn't seem to exist anymore.

The reviews made me think this would be a very artsy album but it's just background music with some world influences. nothing more nothing less.

Thought this was fine, but not really my thing. I wouldn't go back to it. 2.25/5

4/10…trip hop / worldmusic

Didn’t like this

I did not dislike all of this but most.

Long album without any highlights

Expected something exciting from this album cover but this was an incredibly boring trip hop album.

If nothing else, it had quite a bit variety for Electronica. It just didn't vibe with me, and I became bored quickly. Favorite Track: "The Conference".

Nitin Sawhney obviously has talent, and the musicianship is laudible, but most of this album is just too polished, too polite for my tastes. It makes Zero 7 sound like death metal. The concept of the album also seems a little half-baked with the vocal sample snippets coming across like an afterthought rather than essential parts of the tracks.

Okay listen. Didn’t really care for most of it, but some of it was intriguing to hear. “The Conference” was an interesting one because I found it unpleasant to listen to but I liked the idea of it with this back and forth nonsense between the vocalists. I think there was a lot that’s special in the tracks, but overall I didn’t enjoy it that much.

Paar nummers wel oke maar voor de rest was t beetje all over the place

This started out OK but after a few songs got into annoying territory. I made it through, but can say I'll be happy to never listen to this again. 2/5

Maar kort geluisterd, maar klonk niet heel interessant

Meeaaahhh

A quick scan of Sawhney's Wikipedia page indicates that he is prolific in the UK as a composer, producer, collaborator *and* performer. Too many milestones to list here. The concept of mixing downtempo with Nitin's influences from Asian culture is an interesting concept on paper. Back in 1999, this would be a revelation for listeners. Stevie Chick of NME wrote "It's movingly anti-sentimental, political without being polemical. It's beyond stereotype, and careening close to sublime." Political without being polemical I get. Beyond stereotype, maybe at the time? It's not now. Unfortunately it doesn't sound as fresh in 2025 as it was in 1999. Overall: 4/10

this was pretty weird and not what I wanted to listen to at the time

Vibe was very main-character energy. Like any late-90s/early-2000s main-character contemplation montages, perhaps under rainy conditions.

Nadia is a bop

Reminded me of something I'd hear in a new age yoga class. Not terrible, but not memorable.

Um well, I agree with the message but wouldn’t buy the art. Some songs were better than others; disjointed.

i suppose

Another one I've never heard of before now. I enjoyed the South Asian elements. ‘Tides’ was good. ‘Homelands’ was good. The rap and r&b bits weren’t. This is a big-brain concept album with a pretty long runtime and that's not usually what I go for. As with the other instrumental/electronic albums on here, I’m sure there’s a lot for musicians to enjoy, but it’s not something that sticks with me as much.

אלבום מאוד מגוון יש שירים מעולים אבל המון שירים פח בנוסף

I get what he's trying to do but it isn't working. Bludgeoning the listener with the little radio snippets to raise consciousness is pretty heavy-handed. And clichè, like much of this album. For example, the seemingly endless optimistic pep talk on "Pilgrim" or the over-done trip-hop sweet soul of the title track. On the other hand, I wish he had doubled down on the Indian classical stuff, really pushed that to an extreme, instead of burying the most interesting thing about this underneath stupid western pop music tropes. Too long at nearly an hour, I cringed too much at the song "Immigrant" and had to excuse myself from the table.

I was listening to this when it came out - along w Talvin Singh, when Ibiza's Cafe del Mar was trying to take over the world haha - 'ambient music' - couple of cool tracks but I get lost in it - forget it's even on

Bland. Not at all interesting or challenging.

Not my kind of mussic

Did not enjoy

Album tries to do a lot but does not do a lot well 2/5

No idea what this is. I sort of liked one of the songs, can’t remember the song, which is why it isn’t a 1.

Nice tunes but not my thing.

It’s technically interesting and well performed but it feels soulless and lightweight

2 days in a row of albums built on minimalist electronic mood music. If the mood is abject boredom. This 1 more on the contemplative side. Intermittent noodling in various genres, from Indian traditional to for fuck sake west end show Disney ballad, all subliminally saying this is all a bit musically, well d,ull so please turn me off, you really don’t need to hear me. I’m sure he is very earnest and really means whatever he is trying to say for this degree art project of a record. But apart from being seen as a pretentious intellectual hipster, as someone else said smart and worldly, why do I need to hear this, why? Get integration of your influencesand backgroun, thats what everyone does, but I just can’t stand the diy minimalism of modern electronic music, with its basic beat rhythms, that’s so damn lifeless. If it hadn’t been for the even worst example yesterday of beep single beat shit, this would have been an easy 1 Star, but compared to that it sounds listenable so 1.5 stars

Decent background music, but not something I'd revisit.

Not as bad as some of the reviews here would make it seem. But, this album’s not great either.

First couple tracks were ok but lost me on track 3.

nada d+. começou bem daí eu tava implorando pra acabar vsf

In 1999, I ignored this on the basis that it was catnip for the dinner party crowd. In 2025, I can come to the conclusion that I was largely correct. However, this smugness is tempered by the knowledge that if I had been 26 years older in 1999, I would have so into this album. Sigh. Time is a goon.

Not great...

This is why I'm sceptical of calling music art because it makes half witted people think this is what great music is, it is not. You shouldn't be trying to make art, you should be making music.

not the most boring nor the most creative thing out there, only two tracks i enjoyed. somewhat repetitive at parts. 2.5/5

Kind of atmospheric, beats focused with some interesting instrumentals and middle -eastern vocals

Not for me unfortunately, I did enjoy the piano on Tides. Favourite track: Tides Won't be revisiting. 2/5

2/5. Drum and bass genre does offer great background music but feel like the energy stayed about the same throughout. The vocals seemed to either be samplings or pure 80s-90s ballads, with one hip-hop track on here. It feels like we are listening to an unintentional radio without a clear sense of what it's going for, just samples with drums and bass. And some songs are good but many are just not interesting enough to keep my attention. The vocal trills are crazy impressive though. Best Song: Broken Skin, Beyond Skin, Nadia

is this a joke?

Like most drums and bass that I’ve been exposed to, this was fine. It was pretty boring and was perfectly acceptable background music.

This was a pretty disappointing selection for my 1001st album on this list. Just felt very generic and unremarkable.

Nukes are bad

This was a very interesting album that I don’t think I’d listen to again. My favorite was “Nadia”. 2.5/5

Started off kind of interesting but couldn’t take a whole album of this.

After listening to this album, I've come realize I don't like Indian music. Traditional Indian music never really pleased my taste buds, I just can't into it and now this modern take with sampling etc, is even worse. Beyond Skin started off pleasant enough with a Sade-ish sounding vocalist and chill mood music, but this eventually took a turn and by the end I was relived it was finally over. Bizarre and strange, it baffles me how this made this "must-hear" list. No thanks!

An interesting concept for an album, but that's where anything interesting about it ends. Not my cup of tea.

Interesting, but I don't see myself revisiting this album in the future.

It's fine. Chill and calm background music.

Pseudo-deep spiritually intellectual/symbolic lyrics over painfully bland late 90s/end of the millennium beats with a snippet of Oppenheimer (the guy, not the movie) as the chaser. Blah.

Smooth r&b electronic with heavy middle eastern world music vibes. Surely this has a market but it’s not for me. 2 stars because it’s not unlistenable.

не

Didn’t love it though parts were kinda relaxing

Joitain kiinnostavia biisejä mutta pidemmän päälle vähän itseään toistava levy.

Something about 90s trip hop just makes me feel like most albums in the genre are a slog to get through. It's not like any one album is particularly overindulgent or anything, but they feel like work to get through. This one is no exception.

La portada es horrorosa. El disco no está mal. Me esperaba más de Sawhney, es un trabajo que se escucha sin problemas, 12 temas casi una hora, pero esto lo hacen Morcheeba y nadie les hace caso. Boards in Canada ni te cuento. Homelands sobresale (Rizwan Qawwali Group hacen un enorme tranajo). Pilgrim suena a Digable Planets. Tides es un interludio en clave jazz que lleva a Nadia, un buen tema. Inmigrant sigue esa estela. Serpents juega con esa mezcla World Music y electrónica chill, pero se queda demasiado lejos de Dead Can Dance. Ecos de Soul II Soul, Lamb, Zero 7, etc... drum´n´bass de finales de siglo, sonidos de música clásica fusionada con la electrónica... todo encaja y suena bien, pero ha quedado un poco desfasada. Hubo discos mucho mejores en 1999: Summerteeth de Wilco, The soft bulletin de The Flaming Lips, Mule variations de Tom Waits, 69 love songs de The Magnetic Fields!!! Incluso Californication, Surrender, S&M, Come on die young, Play..

Between 2 and 3. Some songs I really like and some I think are terrible. Very inconsistent.

HAHAHAHAHAH find broken skin rig na cool aber die strings sind ja echt insanely luut, was hend sie sich überleit letting go het so null bass nüt find sie singt na cool aber jo nanig so en fan hahaha fuck de ahfang vo homelands huere funny das wo sie so indisch dezwüsche singed findi sehr schön ja vocal percussion huere lustig aber jz nöd gad gnüssbar pilgrim hani sehr schlecht gfunde tides isch eig na herzig, iwie erinnereds mich au chli ah geziite nadia gaht no dumm mitem indische(?) gsang undem drumnbass mässige beat jo es zieht sich chli immigrant isch ja ultra schnulzig heter das iwie für en disney gilm gschribe??? schrecklich däng dürürüdängdang? und wieder han ichs gfühl, es isch sooo arsch abgmischt?? oder isch das alles extra?? nostalgia hani echt na schön gfunde dagadagadagada chani halt echt nöd so vill demit ahfange he jo will ich broken skin na cool gfunde han und hie und da es paar sache recht kreativ gfunde han, wirds wahrsch es knapps 2 aber ich chegg immernanig was de mitem mix gmacht het

It wasn't awful. It was fairly boring really. There were a couple of brief moments (The Pilgrim was one) where it briefly got interesting, but generally it was nondescript and boring. I wouldn't bother listening to it again.

2.25

Me aburrió de nuevo

I can see what he was trying to do, but this is pretty boring coffee house music. Or rather, the kind of music that a movie thinks would play in a coffee shop.

Musically this is diverse and well made. Lyrically this is an important album. The two do not connect at all though. the music is so bored of the themes of the words being said, and the lyrics are so much more intense than the come down off a hangover music that is being played. I have no idea how to rate that.

Terrible, but +1 for "Tides"

Think 'The Conference' killed a part of me

Albumi #117, 27.11.2024 Downtempoa soittava brittiläis-intialanen Nitin Sawhey on tuntematon suuruus. Vuosituhannen vaihteessa julkaistu albumi käsittelee teemallisesti ydinaseita. Tulkinnassa on vahvasti itämaisia vivahteita ja yleisvire teemastaankin johtuen hieman melankolinen. Mielenkiintoinen teos vaikka ei ihan saavuttanutkaan minussa suurempaa innostusta.

A warm feeling album sonically with some variety in sounds but honestly nothing about it really captivated me. I was pretty bored listening to it. I don't know why it felt the need to be an hour long and I'm not really sure why it made this list.

About as good as electronica plus jazz can be.

Started off alright, but near the end became too much. I’ll pass

Some of Beyond Skin is good. Some of it is awful. Stands to reason for an album that by its own admission is pretentious and deliberately diverse, but it doesn't work for me even though it has an undeniably interesting appeal in the sound and atmosphere it creates. I liked Homelands (has some really cool influences) and Nadia (quite Massive Attack-ey), I hated Serpents, I'll give it another 2.

Real mix of quality here - some interesting experiments, some monumental failures. The more R&B type stuff is pretty bland, it works better when it's more electronic with a bit of pace to it - Nadia the best track. 2/5.

Interessant.

Parts Portishead-Massive Attack trip hopness, Parts nice jazzy/classical/electronica/world music. I feel like I should hate this but it's kind of nice. Okay Pilgrim just came on pretty lame. Some interesting mixes of world vocals and breakbeats but I'd say the project is overall uneven with some some weird bobby mcferin meets a 90's club experiments like serpents or how lame pilgrim is but with some okay tracks like homelands, nadia, tides, letting go and anthem without nation

I think it took me three tries to listen to this all the way through, and I would forget each song as I listened to it. Not giving this a 1 star because at least it didn't make me actively dislike it.

It just sounded too cafe del mar 2003.

This is a weird take coming from a guy who has trouble getting into albums without vocals, but I think my favorite track on here was the instrumental one ("Tides"). I'd like to say that I really appreciated the unique sound and the deep meaning behind the lyrics and the musical artistry...but that would be a lie. This album did not work for me. 2.1

This was strange. I just don’t think I understood it. Oppenheimer referenced?

Long electronic album with no lasting significant cultural impact? Uh oh. But I was somewhat pleasantly surprised by this Disney-esque, jazzy, Hindi approach. Still way too long though, but at least it's something different.

Ei minua varten.

not for me

Indian trip-hop. It wasn’t the worst I’ve listened to on the list, but it felt overly long. I made it through the whole thing because there were moments that sounded like Portishead.

Ah yes, the big years of the chillout/lounge craze. A moment in time that we didn't need to remember, let alone to go back to in a book supposed to be about the most essential albums of all time. This isn't essential, this is a gimmicky downtempo album that uses hindustani music to try to mask its blandness.

tHat'S OkaY, wE hAvE "wOrLd MuSic" oN tHe LiSt!

There were bands at the time doing this same style, but much better. This was forgettable. I've never heard of this group before and literally forgot about them between the time I listened and the time I wrote this review.

Beyond Skin is all over the place stylistically. There are some beautiful moments that I like, good production and I like some of those foreign influences but it also drops like basically novelty songs in between with annoying parts. Maybe a solid EP in there but nothing more. 2.5 stars.

Guys. This one is a 2 or a 2.5. It sounds great- there’s nothing objectionable really on it— it combines a bunch of interesting sounds—- but - those alone do not equal greatness. It’s just fine. I expect more from the albums on this list.in a vacuum - if I was in a better mood MAYBE I’d give it three- but for this exercise - it’s a big 2. My least fav thus far. There’s clearly a lot of talent/technical work on here- but- it feels lifeless. Just like someone who likes massive attack and various hindustani music melded them seamlessly without thinking as far as why they were doing it.

I find the hindustani influences and the anti-nuclear weapons theme interesting, but I think triphop and downtempo are really boring genres, so overall not a fun listen

First off a real eyesore album cover. Kind of like The Bends done in a drab Massive Attack 100th Window style. Music is actually a pretty cool mix of all sorts of stuff from soul ballads, trip hop, drum n bass, jazz, TV soundtracks, Hindistani rap and classical. A bit like Protection by Massive Attack but with the added Rubber Biscuit Hindustani rap and classical. Unfortunately it’s all bit soupy and generic sounding. Songs are not really that interesting and most of the styles except for the novel worldy bits have definitely been done better on other records. 2.5 stars

Nice and boring, like something that plays in a new age shop while you shop for crystals. 2.5 stars

Música étnica, árabe, flamenco, house, no sé, un popurrí.

Not bad, just not for me

This is a solid "meh" from me. Some of the tracks are pretty groovy, but others just aren't my jam. I definitely disagree with the shocking amount of 1s this has received because there's FAR worse albums on this list. It's pretty all over the place and kinda boring for some tracks. It sounds like something I'd hear in a small coffee shop that charges $15 for a coffee with mandatory tips. 4/10 Would I listen again? Nah

Interesting accent flavor but the track with no words (Tides?) sounded like standard hotel lounge music - smooth and relaxing with waves. Serpent was... crazy.

Won me over a bit with the scatting. Some of it gave me the heebie jeebies, not sure why!

Some interesting stuff but also some stuff that is not what I want to listen to

Wasn’t for me

Gear: Focal Clear (ZMFed) Artwork: 😱 Mix: 👏 Musik: 🥱 Wertung: ☢️☢️/5

Pretty piano Chill beats, uplifting presence With spiritual feel

I appreciated how different this felt. Obviously it’s a very intentional work. But I mostly found myself being pushed away rather than drawn in. There’s a part of me that think on a relisten there would be a deeper appreciation. The unfortunate reality is that I have no desire to revisit this. 2.5/5

Some interesting instrumentals but boring and forgettable. 1.5

The trip hop bits are OK, it's nice to hear another language than English, but it lacks some coherence, sometimes it's a bit bloated, and sometimes it sounds too much as cheap R'n'B. Or worst, like Immigrant that sounds like a Disney musical. A bit more of coherence and a bit less of bad bits, it might have got 3 stars.

Nah.

В отличие от других ревьюверов, я не вижу, каким образом этот альбом - *высокая* музыка для интеллектуалов и крупных специалистов. По большей части это безликая электроника, разбавленная восточным колоритом. Прямо как другой альбом в списке: Talvin Singh - OK. Погодите-ка, выглядит так, будто здесь уже два альбома, схожих тематически, выпущенных приблизительно в одно время, использующих схожие музыкальные идеи и подходы?.. И вот прямо оба НУЖНО слушать в этой жизни? Лучшая песня - Homelands.

I didn't know what to make of this! Total fusion. I try to remain open minded, particularly of international/non western music that we're all so readily accustomed too.. but this weren't my bag. Didn't love. Soz.

Okay

Nitin Sawnhey rhymes with 'Not for me' An eclectic mix of hip hop beat songs, imams screeching, arabs ululating, indians warboffling, piano pieces. When I say mix, I mean hotch potch ITs a 2

The blend of pop music with South Asian sounds was pretty interesting, but nothing really stuck with me.

W̶a̶s̶h̶e̶d̶-̶u̶p̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶B̶e̶n̶d̶s̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶a̶l̶t̶e̶r̶n̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶u̶n̶i̶v̶e̶r̶s̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶ ̶m̶u̶c̶h̶ ̶'̶r̶a̶d̶i̶o̶'̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶ ̶l̶i̶t̶t̶l̶e̶ ̶'̶h̶e̶a̶d̶.̶'̶ — Another really weird album; feverish. The genre was meant to be jazz? Allegedly? It sounds like something you'd hear in a shampoo commercial. I couldn't finish the whole thing. The album made me really uncomfortable. The vocalist's vocals were really obnoxious. That makes it thrice I said the word "really."

How to describe the cultural and musical impact that Nitin Sawhney’s “Beyond Skin” has had in the 25 years since it was released? *checks notes* None. Oh, okay. None. In 2001-02 I was home from school studying for exams on my parents’ computer, which had a program like Windows media player or something similar that had around five sample songs that came with the program. I didn’t have any CDs or other music readily accessible and I think I was probably depressed, so I didn’t go to the effort of finding any other way to listen to music and just listened to the five sample songs that came with that program over and over, 5-6 hours a day for around two weeks straight. They were fine songs. Generic, bland trip-hoppy and forgettable. Good to study to because they had almost nothing about them that stood out. This album sounds exactly like those Windows media player (or similar program) sample songs 90% of the time. The other 10% was Indian music.

man i was ready to say it caught me on a good day and give it a three MAYBE EVEN A FOUR but as it kept going it got more and more tiresome. Serpents was the nail in the coffin. nostalgia was cool

meh

Not for me

I liked Broken skin, letting go tides, nostalgia, but the rest I found very annoying..

Couldn't wait for that to be over

It's a 3 because it's mid, but the annoying, uninspired insertions of random oriental music brought it down to a 2.

1.5/5. It's different, but that does not make it good. I found this difficult to listen to. I feel like this album is more a collection of sounds and voices than music... Things sound very off at points.

Definitely an important album. Not really my jam.

Boa batidas para não passar totalmente despercebido.

Phantastic crossover album. Too heavy for me.

It's not bad, but I would never actually want to listen to this again.

Not for me

Some of the songs were alright, but overall, I wasn't a fan of most it

När jag läste alla negativa reviews så var jag beredd på något coolt. Det var dock bara indisk musik blandat med pyttelite electronica och 90-tals pop. Jag blev lite besviken. Ingen låt var superbra, vissa var dock intressanta.

Best song: Letting Go

I appreciate it's something different, but I just didn't really connect

I think we studied this at school. Didn’t like it then either!

Ja det var väl sådär. Lite soft men också trist. Homeland var kanske lite bra. Tides var riktigt usel. The Conference. Skjut mig!

I grova drag så tycker jag att den började ganska bra, lite skön trip hop och Massive Attack-feeling, för att successivt bara bli sämre och sämre i takt med att den blev mer och mer experimentell och pretentiös.

Hmm... I like the idea... I dislike the execution

Hat mich nicht abgeholt, war aber auch nicht unerträglich. Werde es in 2 Tagen vergessen haben.

Will gar nicht zu viel schreiben, fand es insgesamt ziemlich anstrengend. Rating: 2/5

Kind of shit. It’s a melting pot of a bunch of different sounds that just didn’t seem to work too well. For example, Pilgrim was a HORRIBLE song. Some troll songs but not enough to get a spot on this list IMO

Ret specielt elektronisk, fusionsjazz, ok til baggrund

Overall pretty boring. Some interesting parts Standout songs: Tides Nostalgia

It had an interesting start, but fairly quickly I realized that this was an album that couldn't decide what it wanted to be, as it felt like there were a few different styles of music on there. This can definitely be fine in general, but on this record it didn't work for me. I have to give it some plus points for being different though, and for some very nice vocal landscapes. Still, couldn't really single out a song that I liked in particular.

Was really enjoying it until I realised that for some reason spotify was just repeating the first few tracks which happened to be the strongest in my opinion. Liked the drum'N'base and RnB influences but the tail end of the album moved in a different direction and to one I enjoyed a lot less.

This was a bit of a weird album, definitely for background music in movies and not just for listening for fun. There were a couple of interesting songs, which is why this doesn't get 1 star, but a little bit of a confusing album that has a very niche audience, I guess.

Happy to get introduced to some new music, but this is taking up a space that should probably belong to Bob Seger.

Largely forgettable mid music. Works fine as background music. Shoutout to the last track for the Oppenheimer samples.

Shock-factored me into a 2. I actually really liked the first song, so I was looking forward to this album, but oh boy. This was the wildest, craziest, weirdest shit I have heard in a while, and I can't say I particularly enjoyed it.

This reminds me of a middle eastern Massive Attack. I recognize that it’s good but it’s just not my thing

+1 for sounding incredibly modern. This could have been released in 2024 and I would not have questioned it -1 for it just not being that good. The instrumental tracks were good, just too few of them Top tracks: Tides, Nadia

like i’m sure it’s good but this simply isn’t made for me. actually really liked Tides

Love all the trash reviews of this album. I didn't like the first song but I did enjoy the next two: Letting Go and Homelands, so when I first started taking notes I was inclined to make a case for the album. But every song after Homelands has been a downhill slide and now I'm just waiting for this to end. Pilgrim is too precise in its syllable count, like a child reciting a poem; Tides is elevator music; and another reviewer was spot on when they said Immigrant was a Disney song. My main critique is that a lot of the tracks start out interesting, but they all go on far too long and whatever was interesting about them fades into a repetitive drum beat. This album is a smidge better than a lot of the other boring trip-hop we've gotten here, but only because of the Indian/diaspora musical influence.

Couldn't get behind it. Only giving it two because the instrumental portions were actually kind of interesting, but the rest was not something I could get into. I'm curious if this was included mostly for a cultural impact it had that I'm not aware of or don't have context to appreciate?

2 this was one weird album. Very repetitive and the songs were way too long

A bit disjointed. The song Immigrant hurt my ears and The Conference made my question my sanity.

Man... I don't know. The stuff that was good didn't strike me as that interesting, and there were many other moments that were downright unenjoyable. I've heard lots of Arabic music in my lifetime (mom's Lebanese, after all), and there was something forced about that material, along with the other foreign language tracks. I couldn't bear a few of them. So, A for effort, I guess, but this was actively unsettling me enough that it dipped below a 3.

The 1st song was annoying, a very "standard" R&B/Gospel voice; I just personally don't like that voice, it is just boring/ordinary. "Homelands" and "Nadia" where good.

Never heard of this artist. The cover disturbs me. After listening: a couple good songs. Hip hop and rap are not my style 2 Stars

Very diverse, i guess its good music but not my thing 2/5

Tapped out at the scatting

All over the place, from chill soundscapes to drum n bass, hip hop, worldbeat and something that could have been in a Disney movie (Immigrant). Letting Go was good as well as the instrumental Tides with lively piano over ocean noises. At other times, was tough to get through.

First track only good track

Forgettable music.

It's interesting, and I appreciate the representation of some non-Western ideas, but... eh.

the only way i think i can describe this is music for a modern dance performance you would stumble into at a museum

cohesive album ig but was bored the whole listen and not really any stand outs to me 3/10

Some interesting moments but kinda weird. Like the nuclear test voiceover and the female singing seemed kind of random. Also my 200th review.

3/10 - I liked Tides but the rest were not enjoyable in my opinion.

Not good enough to be an hour long 3.5/10

This album needs to make up its damn mind. Is it a house album? Jungle? Hindi? Neo-Soul? Spoken word? Too many flavors that don’t mix well.

Boring background music, I could list hundreds of albums that could be in its place and probably aren’t on this list. [0123/1001]

Interessant

A collective mix. Tends to drift into different directions and makes it hard listen.

I really enjoyed the first 2 songs. Went downhill from there.

I agree first two songs were good, but then wow wtf happened.

Really weird but not my music

This is relaxing to listen to (even if the subject matter might not have been so light) and very interesting. I've never listened to an album in this language mixed with electronic. However I'd likely never listen to it again.

I’m getting very tired of all of these dnb albums. I’m only 82 albums in, though, so I’ll try to endure. At least this one is somewhat interesting. The south Asian influence is a nice touch. It’s not nearly as repetitive as, say, Roni Size. It is, however, still drum n bass, which I think I can definitively say is not a genre I’m a fan of. I’ll tell you who does successfully combine south Asian sounds with electronic music: Four Tet. This is almost as chill, but instead of wanting to hang out or clean the house, I feel like I’m stuck in the waiting room of a bougie hair salon while my girlfriend spends an inordinate amount of money on a haircut.

At first it's easy listening but after a while it becomes annoying.

Música étnica, árabe, flamenco, house, no sé, un popurrí.

I tried to like it

25/100 Based on this scale: 1 star - 0 to 19 2 stars - 20 to 39 3 stars - 40 to 59 4 stars - 60 to 79 5 stars - 80 to 100 When the album started, I couldn't understand why this album was so poorly reviewed. By the time I got to the song "Tides", I was ready to give it a score that would have given it a strong three stars. Then, the whole rest of the album happened. That was a weak one star. So, two stars it is. There was enough that was good about the album to keep it there, but there was too many outright annoying bits to justify going any higher.

sgu heller ikke liiige noget for mig. Noget af det var sådan godt nok 90'er triphop men ja, synes faktisk "prætentiøst" er den helt rigtige beskrivelse! Grinern at have Oppenheimer med i slutningen

Ikke lige mig det her. Meget new age, lidt kedeligt. Pænt obskurt eller hvad?

I am about as indifferent as I possibly could be to this music. It's fine, it doesn't do anything to me. But totally inoffensive and fine to listen to.

Nicely late 1990s electronic dance, but the Asian fusion twist doesn't appeal to me. I didn't really take in the talky bits about immigration, but did get the nuclear references. Smacks of trying too hard and being too obviously Asian British and defiantly not just British.

This was not what I was expecting. I never heard of this artist. I thought it would be some electronica. It's mostly a blend of genres throughout the record which did help to keep my attention. However, it's too artsy for me honestly. The transitions from songs/genres was a bit jarring too. Some good tunes, but too many "meh" ones to justify giving this a higher rating.

Some parts of this I found interesting, others annoying. 2 stars.

#50. This album is all over the place. And not really in a good way? It sounds more like a compilation of assorted random shit than and kind of cohesive whole. None of it's terrible, but there is no standout great song either. 2/5: meh

I don't remember it after one day...

I get what this album is going for, but it isn't executed very well and comes off as too on-the-nose and pretentious. I like some of the instrumentals, makes some decent background music, but I keep getting pulled out by occasional cringe-inducing lyrics and vocals. Kind of a shame because it feels like this album COULD have been pretty great. 2 - Will probably not listen again

Hyviä ja kauniita klippejä tähän "tuottaja" tyyppiseen levyyn on saatu, mutta jotenkin hengetöntä hissimusaa silti. Ehkä se aasiavaikute on joku semmonen teema. Siitä nyt sit nippanappa 1 lisätähti.

Techno with some signing and an Asian/Middle Eastern element

Broken Skin - W vibes, W voice. 4/5 Letting Go - I enjoyed this song, the sample didn't work as well as it did in the first track. 3.7/5 Homelands - Took a bit of an adjustment but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would've. 2.6/5 Pilgrim - What the hell is this? 1.2/5 Tides - Lo-Fi Girl Studying 2.8/5 Nadia - Nadia 1/5 Immigrant - Uwahhooohhaaaaahhhhhaah, male vocals tanked this song 3/5 Serpents - TUNA 0.2/5 Anthem Without Nation - Forgettable, idk man 1.5? Nostalgia - Night core vibes, liked the vocals a lot but the breathiness wore on me quickly. 3.5/5 The Conference - Nart a good song, but it will be used for jokes 1/5 Beyond Skin - I LOVE SAMPLED NEWS CLIPS RAHH. Oppenheimer mentioned! I'm sure it concluded whatever nuclear point it was making throughout the album but I completely missed it. It was a good song before the music started 2.7/5 I had high expectations after the first song, those were quickly demolished. Overall 2.26/5

I find it quite sad but just can't bring myself to pretend that this is really good. Maybe the one track- 'Homelands' has promise but the other tracks are smooth wallpaper produced bumph with no spark or originality. There, I said it and I'm sorry.

Not super into it but it was interesting

Ok

This was just OK.

Música étnica, árabe, flamenco, house, no sé, un popurrí.

Bad music from all around the world!

sometimes it felt like it could deserve a 3, but then other times it deserved a 1. I think 2 is fair

1.75 average per track.

kulinarisch

There was a lot going on here and I found most of it to be a bit much. I suppose it was interesting at times but they really did toss a bunch into the blender here including the cutlery. This was a bit of a mess, didn’t go down smooth for me. 2 stars

It was alright. It may grow on me in the future, but for now its just kind of weird

At first I thought hmm, this is kind of nice, but I quickly got tired of it. The rap song Pilgrim was pretty bad. The Conference is something I'd never want to hear again. The rest is somewhat forgettable.

Didn't finish so maybe unfair. But it started off OK but then some of the parts were so bad it turned me off the whole thing. This album was a head scratcher

Fine I guess, but very much not for me.

Not as electronicy as the album art suggested, but still not for me.

1. Broken Skin - this is actually quite a bop, a little r&b to me 2. Letting Go - I’m not minding this one either, it’s quite soothing. 3. Homelands - I didn’t mind this one and get its purpose but not my favourite. 4. The Pilgrim - a foray into rap…it’s not too bad. 5. Tides - I actually really love the music of this one it definitely sets the tone 6. Nadia - this one was ok not my favourite. 7. Immigrant - this one was pretty calming 8. Serpents - very manic sound to me 9. Anthem Without Nation - 10. Nostalgia - I like the lyrics of this one. 11. The Conference - another instrumental :( 12. Beyond Skin - was not expecting an Oppenheimer reference…interesting closer Overall I appreciate the diversity of the album and the fact that it has a clear theme and some of the songs were quite soothing to me, but probably won’t revisit it.

I read a review that compared this with FKA Twigs and Massive Attack, acts that I've given one star reviews of. Not looking promising. It's better than those acts. Still boring, but better. Pilgrim is probably the worst piece of music I've ever heard, managing to be boring, irritating, pretentious and dumb at the same time.

-never heard of this artist or album -very cool first song -i like the different languages in the songs and the influences of them -the artist bringing elements of their culture and its music is really beautiful -personally a bunch of these songs aren’t really my vibe but its nice to listen to -i love the speaking parts they are very powerful -overall this album is good but idk if i would listen again

Not too bad, not too good I will admit there were definitely some nice moments

It's not unpleasant. In fact it is blandly, innofensively pleasant. It feels like music made so people can show off their sophistication while having drinks and nibbles. There's some good stuff, but it's so neutral it hurts.

Meh

Mellow Enya type stuff

There is artistry here but it’s so hard to listen to..

Interesting listen, I won't knock it too hard.

Very derivative and, at times, self-important, and, with every track, getting more and more on my nerves. 2/5

You’ve got “Broken Skin” and “Nostalgia” which are pretty decent, and there’s also “Pilgrim” which is actually good. Everything else though? Really, really bad, the difference is so big it’s impressive really

It's 2023. Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer came out last week. "Nukes R bad" has never been a more relevant take. But did you have to make the message so boring?

Þetta byrjar þokkalega áhugavert en verður pínu leiðigjarnt til lengdar.

Hmm. Lots of classic 90's tropes here, including spoken work audio from the BBC news. Indian music mixed with the emerging trip hop movement, but it just sounds dated.

At times I just thought I was listening to Vince and Howard crimping

Close to a 1 star

Starts off okay but then gets really lame and annoying in the second half

Shitin Sawney

not my fav. sounds fine if on shuffle for background music but for sit down listening or for me to actively choose it, i need more substance. track 3 by far the best.

Too much hip hop for my taste

Some of this is pleasant hip-hop/ trip-hop sounds that has some interesting tempos and instruments. The rest is just people making noises that I didn't really like. I think the vocals killed it for me, but it's not bad enough for 1 star, below average but not awful

It wasn't the worst thing I heard on this list so far, and I really enjoyed some of the songs, but the rest of it felt like it was trying to take itself VERY seriously. Also I hated "Pilgrim"

I don't think this is thaaaaaaat bad like some of the comments say. It's not my vibe, but there's a reason why this guy is so widely recognized.

on one hand i can see why people would be interested in this album. it is full of unique sounds and rhythms that I've never been exposed to. It is not, in my opinion, purposefully ugly- sounding. There are moments that are easy to understand and enjoy. It seems like someone genuinely poured their heart and soul into this project, and its production. But on the other hand, it's just not for me.

2 ambienta låtar höll måttet. I övrigt ganska så tråkigt.

Meh.

Ik vond dit echt een heel verwarrend album. Tekst is wel mooi en soms raakt het me wel, maar de uitvoering minder. Ik heb vaak met zo’n ‘hijgerige’ stem dat ik het bijna vals vind ofzo? Zou iig afraden om het met noise cancelling oortjes te luisteren, want daar krijg je af en toe echt rillingen van. Moeilijk, moeilijk. Idee 3, uitvoerig 2? Dan kom ik uit op toch een 2 uiteindelijk

Had echt gehoopt dat dit leuker zou zijn, maar vond het eigenlijk echt helemaal niets. Misschien zelfs echt irritante muziek. Wel mooie thematiek in de teksten maar dat weegt niet op tegen hoe vaak ik nummers doorgespoeld heb.

Enjoyed it more than most electronic albums.

Might just be good for background music - but not every song. Favorite Song: Immigrant 2.5 at best.

This is frictionless music, and I am the wrong audience for it. However, it is interestingly dissonant: laudable, urgent politics to a songtrack that would go well with a swim-up bar on an infinity pool. "Homelands" has some urgency in the middle, though it drags back to the record's slow, comforting default zone. The record has dynamics, but nothing snags. I was gagging for the Yellow Swans before the halfway point. Or Sly and the Family Stone. Or the Didjits. I bet the Didjits are not on this list. Honestly, listen to "Hey Judester. Arrrgghhh this album seems to never end! "Anthem Without Nation", leave me alone!

Música étnica, árabe, flamenco, house, no sé, un popurrí.

supersticious

2.75/5

It decays steadily like an uranium atom

Disc que beu de l'electrònica, del jazz, de diferents músiques tribals, amb unes veus femenines de primer nivell i lletres compromeses. Interessant, però no necessari

This album is close to an experimental one with a very obvious anti-nuclear warfare message. That being said, it oscillates from being inventive world music to experimental electronic, to utter nonsense. While it is a bit of fresh air, it's nothing that sticks with you as the listener.

The music is cool but not really my kinda thing 2/5.

I liked Tides & Nadia. Feel like I've heard Homelands before. Reading the description in global reviews gives me more of an appreciation for what he was trying to do but it just wasn't really for me.

Some of the textures are intriguing and maybe beautiful ('Serpents', 'The Conference'), but I definitely didn't enjoy the entire hour of content in this rather eclectic collection. What's Nitin Sawhney's role here? The album unfolds like a curated playlist of miscellaneous electronic, world, and neo-soul music.

2.5 I really liked a couple songs

Meh, I prefer talvyn singh's stuff...

If Indian Chill is your idea of a good time, then you need to have a long hard look in the mirror and punch it in the face.

Although not offensively bad, I can't say I find this album the least bit inspiring.

Some decent tunes and some not so decent. Some not really my thing at all. A very varied album and some talent on show, just not really something I’d put on.

juu kyllä minun sydämessäni on paikka tällaisille elektronisille, synkähköille albumeille! en tosin ihan saa kiinni tämän nerokkuudesta, mutta monipuolisuus ja Intia ilahduttavat. omaääninen

Alun "biitti ja akustinen kitara" -taustat saivat minut pelkäämään pahinta, mutta levy parani keskiväliä kohti. Tämä artisti on parhaimmillaan, kun antaa vokaaliraidoille tilaa hengittää ja ilmentää omaa substanssiaan: esim. Nadialla on potentiaalia koskettaa itseänikin pahempaa ilonpilaajaa - joka tosin pilaa ilon viimeistään The Conference -hoopoilun tai oo, niin diipin "I am become death" -samplen aikana.

I was surprised by how much I liked this at the start. The description did not make me think I would. Halfway through it began to grate on me a bit. I like what they’ve done to a degree, especially the opening cut, but I don’t see this as something I’ll revisit.

This one is just...fine...After ten minutes though it's mostly the same over and over....some nice sounds but doesn't make for a 59 minute listening experience. Would play great in the background of a coffee shop or bookstore...which probably sounds more insulting than I mean it to be.

This has way more going for it than I expected. It's elevated background music, but a few tracks like Pilgrim and Letting Go got my attention. Still, I'm not too sold on these type of music overall. It's mood music, but not something I'm going to seek out for listening to.

While this is pretty interesting it's thoroughly not my cup of tea. Very 90s sounding and a really eclectic mishmash of genres: trip hop, hip hop, breakbeats, bhangra and jazz are heard in the first 5 tunes alone.

A lot of this really isn't my cuppa tea, but I found the Indian strings and scatty vocals on tracks like Homeland, Serpents and The Conference kinda cool, so it deserves some credit.

Generic downtempo & dnb accompanying uninspired indipop. I liked the songs that sound like they were sung by Nelly Furtado, but even those offered nothing new. There are many bad tracks, many decent tracks, and no really good tracks. But at least there's variety. Oh, and it's an hour long jfc. Favorites: Broken Skin, Letting Go, Tides, Nadia, Nostalgia

I like trip-hop, Asian underground, and Hindustani music, but this just not good. Its best tracks were only tolerable, but most were a good bit worse.

quite boring

It's a bit better than I expected, but I still don't like it. I need music that I can connect with, that has an element of fun. This was a chore. And "I don't do the dishes, I throw them in the crib."

never heard of him before but one track was well known to me, probably from a Cafe Del Mar compilation. I like the style of music but I found parts of the album hard (unbearable?) to listen to

Biitit sinäänsä toimivia ja viihdyttäviä, mutta "laulu" pilasi tunnelman.

Sellanen… loppupäästä löyty oikee helmi. Not.

Wild 3, but after the second half more of a 2

I liked this first half of this more than I expected. It was groovy and relaxing. The back half though I disliked thoroughly. It was strange and off putting to me. Speaking of off putting what the hell is this album cover.

Don't agree with "Drum and Bass" on wiki but ok. This album started a bit like a Buddha bar album which I generally enjoy. There were some more jazzy/loungy tracks later. Then there was a really whiny song "Nadia" which made me go a bit crazy. The track after was quite pretty though. All in all this album makes me think a little bit of cheesy-ish music at a beach club (even though the subject isn't that festive/romantic at all).

This was not altogether terrible, but it was a very eclectic mix of songs with widely varying quality (with most songs falling on the lower end). A weird album such as this one always has to strike a delicate balance between being original and being annoying. In my opinion this album did not achieve that balance.

Guess it’s ok, some songs are ok some are skips

Odd.

A bit of a slog if I’m honest. Everyone raved about this album at the time but it’s not stood up well. The beautiful Hindi singing elevates the bland dance tracks a little and there’s a few nice touches and flourishes here and there. But not an album for the ages, sadly.

Internationaler Lounge Pop mit einer unüberhörbaren Datierung. „Homelands“ weiß wie vieles überzeugen. Das Gros zieht jedoch dem mangelnden Mut zur strengeren Editierung oder einer falsch verstandenen Kompletierungssucht den Durchschnitt arg herab. 2.4

Fusión de diferentes estilos y melodías. No es incómodo de escuchar, pero no le he encontrado ningún aspecto que me llame la atención

didn't really gel with it, couldn't get past the first track even

Pilgrim mi je dobra ovo ostalo dost meh al kao kuzim al neb ponovo slusala jedino ak moram al ne moram. That's all folks

Poštujem istočne elemente u glazbi, međutim u ovom albumu ima tog lošeg zavijanja ako se smijem tako izraziti koje mi većinom upropasti pjesmu nego što ju pošećeri kao npr. Nadia, Homelands, Immigrant (ženski dio i instrumental je dobar), Anthem Without Nation. Pjesma Serpents - dakle nalazim se u pustinji, perjam škorpione sa nekim kolcem dok ovo svira u pozadini, ali nije napeta borba. To mi bilo u glavi, isprike. Pjesme koje bih izdvojio sa ovog albuma su sve nešto opuštajuće, nokturalne nakane (a la trip hop neki) , šteta šta ih je takvih malo (dobrih pjesama hehe) : Pilgrim, Tides, Letting Go i Nostalgia.

I want to like this, but it sounds like elevator music to me.

Soms wel aardig, vaak iets te veel van alles

Het begin vond ik nog wel te pruimen maar na verloop van tijd kon ik er eigenlijk toch niet zoveel mee.

Kon er niet zoveel mee.

While some of the ideas here are exciting, there is absolutely way too much going on for anything to gel into something beyond a weird primal scream. The vocal are either great or insanely irksome, the instrumentation groovy and interesting or grating, and the overall effect one of misused potential.

Eh. I feel like we're going to get every possible trip-hop or trip-hop adjacent album of any note whatsoever on this list. I didn't hate it, didn't love it. Was different than I anticipated. But can we just skip straight to Portishead?

Very late-90s; watery.

Sounds great and I should like this but none of the songs grabbed me.