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From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

OK

Talvin Singh

1998

OK

Album Summary

OK is the debut studio album by English / Indian tabla player and record producer Talvin Singh, released on Island Records in 1998. It won him the Mercury Prize for 1999. The record was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. It took nine months of travelling around and recording to complete the album. Singh recorded in London and on Okinawa Island to capture folk singers, as well as in India to collaborate with the Madras Philharmonic Orchestra.Singh hired various collaborators, including guitarist Jon Klein, with whom he had previously recorded on Siouxsie and the Banshees's single "Kiss Them for Me" and toured during the inaugural Lollapalooza festival. Ryuichi Sakamoto played flute on the album and sent his parts via a computer with an email which was a first in the late 1990s. Rakesh Chaurasia also performed flute. Singh recruited an eight female singer choir for the song "Soni". Guy Sigsworth played keyboards on the opening track "Traveller", and also on "Sutrix" and the title track of the album. Vocalist Suchitra Pillai joined in for the song "Sutrix".In the NME, reviewer Christian Ward noted that Singh was "trying to cover the globe with his music", as a voice intones "The world is sound", at the start of the album. The record is rooted in India with odes to Asian underground scene, dub rhythms and jazz. There is also a contrast between "geisha choirs and cut-up beats", along with plaintive orchestral arrangements. Reviewer noted that "convulsive rhythms compete with sensuous strings to create a deep, dark atmosphere", concluding with this positive sentence, "There are still more sonic territories to explore, but on this evidence, it seems that Talvin Singh will get there first."

Wikipedia

Rating

2.6

Votes

15243

Reviews

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Apr 24 2023
3

OK is OK, until it isn’t. For me, that was about 5 songs. Once again, my rule of thumb for the list hasn’t been disproven: If you haven’t heard anyone talking about an album on this list in 25 years, you don’t need to hear it before you die.

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May 26 2021
2

Loads going on here, most of which I didn’t like. The album is tedious and gets progressively worse from start to finish. I wouldn’t say I hate it, but I certainly didn’t enjoy my listen and wouldn’t go back.

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Apr 21 2023
2

oh, you put South Asian instruments on top of your boring-ass techno. cool, i guess.

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Dec 05 2021
1

If Yanni and Kenny G had a baby, that baby would grow up to make music like this, have sex with Linda Evans and be a surprisingly decent golfer.

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Jun 10 2021
1

The concept is fantastic! But if I was to record puppies sleeping and put it on an album, that might also sound like a great idea. I just couldn't get through it. Most likely not listen to it ever again.

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Jun 04 2021
5

"The world is sound" Great eastern tonalities and rhythm that mix in with hard driving beats. Pulls in a lot of eastern music (Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, etc) Great beats.

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Nov 17 2021
1

OK, Talvin. Talvin, OK. I legitimately don't understand what the hell I just listened to. But it wasn't enjoyable, I know that. Nope. Not at all. Sorry, Talvin. That's a no for me, dawg.

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Jun 10 2021
4

OK is ambitious in scope and execution, simultaneously futuristic yet ancient in sound. A wonderfully layered fusion of styles and influences gives it a sense of timelessness. Equally at home on the dancefloor as it is on your headphones, this is a beautiful album.

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Sep 15 2023
5

BL: never heard of this artist before but the cover reminds me of the Roni Size brown paper bag album so I’ll be interested to hear if it’s in a similar vein AL: funnily enough, my 90s ambient DnB assumption was correct, and wow. This album blew me away. I wasn’t too sure about the opener, but by track 3 this album had me in a chokehold. The fusion of ambient DnB & Sourh Asian instrumentals and vocals was mesmerising, the drone of DnB was meant to go with the resonant frequencies of the sitar. Definitely some Bhangra influence in there too. Highly recommend this. It reminds me of another comment I saw under a different album (can’t remember which one though), with albums like this on the generator, you have to wonder why the people who wrote those chose so many 80s new wave and post punk albums. FT: “Eclipse”, “O.K.”, “Light”, “Vikram the Vampire” 5/5

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May 06 2021
5

I really enjoyed the drops and the multicultural influence. "OK" was the best track rightfully so, but there were a few other stand outs as well that covered a variety of energies

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Jul 28 2021
2

Really tried but couldn't get into this one.

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Jun 06 2021
1

Craptastic. 1.7/10

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Jan 26 2022
5

This. Is. Madness.

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Jul 16 2025
5

There's a genre of British electronic music that mixed it together with traditional Indian classical themes which I've always enjoyed. This is a great example, mixing in D&B, jazz, it keeps the songs varied. Some real standouts I was already familiar with.

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Dec 08 2022
5

This is a superb album. I loved it in the early 2000s and while I prefer Ha!, this is a really great album too.

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Sep 15 2022
5

OK! Loved it. Cool fusion of eastern sounds with electro beats. Can't believe it's from 1998.

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Aug 10 2022
5

This is a very refreshing album this morning, Travelor is very busy yet free at at the same time. Its lush sound really just hit right today.

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Jul 15 2022
5

Loved it, my new everyday listen

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Jan 28 2022
5

Love this! It’s a must listen to, chilled out, sits there and makes you feel good type

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Jun 22 2021
5

5/5 - Really cool

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Jun 27 2021
5

Electronica,indian classical,exotica

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Jul 11 2025
4

This was an interesting one - Indian, classical, electronic. The first half of this album was crazy good, the second half was fine. I'll certainly keep coming back though. 3.5/5 -> 4/5

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Jun 17 2025
4

Way more unique and interesting then, say, a third Dexys Midnight Runners album or similar. Good uptempo driving music as well that works for me.

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Jun 22 2025
3

I did not hate this. Beats were good. I would have loved this in college.

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Jun 08 2025
3

OK is the debut album from Talvin Singh, a British musician who plays the tabla, and produces electronic music. His work integrates Indian traditions - like the rhythmic patterns he performs on the tabla - into electronic music that ranges from ambient to dance tracks. The album was very well received, critically, and won the Mercury Prize in 1999. This is an interesting collection of tracks, highlighting the unusual mixture of traditions Singh utilizes. The result is good, but uneven. The ambient material is slow - even boring - in places.

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May 19 2025
3

an extremely strange album, but still quite interesting. some songs I found entirely difficult to listen to and skipped, some i solidly enjoyed. some songs I saved but not one I think I’ll revisit much.

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May 11 2025
3

this was challenging, but interesting. sort of like moby x some of the classical south asian musicians on this list.

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May 10 2025
3

I'll say this: I appreciate what this thing was going for. Combining Indian classical music with electronica? That's interesting, and, from what I understand of both genres, could result in something great if handled right. But, y'know... Well, when the album leans into its Indian classical influence, I like it quite a bit. Of the little of the genre I've engaged with so far, it's far from my favorite, but it does just well. If the whole album were like this, I'd give it a solid nod of approval. Of course, then there's the parts where the album leans into the electronica influence — which it does way more commonly — and when it does... B'oof. Being fair, it's nothing I can be too hard, since, believe me, I **have** heard worse, but... Like, I don't know. It's just not terribly interesting. When you're listening to it it's perfectly fine, but jeez, even as wallpaper there's stuff out there with more to chew on. Really, the album title sums it up pretty well: it's "OK." And this leaves me with one of those disappointed 3's that're never fun to give. Again, I can only imagine how combining Indian classical and electronica could've gone off — when they do happen to intermingle, it's neat stuff. And I don't wanna rate this thing based on what it's not, but jeez, it could've been so much more interesting. Like, if it weren't for the fact that my group's coming up on our 500th album, I probably could've let it sit in the backlog for a week like I did that French hip hop, and I wouldn't have missed anything. Y'know? Bleh, whatever. I'm not gonna pad out the word count any more. I just wish it coulda been more than OK.

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May 02 2025
3

I respect the concept behind the album, mixing Indian/south asian influences with electronic music, but it's not something most people would be interested in, myself included. Still, Talvin did a pretty good job keeping this from sounding like a horrible mashup of sounds.

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Oct 30 2024
3

Ambient, Drum & Bass and Classical Indian music meld to create a vision of a future that never came. Yes, the spoken word sections can come off as pretentious and some of the synths are cheesy, but it just adds to the charm. A forgotten artifact of Britain in the Y2K era.

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Sep 07 2024
3

At first sounded like post rock and then some indian (?) vocals came along as well. Interesting mix

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Sep 05 2024
3

Far better than native British electronic DJs from this list. I've enjoyed the softer tracks. The Indian spice adds very much to the whole composition. Something new for me.

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Jun 30 2024
3

No. 211/1001 Traveller 3/5 Butterfly 4/5 Sutrix 2/5 Mombasstic 2/5 Decca 2/5 Eclipse 2/5 OK 2/5 Light 4/5 Disser 3/5 Soni 2/5 Vikram the Vampire 2/5 Average: 2,55 Very interesting mesh of genres I never heard before. On most of the tracks I didn't work for me. Really enjoyed Butterfly and Light though.

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May 18 2021
3

Esto qué es como para correrte pa dentro o como

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Jul 21 2021
3

Interesting! All kinds of influences and styles present behind groovy beats and fun instrumentals. I'll give this one another listen in a week or so and see how it settles.

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May 15 2021
3

This was good, drifted into irrelevance at times but overall enjoyable

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May 25 2021
3

Just too many pan pipes :/

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Jun 14 2025
2

Quite creative to merge electronica/dance with Indian instruments but I found it a bit tedious eventually

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Apr 16 2025
2

It’s cool at first but gets real old and boring after a while

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Feb 05 2025
2

If I have to listen to another record like this I swear to god

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Aug 29 2024
2

My previous commentary got wiped out some how, but honestly, it was about as important as this album really is/was. That is to say, not so much. To sum it up, OK is hardly worth the time and is likely taking up a spot on this list that should be going to a far more deserving album. I'll give it 2 stars because there is some interesting live instrumentation on this album, but it's not enough to save the otherwise boring electronica album..

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Feb 03 2025
1

nope for the love of god. just because you can doesn't mean you should

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Jun 18 2021
1

A little bit too experimental for my taste. Some of the songs were a nice mix of modern and traditional but they quickly get too drawn out and weird. Felt like being in a washing machine of music.

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Jul 21 2025
5

I know nothing about this album, its history, its context or the artist. What I do know is that I've had this on repeat at work all day. The perfect blend of background beats, storytelling moments and eclectic but smooth musical choices.

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Jan 17 2025
5

Really loved this one! I'd never heard of the Asian Underground subgenre/scene so this was a great discovery for me. I love electronica so much, it's cool to hear different varieties of it.

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Jan 02 2025
5

“World Music” is an idiotic term born of Western ignorance and ethnocentrism. However, in the case if this gorgeous mosaic of a record, it’s entirely appropriate.

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Dec 06 2024
5

First time listening to Talvin Singh. Interesting stuff. I appreciated the blending of world styles. Not my usually listen but I'm glad I heard it.

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Nov 25 2024
5

Super fun trance edm but with an eastern meditation vibe to it. Great listen.

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Nov 15 2024
5

Wow, brilliant. Loved this.

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Nov 14 2024
5

Weird but I like it

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Oct 04 2024
5

I was there too, the places Marco mentioned. We said नमस्ते to each other while floating into space

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Aug 26 2024
5

August 25, 2024 HL: “Traveller”, “Butterfly”, “Sutrix”, title track, “Light” Had low expectations going into this (the late 90s picks of this list are hit-or-miss imo), but it blew me away. Somehow equally fitting for a rave & a spa. I was worried when the grandeur of “Traveller” gave way to the dirty synths in “Sutrix”, but by the end I believed it was all part of the same artistic vision. For comparison, I didn’t always feel that way with Red Snapper and Nitin Sawhney from this list, era, and country (the UK, surprise surprise). An uneasy 5 stars from me

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Aug 08 2024
5

We’ve listened to some albums lately with painful mashing of genres, but Talvin Singh stands out for the way he weaves diverse influences and world music into a genre-bending electronica album. I checked out LTJ Bukem right before this, and while they both have a great atmospheric vibe Singh does more to break out from the chill monotony that can create. (Apparently Singh’s London club often featured Bukem, and in many ways “OK” feels like a logical progression from Bukem.)

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Aug 05 2024
5

i have very little to go on here in terms of reference points but it turns out this guy is the missing link between late Siouxsie, early Bjork, and 2000s Madonna...true world music in the sense that it brings any and everything together in a blissful sonic landscape 10/10

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Jul 18 2024
5

The mix of drum n bass and India classical works so well together. What utter genius. This is a great relaxing listen if a bit on the long side (some drag near the end)

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May 19 2024
5

Very interesing sound!

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Mar 08 2024
5

Loved this combination of old and new.

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Jan 28 2024
5

Electronica,indian classical,exotica.

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Nov 26 2023
5

Surprisingly good.

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Nov 10 2023
5

My goodness what an interesting journey. Loved that.

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Aug 25 2023
5

Hey, this rips ass. Between this and Call of the Valley, I guess I’m just learning that I like Indian/Indian inspired music. Eclipse in particular goes hard.

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Aug 01 2023
5

Love it. Right up my electro weird avenue.

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Jul 10 2023
5

I'm happy I decided to start this journey of reviewing an album every day for 1001 days. Even if it feels tedious sometimes, knowing that every day I must listen to an album, even when the album isn't a good fit for my mood that day, or I just do not have the mental energy to gather an opinion or write anything, it all pays off when it recommends something amazing and very much up my alley that I wouldn't have found otherwise. This is one such album. It has more of that Indian and generally Asian flavour that I fell in love with when I was introduced to Nitin Sawhney's "Beyond Skin" earlier in the list. This is a crazy, trippy, dramatic journey that blends orchestra, Indian classical music, electronica, drum and bass, IDM, dub, and so many other genres. It's chaotic but never loses its direction. And yet, it's all pretty chill but never boring. Just a pure journey of sound with influences from across the globe. Favourite: Butterfly

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May 25 2023
5

Electronica,indian classical,exotica.

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Apr 19 2023
5

Unique style and combination of instruments give a relaxing ambient sound that I thoroughly enjoyed. An hour of soft groovy beats.

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Apr 17 2023
5

это что-то совсем не из этого мира невероятная энергетика, безумное смешение жанров, один заглавный трек альбома Traveller чего стоит незабываемая работа возможно, лучшая из этого списка

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Apr 17 2023
5

Как только я начал слушать альбом, то я понял: он или гениальный или говно. Здесь все же первый вариант. Очень необычные сочетания медитативной индийской музыки и хауса/IEM/техно. В результате одновременно получается, что тебя вгоняют в транс и заставляют танцевать/рейвить. Поэтому очень необычно и круто звучит и по сей день. Сэмплы чувак взял, конечно, мое почтение. А теперь субъективный обзор: я только встал и сел за стол работать. Хочется очень спать, работать даже особо не хочется и тут я думаю: хм, а может включить альбомчик послушать с утра, взбодриться. И когда я его включил, то я думал что я сейчас умру от душноты (реально, первую половину первой песни можно смело пропустить, имхо). Но слава богу дальше все норм было. Честно говоря, реально думал что сейчас еще хуже станет)))

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Apr 17 2023
5

Ахахаха, это слишком хорошо, чтобы оказаться 100ым альбомом! Ладно, теперь серьёзно: индийская музыка не от мира сего. У них свои гармонии, которые могут казаться неправильными (непривычными) на первый взгляд. Это интересно услышать и оценить, но на постоянку возможно будет тяжело. Опять же, говоря об индийской музыке, возможно присутствует навязанный Болливудом и мемами стереотип о том, как это должно звучать. Это не относится к этому альбому. Где-то это техно, где-то симфоническая музыка, где-то акустика. Всё и вся собрано здесь, но основывается на вот этой восточной музыкальной гармонии (тут пусть лучше Егор в подкасте расскажет, как у них интервалы устроены). Но сука))) c "The True Story Of Extasy" я конечно улетел, это просто ор. Ещё и вот этим индийским голосом из видосов по программированию... Альбом крутой по задумке, лёгкий по восприятию (настолько лёгкий, что когда после заиграл Apex Twin, я был уверен, что пластинка не закончилась). Я не готов поставить 5 за музыкальность, ибо вопросики остались, но готов поставить 5 за вклад в развитие индийской музыкальной культуры.

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Apr 17 2023
5

Альбом создаёт вокруг тебя какое-то новое пространство, которое заполняется всеми звуками мира, как будто. Однозначно не на постоянное присутствие в плейлисте, но иногда вернуться и переслушал вполне кайф

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Apr 13 2023
5

Electronica,indian classical,exotica.

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Jan 19 2023
5

I really enjoyed this album! It was unexpected and had elements from so many different genres that I enjoy.

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Feb 02 2023
5

9/10 super creative and definitely stands out from mainstream electronic/DnB with its Indian/Asian influence

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Jan 05 2023
5

This is a classic Indian fusion album

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Jul 18 2025
4

I liked this. Helped i was working while listening. Got a little long. Very very 90s.

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Jul 17 2025
4

some of this was delightful, some a bit too heavy techno.

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Jun 05 2025
4

indian electronica highly conceptual

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Jun 04 2025
4

I like these vibes a lot

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Jun 04 2025
4

I really liked this. Very unique, a little weird. A vibe.

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Jun 02 2025
4

Ricura. Repetiría. OK hermoso. Nada más que decir. Muy de su época pero muy bueno, que se yo, rico, muy bueno. Nota: 4.1

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May 30 2025
4

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this!

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May 22 2025
4

Really good love the composition

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May 22 2025
4

Killer drum n' bass mixed with Indian influences makes this an excellent, atmospheric, and immersive listening experience. Super underrated.

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May 17 2025
4

Electronic Indian music. Cool album i probably otherwise never would have found!

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May 17 2025
4

A remarkable fusion. Truly original and a great listen

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May 10 2025
4

I’m at a 3.5 that I’ll bump up to a slightly biased 4. When it comes to mostly instrumental albums like this, I don’t think there’s too much to say, because you either like it, or you don’t. In this case, I liked it. I didn’t like it enough to give it a flat 4, because there’s certainly enough repetition in the soundscape and enough filler moments to create a DBZ arc, but I like this enough to bump it up to a 4. My bias is simply that this appeals to a lot of my VGM sensibilities. That is to say, give me a PS1 jungle style beat, and I’ll vibe with it a lot of the time. This feels a LOT like PS1 jungle, and I love the way this blends aspects of traditional Indian music, Japanese DnB, & electronica. It makes for a really coherent soundscape, one that’s not too far removed from the Ridge Racers or Ape Escapes of the world, but just distinct enough to feel unique, at least for the hour-long runtime that this has. I do fully understand why this has a 2.61 average on the site, because to an ear that’s not paying attention, every track here sounds the same. Hell, even to my ears, I’m sure there are a few tracks that sounded the same that I just sort of chose to ignore. At an hour long, it’s shorter than some of the other DnB albums we’ve gotten, which helps a bit. It’s still long though. However, when it fully clicks, there are moments here where it just feels great to listen to – the stretch of Eclipse to Light in particular is the best stuff on the album, by far. If I gave this another listen, I might find it tedious, but I do think the floor here is a 3 regardless. It’s totally competent Indian-infused electronica that I vibed with on most of the tracks, and even at its most bland, it still sounds pretty good to listen to. Hence, a 3.5 bumped up to a slightly biased 4.

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May 04 2025
4

The title track is by far the weakest song on the album by far. That being said... This is the soundtrack for a turn of the century hacker film, right? Because it would excel at that. If I was making a movie about westerners robbing an Indian target, or vice versa, I'd call this guy to do the music.

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Apr 30 2025
4

Liking a lot of this. The tabla and flute work is fantastic, and fusing it all with drum-machine dance beats and bass drops is kinda wild. Not sure this will become something I listen to often, but I really dig how different it sounds.

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Apr 25 2025
4

A really interesting blend of Indian sounds and electronic. Adding the tabla to the mix really expands the possibilities.

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Apr 15 2025
4

OK, Talvin, go off and traverse the world with your tablas in tow, bridging continents through your boundary-breaking beats.

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Mar 25 2025
4

I really dug this.

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