OK

Better than most of the electronic music I’ve gotten, but that’s not saying much.

I like Butterfly, Suttie, I kind of like Decca, Eclipse, OK; I almost like Traveller, Mombasstic

A surprisingly unique album! Very interesting mix of Indian music with electronic. Not exactly my kind, but can see how it's considered a good album for the originality.

We all concluded that 1998 was an exceptional year in music. The atmosphere at the time was of an increasingly globalized world with rapid technological developments that led to more innovation in electronic music and its embrace by mainstream culture. 'OK' by Talvin Singh is an album that leads you to think it's a seminal record from this crucial period until a deeper immersion into the subgenre shows you that this is...just ok. Hence the title. So goes the saying: a pool is deep if you have never seen the ocean. I don't want to discredit it entirely, however. Talvin Singh has worked with some cool people: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Siouxsie Sioux and the Banshees, Björk, Ryuichi Sakamoto, etc. But the beats are a little anemic and it all is awash under this very safe adult contemporary yoga-class electronic music aesthetic contours. And unlike Aphex Twin, there is no depth or beauty or innovation found within. Still, I appreciate the fusion and the attempt to recontextualize (seemingly) 'traditional' sounds. Just don't stop and think this is where the electronic music of this period ends. Far from it. B-

Idc. Boring and bad

Idc 1.5

Like an upbeat version of spa music. Also a really good one for background music. But not necessarily something I would put on as anything other than background music while working.

Fine as background music, but not something I’m going to actively listen to for an extended period of time.

Didn't enjoy it.

??? not for my ears

I'm reading reviews that mention electronica (not promising) and ambient, which is code for too boring to be elevator music. It was even worse than I predicted. Easiest 1 rating in nearly 2 years

Conceptually interesting tapestry of musical styles, with some great drumming, but it left me flat overall. I think I just had the experience my kids have when I have them listen to a piece of seminal music that has been taken further over the intervening time. If they can appreciate the pedigree, it’s usually still a review of “Meh”. Did anyone else have sense that they were listening to the soundtrack album for the Bollywood remake of “Blade Runner”?

Hm. Really trying to appreciate this album for what it is. I love Tabla drumming, I love artists.and albums that respectfully showcase world music diversities, I appreciate musical fusions and experimentations.....and although this album has all of that, it isn't landing right in my ears..... Maybe more accurately, not all of it is landing right. There are some beautiful and breathtaking musical moments here. I think what kills it for me though, is the dated dance beats and the Kitaro-like self-aggrandisement and a confidence that hyperbolically and unintentionally takes things into goofy teritory... instrument solos that sound like a playful Disney movie chase scene mixed with Joe Satriani-like musical masturbations. And omigod, let's not linger on those lyrics from the first track...like an Enigma fuelled nightmare without gregorian chants... Here's the thing....Indian music doesn't need to be colonized by other sounds to be cool. "Mombasstic" was an interesting jazz experiment, but I've heard this done better, elsewhere. And maybe this album was the inspiration for those other, better sounds....so this deserves some pioneering respect I guess... But how pioneering is this? Maybe I've been spoiled by time and other music...in 1989, Peter Gabriel released the soundtrack "Passion" for the movie "The Last Temptation of Christ"....*that* is a wold music masterpiece. A symphony of sound that moves me emotionally... Sone positivity to finish: Sutrix was my favourite track....and I couldn't help but dance a little to "Eclipse"

I really wanted to like this album as it theoretically has all of the elements I love. I did love ‘eclipse’ and wish the rest of the album was as interesting. I found most of the vocals to be almost farcical and off putting (flight of the conchordsish). I appreciate that this probably paved the way for artists like Nitin Sawhney who I love and for that reason alone I can show this album some love.

Not really of any interest to me. Techno traditional Indian.

Boring, only kinda liked 1 track

ggood

Very good. Has a nice vibe.

It's surprising that I have never heard of Talvin Singh before. Very unique and original mix of electronic music and traditional indian elements. It got a bit boring in the second part of the record, but overall a very nice example of experiment going right.

fun n foreign.

I love the Indian instruments, but I just didn't like the sound of this. It was a little too chaotic

I really enjoyed this album for how eclectic it was. I loved the story behind it and imagining where in the world each song was recorded as it came on. The combination of Western instruments like strings and the orchestral flute paired and juxtaposed with Indian instruments was beautiful and refreshing.

It’s Ok. 1.9

I did 3 songs and felt I had it covered. Not for me

Really enjoyed listening to this. Added Light to my rotation. Absolutely one I’ll listen to again.

Easily my favorite Talvin Singh album-- he's made several good ones. I love the traditional sounds balanced by strings, tabla, and then the bass beats. Overall this is where traditional meets drum and bass or something like that. I dig it.

Well, this is different... The blending of Indian music with jungle and drum and bass from the 90's. While this isn't immediate 'hatable' music, I can understand how it may rub some some ears to 'skip, skip, skip' to the end. Though it's new and different, it's simultaneously weary, old and tired. I attribute that feeling to its age and near obsolete genre and also to its uniqueness.

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.)

Could kind of get what he was going for, but ultimately it was too trance-y for me and that ultimately means it fades into background music and can't rise above 3 stars. Nice to hear a different set of sounds in trance music though.

It was fine, but by the end I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

So, for the first part of this review, I want to say that this was actually a pretty good drum and bass album that was experimental with an ambient atmospheric sound. It also has a great story to it and all the traveling that went into creating this album. A lot of the production was pretty ahead of its time and experimental for the late 90s. It reminds me of a combination of 90s-style Squarepusher with 90s-style LTJ Bukem. The downside of this album is that although it had a great backstory and it’s an innovative album for people who are into the music and understand it, it also has the same monotone vibe throughout the entire album. Even for me, by the time the album was wrapping up, I was getting bored and burned out. For someone who is not into this style of music, I can definitely see how they will not like this album and they would get extremely bored of it. To be honest, that’s why I don’t really think it belongs on a list of 1001 albums you must hear before you die. This album is a very niche genre and audience that it appeals to and although it has a great story, almost everyone won’t resonate with the album.

Doesn't really do anything for me. Cool beats, I guess?

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

Sounds like a radio in a restaurant got stuck between stations

There was a time when I would have enjoyed Indian instrumentation over western beats more than I do now.

Did not enjoy.

I love this kind of genre and musical culture fusion!

Gah i’m sorry but in no way whatsoever will I listen to this again. No hate towards anything however I can’t do an hour of this not even one song. It went on for far too long and i was just - not good.

Feels like a soundtrack to watching one of those 45 minute videos of the international space station circling the earth. I can't think of a situation where I'm ever listening to this without it accompanying something/anything else and even then I might mute the sound after 20 minutes. An hour-long dull palette of sound I lost interest in quickly. 3/10 2 stars.

Such a throwback to the pre 2000 feeling. Where the internet still felt new.

The opener doesn't sound good, feels like it's two different songs playing at the same time. It gets better with the 3rd song, I can hear the synergy now The title song is ok. It's ok, could see myself listening to it in case I needed some fun brain afk music

As if an indian weeb had joined the taliban. Gives me those vibes for some reason

I liked this! Very vibey, kinda reminded me of something Bjork could sing over upon the first few tracks, then I researched the artist and realized he played on and contributed to Debut! Some of that same energy here, and I liked it a lot.

OK!

The album title is Alanis levels of ironic; an hour long slog is far from OK, it is very much NOT OK... While the fusion of Indian classical instrumentation with '90s ambient drum & bass sounds interesting in theory, it results in a disjointed mess that feels like two clashing records playing at once.

I don't really have the palate to appreciate this. It's not my cup of tea at all.

This was really kind of cool! Light, OK and Eclipse were my top three. It was amazing to see a blend of electronic, Indian and classical influences together in such a unique yet perfect manner. Light especially was so beautiful with the electronic beat emphasizing the melody that had classic vibes but played with an Indian instrument (I think) supported by Indian rhythms. Electronic is not my thing so I probably won't listen again, but I give this one props for being something I would say is influential and different to the music world (or at least my music world).

I love the concept behind this album, and I feel like he’s successfully blended various world music in a really interesting way. Kind of a little journey around the planet. It didn’t connect with me in a very deep way, but I enjoyed all the different sounds.

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)

Never heard this album before. It gives New Age music a bad name. Utterly pointless. So glad when it was over.

Not really my thing, so I won't be listening to it again.

It could be the novelty of listening to something completely new and foreign to me, but I liked it! Trance like ambient music, but with toe tapping beats. I found it helped to focus on doing things that require focus, like a hard Wordle or yoga. I'll listen to this again, but in smaller doses, it's a lot at once. Particularly liked Butterfly, with the overlaying drumming and flute fluttering about.

I'm not really into the Indian music. There was clearly an effort to include some other ethnic expressions and so there was some variety but it all still felt fairly Indian. Nothing came across bad, but it was kind of a background ambient album overall. Perhaps my Western ear is not attuned to the finer nuances of Indian music, but unlike the Hives album whose title "Your New Favorite Band" was very wrong, this album's title was spot on: it was ... "ok". "Wear your colors or you look stupid, ya?" and then I looked stupid anyway listening to the 48-seconds of silence at the end of the Vampire track.

Did not enjoy this...not my cup of tea.

Indian techno

Ok this is exactly the kind of stuff I was into in late middle school/early high school. Kinda new agey electronica. I seriously wondered if I would find that kind of stuff on here. I never came across this one but it gives me a very nostalgic feeling. It maybe deserves a 3 in all actuality because I have heard stuff in the genre of new age electronica I like more as a whole. But there are some really good tracks on here, and I really am glad something of that genre is on the list so I am inclined to rate it higher.

cool

3.5 some of the electronica got a little annoying but overall an enjoyable album

An interesting electronica album

songs are a tad bit too long, weird transitions throughout the album, not my cup of tea but if it was, it would probably be higher?

Early dnb. Check. Indian instrumentation. Check. Orchestral flourishes. Check. Meandering, sparse and relaxed composition. Check. Loved it

Classical Indian music meets Electronica / Drum and Bass - music to chill to. I liked it.

Twas a vibe

En indisk Aphex Twin med mer analoga instrument. Några schyssta grooves och ganska bra låtar. Lyssnar hellre på Aphex Twin dock. Funkar.

I’m not entirely buying it.

Don't get it

"Experimental\" is the perfect description. This album reminds me of WD2; closer, but still about 38 tries before you get something worthwhile.

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.

there’s way too much mid electronica on this list

Hey, I love the EDM & Indian cultural blend. Fun listen.

This sounds like the 90s trip hop equivalent of George Harrison going to India and coming back and infusing sitar into all his music. The big difference is that Singh is of Indian descent, grew up playing tabla, and spent years in his childhood studying the instrument and Indian classical music in India. OK ends up being a much more earnest fusion of western and eastern music, and I can’t say I’ve heard anything quite like it, aside from maybe Thievery Corporation (who are much more like George Harrison than Singh). When using the word “world” as a genre descriptor it’s usually a copout, but here it feels appropriate since Singh fuses ideas from India, Japan, the UK and Europe, and beyond.

I bought this album in the 90s and don't remember it being on repeat too many times. It's pretty cool and ambient with hints of trip-hop/DnB but not as much substance. The Indian flavour works well but the tracks are a little lightweight.

Lush ambient soundscapes, drum n bass and traditional Indian music. I'm trying not to make an "OK" joke. I actually kind of like this, but struggling to see how this is more consequential than any of the other electronic albums I listened to from the 90s or 2000s.

Boooo

Dybt uessentialt og periodisk virkelig træls at høre på. Aner ikke hvad det laver på listen.

Not OK

I'm very far from being OK after this listening

If you're going to make an 11 minute sing, make sure it doesn't suck.

This...honestly kinda slaps. Damn

Fusing drum and electronica beats with traditional Indian music is a wild ride, man.

Waste of my time. I could’ve died before listening to this one.

It was nice background music but repetitive

Cool fusion of traditional south Asian instruments and electronic music but not quite for me. While it was done very well, it wasn’t until Viktor The Vampire that I felt excited for a track.

I was gonna make some dumb joke like "This album was OK lolol" but honestly it's too good to not write more about it. After the first track I was hoping it'd stay in this electronic/classical mix (this entire track is euphoric). I was only mildly disappointed that it didn't not revisit the string section often. That being said, the rest of the songs are really quite a nice listen and perfect for enjoying a walk in good weather. 8/10

This album was always a bit too tedious for me, and I am not too keen on the sound of it either.

Hard to get into this somewhat jangly sound.

No, just no.

Relaxing and enjoyable for the most part.

Better than OK! Added to my library, really great album.

So stupid

I can’t with the robot voice

NAHSTEEE

Strange experience for me, but i mostly enjoyed it

Just American edm with an Indian accent.

Kind of tedious.

Computer. This record should've been released under a different title. There should've been enough time to update it after Radiohead's album came out in the same country about a year before. But it was the nineties, speaking of which I find the whole cover of the album off-putting as well. It's a shame, because I think that the album is a rewarding listen — it's both timeless and modern. It would've been well-served to have a design that was less 1990s and a better name. The music isn't its packaging, of course, but some music deserves better and this is the case.

Like a Traveller seeing an Eclipse at first Light.

Lmao this is hilarious. But it is not good.

5 / 10 Extraña mezcla de New Age electrónico con sonidos Indus tradicionales. Demasiado raro mucho rato. Conforme avanza el disco se hace más pesado y pierde puntos.

The first track is a little Bollywood for me. Thereafter this becomes quite a lovely album. Will definitely revisit.

Как эксперимент хорошо, но слушается оч трудно

Very much 90's electronica. There were some spots that sounded a bit low tech but that could have been on purpose.

Really out there. Kinda like breakbeat but that first track really pushes the envelope. I think I like it?

I liked it, and even bobbed my head to a couple of songs, but overall, it felt to me like a rough framework of what was to come later with acts like Shpongle and Entheogenic.

eclectic, engaging and funky; finally a good electronic album on the list (although I think simply calling this "electronic" music really doesn't tell the whole story)

At the risk of being the least original of all reviewers, this was...ok.

Well I have no idea what to make of this! At first I thought it was unbearable but I got kind of into it in the middle... Then I went off it again towards the end I have to say. Would be good to dance to when off one's nut, not so much for our chill holiday

Nice background music and a bit different but nothing special

Cool. Really enjoyed it. Break beats with sitar? Works great

Very interesing sound!

yeah i'm afraid this one wasn't for me. i appreciate the effort here - the combination of electronic music and indian music is an interesting one, but i knew halfway through the first track this was going to be not my thing. i can see how this is music that you can get lost in, but unfortunately i don't really get lost in it - i more just get bored. the repetitive rhythms don't do much for me and to be honest, there's not a whole deal more here besides stilted vocals every so often and some muted trumpets (and such). just not my thing.

Electronic middle eastern/ Indian music. Very annoying at times

Super interesting blend of EDM and Indian sound and rhythm

That's not my taste in musik.

I wasn't a fan of 90s electronica in the 90s, and nothing has changed in the years since. There were a couple tracks I liked, but too much of the album reminded me of the soundtrack to some bad performance art.

I respect it but its not my thing. 2/5

OK is an apt name for this, because it is exactly that. OK. Before listening I was interested in the concept - merging traditional Indian folk music and techno, but it just never got going for me.

Surprised at how much I liked it.

I guess I got used to it because I found the back half of the album a lot better than the first. The title track was a banger and I would put it on a playlist any day. Still a bit of a chore to get through.

Rarely does an album’s title describe its contents so succinctly. There’s a vision here, and the musicians are no doubt talented, but it can’t sustain itself over runtime.

bi traveller seiter afoch 100 mol the world is sound. ???? de shit isch chli ass? oke jetz machter flötitime und ein ton halte uf de sitar? funni? ha de shit etz viel z lang gfunde. zweite track het seeeehr 90er drums. sehr. sutrix goht no recht dumm findi. mombasstic findi wieder easy ass. decca nervt au recht. tabla scho cool aber näh. light au easy aber jaaaaa eig ass. disser au chli ass als interlude. ischmer alles zu lounge. gar nöd miis. fänds chli assi zum es 1 geh aber fühls halt nuuuull. hoff ich han weg dem nöd alli indisch klassisch musig nöd gern. vikram the vampire au afoch 90s drums irgendwie nöd so cool. nai echt nöd agnehm. es 1 oder es 2 wenni morn gurt gluunt bin.

thalwil singt bruder wieder e stund UHH hallooo chan öppis passiere ussert e pfiffe wo usem letschte loch röchlet ok cool striicher sutrix tönt na cool back to langwiliahh oke decca gaht jz defür aktiv uf de sack hey ja cooli idee I guess und ich chan jz nöd sege dass es schlecht gmacht isch aber es isch die meist ziit entweder langwilig oder müehsam gsi sorry

Not terrible, but also not for me

This is fucking boring.

Felt like I was listening to background music at a spa. Nope.

At first it reminded me of house music (which i HATE) and then I heard the Indian influence. I like Bollywood music. But the mixture is not good. It’s like putting a candy cane in a pickle. But it’s super unique. He should be proud of himself.

It's ok

Not ok. Not at all.

If the world is sound, please god let it not be these sounds.

Not for me.

This album wasn't ok. it was worse

OK is probably the right name for the album. I get what he was doing and it's interesting to blend traditional Indian music with D&B but I just didn't massively enjoy it. I'm glad it exists but it's not for me.

Tabla mix of traditional Indian and east Asian music with modern trance drum beats.to be listened to loud or with headphones. Traveller Butterfly Sutrix Eclipse (very percussive) Light (incredibly fast finger drumming on the tabla at 3:30 mark along beautiful flute playing)

Once you get past the first looooong track it improves. Wikipedia lists the genre as Electronic & Classical Indian - the Electronic part is tougher to take.

Beyond my small ability to evaluate.

Ok.

He was asking for criticism when he named the album. I remember when this came out and was really big. I remember it winning the mercury prize. Whereas with Primal Scream who won the first mercury we are still listening to the music and they’re still making music in various iterations, I don’t know anyone who is still talking about Talvin Singh. It dragged! Some of it was quite hypnotic, but not enough for me to care.

I wanted to like this more than I did, especially after reading how long it took to get the various parts recorded.

Enough already.

I really enjoyed this, and damn it sounded fantastic. more of a 3.5 but i'm rounding up because why not

This would be OK background music for me while making a curry. But as a solid straight listen I found it too much of the same. He didn't take me on the same journey that Ravi Shankar does.

Combining drum ‘n’ bass with Indian tabla music is an inspired and ingenious idea. The two styles work so well together. It’s a natural fit. I’m also always intrigued by the ways different cultures mix and influence each other. India and Britain of course have a long, complex history but there’s also this rich shared culture now as a result of that colonial history and this album is an interesting product of that. “OK” is a banger! Sounds like something that could be on an M.I.A. album. Some of this gets pretty dreamy and spacey. I like the dance and electronic leaning tracks the most. But all of this is beautifully and thoughtfully made. Awesome sound!

I was so happy when the drum n bass elements came at the 2 minute mark of the first track. Prior to that, I was thinking "this sounds like Caucasian film composers trying to write a middle eastern / Indian song for a part of the film they are scoring". Then when that hit I thought "oh OK this is something else!" I really, really love drum n bass electronic music. Most genres of music that I listen to have been shared to me by someone or something else- like rock music from my brother, oldies from my mom, pop music from the radio, classical and jazz from music school. But this sound is one that I felt like I genuinely discovered on my own without someone saying "you need to hear this style", and I feel an added sense of love for the genre because of it. Often times on this album, the Sitar or Sarangi or Indian flutes will be the focal point, while the relentless tabla-supported drum n bass will be the backing force. But listening closer I think there's many times where the underlying synths are really the star. It's almost like when you get a few tracks in and are now familiar and comfortable with the sound, you can finally sit back and enjoy the foundational composition ideas of the track's basic harmony and melody. "Butterfly" has a great example of this, from the 3:30 mark onward is like an Aphex Twin song- a big compliment. This was a great listen. Very happy with it.

nah.. tried. Couldn't

A fun perspective of what I (believe?) is the early years of this type of electric music. My favorite 2 songs on this project were Disser/point.b.mento and Sutrix. Point B Mento gives me 80’s vibes in a whole new light, Idek how to explain it, just absolute ear po** Being that I have no interest in this genre, I was pleasantly surprised, adding a different cultures range of instruments and ideas is such a fun spin on the normally dull and basic American electro I usually hear.

You would have to do force me to listen to this album again. WHAT HAVE I SAID ABOUT AMBIANCE AND TRANCE MUSIC FOR THIS LIST. YOU COULD WATERBOARD ME AND I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GET OUT A COHERENT OPINION ON WHAT I LISTENED TO. I AM A BIT DRAMATIC HERE BUT IT IS A 2/10 I LIKE THE SECOND SONG THAT IS IT. WHEN PEOPLE SAY JAZZ IS BACKGROUND MUSIC THEY REALLY MEAN THIS TYPE OF MUSIC THIS IS MUSIC TO FALL ASLEEP TO. THIS IS MUSIC YOU HEAR IN A SPA. JUST FORGETTABLE AND NOT WORTH THE SLOT I AM NOT A HATER it's just not iconic I like butterfly and thats it next

Interesting Indian electronic club music. Can't say I've listened purposefully to anything like it before!

Decent

Smooth, trance-like

This was very long. And VERY meh.

Not my kind of vibe. Found it distracting. Appreciate the artistry.

This wasn't even worth putting in on the background while I did my chores

Really Boring

По большей части скучная и не очень хорошо сохранившаяся электроника. К сожалению, вот эта вся традиция видится только как способ разбавить пустоватый электронный альбом. Или наоборот: вот эта вся электронщина видится только как способ растянуть вот эти традиционные вещи, упростить их восприятие. Меркури Прайзы и сейчас дают не самым очевидным альбомам из списка, и двадцать лет назад, видимо, было то же самое. Лучшая песня - Mombasstic.

And so it goes, another world album that I'd be more than okay listening to a few tracks of. But being subject to over an HOURS worth of what's basically a mashup of electronic & indian music, just so this list can cross off a diversity quota - is nothing other than incredibly annoying. That's what this record is after the one hour mark - annoying.

I recall the fuss when on this won the Mercury, though looking at the shortlist now it was a lean year. Oh no, it beat one of Blur and the Manics worst albums! Still, I gave this a listen at the time or shortly afterwards, think I got the CD out from the library. It washed over me then, I didn't dislike it, I didn't love it, I didn't return to it. Today, the dnb sounds a little dated, but it's still pretty nice. Traveller was pretty interesting and just when that interest is waning towards the end you're hit with lush strings that really go. Next track Butterfly, energetic sitar and what is that, piccolo? Too high to be a flute surely. Oh there's definitely flute at the end. Over a lovely warm bed of smooth synths. I do wonder if I will enjoy this for a full hour, we shall see. I'm not finding lots to love about Sutrix for example. Hmm. Not really enjoyed anything else until OK. This is clearly what happened last time I listened to it 20-odd years ago. I have heard OK the song on occasion over the years and that's a banger. Loads going on. After this highlight, Light is fairly standard fayre chill out trance. The slower chant Soni would be a good closer. Although actual closer Vikram is pretty decent. Generously I would say I enjoyed about half of this. But the good stuff was really nice and interesting, so it gets a 3.

Well, it was easy enough to listen to and I concede for its genre it seems pretty good. Not sure I needed to hear that before I died. Maybe it could play after I'm dead, at my funeral?

Interesting, but not my jam. Sounded like a 90s-00s video game soundtrack at times.

Wasn’t even good chill out music.

Repetitive

Different strokes for different folks

I am three songs in and I really like this album so far! I am halfway through and now some of the songs are starting to get annoying. Was feeling a 4/5 before but its probably a 3/5 now.  

I hate that crap

good

It has it's moments, but it feels very much a late 90s classy coffee table album to show off your tastes. When you think that there was an explosion in Bhangra at this time in the UK, and exciting artists like Metz and Tricks, or Punjabi MC were making great music, that this was chosen to represent the South Asian diaspora in the UK at the time is a bit meh.

so boring to me sorry i could barely get thru a song.... 1.5/5

Interesting...quite long though. Very 90s sounding

This was OK, but didn’t quite match the high hopes I had after reading the description on Spotify. It was a bit flat, and in some parts a bit cheesy, but there was some nice instrumental parts 3

I quite liked this kind of ambient quirky world music album. It is easy to listen to, definitely an artist I will consider listening to more, yes. This album is "good." Not to be mean or undervalue the album in any way, the only thing it "suffers" in a very lightly held sense, is that it doesn't have anything in particular that other albums in world music or ambient music don't have. So, it almost feels like those late 70's rock band albums that get kind of lost in the crowd, but (!) Not quite! And that makes all the difference.

Best Song: Butterfly. The drums at the end had an compelling, driving rhythm. Worst Song: Disser/Point.Mento.B. A weird synthy track that contains none of the interesting percussion from the rest of the album. Overall: A rolling and spirited album. You can tell that the artist principally trained as a percussionist because the percussive rhythms were consistently the best parts throughout the album. Especially when the rapid intensity of the drumming was contrasted with something softer and smoother from the woodwinds. The whole album was a pleasant surprise.

Not as bad as I was expecting but still not good.

not really my thing

Interesting, but difficult to sing along to :)

It's a heady mix of sounds from all around the world. Ultimately it falls flat though - the songwriting isn't great and it just tries to fit too many disparate parts into an electronica format.

ok

DNF at song 3. Dude....

Not my jam

Guess I just don’t like Indian techno very much. Best track: Sutrix

'Talvin Singh, is renowned for creating the bridge between Indian and electronic music.' The easy joke is, "Maybe some bridges shouldn't be crossed." Butterfly was pretty but that was probably one of the more Western tracks. Actually the album is interesting. I'll never listen to it again. 3*

This is similar to a lot of 90s electronic dance music I listened to but with an Indian like twist. I didn’t mind it, but nothing really stood out to me. Probably why this only sold 60,000 albums when it was released.

Never heard a mix of electronic and indian styles until now, fun listen.

Beautiful album. It sounds like a movie score.

Lyssnade bara på delar av varje låt. Låter som att någon snubblar över ett trumset. 1 / 5

Sometimes felt like Windows XP was finished loading, or something. So pre Y2K.

Quite chilled with nostalgic throwbacks to late 80s backpacking tunes

I remember this when it was new and didn’t try it out but it’s nice. A lot of atmosphere and a decent album. Just not one I can see myself coming back to, but that’s probably not Talvin Singh’s fault to be fair.

OK I have a recollection of you having this at Durham, Paul? I’m aware of him but can’t recall ever giving him a listen. I thought this was great. Eno-esque in places, particularly My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, but obviously filtered through his own cultural upbringing. Obvious Indian classical influences, but quite a lot of traditional Japanese influences too. Subsequently found out some of it was recorded in Okinawa, so that makes sense. Some of the hip hop and dance/drum n bass beats do sound quite 90s, but they are so well woven amongst the other sounds it works really well Traveller is great, has a bit of everything that’s to follow, love the strings. OK is great too And I loved Light. I’m glad this came up, I’m looking forward to listening to it some more ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Loved this combination of old and new.

OMG i hate this album really nothing about it i like. Discordant and total lack of flow. I hated listening to this. Will not listen to again.

weird music 3 stars

Enjoyed some parts but ultimately repetitive

"The artist manages effortlessly to blend classical Indian music and electronic synth melodies together" said nobody ever after listening to this album. it sounds like some sixteen year old made a mash up by just layering songs on top of each other. Unsurprisingly that sounds ass. Shoutout to the title track thou that one was listenable.

Überraschend gut. Elektroweltmusik

3.5/10

Idk wtf this is or why it's here, but it's pretty dope actually. 3.5/5

OK

Hmmmm… the first album I could not appreciate at all. It did make me want to try something more conventional.

I tried. In fact, I checked out his other albums. But no, it's a no for me.

2/27/24. Very relaxing downtempo electronic music with an Indian taste, I've never listened to something like this! I feel this album is perfect for working or getting tasks done, it's easy to focus with these sounds behind you. Very easy and cool listen.

When starting this I wondered if I would give any 1 star reviews. I can usually see something positive in a record even if it isn’t a style I usually enjoy. Then 55 records in I got this. I did not enjoy this.

Love the concept, some of it’s a bit scatty and some of the vocals are hard to listen to though

I like a lot of the elements of Indian Bhangra and have really enjoyed other Indian/western fusions (think Cornershop), so I was a bit disappointed with "OK." For one, the drum n bass and Indian elements seem to be kept apart a lot more than I'd like; " Butterfly" and "Sutra" get the closest to what I was hoping for, but none of it ever quite got there for me. The rest of the songs tend to go on entirely too long, and the longest sections also seem to be the dullest parts. Case in point is the intro track "Traveler." At 8 minutes it would be a fitting lead in to a more energetic album, giving hints of what is to come, but then the strings come in for no apparent reason and meander for more that 3 more minutes. I feel like this album would be better suited as an ambience setting soundtrack for a video game or short film than as something to listen to on its own. Overall, "OK" is cool but not what I'm looking for.

1. traveller - 1.5 2. butterfly - 0 3. zutriz - 0 4. mombazztic - 0 5. decca - 0 6. eclipze - 1 7. ok - 0 8. light - 1 9. dizzer - 1 10. zoni - 1 11. vikram - 1.5

Boring

Turn of the century tabla drawing sonical inspiration from equal parts trip hop and drum and bass. Intruiging idea and excellent execution - but much too repetitive and long.

Singh explores the tabla depths of the electronic music scene with an incredible ease. Clocking it at just over an hour it’s no surprise that OK might be a bit too long. But the ideas are never not interesting and I would’ve had a difficult time deciding what to get rid of. The mix of the bass is beautiful and I have no problem overlooking the slightly problematic runtime. The name is underselling this record.

No...

Seriously it's like whoever is doing this is just fucking with us.

One of those albums you put on and know within 30 seconds you don't like it and dread the experience. I did my best to make it through this album. I listened to the first two songs and then parts of the rest. Overall, seems like his take on world music is blending some of the most random stuff over techno beats.

eh ok, lijepo al nis spesl

Pa fora, al nije bas everyday listen. 3.5 Bolji sam od 'ok' fora. -_-

Opção acertada para variar os elementos eletrônicos devido às camadas de sonoridade hindu.

Pretty good, but it was overly long and had some misses. I like the mix of Indian music and electronic.

This was fine, but nothing special. It faded into the background.

Not my style at all- all of these songs sounded the same

I did not enjoy that.

I was a big fan of "Soundz of the Asian Underground" back in the day and listened to this album a fair bit. Some of the samples/voiceovers feel a bit corny upon revisiting, but you can't argue with the production and soundscape that this album creates. It was eye-opening for me at the time and holds up really well. I thought it added a new dimension to a lot of the atmospheric drum'n'bass tracks that were floating around at the time.

Great opening track. Overall decent album.

Cool concept. Bad execution

Very different music for me, but also very relaxing.

Just as it says on the label, OK. Also my first exposure to the quick tempo percussion and sitar(?) was whenever riding Yoshi in Mario Sunshine. Now every time I hear that similar rhythm that’s all I can think about (2.5/5)

Weird

It’s great if you like it, but for me, I didn’t feel like I needed to hear this before I died.

ok. but i dont love it

not for me

Not a fan, this was hard for me to get through. I can appreciate the composition but it doesn’t do anything for me.

Interesting. Liked it.

More than OK! I loved it.

Never heard of this artist or album. Not my favorite electronica/trip-hop but it's definitely interesting and different. I'm not sure if this influenced electronic artists I like (Aphex Twin, Flying Lotus, DJ Shadow) or if they influenced this, but there are definitely some shared aspects in here. 2/5

Chemical Brothers? Nope. This? Sign me up! I guess I didn’t know that what I really need is south asian vibes and a geisha choir in my EDM. Here’s the crazy thing about this record. I may never return to it but I did add it to my Spotify (don’t judge me) library. Now if I ever find myself wanting to sit down and intentionally listen to something super interesting and insanely chill … I’d be more than “OK” with this album. Good job Talvin. You even got me to create an electronica playlist. Who even am I now?

This proves my rule of listening to an album all the way through because the first song Traveller was tough, a definite skip. But the rest of the album was nails and just on the edge of my comfort zone, a light stretch of of my normal electronic listenings.

Electronica,indian classical,exotica.

Interesting album, i found it interesting how they recorded all of the samples for the tracks. 3/5

Very interesting

Come-se na ocasião certa

habibi core

Hippity Dippity World Electronica. No bueno. Makes me want to smash my neighbor's wind chimes.

Ew.. Cool But ew 1 2

Yeah, this is OK. I don’t love it, I don’t hate it. It’s fine. I was never really into liquid drum and bass and don’t like the tone of a sitar, but I didn’t mind this in the background. It didn’t piss me off, I won’t listen again.

Gepflegte Langeweile! Supermarkthintergrundgedudel. Warteschleifensound?

This wasn’t even OK.

Well this was shit. Mediocre 90s British electronica? Sounds like the soundtrack to a bad video game. At least it attempted to try something new in mixing in Indian music. That doesn't make it good, but it attempted.

This record starts off on a great note with its two first tracks, "Traveller" and "Butterfly". They're an enticing and flavored mix of Indian classical music and drum'n'bass displaying a lot of killer moments, with impressive and evocative performances from the sitar and flute players (not to mention Singh himself on tablas). The orchestral conclusion of "Traveller" is particularly worthy of note for anyone interested in said Indian music. Because said conclusion is tight, moving and cinematic in a way that transcends the somewhat "dated" electronic flourishes found elsewhere in this LP. A few years before the release of *OK*, Björk famously used Singh's stellar skills for orchestration on *Venus As A Boy*. Seems like Singh could still pull off something marvelous years later, at least when he had something clear to say, as "Traveller" and "Butterfly" can prove. Too bad he rarely knew what to say *under his own name* towards the end of the nineties. Because, yes, as great as those first two cuts are, I feel like the Anglo-Indian producer makes a bunch of weird choices when he attempts to apply the same formula during the rest of this record. In terms of relatively "striking" cuts "Monbastic" displays as a lead instrument the sort of muted trumpet that made Miles Davis famous. And "Eclipse" uses Qawwali vocals, which the rest of the world discovered thanks to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The problem is that the conflation of those "noble" elements with EDM arrangements and production doesn't work so well, especially decades later. Some of the bleeps / bloops sounds even come off as a little grating on "Eclipse", distracting so much from the stellar vocal performance on this track. If really you want to discover Qawwali, start with the *real* thing, please. Another striking (and quite lively and charming) cut is the title-track, "OK", indebted to Bollywood-inspired vocal chants this time, and fortunately this *fun* track gels a bit better as it mixes said chants to bouncing jungle beats. But everything else (which means two thirds of this album at least) is clearly secondary, with attemtps that go from borderline-muzak-sounding, "illustrative" works ("Light") to ambient soundscapes ("Soni") and hard-electro meanderings ("Decca" and "Vikram The Vampire")--*all of them* leading to nowhere in particular. Closer "Vikram The Empire" is quite a symptomatic instance of this problem: Singh displays admirable production skills there (as elsewhere) but those skills are betrayed by a blatant lack of direction. And as a consequence, the instrumental comes off as a sort of bonus track instead of a proper all-encompassing capper for such an album--aiming at mixing sounds from very different parts of the world, but never in a fashion convincing enough to make you sense *why* it should be so vital to do so. To put it mildly, *OK* doesn't tell a cohesive story. It just throws disparate elements on the wall and hopes they will stick the landing. I can relate to the intents Singh had for this LP. But clearly, and minus two or three nice cuts here and there, I don't care for the actual results. "Global" sounds, even performed with a lot of talents in the room, shouldn't prevent you from conveying something truly personal and enlightning form start to finish. It's probably easier to say this than to pull it off for real. Yet one can't help feeling this record could have been far more than "OK" with a few different choices in mind. 2/5 for the purposes of this list of supposedly "essential" albums. Which translates to a 7/10 grade for more general purposes (5+2). I feel like I have *already* reviewed this album by the way. Hope I'm wrong and the 1001 albums generator isn't stuck on a loop for me--just like Talvin Singh sometimes is, lol. Because I intend to *end* this project. Number of albums left to review: 317 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 306 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 167 Albums from the list I won't include in mine (many other records are more important to me): 222 (including this one)

*sigh* this is some bullshit. "The world is sound" ohhhh wow, so profound, such amaze!! /s Are we at the point yet where we can admit that the music that really matters and is most representative of our daily lived human experiences is simply pop music? The music that has broad range appeal, that gets endless radio play and imbeds itself seamlessly into our collective cultural consciousness. It's cool to discover new things, but at the same time if aliens came down to our planet and asked the average person to play them the most amazing music we as a human race have, would anyone choose this album? No. I truly believe that no, nobody would think of this first and say "oh man, have I got just the thing for you! Classical Indian Electronica!" NO! I suppose the journey of exploration and understanding how music evolves combined with how artists innovate in the space is what this project is all about, but the constant cognitive dissonance I experience with the concept of "so good you MUST hear it" + "meaningful impact on music as a cultural medium" is insurmountable some days. Today is one of those days. More Stones and Creedence please, less ridiculous genre fusion bullshit for the sake of it.

3.4 - Difficult one for me, found that I enjoyed parts but other times felt like it was dragging. It's pretty unique but just not sure if I'd fancy sitting down to listen to it again. I think the electronic elements would sometimes marry up really well, and other times feel repetitive and grating.

I'm aware of the name Talvin Singh from some remixes (this beaut for instance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1hyj9yOya4&pp=ygUldGFsdmluIHNpbmdoIGJldHRlciBvbiB0aGUgb3RoZXIgc2lkZQ%3D%3D) but I did not think he would be of the calibre to make the 1001. Traveller is rather meandering, I think it takes too long to move between themes, and the mix of synthetic and more natural sounds I don't find particularly effective. I prefer the Asian influence on Butterfly, though again I'm not really a fan of the dancier aspects of the song. I wonder if Jai Paul would cite Talvin Singh as an influence? I think this album is better when it tries to do a bit less, like in Mombasstic. Decca is just a bit silly isn't it. Jungle! O.K. is the first track that pulls me in. Light also more enticing with the intro. As I go through this I think my main takeaway is that the electronic beats used are often pretty tacky, but the blend of eastern and western sounds has an undeniable appeal. There's something about this music where it feels like I could love it, if one or two small things were different, but instead I find I actively dislike it. It reminds me of when I was a teenager getting into Indie Rock and Pop Punk and the like, and someone bought me a Classic Rock compilation CD and I hated every track. For me it treads the wrong side of a fine line. Fave Tracks: O.K., Light, Vikram the Vampire 2.8/5

This should be right up my street but never really got into it.

I was not a fan. It was pointed out to me that it sounds like a movie score. I would have to agree.

Starts off sounding like the soundtrack for a Venice Beach guru cult, complete with gropey hot yoga sessions in a converted shipping container. Cheap, cliche and very posery. Even the cover art looks like an AI prompt. Nothing feels authentic. Just a cash grab. Nothing about this record is required listening. This was all very old sounding by ‘98. There are much better recordings that were overlooked for this mall muzak.

This is an interesting album with all kinds of music styles blended in.

A lot of hippie fippy people loved this shit and thought they were people of the world.

2/5 is it ok though?

Really liked this album. great background/working music

Very experimental. Sonically interesting, but some of the sounds get a little repetitive over time. I preferred the breakbeat/intelligent DnB parts, but didn't love the particular instruments used over top.

Production was actually pretty good, but the spoken word really subtracted from the good of this album.

Put me in a good mood. Nice melodies and fancy and funny

from start to finish this is boring and actually difficult to listen to. when the artist says "there are more sonic territories to explore" I imagine the recording studio must be a personal fart huffing chamber.

I do not enjoy music like this at all

vibin'

This was a really strange blend of a lot of different kinds of music...

Ok, ништа специјално.

Man, it’s so easy to mess up electronic music. It’s really easy for something like “atmospheric drum and bass” to be really fucking boring. And my intuition is sometimes unnaturally good. I’ve looked at album covers before, and been able to tell I’m not gonna like it. I’m aware that judging a book by its cover is bad, but I really don’t care when I’m right. Really, this album has no right to feel as gray and lifeless as it does. I’m not really sure why this is even on the list. It’s probably the lowest rated album I’ve listened to so far, and doesn’t have any big hits, or is really popular, in any way. The mix of drum and bass and this really unique South Asian percussive style, among other interesting ideas, should be the recipe for a delightfully experimental record. This is simply anything but. It falls flat on its face from the beginning. The opening track is a good example. Don’t make an 11 minute long song if it’s mostly 11 minutes of nothing interesting. Sutrix is the only mildly interesting song. Actually it’s a pretty good song. The drums hit the hardest, and it sounds way heavier and intense than the rest of the album. It’s what I thought the whole album was going to sound like. Why doesn’t the whole album sound like this? It’s disappointing. But I wasn’t expecting much from this anyway. Rating: 4/10

Já já, þetta er allt í lagi. Smá tabla, smá electróník, smá seiðandi. Ekki grípandi, ekki til að leita uppi, en það má hafa smá ánægju af.

3.75

It’s fine for what it is. Could’ve died without hearing it and felt no regret. “World music” mixed into electronica is such a painfully late 90s cliche. Someone really loved listening to this while wearing a floppy bucket hat.

not ok

Vette plaat, lekkere nummers

3.0 - I won't knock the quality of these arrangements or the production, which all seem quite good. But, there is very little here that feels especially original or innovative. Fusing EDM beats with traditional music feels like an easy way to sanitize old material for a politically correct audience (see also my review for "Play" by Moby). While I wouldn't mind hearing one of these tracks playing at a museum gift shop, I would never choose to endure another full listen.

mid

Just OK. Has some interesting ideas, but really dragged.

1.5

One of the most uninteresting albums on this list. I mean it is OK (he titled it correctly), but nothing noteworthy on this album. There is not one song that I would add to any playlist at all. 2.5

I don't know much about this genre, but some things in music are universal. And this is universally crap. I was so bored the whole time.

Typical electronic album that was made at the time. This reminds me of a better version of these annoying Buddha Bar compilations that you would find everywhere.

An album really stuck in its time and a quite boring one at that.

The few interesting moments were very nice and I love that Talvin Singh tried many unique things on this record. However, it should never had last 1h long and it's mostly not engaging at all. Also, didn't aged very well.

liked it more than i thought i would

Sounded like a kid checking out the functions on a keyboard

The production was satisfyingly well done and most of the beats were pretty catchy, but after an hour, it starts to get tedious. In addition, starting your hour long album off with an eleven minute track is like starting off a marathon in peanut butter. Overall, not my cup of tea. 2/5

3,75 😅

Som meio épico, pegada trilha sonora. Interessante mas não pra ouvir em qualquer ocasião

There are elements here that are interesting and it makes me wonder if Talvin was part of a larger group could his contribution be honed to make something that really grabs you. But the repetition here grates.

This album is great because you can merely look at the artwork and know exactly how it's going to sound. Incredible to learn that this dreck won the Mercury Prize. Without any exaggeration, I genuinely feel one must be on some kind of powerful, reality-bending stimulant to find this kind of music engrossing. To the rest of us, it's sonic wallpaper found in the kind of cafe that charges the thick end of a tenner for a chai latte.

Is this the week I catch up on everything? We'll see! Depends on if you believe in Christmas miracles. Anyway, this is one of those albums that makes it easy to not want to catch up. It's there, it has music, it has some interesting moments, but ultimately it just makes me wonder who on earth thinks that there aren't 1000 other albums better than this.

This is great!! The first track, Traveller, was a curious introduction. The following piece, Butterfly, really made my ears stand to attention; I remained delighted throughout. OK is well-deserving of the 1999 Mercury Music Prize. Talvin Singh was a true breath of fresh air with his contemporary Indian / drum & bass fusion. A wonderful discovery via this project.

Not for me ta

Elektro-indisch-klassik. Kannte ich noch nicht. Hörenswert.

cool sounding noises but not what i'd call music

Ok chill out music that's just ok

interesting sounds pretty interesting and calming

erittäin luova, mahtava yhdistelmä intialaisesta (jos et tiedä, lue oppikirjasta, ravi shankar school of india...) ja elektroniikka pämpytystä. jarre influenssin huomaa siitä. en tykkää kun kaksi eri rumpua eri maailmoista pämpyttää menemään. intialaismais hoilotus, kurkun intonaatioita värähtellen menemään, masiinan luomat bassolinjat. hassu konsepti ja talvin teki sen ihan mainiosti traveller

OK is an album that blends Indian and electronic music, but it failed to impress me. I found the fusion of genres a bit dull, and the tracks lacked coherence and melody. I don’t think I will ever listen to this album again, as I am not a fan of either Indian or electronic music. This album might appeal to some listeners who enjoy experimental and eclectic sounds, but it was not my cup of tea. 2 stars.

Ambitious. Hugely influential on the music that emerged after this released. Dragging indian music into the electronic age with it. The compositions are rich and usually lovely. A wild mix of styles and influences. Production is tight. It's just not very engaging. It's ok.

Surprisingly good.

this should prove to be aloada

Traveller- 6/10 Butterfly- 6.5/10 Sutrix - 7/10 Mombasstic - 6/10 Decca - 6/10 Eclipse - 6/10 OK - 8/10 Light - 7/10 Disser - 7/10 Soni - 6/10 Vikram The Vampire - 5/10 TOTAL - 70.5/110

There is not much to emotionally grab onto, the techno trip beats can be pummeling and when slower it’s not that interesting. OK is worth a second listen but I found this to be more like background music than something I want to listen to again.

Some of the electronic flourishes feel a bit repetitive, but this is a very interesting and unique album where the best songs goes much deeper than just new age background music. This reminds me a little of Yasunori Mitsuda, particularly his work on Xenogears and Chrono Cross. I'm rating OK a little low because some songs fall a little flat for me.

Le concept aurait pu être bien, mais c'est vraiment "la musique électronique cliché des années 90's", c'est très irritant.

Didn't like