Product description Sophomore album for the innovative British dance artist, his followup to 1998s O.K.. Singh created a fusion of Indian bhangra music and drumnbass electronica in addition to achieving fame his remixes for Bjork, David Bowie and LTJ Bukem to name a few. This release features a whole host of musicians from the classical music scene of India. 11 tracks including the UK bonus track, Bobby Style. 2001 release. Standard jewelcase. .co.uk Talvin Singh's skill or the wonder of his music is his ability to move in between worlds. He seems just as comfortable with Hindi pop or devotional/classical Indian forms as London's jungle or downtempo styles a la Kruder and Dorfmeister. All of the new tracks contained within Ha are vocal numbers and part of the appeal must be the lure/mystery of the exotic--unless you are an expert it is impossible to tell if you are listening to Bombay pop, traditional desert song or Holy Hinduisms. The Western studio work is scrupulous and detailed: ambient textures, new tricks/techniques and his trademark drum'n'tabla version of drum'n'bass. And while you might expect hip meditation music (and he does do this at times) Talvin's rhythms and b-lines are often cranked-up, urban and propulsive. There's also a wry humour in excitable MCs dedicating tracks to the 'Bhangra boogie girls'. Not vastly different from his Mercury Prize winning 1999 debut OK this new LP suggests Singh is going deeper into his aesthetic--or getting better at what he does best. - Tony Marcus
B**L
WELL CRAFTED
This beauty even surpasses the album OK for me. It is well crafted and sounds wonderful in almost any situation whether you are driving, relaxing, in the bath or having a dinner party it seems to blend seamlessly. Again, as I mentioned in my review of OK, this has that unique blend of beats, ethnic sounds and edgy experimental fusion. To be fair, at 1 pence and OK at 1 pence anyone would be silly not to buy these. Look out for Nitin Sawhney alsoas he has some fine albums in a similar genre.
B**L
Five Stars
Gr8 CD
S**N
Another Gem
Fantastic Album! Love the whole feel of it and playing it often on the M4 and the grooves lighetn the journey superbly & relieve the boredom.....
E**E
great music
beautiful music !
C**S
Five Stars
bargain good cd
G**
Quick delivery Plays as good as any other CD I own & the tunes ...
Quick deliveryPlays as good as any other CD I own & the tunes are awsom too
Z**O
Shabash Talvin!!!!
Just received the album from UK. And wow!! is all can think of for now. What an excellent album. An excellent sophomore effort by Talvin. What an amazing mixture of sounds that this album possesses. Talvin's done wonders to the desi classical music by painting Picasso like sonic scenery of the old and the new (i.e. abstract). His tabla mastery oozes out this album. I was blown away by his Tala Matrix album with Ustad Zakir Hussain, but "Ha" takes his creativity to a higher level. The title of the album is indeed so descriptive of the content. Usually most sophomore efforts frizzle and drizzle, this one defies that logic, hence Talvin proclaims "Ha" to all the doubters etc....:)Anyhow, I loved Talvin's show in San Francisco. This album makes me feel proud of the new "global" sounding original artists! Talvin's done music proud! Dance! Dance! Dance!!
F**S
To buy or not to buy...
There are just so many different opinions about Talvin Singh's 'Ha' as compared to his previous albums. I'll say at once that, to me, 'OK' most evidently exhibited more musical complexity, ingenuity, groundbreaking styles, and timeless quality than either Anokha (do you even remember tunes therefrom?) or 'Ha'. So back to the topic: What's wrong with 'Ha'? Nothing. If you love hip music made easy-listening, 'Ha' is packed full of these hackneyed tunes that is bound to woo you into delirium. It takes NO EFFORT to like it; musical sensibilities literally ooze from Track 1 to 11. Therein lies the only pitfall - because it is so radio-friendly, 'Ha' inevitably lacks the same musical depth, inventiveness, style and endearing quality of 'OK'. 'Ha' is glib as a smooth-talker; whereas 'OK' demands your fullest attention and wows you with its intricacies (which would only reveal itself after many repeated and patient listens.)As an album striving to be ground-breaking or definitive, 'Ha' simply isn't OK!
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