Anyone know a popular 'desi' website called DesiHits?  Well.. they've just gotten a new site that's focused on blogging - apparently with guest DJs making posts.

The site's focus is on 'channels' - basically blog categories, such as 'Urban Desi' 'Bollywood' 'Bhangra' etc - pretty mainstream stuff... Oh wait, and then they've got one called 'Global Underground' that is referred to as a 'vibrant musical movement' that entails 'mind blowing electronica beats and head spinning dubplates.'  Ahem, mind blowing what???

Interesting?  Well, sort of - one of their bloggers is Maneesh the Twister (of Dhamaal SF) ... but he just seems to be blogging about himself for the moment...

Has anyone elsenoticed the increasing useage of indian vocals in trance/prograssive house music over the past couple of years?

Particularily of note: one of my fave online radio streams, http://www.xtcradio.com/ , has featured tunes/remixes by Cheb i Sabbah and others via shows produced by Michael Darius and Tony Estrada!?  

Hopefully this is a trend - I couldn't believe my ears when I noticed Estrada busting some of the cuts we feature on our podcasts etc, but then I quickly realised that my surprise was totally stupid - I've only been expecting to hear indian electronica within the musical scenes that produce it and wel, that's just not what this site is here to promote! :)

Keep up the good stuff XTC, if any of you have been hearing the music we talk about/play here in other unexpected places, drop a line in/comment on this posting yaar!

q./ 

If you're like me, you never grew up speaking hindi at home - let alone school or even that little pakora shoppe at the corner where you still buy your long distance calling cards (ahem).  Nope, for us poor fellows distanced from our cultural lingua, Bollywood always held a little more kitsch value..

Part of that kitsch was the whole lack-of-subtitles thing... remember the badass old days before DVD?  Man its fun to shout silly words atop Amitabhs smooth bollymafia speeches!

I just discovered a site that lets you take those crafty narratives and throw them right onto video clips - check out Bombay TV at http://www.grapheine.com/bombaytv/ and bust some new  supergoonda words onto the Don himself!

The BBC Asian Network has officially announced the new line-up of presenters and it shows to promise new music with a view on sustainability - the plan is to support the (South) Asian music industry as well as build a more stable station.

**In the switch up Punjabi Hit Squad DJ/producer Mark Strippel (aka Markie Mark) has been appointed the Head of Music and our-man-from-the-pind Bobby Friction is to take over Adil Ray’s evening show - yes, that means Bobby will now be hosting a daily show on nation-wide radio int he UK as well as his hugely popular weekly wednesday night slot with Nihal Arthanayake on Radio1. A couple of weeks back he assured me that the new show will not be more of the same - he’s all about new music and will be pushing alongside Markie Mark for more new South Asian music to be played on air - so all you budding producers out there lurking in the digital shadows, drop a demo in to those chaps yaar.

Adil’s jumping to an earlier slot shifting into drivetime.

BTW, in that photo to the left, notice how Bobby, Adil and that one dude up front are the only ones who look young’n'hip? Interesting given that Bob Shennan, the station controller, is now actively targetting a crowd under 35.

More @ AiM: http://www.asiansinmedia.org/news/article.php/radio/1277

Anyone checked out Video Wallah ?  Its a new site I just stumbled on from the Shiva Soundsystem’s crajjy blog.  The site seems to pretty much be an archive of videos shot (possibly edited as well?) by Laura Taflinger of  http://www.revoltinghoosier.com/ an Indiana, USA, transplant in London.

Definately worth checking out, Video Wallah has some great footage shot over the past few years including Brown music events in the UK and India - (eg. Shiva’s co-founder Nerm beating up an imaginary friend whilst DJing in Bombay ,  female Punjabi/UK MC HardKaur busting some freestyle etc..).

As well, the site features some interesting Public Service Announcements with the ‘quit smoking’ theme that are pretty innovative in speaking to a South Asian audience.

The site was created by EthnoTechno.com ’s founder etc Sank - a NYC based web/graphic designer, who also has a hand in ClubWallah , an event listing site that started up sometime last year to focus on alternative South Asian music events (ie. with Asian Underground/Indian Electronica tunes instead of the mass-appealing r’n'b/bhangra club styled beats).

Club Wallah seems to be on hiatus at the moment but in all this web-wallah madness, I’m wondering when I’ll be able to boot up my trusty ol’ PC and order up some Mittaa Paans over the web from PaanWallah.com? Perhaps that’s why their on break (new site in the works Sank?) - come on Yaar, give us something we can chew!

q./