For all those who religiously catch the show Wednesday evenings on BBC Radio 1, and, like myself, have done so since the early Saturday morning slots, you will be very familiar with their highly credible ‘urban’-style humour - packing Tyson-style punches with their personally phrased ‘sounds of the British Asian urban nation’. Many find their show to be the closest representation of the huge modern Asian (as well as non-Asian, may I add) audience from all over the UK and beyond and if its worth playing and represents urban Asians, at some point it will be on their show.

The BBC radio hosts are consciously aware of their international appeal and with a growing audience particularly in Canada and the US, Bobby and Nihal’s show stands out as there are few covering the same musical styles anywhere. But this is obviously not enough for our boys and they seem ready to take on more and more projects, including hosting special events, shows, tours, and now even emerging on to our terrestrial TV networks presenting shows such as Desi DNA, Bollywood idol and more! To describe their achievements as merely chance would be to under-estimate the mission they are on - ‘promoting all things positive about being British and Asian today, with a passion and emphasis on the arts and music’ (quite the mouthful! -Editor).

I caught their radio show on the Wednesday before the launch which was broadcasted live from Nottingham as part of the Bobby and Nihal tour of the nation currently taking place and many of the tracks from the compilation were played. Those familiar with the show, would have to agree that the double CD is a credible cramming of past, present and some future releases which provides the listener with an insight to the energy and vibe of their show and also acts as a window into the exciting sounds emerging from within the industry. Carrying with it the essence of an Asian party/ club vibe, the CD caters to not only those familiar with the sounds but to generic fans of urban music, offering them the added twist of the currently sought after ethnic spice and masala.

The Dukes of Kensington, as its title suggests, is a reasonably chic venue situated just off Kensington High Street and the evening acted as a networking opportunity for many of the media luvvies present as well as a highly informal opportunity for the rest to relax and chill to the static pace of the evening. Not as upbeat as your usual Bobby and Nihal club night however, the music was okay and the purpose of the evening to act as a launch for mostly media, fans and industry professionals was fulfilled. Some of the familiar faces present during the evening included British Asian Music Awards (BrAma)-nominated MC Hard Kaur, the Sona family rappers, Asjad Nazir from Eastern Eye, Gos from Big Brother fame, Sunny Hundal from asiansinmedia.org, Sneha Mistri, Kenny Desai from the US, and too many more to mention. I have to give an added mention (as promised) to our good old uncleji from Sunrise Radio Mr Sehwak ‘Balle balle’ Singh whose networking skills were on top form during the course of the night. Catch his show on Sunrise if you are into a mix of old and new skool Punjabi music, and as my older family will most likely vouch for, his show has quite a following and proves to be popular across all ages.

In terms of the actual compilation for which this event took place, anticipation for its release had been building for months as these two DJ’s are building on a strong foothold in the British music industry – Bobby’s been around since the very beginnings of the ‘Asian Underground’ and Nihal has been involved actively with the Hip Hop scene’s growth over the past decade. It has to be said that it is an intelligent marketing strategy by the two, as well as the labels involved to act as the driving forces of desi, underground and asian influenced sounds into the mainstream market. For a while we have seen the emergence of an array of Asian compilations released by many artists and record labels in the industry which have all acquired reasonable interest, however the difference with this release is its official association with the BBC. The double CD release is seen as credible; it has funky artwork to assist its mainstream appeal, and generally mixes some of the diverse new sounds emerging from the industry in general.

I don’t think this compilation can be associated too much with any of the other ‘Asian compilations’ around due to some of the points I’ve just mentioned, and it surely is no ‘Buddha Bar’ as this caters to a different taste – not really loungy/chilled out music. However what it does do is accurately reflect the musical symbiosis of two highly respected British Asian DJ’s that are waving the beige flag from the forefront of the industry – be sure to expected many more releases from them in the future!

I am not sure how fellow industry artists, especially those struggling to get noticed despite their talents and abilities, feel about the emergence of compilation albums, however if achieved it is surely a positive move both financially as well as keeping you close to the ‘business’ potentials of the music field. Personally I prefer a more eclectic mix, but I bear no grudges to any positive promotion and interest into our Culture and Arts by the often-stagnant mainstream.

And as the compiling process must have proved quite difficult for the duo who have years of excellent material to choose from, I am sure they are still receiving calls from the many artists who never made the compilation this time, eagerly lining up to be featured on future releases.

If you can’t wait that long, be sure to catch the Bobby and Nihal show on BBC Radio 1, at 9pm UK time on Wednesdays or listen to the archived past week show on their website. (If you haven’t already tuned in, where u been my friends??!!!!)

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