Manjeet Kondal - Bhangra House Xtc '2024

Tracks list

Manchester icon, Ninja Tune regular and eclectic selector Mr. Scruff aka Andy
Carthy contacted Naya Beat in 2021 to compliment them on their first
compilation. It was a fortuitous moment. Bhangra is inherently intertwined with
the UK. A unique confluence of diasporic Punjabi folk music, UK dance music
production and other influences like dancehall and ragga. Few possess
Andy’s knowledge and heritage of UK dance music and culture. Not only did
he share a deep love of Bhangra but Naya Beat had just received the stems for
‘Holle Holle’ from Khazanchi. A remix was destined to be.

A tribute to a forgotten era of late 80s/early 90s Bhangra influenced by house,
dub and hip-hop, the EP features Scruff remixes of Kondal’s 'Ishkaan De
Mamle' and several flavours of a new track ‘Pyaar’ by Turbotito &
Ragz. You might remember the original version of Ishkaan from Naya Beat Volume
1. Already a certifiable banger, Mr. Scruff works the track into scintillating
new territory. A mind blowing, snaking, stripped down and trippy acid house
odyssey. A counterpoint to Mr. Scruff’s acid house workout, Turbotito &
Ragz employ an assortment of Kondal’s vocal stems from ‘Holle
Holle’ to deliver a blissed out dub tribute. To boot, the 12” comes
with amazing artwork inspired by Bhangra sleeves from the era!

Manjeet Singh Kondal made his start in Bhangra in 1980 as the founding member
and dholak player with the legendary band Alaap, one of the early Bhangra
pioneers, and whose first three albums Khazanchi produced. In 1983 Kondal
decided to go solo as a vocalist and asked Khazanchi to produce music for his
album. Their first album ‘Holle Holle’ was ground-breaking with the
title track Holle Holle becoming a household hit and wining best song of the
year at the UK Asian Pop Awards. The album featured lesser known but nonetheless
choice cuts, including ‘Ishkaan De Mamle’.

The success of Kondal’s Holle Holle is closely linked to his partnership
with Deepak Khazanchi. Khazanchi, who cut his teeth by working with giants such
as Trevor Horn, has extensive credits on everything from early Hindi disco
crossover albums like Sharon and Musarrat's 'Chal Disco Chal' and Nazia and
Zoheb’s ‘Young Tarang’ to synth-pop band Blancmange and
iconic fusion band Monsoon. He played a pivotal role in the 1980s UK Bhangra
scene with his work with bands like Alaap and Heera and by embracing synths,
drum machines and other elements of dance music in his productions. This
aesthetic is on full display in ‘Holle Holle’. Kondal and Khazanchi
would collaborate on two more bhangra albums, ‘Wicked And Wild’
(1987) and ‘Let’s Party’ (1993).

This is Naya Beat’s sixth release in a series of reissues, reworks,
remixes and compilations dedicated to uncovering electronic and dance music from
the subcontinent and South Asian diaspora. 

Tracklist:
1.01 - Manjeet Kondal - Ishkaan De Mamle (Mr. Scruff Remix) (9:55) 
1.02 - Turbotito, Ragz, Manjeet Kondal - Pyaar (5:19) 
1.03 - Manjeet Kondal - Ishkaan De Mamle (Mr. Scruff Instrumental Dub) (8:37) 
1.04 - Turbotito, Ragz, Manjeet Kondal - Pyaar (Lovey Dubby Dub) (5:21) 
1.05 - Manjeet Kondal - Ishkaan De Mamle (Mr. Scruff Vocal Strip Down) (8:37) 
1.06 - Manjeet Kondal - Ishkaan De Mamle (Mr. Scruff Edit) (4:47) 
1.07 - Turbotito, Ragz, Manjeet Kondal - Pyaar (Edit) (3:14)

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