Talvin Singh OK (Island)
Talvin Singh is the Anglo-Asian taste-maker responsible for this fusion between East and West. On paper, merging Indian classicism with the electronic heart and soul of Western techno may have all the appearance of a messy and difficult sound clash, but when Talvin Singh is holding the conductor's baton, it begins to make sense. Here is a debut album which fully embraces the future, yet recycles those elements of the past which still make sense or can make sense in this context. Tracks like Soni and Butterfly, which could pass for Bollywood soundtracks, sit alongside the hyper drum & bass patterns of Traveller. Singh effortlessly joins the dots between the tablas and saroods on one side and the more conventional spread of studio trickery on the other, to produce an album which is both challenging and vibrant. The means may be diverse, but the end is electrifying.
By Jim Carroll
M People: "Best Of M People"(Deconstruction)
M People's house-move from club-land to chart-land has been largely effortless, and this compilation shows us why. From the start, Mike Pickering and Mike Heard's musical genius has revolved around the power and punch of the song, something in which most club-land acts rarely invested time or effort. Add the emotional panache of Heather Small's voice and you have the recipe for something rather special. As has been proven since their breakthrough in the early 1990s, their blend of soul and houselite is a winning Lottery ticket. They're all here - Movin' On Up, One Night In Heaven, Search For A Hero, Renaissance, Don't Look Any Further - and chances are you will know every one of them by heart.
By Jim Carroll
Rza Rza Is Bobby Digital (Gee Street)
The latest Wu-Tang Clan member to bust a solo move, Rza is the man who has marshalled the group's collective efforts and overseen the many solo albums over the past three years. Bobby Digital is where Rza makes a solo stand and, not surprisingly, it is both ambitious and energising. The sounds we have come to expect from the clan are in full effect (sweeping strings, soulful superfly touches, cracking beats and impassioned MC-ing) and, in keeping with the Wu-Tang ethos, there are plenty of guest turns. While Method Man and Ghostface Killer put in fine performances, it's the vocal skills of such new female names as Lisa l'Anson and Lorenza Calamanderie which really rock. Meanwhile, we can but hazard a guess at where Rza is hoping to take his Blaxploitation superhero alter-ego, Bobby Digital. Maybe Hollywood is beckoning after all.
By Jim Carroll
