Impossible Broadcasting

Transglobal Underground – “Impossible Broadcasting”
Triloka, 2005

Very strong outing from one of the most popular world fusion groups, recorded in London, Budapest, Paris, Prague, Sofia, and Cairo. Mixing dance beats with Indian, African, Brazilian, Eastern European, and other miscellaneous music, TU has produced an album with strong club appeal that is also interesting to listen to. I’ve called these guys overrated in the past, but they deliver the goods this time.

All tracks good. Fo’s picks: 2, 3, 5, 8, 9

1. 1:24 – dubby audio mosaic: street chant, political broadcast bits, deep bassline
2. 3:53 – uptempo sitar ‘n’ sample groove, gospelly chant of “free free free”
3. 5:27 – midtempo, hard-edged groove, reggae vox, taxi lyrics. False fadeout before end
4. 4:33 – fem vox by Trio Bulgarka over hand drums, then electronicized Balkan folk
5. 5:36 – street ambiance, spoken story over cool electro loops, big bass
6. 4:11 – Dancehall/roots reggae with a bhangra-dub beat! Odd, but it works.
7. 5:36 – over the top drama, but great Trio Bulgarka vox. Fast hard beats & sparse breaks
8. 4:59 – Malian rappers (in French) in a stripped down glitchy groove. Political lyrics.
9. 4:51 – deep bass, bouncy beat; odd vocal snippets with Asian/Mideast pop riffs
10. 5:00 – slinky sitar ‘n’ bass melody, speeds up, surprising choral break. Use in a mix.
11. 5:49 – dance-rock beat + sitar, movie samples/sound collage beneath the surface
12. 2:33 – very dark commentary on the dangers of “security”

[Fo] - 7/8/05