Hip Bop N’ Cool - Various Artists (Times Music)

WHAT is Hip Bop? well, in part atleast this.

The ten tracks collected here demonstrate how the electric bass and ‘70s funk gave way to the ubiquitous keyboard bounce on the cusp of the new hip bob era. As compilations go, this is a strong one, smoothly spanning the different sub-genres and retaining an evocative, trance feel. And there are some real classics included, from Tom Browne’s belting anthem Too Hot (Long Hot Summer Mix) to essence all star’s You Go To My Head and eerie mood of Michale "Patches" Stewart’s Fields of Gold to Tom Browne’s Un-break my Heart. The album’s high point comes when Joachim Kuhn, Daniel Humair, J.F. Jenny Clark take their turn to give outlandish hip bob feel with Last Tango In Paris. Other tracks worth checking out are Lenny Whites’ Truth - The Breath of Life. Urbanators’ Hopscotch and Dr Lonnie Smith’s The Lady Sings The Blue Alternate Take. All at full length, all, in the end, with much to answer for.

Indian Ocean - Kandisa (Times Music) «««

Music that actively engages the head and emotions is a rare beast but Indian Ocean are just such a treat. They use acoustic instruments and bass complimented with distinctive vocals. Haunting melancholy hooks and cylical rhythms weave in and out of driving, evolving grooves, as bits of the past are remodelled and evocative touches are added. The result is intense, but absorbing. Kandisa sees major themes giving way to meaningful topics, melody developing in the treated vocal tunes and the more exploratory aspects encased with a denser main flow. It’s eerie, dark, yet compelling stuff, uncertainty amid majesty. The highlights are Khajuraho and the title track, both showcasing Asheem Chakravarty, Amit Kilam, Rahul Ram and Susmit Sen at their best. With full strings section - an accessible yet challenging experience.

The Summer Album - Various Artists {Sony Music}««

With summer at its peak, what better way to beat the heat than chilling out with some of the coolest tracks! The most chilled-up track Rigga Digga Dong Song by Passion Fruit is sure to become this summer’s anthem. Many might mistake a summer album to be a reggae album, but this one’s an exception. This album believes in giving you a taste of everything, from rap to techno to funk to even Indipop. The guaranteed chill-out tracks include Hot Hot Hot by Blakc Lace, Lambada by Kaoma, Best Friend by Toy Box, Iko Iko by Cyndi Lauper, Guantanamera by Wyclef Jean, Sun is Shining by Bob Marely vs Funkstar De Luxe, Parade De Tettas by Vengaboys, Hotel California (Spanish Mix) by Gypsy Kings, Here Comes The Hotstepper by Ini Kamoze and Kya Soorat Hai by Bombay Vikings.

Ooh! Now that’s what we call on helluva cool album.

The Great Indian Rock - Various Artists {RSJ}«««

Various Artists The RSJ is back with its annual ritual of presenting Indian rock bands at their best. Like always Vol. IV too is the result of the Great Indian Rock Talent Search. Here you’ll find the bands that managed to reach to the final round and performed in the grand finale that took place in Delhi. The compilation kick-starts with a surprisingly mellow fusion track titled Ganga by Delhi-based band Mrigya, offering wonderful violin by Sharat Chandra Srivastava of Parikrama fame, followed by another Delhi-based band Arth (India’s answer to Junoon) doing Hai Macha. Gautam Cheema creates some fireworks with his band Nightmare On Elm Street on Need A Break { Ewige Blumuenkraft} . Mumbai-based trio Cusp retain their style with Parasite other tracks doing justice to ‘rock’ include Free by Envision and Angel by Ashtoreth. However tracks that eventually steal the show remain Sneak Preview performed by Orange "permanent residents of The Great Indian Rock Street, Can Chimp Live Forever by the notorious Killer Tomatoes and North-East fusion Chonkhom Plilawa by Rewben Mashangawa.

ALBUM OF THE MONTH
Travis - The Man Who {Sony Music}«««

Formed in 1997 this Glaswegian quartret managed to be the first band signed by Andy Macdonald’s new label. Their anachronistic brand of partial-bluster, partial-hippy rock won them instant recognition in the music world. Frank Healy (singer, songwriter), Andy Dunlop (guitar), Dougie Danyne (bass) and Neil Primrose (drums) together presented a melodic and an awesome atmospheric depth that helped set Travis apart from their contemporaries. The boys are back with another thrilling experience titled The Man Who- derived from Oliver Stack’s book on schizophrenia. The album offers rich emotional textures with a vast collection of grooves and diverse musical spirits. From Simon and Garfunkel to Plastic Ono Band, John Barry to Jacques Brel, Ennio Morricone to Hunky Dory-era Bowie, the music has a slight impression of all. One moment you are awestruck with the effects of The Fear and in a jiffy you find yourself relaxing on the soothing mellow-down dynamics of As You Are. Produced by Nigel Godrick (Radiohead, Beck, R.E.M., Pavement), The Man Who is a wee bit more grown-up album than Good Feeling. You can trust the quartet to go to any extent to get the sound they want. The desired radio-in-traffic effect on Slide Show was actually created using Neil’s car cruising the mean streets of St. Johns Wood. The French passages on Last Laugh Of The Laughter were translated by five Gallic hairdressers that Fran met in Israel. As You Are reminds one of John Lennon on The Beatles’ Across The Universe. Why Does It Always Rain On Me is an homage track to Jeff Buckley. This is Travis....with a huge step forward

— Saurabh & Gaurav