On the heels of the success of “Gettin’ Serious,” Serious Records is back at it again with their latest release “Ne Baliyeh.” With a lineup consisting of production by Jeeti, Kam Frantic, and Dipps Bhamra, and vocals by Lehmber Hussainpuri, Daljit Mattu, Kam Bhamra, and Sabar Koti, this album was destined for success even before production started. This album showcases the talent of the Serious Records group that has already inked Aman Hayer, Lehmber Hussainpuri, and Daljit Mattu to their label in addition to the aforementioned DJs.

For those of you who haven’t heard of Jeeti, he was responsible for the highly successful album “Off the Hook.” The classic Lehmber track “Mela” and Kam Bhamra’s “Aaja Soniye” were two highlights on an overall excellent album. He has produced six tracks on Ne Baliyeh. Kam Frantic has been with the Bhangra industry since the 1980s, involved in percussion and production with some of the biggest stars in the Bhangra industry. He has worked with Malkit Singh and Mehsopuria, and worked with Dr Zeus on the “Original Edit” album.

For me, the lead track on the album is “Patola,” sang by Daljit Mattu and produced by Jeeti. This track is produced much in the Desi style of “Captain Bhangra Da,” and the combination of Mattu’s awesome voice and the upbeat dhol beat yielded a combination that has you hooked from the first time you hear it. Some people note that Daljit is becoming like Lehmber, in that he is starting to be featured on every DJ’s album (reference Ominous DJs “Unfinished Business,” “Gettin’ Serious,” and this album most recently). For me, I think Daljit has all the talent in the world, and a real unique voice,s o I think it’s great as long as the guy doesn’t over-saturate the market like Lehmber!

The next quality track on the album is the title track “Ne Baliyeh,” sang by Lehmber and Kam Bhamra and produced by Jeeti. I thought the uptempo beat was sweet, and the combination of Lehmber and Bhamra on the vocals produced a track that’s perfect for the dance floors. Other good tracks on this release are Sabar Koti’s “Mul,” Kam Bhamra’s “Time Das Ja,” and Balvir Sufi’s “Nachna.” These are all solid tracks that aren’t necessarily the best on the album, but are good in their own ways, and are by no means CD fillers.

Now for the most disappointing track on the album – Lehmber’s “Surma” produced by Kam Frantic. There’s nothing unique to this track, nothing unique about the beat, and honestly, the lyrics and the composition are boring. It’s this release that makes people say that Lehmber needs to take a break from the industry for a while. Or at least monitor what kind of stuff you are releasing, sheesh!

The moral of this album is the following – watch out for Serious Records in 2006! They are stacked with some of the best talent in the industry in Lehmber, Daljit, Jeeti, Aman Hayer, and Kam Frantic. I look forward to their next compilation, and this album gets punjabisongs.com’s 8 out of 10 and is a good buy for 2006.

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Ne Baliyeh - Various Artists [Forum Page]

- Reviewed: Raj Kullar ( Tue May 16 13:23:37 2006 )