Hadji & LMO

The Hindi film/bhangra remix thing is certainly not a new phenomenon, but Indian Style is one of the few discs to come with it on a straight-up breakbeat tip - and in Canada, too. No tacky cross-fades between of Puffy Coombs and Bollywood's latest on this one. The Montreal duo of Hadji & LMO are mining for drum & bass, big beats, hardcore hip-hop and anything else that's just simply rough to go with spliffed-out dubs of Hindi samples. Tracks like "Somewhere In India" (featuring the hooks from the current wedding anthem, "Pyar Haman Pyar") and "Le Gayi," from Dil To Pagal Hai, are neither as sentimental nor melodically rich as the originals, but their mixes are totally buzzing with pressure-dropping energy. That said, "Pardesi Pardesi" is a rare case where their beats makes the song's sugary lines much more tasteful than the original. And the echo-dub treatments on Guide's "Mere Dil" stretch the vocals so far out, it may as well be recognised as the duo's own composition than as a remix. It isn't fair to compare the weight of these floor-destroying tracks with the work of more accomplished artists like Talvin Singh and Nitin Sawney, but there's no doubt that at least for now, Hadji & LMO stand as a strong Canadian counterpart to the early dance floor jams of Joi and Badmarsh.