Naya Beat Volume 2: South Asian Dance And Electronic Music 1988-1994 2LP

Naya Beat Records reveals Volume 2 of its critically acclaimed series dedicated to South Asian dance and electronic music. Label founders Turbotito and Ragz have curated an exceptional 13-track compilation with a focus on an overlooked era of house, street soul, and downtempo music released between ’88 and ’94.

While Volume 1 explored early 80s Balearic, synth pop, and disco, Volume 2 uncovers lost classics from later in the decade, a unique era of cross-cultural collaboration in diasporic communities in cities like London and New York and when South Asian music was infused with acid house, New Beat, and dub.

There is a true wealth of sounds here, from The Jets Orkhestra’s organ-fuelled house romp ‘X-290’ to the downtempo splendour of the Asha Bhosle fronted West India Company. Lady M lends the Hindi house track and arpeggiated wonder of ‘Kali Raat’ and Mantra’s eponymously titled cut is a hypnotic gem. Featuring other scintillating Balearic house, dub, and street soul from the likes of Asha Puthli, Bappi Lahiri, Johnny Zee, and Kuljit Bhamra, this double album is a treasure of never-before-reissued and previously impossible-to-find holy grails.

Cut to vinyl by Grammy-nominated Frank Merritt from The Carvery, the release features Naya Beat’s stunning signature artwork and exhaustive liner notes.

Naya Beat Records is focused on uncovering foundational dance and electronic music from the subcontinent and South Asian diaspora through reissues, remixes and compilations. Success came with ‘Naya Beat Volume 1’, named Vinyl Factory’s number 1 reissue of 2021, and has been followed up with other fascinating releases including a two-part remix project with disco-jazz legend Asha Puthli, a brilliant bhangra acid house EP with Mr. Scruff, and the superb Bollywood compilation ‘Awaaz Series 1’.