Cornershop is the brainchild of Tjinder Singh—British and of Indian descent, which greatly influences Cornershop's music. Named after a reference to the stereotype in Britain that Indians and Asians owned streetcorner shops, Singh and his shifting lineup of musicians create a sound that perfectly combines the best of Eastern and Western music with seamless fusion, leaning heavily on British indie, pop, and dance from the mid-90's. Their breakout album, 1997's When I Was Born for the 7th Time, featured an eclectic mix of turntables, synthesizers, samplers, guitars, and traditional Indian instruments like the sitar, dholaki, or tambura.
If the name sounds vaguely familiar to anyone, it is probably because Cornershop scored a major hit off their previously mentioned album, thanks to Norman Cook's (aka Fatboy Slim) remix of their song "Brimful of Asha," a tribute to music (especially that of Asha Bhosle) in Indian film. The remix was very subtle, but its increased dance tendency and name recognition propelled it to the top of British and US charts. Here's the music video for the remix, which is terribly 90's and quite frankly kind of embarrassing:
Anyway, the real find—and track that I want to share—is off of their criminally underrated 2002 album Handcream for a Generation. "Spectral Mornings" is the pinnacle of their music, in my mind. It's a 14-minute opus that begins with some Indian singing and evolves into a sprawling psych jam of sitar and guitar mastery (Noel Gallagher of Oasis lends a hand for the guitar portion). I have no clue what this song is about and I could really care less!
Download: Spectral Mornings
Download: Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook Remix)
Apparently, Cornershop are expected to release their 6th album, Cornering the Market some time in 2009, so keep an eye out, since 7 years between albums seems to suit them just fine.
Nice post. However, I see you only have one Friday Find, whereas I have many. What a pity.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work, though!
blog harder, junker.
ReplyDelete