DJ CHEB I SABBAH

MAHA MAYA: THE SHRI DURGA REMIXES

  1/  Samarpanam (The Dhuni mix) - dj Cheb i Sabbah
  2/  Shri Durga - State of Bengal
  3/  Durga Puja - TJ Rehmi
  4/  Kese Kese (Where's the Sarangi mix) - Transglobal Underground
  5/  Ganga Dev - Bedouin Ascent
  6/  Kese Kese (Beats of Asia mix) - Bally Sagoo
  7/  Shri Durga (The Organic Science mix) - Fun Da Mental
  8/  Radhe Krishna (The Babu Chandidasa mix) - dj Cheb i Sabbah

          Original tracks PreTooled and engineered by Baba Larry Ji at Nasik
            Studios, Berkeley, California
          Vocals and instrments on the original trakcs recorded by Randy Rood
            at Emeryville Recording Co., Emeryville, California
          Production on the original tracks by DJ Cheb I Sabbah

          2000 - Six Degrees Records (USA), 657036 1021-2 (CD)

REVIEWS :

When I put Maha Maya on my CD player I was automatically transported into a Unicef store or a cheesy 18 and up club. I do dig global influence in electronica, especially when Indian beats and vocals are used artfully, but someone like Talvin Singh clearly has a better grasp on this than the artists remixing dj Cheb I Sabbah. Blending world music with electronica beats is a difficult task, and many DJs seem to think they can do it rather well. Unfortunately, instead of blowing people's minds, these DJ's leave the listener feeling as if he/she is listening to a badly remixed song from another country. This is exactly what happens to Maha Maya, in this case the country being remixed is India.

Another issue with this album is that it doesn't really break any new ground. Maha Maya is a remixed version of dj Cheb I Sabbah's previous album, Shri Durga. Because of this, one would think that new, creative, and interesting approaches and ideas would come out of it, especially since numerous other DJs are involved. Unfortunately, the result is far from intriguing. Their take on the art of remixing seems to be based on predictable guidlines, putting beats and samples precisely where one would expect them. We can see that dj Cheb I Sabbah has talent individually by looking at own productions ("Samarpanam" and "Radhe Krishna"), but that's not enough to save things here.

Sonia Zjawinski (courtesy of the Skinny website)