Artist: Asha Puthli
Title: Disco Mystic – Select Remixes Volume 1
Label: Naya Beat Records
Cat. #: NAYA-005
Format: Vinyl, Digital
Release Date: 22nd September 2023
Tracklist:
1. Asha Puthli – I Am Song (Sing Me) (Yuksek Remix)
2. Asha Puthli – Space Talk (Maurice Fulton Remix)
3. Asha Puthli – Lies (Kraak & Smaak Remix)
4. Asha Puthli – One Night Affair (Turbotito & Ragz Remix)
5. Asha Puthli – Right Down Here (Psychemagik Remix)
6. Asha Puthli – I’m Gonna Dance (Jitwam Remix)

Turbotito and Ragz’s electrifying new Naya Beat label has curated a cultured list of remixers to add their spin to the work of legendary Indian vocalist Asha Puthli. This essential remix album features Yuksek, Jitwam, Maurice Fulton, Psychemagik, Kraak & Smaak, and Turbotito & Ragz.

Naya Beat, which translates from Hindi as ‘new beat’, is focused on uncovering foundational electronic sounds from the subcontinent and South Asian diaspora through reissues, remixes and compilations. It found quick success with its first release, ‘Naya Beat Volume 1: South Asian Dance and Electronic Music 1983 – 1992′, followed by a rare 1985 Hindi New Wave album by Pinky Ann Rihal. The label now offers up the first of two releases based around the music of cosmic disco pioneer, Studio 54 icon and jazz improviser Asha Puthli, an artist who has recorded, sung or shared the stage with the likes of Roy Ayers, Alice Coltrane, Grace Jones, Barry White, Andy Warhol and many more. From David Mancuso’s The Loft, to Giorgio Moroder’s early work with Donna Summer, to hip-hop where she has been sampled extensively, Asha’s musical influence and impact is profound. She was the first artist of South Asian descent to successfully crossover and make a mark on dance, jazz and pop culture in the West.

For this LP, the label tracked down the long mythologised original stems and recordings of Puthli’s most seminal albums, including ‘The Devil is Loose’, and working closely with Asha, they have tasked a series of producers inspired by her work to remix her music.

Yuksek opens up with a pumping disco remix of ‘I Am Song (Sing Me)’ awash with uplifting synths and big claps next to the original vocals, which soar to the heavens. The seminal ‘Space Talk’ is remixed by Maurice Fulton into super steamy and late-night territory. The live drums and jumbled percussion are lit up with soulful chords as Puthli’s carefully delivered vocal seduces up top. ‘Lies’ (Kraak & Smaak Remix) rides on fat-bottomed drums and bass that unfold with a dub swagger beneath a nebulous eco-system of cosmic synths and dramatic vocals. Label heads Turbotito & Ragz flip ‘One Night Affair’ into a leggy disco celebration with sweeping synths and bright effects, and Psychemagik’s ‘Right Down Here’ is a pulsating mix of dark, snaking bass and drums with deep space ambience and raw hits making for a turbulent and tense atmosphere. Lastly, Jitwam closes out with a smooth disco sound laced with dynamic drums and cruising chords next to another sensuous top line from Asha Puthli.

This is a stunning collection of remixes that pay homage to the originals while taking them into new sonic territory. A series of single drops will precede the whole LP; Yuksek (21st July), Maurice Fulton (4th August), Turbotito & Ragz (18th August), Psychemagik (1st September), Kraak & Smaak (15th September), Jitwam + LP (21st September).