International Music News - SHOUTcast Blog

The people behind SimplyBhangra.com have now launched a 24/7 online television network, SimplyBhangra.tv. The network, currently running in its BETA testing phase, will offer bhangra fans the opportunity to both find their favorite artists and discover new talent on a non-stop basis. The site has become an important resource for bhangra fans, including a number of free downloads from artists such as Aman Sandhu, G Deep, Indy Sagu, Pree Mayall and Dark MC.

While a top 10 anything, let alone a top 10 Bollywood Movies list, is going to be the source of controversy, nothing is worthwhile without a bit of debate. Bollywood has become a global word over the past decade, with American and Indian film music slowly merging and becoming inseparable. We may still have some time before that happens, but we are well on our way, thanks to the amazing films that came before. I hope you enjoy reminiscing with both the scenes and sounds of these top ten unforgettable moments in Bollywood movie history. A special thanks to the team of experts that helped me compile this list: Roy Wadia, Diana "DK Bollygirl" Khambata, Sankar Sury, Girish Raj and Lynn McGuire.

10. 'Kal Ho Naa Ho'
The second highest grossing movie in India in 2003, 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' was Nikhil Advani's first job directing. The romantic film was set in New York City and featured Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan and Jaya Bachchan. While filled with images of despair and tragedy, with Shah Rukh's character eventually succumbing to death, the ending, as with most Bollywood movies, left the characters hopeful. While the directors licensed Roy Orbison's classic 'Pretty Woman' for the film, Sonu Nigham's title song, featured below, is what made this film unforgettable to millions of fans.

Tabla master Zakir Hussain returns to New York City for two nights, March 12-13, with his Masters of Percussion project at Rose Theater in Frederick P Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Hussain is no stranger to taking his two-drum kit into new territory; he has helped found ensembles such as Shakti, Tabla Beat Science and Planet Drum, working with artists such as Bill Laswell, Mickey Hart, Bela Fleck and Charles Lloyd over his four-decade recording career. For this latest tour, his group includes his brother, Taufiq Qureshi, as well as Sridar Parthsarathy, Navin Sharma and the Motilal Dhakis from Bengal, not to mention sarangi player Sabir Khan and violin duo Ganesh and Kumaresh.

Presented by World Music Institute, the organization is offering a special offer. If you buy two tickets at the $70 price, you get a free Indian music album from the company's extensive catalog. You can watch a video of Zakir Hussain and the Masters of Percussion live in Perth after the jump.

While studying computer science in New Delhi would help Lokesh eventually learn the applications he'd need to create music, it was not until he moved to San Francisco that he found his sonic calling. With the release of 'Utopia' on April 6, he will have taken his longtime appreciation of electronic producers like Sphongle, Midival Punditz and Nasha into his own guitar-driven beat-driven psychedelica.

Elevating his pragmatic senses by undergoing explorations of his own consciousness, Lokesh found that music helped him to speak in ways he could never quite express before. He knew it could never be a purely subjective experience, however, stating "Music being an abstract form of expression, you cannot directly give out a message in it, rather what matters is how the listener interprets it and what he creates out of it. What is happening is not the absolute truth."

Listen to DJ mixes and samples of 'Utopia' on Lokesh's SoundCloud page. You can also watch a video for his song 'Maya' after the jump.

Senegalese-American R&B singer Aliaune Badara Akon Thiam, better known as Akon, will be arriving in Mumbai this week to sing on the soundtrack for the upcoming Anubhav Sinha film, 'Ra.1.' While there have been rumors floating around that the vocalist will act in the movie, those were denied by Sinha, who stated, "Akon is only singing for our film. He is not acting in 'Ra.1'."

The film is being composed by the team of Vishal Dadlani and Skekhar Ravjiani, who have previously served as musical directors for 'Jhankaar Beats,' 'Om Shanti Om,' 'Tashan' and 'Bachna Ae Haseeno.' Akon is also expected to return to India in April for live engagements alongside singer and composer Aadesh Shrivastav.

The film 'Ra.1' features Shah Rukh Khan, who will lip-sync Akon's lyrics in the movie. Khan roped in Hollywood writer David Benullo to write the screenplay for this futuristic sci-fi thriller, in which he plays a superhero.

Bhangra singer and Bollywood playback artist Sukhwinder Singh (Sukhi) recently released his latest album, 'Parakh.' Breaking through in 1999 by winning the Best Male Playback Award at the Filmfare Awards for AR Rahman's song 'Chaiyya Chaiyya,' from the film 'Dil Se,' it was later featured in the musical 'Bombay Dreams,' as well as in Spike Lee's film, 'Inside Man.' He also sang on Rahman's song 'Jai Ho,' from 'Slumdog Millionaire,' introducing Sukhi to a worldwide audience.

Check out the video for his latest song, 'Do Pair Gidhe Wich,' after the jump.

The BBC Asian Network recently announced the complete list of nominees for this year's UKAMA (U.K. Asian Music Awards), to be held on March 11, and hosted by Bobby Friction and Sophie Choudry. Among the list of nominees are obvious choices like Jay Sean and Imran Khan, but some may be surprised to see Natasha Khan on that list. She's better known to most as the indie darling Bat For Lashes.

See the full list of nominees after the jump.