If there’s one thing that defines Transglobal Underground it’s their persistence. For a band whose public visibility is largely defined by their 1991 debut ‘Temple Head’, they have continued to mine a rich seam of east-westericism for the past seventeen years, and though their visibility might have dipped, the quality remains consistent. 2004’s ‘Impossible Broadcasting’ re-affirmed Transglobal’s mission statement, and their recent follow-up ‘Moonshout’ seeks to consolidate their continuing relevance.
TU’s palate is broad: from bhangra and desi, through dancehall and ragga, to a growing inclusion of Balkan and arabesque influences. This global genre-hopping could be frustrating in the wrong hands, as such attempts often arrive in a ‘world-lite’ territory of bland commercialism. To their considerable credit, TU have once again kept it real: check the dhol-infused ragga crossover ‘Dancehall Operator’, the Arabic two-step of ‘Awal’ or the drum ‘n’ bass sitar workout ‘Emotional Yoyo’.
Next up, TU feature in a project for Real World, ‘The Imagined Village‘ – cited as “a new look at English folk music fusing fiddles and squeezebox with dub beats and sitars”, featuring players such as Tunng, Billy Bragg, Paul Weller and Benjamin Zephaniah.
More: www.t-g-u.com