Bengali Bantam Youth Experience! is an album by the English band Black Star Liner, released in 1999.[2][3] "Superfly and Bindi" was released as a single and peaked at No. 78 on the UK Singles Chart.[4][5] The album was nominated for the 1999 Mercury Music Prize.[6] The band supported the album with a UK tour.[7]
Production
The album's sound was in part influenced by the music preferences of vocalist Choque Hosein's international relatives.[8] He was skeptical of being lumped in with the Asian Underground movement, although noted the increased attention.[9] Many of the songs are instrumentals that employ sitars and tablas.[10][11] "Silvini" uses Yorkshire dialect to lampoon England's fascination with Indian culture.[12] "Low BMW" is about the automotive preference of many English Indians.[13] "Pink Rupee" concerns gay life in Asian society.[14]
The Independent noted that "the band derives most of its idiosyncratic character ... from the Indian-Trinidadian vocalist Choque Hossein, whose declamatory toasting style is in the tradition of Bo Diddley and Beefheart and Big Youth: loud and enigmatic and often funny, too."[1]Music Week said that the album "features brief bursts of history-informed rock cross-pollinated with Eastern sounds and Choque's upfront personality."[16]The Observer opined that "at their best, their instrumentals evoke the urban tension of Massive Attack and the Specials' 'Ghost Town'."[17]The Guardian stated that "nobody has ever sounded like this, principally because Kraftwerk weren't born in New Delhi and the Future Sound of London never left their studio."[12]
In 2024, Uncut placed the album at No. 465 on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of the 1990s".[18]
Track listing
Bengali Bantam Youth Experience! track listing
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Sita D"
3:36
2.
"Swimmer"
4:43
3.
"Low BMW"
2:28
4.
"Gurdeep's Yellow Funk"
4:06
5.
"Superfly and Bindi"
3:47
6.
"Pink Rupee"
3:14
7.
"Ethnic Suicide of the Volga Boatmen"
3:58
8.
"Inder Automatic"
3:39
9.
"Khaatoon"
3:06
10.
"Silvini"
3:33
11.
"Dark Shadow"
3:04
12.
"Intafada Powder Line"
2:17
Total length:
41:31
References
^ abGill, Andy (22 January 1999). "Pop: This Week's Album Releases". Features. The Independent. p. 13.
^Donnell, Alison, ed. (2002). Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture. Taylor & Francis. p. 48.
^Wallace, Richard (18 December 1998). "Music". Features. The Mirror. p. 19.
^Bell, Max (22 January 1999). "Leeds' star of Asia Choque Hosein of Black Star Liner has a sense of humour almost as rich as his music". Evening Standard. p. 33.