The desi band Swami has moved away from its traditional sound to something more globalised for its upcoming album – Equalize.

They say: “Previous Swami albums were more of an exploration into the British-Asian club experience of London and Birmingham… However, in the futuristic globalized music era, as leading pioneers of British urban music, Swami are making bolder and bigger statements by seeking out much wider inspiration.”

“The brand new album ‘Equalize’ ventures way beyond the local London studios with a new found excitement of globe hopping melodies, crossing rhythms and languages unlike any predecessor.”

Their latest single – Hey hey – was recently number 2 1 on the BBC Asian Network chart.
www.swamimusic.com

On the BBC Birmingham website, local businessman Nadeem Malik is writing a blog during the month of Ramadan, sharing his thoughts throughout the holiest of Muslim months.

After our meeting we talk in detail about the state of Muslims in the UK, his intrigue and questions about Ramadan were enlightening to me. After my meetings I dash into the Bullring, I remember when this place was alive with market traders, and I expect the same hive of activity, but the place seems a little slower, maybe a little happier.

The people I walk past are all smiling, but I’m not smiling at them. Soon the contagious grin from the last person who smiled at me slides across my face and I find myself walking along New Street with a smile. I guess I’m starting to understand the phrase that a smile in life is charity.

The Guardian reporter Vikram Dodd has been appointed Crime Correspondent for the paper, covering a maternity leave.

BBC North West Tonight has a new co-presenter sitting alongside Gordon Burns from this month as part of a major re-launch of the programme. Ranvir Singh, who is already a familiar face on breakfast and late night bulletins, will join Gordon in a new look studio for the nightly news programme on BBC One.

Born in Preston and educated at Lancaster University, where she studied English and philosophy, Ranvir has spent all of her professional career with the BBC. After her degree she returned to Preston to complete a postgraduate qualification in journalism before beginning her broadcasting career at BBC Radio Lancashire, after being offered a six-month contract while still on work experience.

She subsequently moved on to BBC GMR (now Radio Manchester) in time for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Ranvir then moved on to television and played a key role in presenting the nationally broadcast Manchester Passion on Good Friday, 2006. She also reported on the Election Night Special with David Dimbleby last year in Blackburn for BBC One. She is currently North West Tonight’s education reporter.

Salema Khanum has left as head of Asian Arts at Watermans in West London, one of the top venues for British Asian theatre.

Ninaz Khodaiji is taking over from this month.

The Boston Globe newspaper features a story on AIM magazine’s very own Komal Trivedi, who helped launch this magazine all those years ago. Komal presents an early Thursday morning show on Boston College’s WZBC radio station.

Trivedi also enjoys showcasing the work of her contemporaries, including Talvin Singh and Nitin Sawhney, who pioneered Asian Underground. The British Asian artists helped create the genre by spicing up classical South Asian beats with modern dance music, heavy on electronics.

Asian Underground burst into the British mainstream in the 1990s, but Trivedi says that when she moved to the Boston area three years ago, this type of music was difficult to find, especially on the radio.

Trivedi was eager to fill the void, so a colleague at WGBH, where Trivedi is an executive assistant, suggested that she approach the Boston College station, where the colleague worked as a DJ in his spare time. The colleague showed Trivedi the ropes at WZBC, and just over a year ago “Bricklane Beats” was born.

Read the whole feature.

West London born Ateesh Randev is the latest British Asian looking to make a name in the film industry after his debut feature releases later this month. Sambar Salsa was produced by London based Kaybee Pictures last year and is being distributed by the same for general release on September 21st.

The romantic comedy, which stars Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor as his father, sees Randev fall in love with a young Spanish girl. Problems ensue when his and her parents meet the young couple. The trailer is below.

www.kaybeepictures.com

The Bengali Cultural Heritage Festival is putting on a free plat at the Brady Arts Centre this Sunday.

‘Ranjana’ is a heart-rending drama set against the backdrop of 1960’s India (Calcutta). Ranjana, the main protagonist, has to uncover the true identity of a convict, Kaushik awaiting a death sentence, whom she thinks might be her long-lost brother. This adaptation is an homage to the birth centenary of the eminent playwright Bidhayak Bhattacharya.
The showcase designed to raise awareness about their film production of the same name.

On Sunday 9th September, 7pm
Brady Arts Centre

London based Panjab Radio has signed contracts with MXR digital to be a service provider on their West Midlands multiplex and will begin broadcasting on 1st November on digital radio in the region. This is the third multiplex Panjab Radio will broadcast from.

Surjit Singh Ghuman Managing Director of Panjab Radio said: “My four years of hard work and determination to get on to West Midlands on DAB has finally paid off and feels like a dream coming true, but in reality the very hard task of getting the message to the Panjabi community will start now and our listeners will be over the moon as they will not be confined to a TV and instead listen to us on DAB digital radio any where in the home, work or whilst on the move.”

The US based Masala Trois Collective is inviting submissions – short fiction and verse – for their upcoming collection of South Asian children’s stories, Adventures in Desiland. Like all well crafted children’s stories, across eras and traditions, they hope the stories in Adventures in Desiland will engage and delight adults and children alike.

Submission may include retelling ancient tales, such as those found in the Panchatantra, using contemporary dialogue and idiom. Similarly, submissions that creatively “Indianize” or desify well known western children’s stories would fit nicely in the collection. Other original submissions will be considered, variously, on how skillfully they feature strong, central characters that are South Asian children, present fresh, non-stereotypical portraits of South Asian families, or help children and parents creatively explore South Asian histories.
Deadline: December 1, 2007
See: www.masalatrois.com

Filmmaker Rajesh Thind recently made a documentary for Al-Jazeera TV on his search for a wife. You can watch part 1 below.

Part 2 below.