• Tablatronic
• Moulding and shaping your garden
• A hard act to follow
• 'New blood has done wonders'
• 

Tablatronic

By Afdhel Aziz

Those of you whose only knowledge of Asian dance music was the poppy bhangra beats of Bally Sagoo and his ilk, should try checking out "Anokha", the cutting edge Asian dance music night at the ultra hip 'The End" club in London's West End . Floating through it is an exercise in submersive percussion dynamics. Tabla beats ricochet at unbelievable speed around the small but intimate club, creating complex rhythm, intricate patterns of sound that roam from drum and bass to ghazal with equal fluidity. Psychadelic imagery lifted from Bollywood, religious mythology and a thousand other sources flare in overhead screens. It is the sound of a future that is nearer than you think - the sound of musical experimentation not constricted by the bounds of race, culture or background. It is not so much a melting pot as a stir fry - sizzling, quick and full of spicy flavours, ever changing in new and hitherto unthinkable permutations.

And the fact that the club's founder , musician and DJ Talvin Singh has just won the Mercury Music Prize - Britain's popular music equivalent of the Booker Prize - is just further confirmation of the vibe on the street. Asian culture is getting ever more respect - from the bindis and pashminas on the catwalks and street fashion to hip new Asian fusion restaurants opening in the trendy Brick Lane area known as 'Banglatown'; from provocative film makers like Udayan Prasad ('My Son the Fanatic') to the award-winning Asian comedy TV show 'Goodness Gracious Me' , so popular that it's catchphrases echo across every bar and cafe in the land. Its not a revolution by any means - but it's growing confirmation that the Asian generation that was born and grew up here is finding its own strong and distinctive voice. Over the years, Talvin has been picking up enough cool points amongst the cognoscenti to work with the likes of Bjork and Madonna - the latter asked him to remix tracks from her Asianesque album 'Ray of Light', style chameleon that she is.

Talvin's award winning album 'OK' is a beautiful blend of cultures, a hymn to the floating generation that exists in the nexus of mediaspace. It features Japanese singers, a string section from Madras, sarangi master Ustad Sultan Khan, trumpeter Byron Wallen, bass player Bill Laswell, guitarist Aziz Abraham and young Indian musicians such as veena player Devi, flautists Rakesh Churasia and Naveen. The motivations for the tracks are equally diverse ; 'Eclipse' came from hearing the excited screams of monkeys watching an eclipse over India ; 'Mombasstic' refers to a common experience amongst Asians who moved to Africa in the Sixties - being ejected from Idi Amin's regime( which happened to Talvin's father) ; and 'Soni' is sung by a dozen female classical singers from Bombay, and actually was based on a folk melody from Pakistan.

Other brothers in musical experimentation include Nitin Sawney, whose album 'Displacing the Priest' selects from an equally eclectic palette of sounds and textures, from traditional Bengali folk songs and temple chants to hip hop beatboxing and even flamenco guitar. Cornership , whose "Brimful of Asha" paen to singer Asha Bosle became one of the records of 1997, have just released a new album under the limelight avoiding pseudonym of Clinton (?) called "Halfway to Discontent". Occupying a more political, hard-edged corner of the arena are Asian Dub Foundation whose fierce polemics against racism and stereotyping have struck a chord with those looking for something with a little more edge in British rock music. Their strident album 'Rafi's Revenge' mixes up rock, hip hop and ragga and features such riveting tracks as 'Free Satpal Ram" , in support of an Asian man jailed for defending himself against his racist attackers. Other talents to keep an eye on include Black Star Liner, Fun-Da-Mental and Badmarsh and Shri.

Paradoxically , what is perhaps one of the key features of this new Asian Underground scene is its participants' unwillingness to be tied down to that label - preferring to think of themselves as denizens of the world, free to pick and chose cultures as they see fit. Talvin says the title came about because " it's the most common word in the world," he says. "You go anywhere in the world and people know what OK is. Music shouldn't have boundaries. That's the way I've always seen music.' Or as Master D from Asian Dub Foundation would have it "Abandon all your first impressions/Come and take part in this conscious session/Look to the past to get inspiration/ move yourselves forward with dub acceleration." It's the sound of the future - and it is here now.

Moulding and shaping your garden

By Wathsala Mendis

After a long, hard battle you've got your dream home done. It couldn't be more perfect. Everything is just the way you wanted. Now it's sit back and relax time, eh? But, wait, what about the garden? Does it complement your home sweet home?

A creatively and innovatively designed garden reflects your personal vision while adding substantially to the value of your home. "A garden is a place where one can take a hand at shaping nature, exercise your mind and body, and thus alleviate the need for a psychiatrist," according to James van Sweden.

Fewer and fewer families have the time to spend caring for their gardens as intensely as may be required. But the dream of a custom designed garden is closer to reality than we could imagine. Yes, that's what landscape architects are for. They'll ensure that your garden will be that special place for entertaining and recreation for many years to come.

Landscape architecture is the art and science of analysis, planning design, management, preservation, and rehabilitation of the land. It's a profession in demand. From residential and commercial real estate developers, state agencies, city planning commissions to individual property owners, they all retain the services of landscape architects. This trend reflects the public's desire for better housing, recreational and commercial facilities as well as its concern for environmental protection.

With environmental concerns becoming increasingly important, it's the responsibility of the landscape architects to create an aesthetic and practical relationship between the built and natural environment. They should come up with design solutions and implement projects that respect and balance the needs of the people and the requirements of the environment.

The creativity, skill, and expertise of landscape architects are called upon to enrich our surroundings by designing and planning outdoor spaces such as gardens, urban and regional parks, recreation areas, highways, urban plazas, waterfront developments, or sometimes even an entire residential community. The job involves the orderly, efficient, aesthetic, and ecologically sensitive integration of man-made objects with the natural features of the land. The thoughtful craftsmanship of a practitioner conserves and protects the natural resources while adding value to a site.

The design process should incorporate property characteristics and the client's ideas, also taking into account the budget guidelines. Attention to detail including topography, vegetation, drainage, water, wildlife, climate, etc. will result in the garden most suited to the client's preferences and lifestyle. In other words, it's the treatment of the land as an art, which involves the balance of hard and soft surfaces in outdoor and indoor spaces, the selection of construction and plant materials, attention to infrastructure such as irrigation, and the careful preparation and execution of a design project.

While there are no university or professional courses available in Sri Lanka for those who are interested in the field, the Centre for Housing Planning and Building (33 Sunil Mawatha, Pelawatta, Battaramulla/ Tel:875628/9) did offer a diploma in Landscape Designat one time. Most of the professionals in this field are self-starters who learnt on their own.

Landscape architecture is a profession on the move, which continues to evolve as it meets the challenges of a society interested in improving the quality of life.

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