Recorded 2006-2007 Producer DJ Swami | Genre Pop, hip hop, bhangra Equalize
(2007) 53431
(2009) | |
Released September 24, 2007
December 24, 2007 Label DesiRock/Cigale (UK)
EMI/Virgin (India) | ||
Equalize is an Urban Desi album by the UK band Swami released on September 24, 2007.
Contents
- Song premieres
- Track listing
- Limited Edition release
- B Sides remixes and alternate versions
- Music videos
- Reviews
- References
Their two previous albums were DesiRock in 2004, and So Who Am I in 2005 (a re-mixed version of DesiRock)
The track listing was confirmed on April 16, 2007 by BBC Radio 1 DJ Nihal, and the name was confirmed on May 8, 2007, by bandmember DJ Swami on the official Swami forum.
The album features South African vocalist Ishmael, French rap group Asuivre, Sonia Panesar, Lady Ru, Romesh Chohan, Bobby Panesar, El Feco, Pras of The Fugees, MC Spee of Dreadzone, Yam Boy, Boostylz, as well as Swami vocalists S-Endz and Sups.
Song premieres
On May 23, 2007, a one-minute clip of 'Electro Jugni' was premiered on Swami's Official MySpace page, as well as the press release for the new album. On June 15, a live version of the song was premiered instead, recorded at the 2007 Wychwood Festival.
"Hey Hey" premiered on MySpace on August 1, 2007, and the album artwork was revealed at the same time. Following the premiere of the song and artwork, the MySpace page was changed to reflect the new release date of September 2007.
On June 11, 2008, an all-new English language version of 'Electro Jugni', entitled 'She's Mine' was premiered by Nihal on BBC Radio 1.
Track listing
- "Hey Hey" (featuring Boostylz)
- "Electro Jugni"
- "Intoxicated" (featuring Lady Ru)
- "Ching" (featuring Spee)
- "Pushin'" (featuring Pras Michel and Ishmael)
- "Shakedown" (featuring El Feco)
- "Break" (featuring Ishmael)
- "Can't Let Go" (featuring Errol Reid and Yam Boy)
- "Give It What U Got" (featuring A Suivre)
- "In Your Eyes" (featuring Sonia Panesar)
Limited Edition release
On September 10, 2007, it was announced on Swami's MySpace page [1] that anyone pre-ordering the album through MySpace would receive a limited signed edition and also receive the album before the official release date.
B-Sides, remixes and alternate versions
- "Can't Let Go" (unplugged mix)
- This mix first appeared as an exclusive for the DesiHits website [2], and later via the SwamiMusic.com website, on November 6, 2007.
- "Hey Hey" (Tigerstyle Remix)
- Mentioned by DJ Swami in an interview with Eastern Eye newspaper on October 12, 2007, and released via the SwamiMusic.com website on October 23.
- "Hey Hey" (English version)
- Mentioned by DJ Swami in an interview with Eastern Eye newspaper on October 12, 2007, and released via the SwamiMusic.com website on October 23.
- "Break" (Demixify Mix)
- Released via the SwamiMusic.com website on November 6, 2007.
- "Ching" (radio edit)
- Released via the SwamiMusic.com website on the February 20, 2008.
- "Pushin'" (EMI India album version)
- Contains an additional English chorus by Ishmael.
- "Electro Jugni" featuring Dede Lopez (EMI India album version)
- Contains a new female English chorus by Swedish pop singer Dede Lopez.
- "Electro Jugni" (2008 single release)
- Punjabi vocals have been re-sung by Sups, with an additional Hindi chorus by Liana and new rap verse and adlibs by S-Endz.
- "She's Mine"
- English language version of "Electro Jugni" with new verses from Sups, English chorus by Liana, and the same rap verse and adlibs by S-Endz as #8.
- "Ching" (Shiva Soundystem Mo-Flow Remix)
- Released via the SwamiMusic.com website on the May 10, 2008.
- "Hey Hey" (Video version)
- The mix of the song used in the music video contained the same Punjabi lyrics as the album version but sung by Sups.
- "Electro Jugni" (Live from Wychwood Festival 2007)
- This appeared on Swami's official MySpace page for a few months in 2007.
Tracks #1-7 all appeared on the EMI India release of Equalize.
Music videos
On August 29, 2007, a preview of a live video for "Electro Jugni" was uploaded to the video-sharing site YouTube. A month later, stills from a forthcoming video for Hey Hey were uploaded to Swami's MySpace blog and the full video was premiered a week later on YouTube.
In May 2008, it was revealed that a full music video for "Electro Jugni" had been filmed. A preview of the video surfaced on YouTube around the same time but was later removed. The video premiered later in the year and was very well received by fans, generating 200,000 plays on YouTube in less than 3 weeks.