Star Rise

A project begun before the untimely death of legendary Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, these remixes of collaborations between Nusrat and Canadian composer Michael Brook are solid proof of the singer's enormous influence on an entire generation of Britain's underground Anglo-Asian producers, musicians and DJ's. Merging the sublime vocals and ambient music with trip-hop beats and drum-and-bass tracks results in an album of rich and varied compositions, from the deeply danceable "Sweet Pain Remix" by Joi to the more meditative "My Heart, My Life Remix" by Talvin Singh and the blurry psychedelia of Aki Nawaz's "Longing Remix". STAR RISE is a coherent, vibrant tribute to a performer of immense talent and passion.

Rolling Stone (2/5/98, p.62)
- 3 Stars (out of 5)
- "...On this collection of remixes, young Anglo-Indian and Anglo-Pakistani producers marry Khan's collaborations with Canadian guitarist Michael Brook to drum-and-bass, dub and trip-hop....there's still room for tradition in the sounds of the future."

Spin (2/98, pp.107-108)
- 6 (out of 10)
- "...don't sneer at STAR RISE as a quick cash-in on the great singer's death last August. In fact, the record was mostly completed by then, and features work by the best of the Anglo-Asian underground--DJs and musicians who grew up with Khan the way first-wave hip-hoppers did with, say Barry White..."