Menu
Music is a central part of my life. So, when I get an opportunity to listen to fresh talent, it’s extra exciting for me. The latest album I listened to for a review is by Sham Idrees, an artist from Canada. I don’t know what’s in Canadian waters, but they sure produce amazing desi talent (e.g. The Bilz and Kashif, Raghav, to name a few). If you don’t want to read the full review, let me tell you, there is one word to sum up Sham Idrees’ talent, and that’s “unique”.
Idrees has released two versions of his album. One is pure English – “A New Beginning” – while it’s sister CD – “Aik Naya Raasta” – features the same songs with some additional Hindi vocals. Personally, I preferred the pure English one, but the one with Hindi vocals was good too. The singing and music production on the album made it feel more mainstream and transcend the typical “desi” niche. It’s a feel good album and definitely a good fit for the summer!
Overall: 4/5
1. I Know You Feel It (Sham Idress ft. Hani) – 5/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7cWzy60M18
Put your dancing shoes on because the album begins with a bangin’ dance/club number. The music production is so tight on this track! I’m sure listeners will have it on repeat! It’s high energy, beat is sick, and the rap/vocals are completely perfect. No complaints on this one.
Track details: Written by Sham Idrees and Hani, Composed by Fat Dog Productions and produced by Prestige Prophet Records
2. I Swear (Sham Idrees) – 5/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qdTzUN4AI8
This is another flawless track on Sham’s album. It’s the first track on the album where you truly get to experience Sham’s vocals. He has a very unique quality to his voice that you will not find in any other artist out there right now. The song reminded of summer days just driving around with friends. Amazing track.
Track details: Written by Sham Idrees and his brother Nauman Idrees, Composed by Fat Dog Productions and produced by Prestige Prophet Records.
3. Oh Aliyah (Sham Idrees ft. Hani) – 3/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie9Wy9NYN1U
Following up two flawless tracks, “Oh Aliyah” seemed a bit jarring on the album. The rap portion was ok, but Sham’s vocals felt a bit weaker than on the first two tracks. I could feel the eastern vibe on the track, but it wasn’t my favorite on the album. I took off two points because having been exposed to Sham’s immense potential on the first two tracks, I expected even more from this track.
Track details: Written by Sham Idrees and Hani, Composed by Fat Dog Productions and produced by Prestige Prophet Records.
4. The Situation (Sham Idrees Ft. Kaled) – 4/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT9BEWTEpk8
This track is also really well produced and Idress had more scope to sing. However, compared to tracks 1 and 2, which were completely flawless, I thought this one paled a bit in comparison. It’s still a hot track though, but if I’m giving points, it loses one only because tracks 1 and 2 set the bar so high for the album.
Track details: Written by Sham Idrees, Nauman Idrees and Kaled, Backup vocals by Emmanuel J Simon Composed by Fat Dog Productions and produced by Prestige Prophet Records.
5. Just be my Girlfriend (Sham Idrees Ft. Hani and Kaled) – 3/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnuxSF2MJgg
Compared to other songs on the album, this track felt very chaotic. Still I’ll give Idrees and crew points for experimenting with the sound. However, it’s not the perfection of Tracks 1 and 2, so gets points knocked off.
Track details: Written by Sham Idrees, Hani and Kaled, Composed by Fat Dog Productions and produced by Prestige Prophet Records.
6. Thank GOD (Sham Idress)- 5/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJsk96VSytg
Thank God is a perfect name for this track, as I was definitely thanking god that there was another fantastic track on the album. This song gets a 5/5 not only for the singing and music, but the lyrics were also perfection. Most importantly, the song a great message.
Track details: Written by Sham Idrees, Backup vocals by Emmanuel J Simon Composed by Fat Dog Productions and produced by Prestige Prophet Records.
7. We can GLIDE (Sham Idrees) – 4/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTp0vS6gUbc
Another pretty hot track! However, I had to reduce by 1 point because the song didn’t feel as unique to Idrees as the other tracks on the album feel. This one felt like a typical club track that we’ve probably heard before. Nevertheless, it is still a good number.
Track details: Written by Sham Idrees, Composed by Fat Dog Productions and produced by Prestige Prophet Records.
8. BABY (Sham Idrees) – 4/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDI1Ql7KzFI
The beat sounded a bit too much like Track #2, but it’s a real cute number… almost borderline corny, but it’s nice nonetheless. Another one I see people playing in the summer days!
Track details: Written by Sham Idrees, Composed by Fat Dog Productions and produced by Prestige Prophet Records.
9. FOOL (Sham Idrees Ft. Hani) – 4.5/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI_6u2jXm3c
This track get’s a 4.5 because of the unique mixing of the rap and guitar/singing portions. Often when these styles are meshed, it can go horribly wrong, but Idrees and his team do a fantastic job of mixing the sounds without sounding terrible on the ears.
Track details: Written by Sham Idrees and Hani, Composed by Fat Dog Productions and produced by Prestige Prophet Records.
10. My Little Angel (Sham Idrees Ft. Jessica Anbara) – 4/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBlc5TadIf4
Another cute track that is probably easy for most to relate to as it is about love. It almost had an old school diner sort of vibe, but it worked in the track’s favor. 1 point off, because there are even stronger numbers that better showcase Idrees’ talent.
Track details: Written by Sham Idrees, Composed by Fat Dog Productions and produced by Prestige Prophet Records.
11. You were my everything (Sham Idrees ft. Tre Downey) – 4.5/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3ojDMpyXt8
Another hit from Idrees! That said, I was surprised that this track didn’t have even more hits on Youtube. Lyrics are good and the combination of vocals worked well too. .5 off only because at times it was slightly hard to hear the individual words of the song, but not enough to knock off more points.
Track details: Written by Sham Idrees and Tre, Composed by Fat Dog Productions and produced by Prestige Prophet Records.
12. Poverty (Sham Idrees Ft. Hani) – 3.5/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7Q_TmlU_2A
The message of the track is really good, but the production level felt a bit amateur compared to all the other amazing tracks on the album. The guitar portion also didn’t really flow well in the song. Hence, 1.5 points off for feeling sort of amateurish, but 3.5 points for the great message. Plus, I felt that perhaps “Thank You God” would have made a better track to end this album with, rather than “Poverty”.
Track details: written by Sham Idrees and Hani, Composed by Fat Dog Productions and produced by Prestige Prophet Records.
Overall the albums “A New Beginning” and “Aik Naya Raasta” are a must have for anyone who loves upbeat and uplifting music with positive lyrics to match. Sham Idress makes a wonderful album without having to resort to lyrics about sex, drugs, and profanity. I’m sure we’ll be hearing much more from Sham Idrees in the future… maybe even on mainstream radio, as his sound transcends many genres.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl5PYfN4aqQ
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Shamidrees
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.shamidrees.com
