Ten-pick Asian Underground starter CD's

Lately I've gotten more into the Asian Underground scene, which was initiated by some London-based DJ's of Indian or Pakistani origin, most notably Talvin Singh. Basically it involves taking aspects of traditional Indian music and setting them to a dance beat. Having discovered this, I've also gotten more into classical Indian proper, as well as some of the other marvelous varieties of east-meets-west, such as Bollywood soundtracks. My pics:

Ground Zero; from the Shakti label
  •  This is a good place to start because it's a compliation. I own discs by nearly every artist featured here, and they are all worth investigating further.

Star Rise, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook: Remixed; from the Realworld label
  • This is a more kick-ass dancey compliation, featuring the haunting Qawwali vocals from the master of the art. All set to a disco beat. How perfect.

Anokha, produced by Talvin Singh; from the Quango label
  • Yet another compliation of the best dance acts.

Asian Travels; from the Six Degrees label
  • Yet even still another compliation that surveys the genre well; I never get sick of this stuff.

Tala Matrix, Tabla Beat Science; from the Axiom label
  • Another Talvin Singh project: this will get you somewhere between dancing and convulsing.

Master Musician of Jajouka featurning Bachir Attar; from the Point Music label
  • Were you intrigued by the haunting incidental music from The Cell but too creeped out to buy the soundtrack? Buy this instead! Crazy-assed Moroccan beats produced by, you guessed it, Talvin Singh. The best tune was indeed featured in The Cell, you'll know it when you hear it.

Moon Rise over the Silk Road, Ghazal; from the Shanachie label
  • A blend of Persian and Indian traditional styles. Hybrid vigor.

Bombay the Hard Way: Guns, Cars and Sitars; from the Motel Records label
  • Remixes of tunes from the Brownsploitation era when Bollywood discovered the crime film genre in the 70's. This CD looks like it's supposed to be kitchy, except as it turns out it kicks ass. Play it at your next party; everyone I've turned onto this loves me for it.

Bliss; from the Realworld label
  • Every so-called World genre can tend towards New-Age, which is usually bad, but this and the next are pretty good takes on the softer side of Asian. Play them when you're exhausted from the previous picks.

Tibet, Waterbone; from the World Disc label
  • Well, if you like Enigma and Deep Forest, you'll love this, but I had to include it because I enjoy it so much. As you've probably guessed, it's Tibetan forms set to modern beats.