Gupsy Aujla is not a name your average Bhangra fan would spring up with when coming up with their favourite artists. He has been quietly going about his business in the industry, bringing out two albums in the past two years which both can be classed as solid but neither really grabbing any wider appeal from the masses. Over the years he has slowly built up his own collection of vocalists namely Jaswinder Daghamia and Ravi Duggal, whom both are new talents.
 Gupsy Aujla is a rare breed of new generation producers; a taleneted musician who has spent the past ten years mastering the art of music, not many producers can claim that, mastering cubase yes, mastering a tabla, very few.

Onto his new album which his titled "My Story, Meri Kahani", its his third solo release in as many years, having had two solid but largely average releases before this, has Gupsy finally stepped up the plate and improved? Read on to find out!

Now I know I always complain about unoriginality in lyrics regarding songs based about alcohol but I can’t help but like ‘Pegg’, it is a token glassy tune, but a very good one in that! The song has been sung by Jaswinder Daghamia who in my opinion is a extremely talented vocalist, set for big things! The song has been produced well by Gupsy and features him on the keys; which keep the song flowing along pretty well, along with the horns which give it that extra edge. It’s a crisp, feel good Bhangra song which hopefully gets a lot of airplay at gigs, radio shows because it’s definitely worth some recognition! The lyrics are fairly catchy and I’m pretty sure anyone who hears this song will be singing along.

 Ravi Duggal is on hand to sing ‘Vunjlee’, another vocalist who has been brought forward by Gupsy Aujla. Its another well produced song by Gupsy and the use of the flute throughout the song is brilliant, it adds that little bit of originality to a song that otherwise would have been distinctly average. Well it’s a level above average, and vocals by Ravi Duggal are pretty solid.

  The title track is next ‘Meri Kahani’ and has been sung by the ever so versatile Jaswinder Daghamia, who goes from a dancefloor belter to a slow ballad. He is proving to be a real find by Gupsy, for those who are a little bored with Lehmber and Kaka then have a listen to this guy. The music by Gupsy is once again pretty good and shows real depth, he seems to have made it all add up this time around. As always sad songs have never been my favourite although this is a little less melodramatic than the rest.

 ‘Club’ is track 4 and features the ever green Cheshire Cat.  I have to say even with the inclusion of Cheshire Cat its one of my favourite tracks off the album and vocals by Ravi Duggal are impressive. Gupsy Aujla does another good job on the music, it sounds different to any of the 3 tracks before this and that’s always a good sign from a album! Top tune

  ‘Chutki’ is another one of my favourites and has been sung by Jaswinder Daghamia again, not that it’s a bad thing. Another upbeat number by Gupsy he has got everything spot on here! The music accompanies the vocals perfectly. Although I have to say I was sitting here waiting for the ‘drop’ but it never really came, although I don’t think this song really needed one. Its constant throughout but still a really good song!

 ‘Jattan De Munde’ is next and has been sung by Lehmber Hussainpuri. This song was actually released on Gupsys first album but he has reused the vocals again to produce this song. It’s a decent effort I guess albums need a little bit of Lehmber Hussainpuri in the tracklistings to make them appeal more to the audience. It’s a decent effort but I don’t think it was worth reusing a old vocal.

 A duet is next, looks as though the craze has finally hit the UK scene, wonder how long till someone collaborates with Miss Pooja? The excellent Sudesh Kumari teams up with Ravi Duggal to sing ‘Judayian’, which is a proper ballad! It’s actually a song I don’t mind listening to purely because of the awesome vocals from Duggal and Kumari! Bleh at anyone who prefers Miss Pooja to Sudesh Kumari. The production by Gupsy is kept fairly simple but not overpowering enough to take the attention away from the excellent vocals. There is a slight use of a guitar which you can just about make out which pops up here and there throughout the song, it’s a nice addition, you don’t get many artists making use of different instruments anymore.

‘Shrabbi’ and has been sung by Jaswinder Patti. I cant help but notice how class his name is! You couldn’t have written the script yourself, Mr Patti singing….Shrabbi! Haha enough of the jokes, onto the song which is pretty impressive! As the title suggests it’s a upbeat number which has been well produced by Gupsy. To put it into perspective, this song is better than 90% of the stuff Gupsy has released previously, a step up? I think so!

 Back in 2005 Gupsy burst onto the scene with the hit track Sunja Goriye, well he has kind of gone back in time…no not a remix, but a similar type of song. ‘Bach Ke Sohinye’ is basically is sung in the same melody as Sunja Goriye which doesn’t really feel you with much joy initially. However getting away from that its another well made song which has been sung by Ravi Duggal. Initially starting off with a reggaeton beat which has been overly used in the industry it quickly switches up to a full blown Bhangra tune and a pretty good one at that. Sunja Goriye…

 Sometimes you get these songs that come along ever so often that when you first listen to them the first word to come out of your mouth is; wow? Well ‘Gabru Gulab Warga’ is one of those songs. Head and shoulders above everything else on this album it goes along way in showing the amount of progress Gupsy has made not only as a producer but as a musician who can conjure up different ideas to suit different songs. A heavy guiatar introduces the vocals of Jaswinder Daghamia, which can only be decribed as f*cking brilliant! The song is one of those songs even Mukhtar Sahota would be proud of. The fusion of drums with tumbi and the heavy guitar is pheneomnal. Now you may think I’m hyping this up a little too much, but after hearing the amount of crap I’ve heard this year this is a big breath of fresh air. When was the last time you heard a proper drum kit and a heavy guitar in a Bhangra song? Producers need to start thinking outside of the box and show some originality! You wouldn’t have heard anything similar to this all year.

 After I somehow find my way past Gabru Gulab Warga, ‘Veer Da Viah’ is next and before listening you can tell what type of songs its going to be. One of those cheesy numbers, which is basically what it is. Its been sung by Jaswinder Daghamia again with this being his last effort on the album. Although this song is rather cheesy its pretty good too! Up there with the likes of Shraabi, Vunjlee, Chutki etc. It’s a solid song

The final song is ‘Yaar Punjabi’ and has been sung by Ravi Duggal, and once again its another good track which some may prefer and others not. It’s a bit hit and miss with me, some days I think its very good song, other days I cant stand it, its one of those songs.

All in all it’s actually a very good release by Gupsy Aujla, something which I wasn’t really expecting. To be brutally honest his first release was fairly solid and contained a lot of promise. However last year Aftershock was a massive disappointment and was a little muddled up in places. I think Gupsy has got it spot on this time around, although all credit should not be given to him. The album only contains 5 vocalists, with Lehmber Hussainpuri, Jaswinder Patti and Sudesh Kumari all appearing on one song each. The rest were filtered between Jaswinder Daghamia and Ravi Duggal. The quality in vocals is clear, they haven’t been bought off a internet site, they aren’t 10 year old vocals of Kaka Bhainavala, they have been sung in a studio with the producer directing the singer in the way he wants it sung. That is the difference, as soon as other producers start realising this, the better!

The album is a massive step up for Gupsy, songs like Pegg, Chutki, Meri Kahani, Judaiyan and the impressive Gabru Gulab Warga only go to show how much he has come along. A lot of artists in todays industry bring out a good album and then do not go on to progress as artists and musicians, many tend to go backwards and that is a major problem. This album is definitely worth the money I paid for it and is a very good listen throughout, its no Unda Da Influenced or Word is Born but there are signs there of real progression which you don’t seem to get anymore from artists. Lets hope Gupsy Aujla can go on to improve even further.

Remember if you like what you hear go out and buy this album, you wont be disappointed!

Gupsy Aujla – My Story, Meri Kahani gets a very well deserved 7.5/10

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