at a glance...

Hometown: Essex, England
Year Formed: 1992

Members:
Tjinder Singh -vocals, guitar, scratching and dholki
Ben Ayres -tamboura, guitar and keyboard
Anthony Saffery -sitar, harmonium and keyboards
Nick Simms -drums

Bands in the family :
Dr. Octagon/The Automator, Justin Warfield, Tarnation, Fatboy Slim

Notes:
Cornershop signed to Wiija Records after their first gig in Harlow, England. They originally came on as a hyper-political, noisy fusion of Punjabi sounds and indie-rock. First LP Hold On It Hurts helped develop a cult following, later consolidated by the matured, funkier sounds of LP Woman's Gotta Have It. When I Was Born For the 7th Time was their great leap forward, earning Album of the Year honors in Spin magazine and critical plaudits around the globe. By early 1998 a remix of "Brimful of Asha" had cracked Britain's Top 10 and the band was touring large arenas around North America with Oasis.

Links:
Nebulocity
a growing number of features on mostly cool artists

It's there on the sleeve, in the faded technicolor and retrofab imagery. It's there in the precious, instantly memorable titles of songs like "Funky Days Are Back Again" and "It's Indian Tobacco My Friend." It's right there in the lyrics to "Brimful of Asha," which celebrate the comforting powers of a young man's record collection. It's Cornershop's love for music, and it's what makes When I Was Born for the 7th Time an essential purchase.

Don't tape it off a friend, because, as "Brimful of Asha" points out, loving music means cherishing the whole package. When I Was Born... nails the totemistic approach cold, and it's the perfect gift for the music obsessive in your life. Which, hopefully, is you.

Not that the music couldn't stand up on its own. Veering from delicious pop ("Brimful of Asha," "Sleep On the Left Side") to demented dub ("It's Indian Tobacco My Friend"), and taking in all manner of funk and sitar-driven hip-hop inbetween, When I Was Born for the 7th Time leaves the punky clatter of the 'Shop's early days to the history books. You still wouldn't call them accomplished musicians, but Tjinder Singh and Ben Ayres have found a musical language in which they can express themselves. This album proves what a great gift that is.