RIGHT on cue, Lewis Pragasamis back. He may have barelyskipped a beat, but it is actually10 years since he last releasedan Asiabeat album. That’s right, theman has been so busy gigging withthe likes of Bob James and NathanEast, conducting percussion workshops,recording instructional CDsand numerous other music-relatedactivities, that his pet project seemedto have fallen by the wayside.
But now, Asiabeat, which has had so many incarnations it has to be deemed a Pragasam project and not a regular band per se, has finally roared back with a rollicking new album Urban Beyond. Celebrated with an official launch (that played out more like a joyous celebration of friends) at Alexis Ampang Bistro and Bar in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, the sixth Asiabeat album is a labour of love that Pragasam has steadily worked on.