One of the UK's most innovative and exciting club nights gears up to mark another ring on the giant oak of clubland - as the Award Winning Shaanti turns eight.

With the success of their first night back in 1999, come February, Shaanti will be celebrating a mighty 8 years at the top! In the 8 years of its running, it has become one of the UK’s undisputed leaders, and cemented both the Shaanti name and record label in the international Fusion industry. So this year, they owe it to all their clubbers to bring you a line up that couldn't get any better, so here it is.

Shaanti’s Birthday Weekend kicks off on Friday 23 February at The Factory in Birmingham. PMC, Joi meet UK Apache for a five-and-a-half hours of madness, while in Room 2, Mystro from Galaxy, Parm Paneser and guests rev-up the sound barriers to make some noise. New to the night is Room 3, the Drum ‘N’ Bass and Eastern Breaks Room which will play a gritty bassline drilla of a set by DJ Sanz and MSC - followed by Shaanti’s Resident DJ line-up which includes Rich Reason, Ravaliya and Manga from Galaxy.

Following on from that, the next day they head down South, on Saturday 24 February, as Shaanti presents the London leg of the birthday party celebration at Cargo, London. Joining the residents Manga from Galaxy, Rich Reason and Ravaliya plus guests, will be Asian Dub Foundation Soundsystem, who will be playing their first London date this year. The night also marks the announcement of their new album ‘Shaanti Present’s…’ a pre-launch party that celebrates their forthcoming release, out on Monday 2 April 2007 via Absolute/Universal featuring exclusive tracks from Swami, Tigerstyle, UK Apache, The Kalyan, Specialist n Tru Skool, Soundtheory, RDB, PNOX, and many more.

In '99, in the backstreets of Birmingham, a club night exploded and Shaanti was born. Spearheaded by Manga, Shaanti has developed from a small underground movement to a mainstream commotion and has grown into an international, pioneering, innovative brand. Within the last 8 years, Shaanti has expanded and managed with significant success to rise above musical and cultural obstruction and most importantly of all, represented and championed the toughest sounds of Eastern and Fusion Breaks and Beats across the globe. This crew are for real! Whist other collectives have faded into oblivion with short-lived success, Shaanti have remained constantly strong.

Manga, Founder of Shaanti and Radio presenter for Galaxy says: “It’s such a great achievement to get just one gig right, but to have that same vision succeed after eight years just blows me away. I never thought I’d look forward to Shaanti turning 8. To say I’m honoured is definitely an understatement.”

This award winning club night and now record label has gone from strength to strength establishing themselves as the leaders in Asian and Global club sounds! In the last eight years they have showcased the world’s superstars like Nitin Sawhney, Talvin Singh, Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Ease (Nightmares on Wax), Tigerstyle, The Cornershop, Pressure Drop, Gaudi, Transglobal Underground, PMC, Future World Funk, Midival Punditz and many more, as well introducing fresh new faces time and time again. As well as breaking their own attendance figures - the night attracts club enthusiasts back in their droves. The secret of their success is to promote originality, while challenging musical perceptions by uniting innovative musical forms of dance sounds as one. February also marks Shaanti as being the longest running Eastern Fusion Break Beat club night in Europe.

Farook from Joi, Real World Records says: “Congratulations and Happy Birthday to Shaanti for running the longest Asian-Global Fusion Break-Beat club in this country. My experiences at Shaanti are always strong, because of the power of the crown and the multiplicity of its beats. It's an honour for me to be a guest for Shaanti’s birthday and I can't wait to play an exclusive soundsystem set and drop some tracks from my new album ‘Without Zero’ on the night. Keep up the good work as the movement moves on.”

While UK Apache says, “Shaanti influence on the music of western society is hard to overstate, Shaanti’s a legend all over the world.”

"The sheer energy of the people and collective musical output of Shaanti always puts a smile on my face. Respect to Shaanti and all that sail in her!! Happy 8 Birthday to U." SUNJ from Asian Dub Foundation adds.

Kicking of the celebrations on Friday 23 February at The Factory in Birmingham is Joi, PMC and UK Apache. Joi is one of the UK's oldest champions of electronic fusion and Asian breaks. Having consistently evolved their style since their critically acclaimed debut album, 'One And One Is One', but, after the tragic death of his brother and band member Haroon (R.I.P) Farook later released a solo album that fuses East and West, 'We Are Three' on Real World Records. Recorded in Bangladesh and in London with Spring Heel Jack producers John Coxon and Ashley Wales, its title is a reference to Joi's spiritual belief in the powers that surround us. Indeed Haroon had completed much of the preparatory work earlier that year when he travelled to Bangladesh to make recordings with local musicians. Says Farook: “Haroon's vibe is not only still there, it's there on every single track. It's his legacy.” As a Soundstystem, Joi spins deep and bleepy techno with a dose of house and drum and bass with some Asian stuff thrown in for good measure.

Long before Timbaland and Dr. Dre started using Desi music, DJ and producer Panjabi MC (PMC) was mixing hip-hop and jungle with bhangra way before anyone else. There was an era of DJs and producers before PMC came about and then came an era transformed by him. PMC made his make by being known as the key-figure in developing the desi experimental hip-hop style AKA Desi Beats.

One particular production changed PMC's profile from an UK Asian producer into a worldwide success. Recognized immediately for its use of the dynamic bassline from the Knight Rider theme song (used similarly in Timbaland & Magoo's ‘Clock Strikes’ and Busta Rhymes ‘Fire It Up,’) in addition to its incorporation of the traditional dhol and tumbi instruments the track ‘Mundian To Bach Ke - Beware of the Boys’ immanently blew-up! Having secured sample clearance, ‘Mundian To Back Ke’ got a mainstream release, which successfully charted in at number 5 in the UK Top 40 charts. On top of this East meets West combo, rhymes from American rapper Jay-Z pump up the profile of the single giving the track its second international release. Moving forward to the present day PMC's schedule is none stop as he tours the world.

There’s not a junglist alive that hasn’t heard of UK Apache, a jungle-beats specialist who is without a doubt one of the true pioneers of the alternative music scene. From the humble beginnings of the ‘Original Nuttah’ with Shy FX in 1993, to the heady Asian Underground days with Badmarsh and Shri in 2001, UK Apache has played a portal role in the creation and evolution of drum and bass. Having been one of the first to successfully translate the sounds of rap into jumping floor-filling anthems and in doing so, he has defined a chapter in the history of dance music. Armed with a mic, UK will be tearing da house with his infamous rapid-fire ragga-chats. He’ll also be performing exclusively in the Midlands and just for Shaanti, his latest single available on Shaanti Presents…”Badman" – "an awesome, unstoppable propulsion track" (Eastern Eye.)

Other DJ’s on the night also include Parm Panesar, DJ Sanz, MSC, Mystro (Galaxy) at The Factory, Birmingham.

A truly jaw dropping line-up that is the only fitting celebration for Shaanti’s 8th birthday of the UK home of Eastern Electronica and Fusion Break-Beat Dance Music.