Comments on: Comments on 16345

Post number 16345

Mo Nickels — Sun, 14 Apr 2002 07:52:57 -0800

Rekha Malhotra is a New Yorker of South Indian heritage who can be given credit for popularizing Bhangra and promoting the UK Punjabi dub and beat sounds in NYC. She says this about an event she hosts regularly: "Basement Bhangra is very urban. It's Bhangra with a hip-hop sensibility. It's raw and percussive, unadulterated. It's got a lot of meat to it and demands that you dance. It's not head-nodding music—it's body-moving music." More. More. More.

By: Mo Nickels

Mo Nickels — Sun, 14 Apr 2002 07:55:12 -0800

Also, she's featured in a story from the Washington Post about bhangra in general.

By: lescour

lescour — Sun, 14 Apr 2002 08:33:10 -0800

does anyone have an url for some sample audio? i'm curious, mo.

By: billybob

billybob — Sun, 14 Apr 2002 08:47:00 -0800

oh this sound veddy veddy good! i like so much.

By: Mo Nickels

Mo Nickels — Sun, 14 Apr 2002 09:28:02 -0800

It's all over the place. Try looking for "bhangra" on Audiogalaxy.

By: pascal

pascal — Sun, 14 Apr 2002 09:58:57 -0800

Billybob: shut up. If anyone's interested in hearing any of this stuff, just take your favorite music sharing tool, search for "Jugni" (as mentioned in the WaPo piece, that's a much covered song, and the word also turns up in many other song titles) and then search on some of the artists that turn up. I used to hear a lot of bhangra, back in my college days, and at friends parties, weddings etc. I used to love the stuff, but I'd gotten pretty out of touch with it - so this link prompted an entertaining bit of exploration on AudioGalaxy - so thanks for the link. Bhangra is also an influence on reggae, though the Indian population in Jamaica, and can be heard fairly clearly in some the more modern reggae rhythms. I'd also be deeply surprised if "Get Ur Freak On" would exist without the influence of both ragga and bhangra.

By: riffola

riffola — Sun, 14 Apr 2002 12:58:21 -0800

Daler Mehndi's Tunak Tunak is Bhangra pop from India.

By: grabbingsand

grabbingsand — Sun, 14 Apr 2002 21:19:54 -0800

Any of this stuff spun regularly in NYC? I saw some dates in the articles, but those seemed to be events. Gonna be up there in a week or so and it would be sweet to catch some.

By: kindall

kindall — Sun, 14 Apr 2002 21:44:06 -0800

I like what I've heard of this style, but... before you can say someone was responsible for popularizing a musical style, wouldn't that style actually have to be, um, popular?

By: rushmc

rushmc — Sun, 14 Apr 2002 22:27:10 -0800

Thanks for the links...have been delving into Bhangra myself lately...very helpful!

By: justlooking

justlooking — Sun, 14 Apr 2002 22:29:01 -0800

Bhangra has been a popular and traditional music (and dance?) form in Northern India mainly among Punjabis. What goes under the broad definition of Bhangra pop is fusion of Bhangra with various other music forms including Hip hop. It has been around for quite a while. I thought Bhangra pop was quite popular in UK for some time in the eighties ...