Asian Underground

Asian Underground

Asian Underground is a term associated with various British Asian musicians (mostly Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan) who blend elements of western underground dance music and the traditional music of their home countries. The first well-known mention was the compilation album "Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground" released in [1997 in music|1997C and masterminded by Talvin Singh& Sweety Kapoor. It is not a strict musical genre "per se", since the specific sounds can vary wildly (from Cornershops' Britpop to Panjabi MCs' jungle). Most of these artists are the children or grandchildren of immigrants and have grown up in Western culture, but still have a strong Asian background through their families.

In the 1990s, Asian Underground was considered hip and broke through to the mainstream. The genre and other forms of South Asian music began to influence the UK's pop mainstream as acts like Björk, Bananarama, Erasure, and Siouxsie & the Banshees all released singles or remixes featuring South Asian instrumentation. Subsequently, Talvin Singh won a Mercury Music Prize for his album "OK" in 1999. However, Asian Underground music has had only little influence on popular Indian music on the sub-continent, where it is usually filed under world music. Only Panjabi MC's international hit "Mundian Ko Bach Ke" could compete with domestic artists like Shankar Mahadevan and Remo Fernandes.

Primary instruments

Asian Underground uses many traditional and relatively new instruments. Its primary ones are sitar and tabla, and almost all artists use an electronic or acoustic drum kit and/or synthesizer. Some groups like Tabla Beat Science use an electric bass. Various other instruments, including the dholak, sarangi, and bansuri are also sometimes used. The human Vocal, female or male can be found as an instrument of emotional expression on many Asian Underground recordings.

Notable artists

* Artcell
* Black
* Cryptic Fate
* Aurthohin
* Stenotorian
* Asian Dub Foundation
* Badmarsh & Shri
* Earthtribe
* Niraj Chag
* Cheb i Sabbah (USA)
* Dhol Foundation
* Fun-Da-Mental
* Jalebee Cartel (India)
* Joi
* Karsh Kale (USA)
* Loop Guru
* Mahisha
* MIDIval Punditz (India)
* Mission on Mars (USA)
* Muslimgauze
* Panjabi MC
* Bally Sagoo
* Suzana Ansar
* Gurdeep Samra
* Akshai Sarin
* Nitin Sawhney
* Talvin Singh
* Tj Rehmi
* State of Bengal
* Tabla Beat Science
* Transglobal Underground
* Trilok Gurtu

Notable Labels

* Nation Records
* Axiom Records
* Sitarfunk
* Outcaste Records

Notable Compilations

* "Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground"
* "Eastern Uprising - Music from the Asian Underground, Compiled by Earthtribe, Released on Sony/Higherground"

ee also

* World fusion music

External links

* [http://ethnotechno.com/roughguide_au.php Guide to Asian Underground]


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