Forever Gold
By Jatender S. Heer
Malkit Singh unleashes his Millennium Mixes.
The saviour of
Bhangra returns! There isn’t another Punjabi music artist who could build such
fervor upon the release of a new album just on the strength of his name alone.
Malkit Singh ‘Golden Star’ unleashed Malkit Millennium Mixes at the end of last
month and it marks the 17th album of his glittering 15-year career featuring six
of his biggest hits coupled with two new tracks. Since his last release, Akh
Larr Gayee in 1997, Malkit Singh has been on tour around the world, has been
honored by the Prime Minister of India, recorded and filmed with Apache Indian,
but has still found the time to compose and produce his new album. San
Francisco, New York, Toronto, Greece, Dubai, Muscat, Trinidad, Norway and India
have witnessed the man live in the past twelve months during his exhibitionism
of the traditional folk music of Punjab.
"It’s been a very busy year for me since we last spoke early last year," he
told Little India at his home in Birmingham in England, "I performed at the New
Year’s TV telecast in India and during my trip there the former Prime Minister,
Mr I K Gujral, presented me with a very prestigious honor — the award as Best
Punjabi Male Singer — on behalf of the World Punjabi Organization at his New
Delhi residence. It is a very special award for me and I am honored to be the
first recipient of it."
His single with Indian/Reggae star Apache Indian has furthered his global
fanbase as his mellifluous Punjabi vocals clash against Apache’s rough gunfire
delivery. Independent Girl [Sohniaye] first surfaced on Apache’s 1997 Real
People album. Without doubt, the most popular track on the album, it was
reinvented with a brand new desi mix on the repackaged Apache album Wild East in
1998. The duo shot a colorful video on the beaches of the tropical island of
Trinidad in the West Indies to accompany the release.
Now, as his music breaks records and spreads further afield, Malkit Singh’s
Malkit Millennium Mixes reaches into his glorious portfolio of hits and elevates
the classic sound of six of his most popular songs.
"At every one of my performances I always get requested to sing my older
songs. So, when we were deciding this project, we decided to brush up the most
popular songs and introduce them in a greatest-hits type fashion!" he explains.
For those of you who know the man and his music, you will be heartened to
know that he has rerecorded some of his biggest Bhangra anthems of the eighties
and nineties. "I’ve re-recorded ‘Tootak’ which features a rap by Kendall from
Stereo Nation, ‘Bhangra Paun Nu’, ‘Naram Jeh’, ‘Gurh Nalo Ishq Mita’ with
Cheshire Cat rapping (which is taken from my very first album). ‘Jind Mahi’ and
‘Punjab Mera’ complete the old hits with ‘Mahi Meri Jaan’ and ‘Kinni Sohni’
being the new songs. Each song has been re-sung and remixed to give it a modern
sound but the key elements of its initial success — the style, the lyrics and
melodies — are still the same but with a new twist. Some of the lyrics have also
been modernized for the millennium," he vividly explains, "I’ve recorded ‘Mahi
Meri Jaan’... it’s for the ladies! The story is set around the traditional
family life where the wife is telling her husband that his mother would not
provide anything for them when they leave to setup their own home...it’s a
tongue-in-cheek look at family life." Coupled with the new sound of ‘Kinni
Sohni’, which has already attracted some interest from Bollywood, the album is
posed to be a glorious success.
The album has
just been released around the world by Oriental Star Agencies (OSA), with a
separate and exclusive record deal for India and the subcontinent. "The album
has just been released by Virgin Records in India ... as far as I am aware, it
is the first major release for them in India. I’ve also just completed the video
to the song "Tootak" (Hey Jamalo) in Mumbai with director Ken Ghosh who was the
man behind Alisha’s Made In India video," he explains. Malkit Singh is most
definitely accompanied by an awesome arsenal of music’s hierarchy!
His appeal to young and old is hypnotic with a live stage act that warrants
applause. At the dawn of the new century, Malkit’s Golden Voice of Punjab gains
further notoriety as his unrivalled blend of Bhangra magnetism illuminates the
global South Asian diaspora as never before. He describes the new Bhangra
generation in the sub continent as, "The younger generation that have been
brought up with Hindi and Punjabi music. They are exploring the sounds of music
born in India ... that is one of the reasons Bhangra is so popular once again."
To further his claims, Malkit Singh played at the legendary FilmFare Magazine
Awards in Mumbai in February, and followed that performance with a debut gig
alongside the UK’s Reggae super group UB40. "We played at the Andheri Sports
Complex. It was unbelievable! Just to be on stage with them was an experience,"
he enthused.
Back in Jalander, Punjab, India, Malkit Singh first debuted his Golden Voice,
and consequently won for the third successive year at the Punjab State
Performance, where he was presented with a symbolic golden star to mark his
achievement. His debut album, Gurh Nalo Ishq, revitalized the music made outside
of Punjab in 1984 and the album Upfront totally rewrote the musical history
books. It was the renaissance that Bhangra had been waiting for. It has since
become the biggest selling Punjabi album in history, and spawned the monumental
Tootak Tootak (Hey Jamalo). The track was awarded the honor of being The Most
Outstanding Track of the Bhangra Era in 1993.
Over the years he has accumulated a wide range of awards for his songs, his
live act, sales and for individual services to music. Amongst the world renowned
arenas, Malkit Singh has performed at The Victoria & Albert Museum in
London, Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, The Lincoln Center in New York, The
National Cricket Stadium in New Delhi, India and The Hyatt Regency Hotel in
Dubai. Many of these performances have been debut stage shows for a Bhangra
artist still yet to be equalled by any of Malkit Singh’s modern day adversaries.
To date, Malkit Singh and his live band have performed in over 27 countries.
To complement
the release of Malkit Millennium Mixes, the official Malkit Singh website has
also been launched (www.MalkitSingh.com) and features profiles, discography,
tour news, fans feedback and the latest news on Malkit Singh and his worldwide
movements. "People have been asking for a long time about my web site ... it has
taken me some time to get it going but I think I’ve finally caught up with the
technological revolution!"
It is his fifteenth year in the glare of the stage lights yet Malkit Singh’s
pulling power is still as potent as ever. Malkit Singh is without doubt a
Bhangra icon, who can make a significant impact to the world of music, and with
the renewed interest in his back catalogue, be prepared to be dazzled by the
golden voice once more. Malkit Millennium Mixes will take a new generation
through its maze of rhythmically relentless beats, midtempo pop harmonies and
his own honeyed vocal exhibition. Malkit Singh could prove to be the man to
carry this music genre into a new epoch. Is this then the year of Malkit
Singh?
The Songs
Mahi Meri Jaan is a new song where Malkit sings a duet all by himself! From
the eyes of a sceptical wife pouring scorn on her husband’s mother, the mood is
set on a lively up-tempo beat.
Tootak, which features a rap by Kendall from Stereo Nation, yet again ignites
the biggest selling Malkit song in a house music style. Look out for the
video!
Bhangra Paun Nu sits on a simple guitar riff yet rocks just like it did way
back in time. Heavy percussion’s and a fluid synthesizer undercurrent make this
one of the gems on the album.
Naram Jeh borders between the street soul sound of the eighties, the steel
drums of reggae and the synth-hooks of modern Pop. A definite winning
combination.
Gurh Nalo Ishq provides a classic combination of raw tumbi, dholak and
harmonium, desi-fied enough for the homies but up-to-dated enough to ease in the
ragged vocals of Cheshire Cat. The original tune hails from Malkit’s debut
album.
The romance of Jind Mahi collides with the elegant backdrop of swing-beat R
‘n’ B and Malkit’s stunning vocal array. Lovers rock in a retro Bhangra
fashion.
Punjab Mera is the unofficial anthem of Punjabi culture and has been for many
years. It looks set the carry the flag further into the new century heaving with
its Indian authenticity and styled on an upbeat club groove.
Kinni Sohni glides from a mid-tempo intro to a frantic guitar-led bassline.
The hybrid of Bhangra and Pop fused with the ‘Hoy!, Hoy!’ of the traditional
medium takes this song into a new era.
Discography
Nach Gidde Vich (1986)
I Love Golden Star (1987)
Put Sadaren De (1988)
Chott Nigary Lawo (1988)*
Up Front (1988)
Fast Forward (1989)
Hai Shava (1989)
Dhotakada Bai Dhotakada (1990)
Ragga Muffin Mix (1991)
Gal Sun Ja (1991)
Tere Ishq Nachiyan (1992)
Singho Ho Jo Kathe (1992) *
Chak De Dholia (1993)
Midas Touch (1994)
Forever Gold (1995)
Akh Larr Gayee (1997
*Religious albums
[Home][Contents][Next][Classified][Feedback]
Little India is hosted and maintained by ASANet.