Humming on the Net
By Jatender S. Heer
Indian Music on the Net.
Indian resident in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom can buying, listen to and make music and they can travel back home via the immense power of the Net. The current trend seems to be to use the Net to advertise the music and the artist to a much wider audience. Many of today’s music stars have set-up their own web pages to supplement the demand for information and more information. Here, we try to highlight some of the leading names and sites currently accessible, which generally feature the standard features: artists profile, discography, tour news, fan club, music samples and a wealth of pictures and trivia. Nonetheless, no matter where you start and finish, a plethora of artists are out there to be found on the net…enjoy the search!
Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
www.nfak.com
Pakistan’s dearly-departed ‘Shahen Shah’and the ‘Pavarotti of Asia’s’ official site blends together his uplifting Qawali panache with the wealth of his impact to a global audience. From Peter Gabriel, Sting, Massive Attack and Eddie Vedder the non-Asian audience was in complete appreciation of the aura of his music. Learn more about the master.
Partners In Rhyme
www.partnersinrhyme.net
PIR launched the album ‘Distant Voices’ in the UK in 1997 and later went on to debut in India through Sony India. For a debut release, the album caused a sensation partly due to their Channel [V] award-nominated video ‘Chandni Raten’. Expect a new release later this year.
Bally Sagoo
www.bally sagoo.com
The ‘Wham Bam’ man highlights his latest album release ‘Star Crazy 2’ which sees him returning to his Punjabi roots.
Oriental Star Agencies
www.osa.co.uk
The home to over 200 Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan releases, plus Bally Sagoo, Sabri Brothers, Silinder Pardesi, Shaukat Ali, Attah Ullah Khan Essakhailvi, Partners In Rhyme, Vital Signs, Stereo Nation and Malkit Singh, OSA have been at the forefront of the UK’s music scene for over 30 years. A full ordering service gives you access to their extensive library.
Cornershop
www.cornershop.com
‘Brimful of Asha’ and ‘Sleep on the Leftside’ launched the UK’s Punjabi-led group to unprecedented global success. ‘Brimful…’ was dedicated in part to Asha Bhosle and time-and-time again, lead vocalist Tjinder Singh was forced to explain the significance of Asha’s music to his group being. A new album is due soon.
Malkit Singh
www.malkitsingh.com
The ‘King of Bhangra’ recently launched his site, which delves, into his history, his seventeen albums and his phemeonal tour schedule. As the leading name in the world of Bhangra, he invites you to keep track of movements and even vote for your favourite track from his latest smash-hit album ‘Millennium Mixes’. One of the most exciting new sites to be found.
Ravi Shankar
www.ravishankar.org
Ravi Shankar is the man renowned for popularising Indian classical music and combining Eastern and Western musical styles through the sitar. With the recent re-issuing of his re-mastered and re-packaged CD versions of some of the 78 year-old’s most influential and renowned releases - ‘Live at Monterey’ and ‘Portrait of a Genius’ - his site continues to propel India’s cultural ambassador to the world to an ever expanding audience.
Jazzy B
www.jazzy-b.demon.co.uk
Canadian sensation Jazzy Bains launched his home pages to coincide with the release of his recent album ‘All Eyez On Me’. Having launched a successful career in India, Vancouver resident Jazzy Bains is back in the UK to perform during the hectic summer wedding season.
Apache Indian
www.apache-indian.com
‘BhangraMuffin’ Apache Indian reels of his latest release ‘Wild East’ which features the dynamic duet with Malkit Singh on ‘Independent Girl’. The man himself is currently working with Boy George for a Hindi film soundtrack.
Babylon Zoo
www.babylonzoo.com
He was beamed down from somewhere out there and landed into a pair of Levi jeans to release the colossal hit ‘Spaceman’. He toured the world on the strength of the one song and sold a truckload in each of the 13-plus countries the track went to number one. Now he’s back and his web site is one to witness. Jas Mann and his Punjabi fusion is one of the most exciting music sensations of decade.
Stereo Nation
www.subdub.com
‘I’ve Been Waiting’ and ‘Oh Carol (Jahveena)’ have catapulted the Stereo Nation duo Taz and Kendall to celebrity star status in India. Their album, ‘Jambo’, fuses Hindi-Punjabi-English and has already peaked at No.1 in India. This site is comes via their label Sub Dub Records.
Sukbir
www.sukhbir.dircon.co.uk/
Sukhbir’s debut in 1995 with ‘New Stylee’ marked his arrival on the music scene and he quickly followed up with ‘Gal Ban Gayee’. His latest release, ‘Hai Energy’ follows his hi-octane brand of Bhangra-pop.
Racquel Zonté
www.zonte.com
Twenty-four year old singer-songwriter-producer-guitarist Racquel Zonté and her debut album ‘Give Yourself Away’ have caused a wave of interest since release. Punjabi-American Racquel Zonté sings and strums her guitar fronting her band Zonté and has been likened to Chrissie Hynde. Fancy a bit of Indian-style Rock ‘n’ Roll?
Silinder Pardesi
www.pardesi.co.uk
Taking Bhangra into the future, Silinder Pardesi launched his official web site early in 1997. Comprising of a detailed history, live audio and video samples, tour dates and pictures, a discography and regular updates, the site include information on his new album Exposure.
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