By Natalia Ningthoujam
New Delhi, June 5 (IANS) The foot-tapping Bhangra genre of Punjabi music has become a significant part of the music industry in Britain, says Indian DJ Surinder Rattan, based in Manchester.
Rattan, popular for "Tappe" in which he infused House Music with Bhangra, pointed out that Indian music has a strong fan base in Britain, and that it is one of the genres that is loved by the country's people.
"Indian music is very popular in the UK as there is a large base of the South Asian community which has been there for long. All kind of music is welcomed in the UK and the youth culture usually tells you about the trend. It's good news that Bhangra has become an integral part of the music industry," Rattan, also a music producer, told IANS in an interview.
Is it important for an Indo-British artistes to club Bhangra music with other genres?
"It is not at all necessary and music in its purest form is also welcomed. It is my style of music to club Bhangra music and fuse Indian music with western music. At the end of the day, it's the rhythm that works for you," he said.
He believes that there are a lot of elements attached to Punjabi music like the rhythm, the beats and the high energy vocals combined with unique lyrics that make it so appealing.
"It is just a go-to happy sound that makes people want to dance," he shared.
He recently dropped a "happy tune" titled "Akhaan" by the urban electronica collective Mango Beats, led by Rattan.
EMI Records India - the collaborative label between Universal Music India and Bollywood film director Mohit Suri - recently presented Mango Beats, which also includes rappers Illmatik and TRIX.
"Mango Beats was formed after I roped in rappers to push my distinct production sound to a global audience. I decided to use long-time collaborators Illmatik and TRIX as they had built a great understanding with me, both in the studio as well as on stage performing high energy gigs," he said.
"Our major label debut single is the club banger 'Akhaan' featuring the voice of Joga Singh. A Future House sound over a rustic Punjabi folk composition is what makes 'Akhaan' a path-breaking track! It is a fresh new age sound," he added.
Since the project involves Suri, is he hoping to work with the "Aashiqui 2" director in one of his films?
"Yes, Mohit Suri has spoken about including us in one of his films. However, nothing has been finalized yet. As and when it gets finalized we will make an announcement," shared Rattan, who has loads of hits to his credit including "Kala kala munda", "Dil de de dil" and "Has has".
He also has a long list of artistes he would like to collaborate with.
"It is a long list that includes Dr. Dre, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Mika Singh, Arijit Singh and many more," he said.
(Natalia Ningthoujam can be contacted at natalia.n@ians.in)
