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 and masterminded by Talvin Singh. 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.

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.

Notable artists

★ Asian Dub Foundation

★ Akshai Sarin

★ Badmarsh & Shri

★ Bally Sagoo

★ DJ Cheb I Sabbah (USA)

★ Dhol Foundation

★ Fun-Da-Mental

★ Gurdeep Samra

★ Habib Wahid

★ Jalebee Cartel (India)

★ Joi

★ Jolly Mukherjee, (whose latest album "Fusebox" included remixes from various Asian Underground artists)

★ Karsh Kale (USA)

★ Loop Guru

★ MIDIval Punditz (India)

★ Mission on Mars (USA)

★ Muslimgauze

★ Niraj Chag

★ Nitin Sawhney

★ Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (contributor to many Asian Underground artists, in terms of vocals)

★ Panjabi MC

★ Recycler

★ Sammy Chand (USA)

★ Shiva Soundsystem

★ State of Bengal

★ Tabla Beat Science

★ Talvin Singh

★ Transglobal Underground

★ Trilok Gurtu

Notable Labels

★ Rukus Avenue

★ Nation Records

★ Axiom Records

★ Outcaste Records

Notable Compilations

★ Swaraj

★ Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground

★ Asian Lounge

★ Nasha - eastern drum n breaks volume 1 & 2