OH BALLE!

Bhangra's original form dates back to 300BC in the Punjab region. The bhangra of comtemporary era however saw a revival in the late 1960s when North Indian immigrants in the United Kingdom town of Birmingham wanted an alternative to the disco scene that was dominated by the white caucasians.

The new Bhangra combined traditional instruments with the drum & bass beats associated with disco in the 70s. Singapore has its very own Bhangra night, that is usually organized on the eve of public holidays like Deepavali, Hari Raya and Christmas. On a typical Bhangra night out, you will be able to hear a mixture of traditional Bhangra, and the commercialized R&B, reggaeton beats that dominate the clubbing scene on the dance floor. This is an example of hybridization.

Here are some examples

1. B21 - Darshan

http://youtube.com/watch?v=v-SmHxgxW9w

This is traditional Bhangra music. You can check out the funky dance moves and traditional dresses in the video. This is a recent song and was also in the soundtrack of the movie "Bend it like Beckham".


2. Sukhshinder Shinda ft. Takeova ENT - Punjabi Clap

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0NPI4wQ3bk0

Shinda is one of the pioneers of the modern Bhangra, along with Bally Sagoo, both from Birmingham. This song has the classic combination of rap, R&B and Bhangra mediums. The dancing also incoporates western and traditional Punjabi Bhangra dance moves. You could say this is hybridization.


3. Kray Twins ft. Twista & Lethal Bizzle - What We Do

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IpqXQstedFE

Here comes the interesting part. The Kray Twins are really big in the US and UK. They are the two Pai-s (brothers in Hindi) in the music video. They are music producers. So much so that even accomplished artists like Twista has approached them to do some productions together. You could call this a form of glocalization




There are many examples of glocalization in the UK-Hindi Bhangra scene, with artists like Jay Sean, Juggy D & Rishi Rich making it big both in the UK and across the Atlantic and of course, here in Asia. The 1st song in the clip below is a UK number one club hit.


Rishi Rich, Don D & Juggy D - Nahin Jeena

http://youtube.com/watch?v=moFd-6sim0U



Thats about it with the Bhangra music scene, globalization, hybridization and glocalization. Keep it real, safe.




Melvin