Black Star Liner | |
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Origin | Leeds, England |
Genres | House Techno Ambient house Reggae Dub Asian |
Years active | 1994–[Still Active ] |
Members | Choque Hosein Tom Salmon Chris Harrop |
Black Star Liner were formed in Leeds in 1994, by Choque Hosein, Tom Salmon, and Chris Harrop. Their music consisted of a mix of Asian music (sitar and tabla), dance music and dub.
They formed Soundclash Records to release their initial recordings - "Smoke the Prophets" EP, and "High Turkish Influence". After receiving the single of the week award in the NME magazine for "Smoke the Prophets", [1] they recorded three Peel Sessions, [2] the first of which was broadcast in April 1995.
The Peel session enabled them to secure a recording contract with EXP, which was run by Graham Brown-Martin with A&R by Feargal Sharkey from The Undertones and Richard Norris from The Grid. Their debut album, Yemen Cutta Connection was released in September 1996, with a press launch on Dartmoor involving Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond from The KLF. The album received critical praise, including album of the week in The Guardian . [3]
After the demise of EXP, Rob Dickens from WEA signed Black Star Liner, and they recorded their second album Bengali Bantam Youth Experience! , which featured the single "Superfly and Bindi". Again receiving substantial critical acclaim, [4] [5] the album was also nominated for the 1999 Mercury Music Prize. [6] and their live act was also praised. [7]
Labelled as part of the Asian Underground, they worked with Tjinder Singh's Cornershop and are featured in the book, Brimful of Asia. [8]
Bis are a Scottish indie pop band composed of Steven Clark, John Clark, and Amanda MacKinnon, formed in 1994. The band's name, rhyming with 'this', derives from "black iron skyline", a lyric from the song "Twilight of a Champion" by The The.
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Cornershop are an English indie rock band best known for their single "Brimful of Asha", originally released in 1997 and, in a remixed version, topping the UK chart in 1998. The band was formed in 1991 by Wolverhampton-born Tjinder Singh, his brother Avtar Singh, David Chambers (drums) and Ben Ayres, the first three having previously been members of Preston-based band General Havoc, who released one single in 1991. The band name originated from a stereotype referring to British Asians often owning corner shops. Their music is a fusion of Indian music, indie rock, alternative and electronic dance music.
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Bengali Bantam Youth Experience! is an album by the English band Black Star Liner, released in 1999. "Superfly and Bindi" was released as a single and peaked at No. 78 on the UK Singles Chart. The album was nominated for the 1999 Mercury Music Prize. The band supported the album with a UK tour.
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