Bhangra is a type of non-traditional music of Punjab originating in Britain, specifically Southall and Birmingham. It is a type of upbeat popular music associated with the Punjabi diaspora in Britain. The style has its origins in the folk music of Punjab as well as western pop music of the 1970s and 1980s. Prior to this musical fusion, Bhangra existed only as a dance form in the native Punjab. This Punjabi music was unique in that it was not traditional nor did it seek any authenticity. While the traditional folk music of Punjab has a set of melodies that are used by various singers, Bhangra was a form of strict "band culture" in that new melodies were composed for each song. Therefore, the musicians were as important as the singers.
Rajinder Singh Rai, better known by his stage name Panjabi MC, is a British-Indian recording artist, rapper, producer and DJ. He is best known for the worldwide 2002 bhangra hit "Mundian To Bach Ke", which sold 10 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. Among other songs, he gained acclaim with the 2003 release "Jogi". AllMusic has called him "one of the most prominent names in bhangra".
Steven Kapur, known by the stage name Apache Indian, is a British singer-songwriter and reggae DJ. He had a series of hits during the 1990s. He is best known in the UK for the song "Boom Shack-A-Lak", which reached the top ten during August 1993.
Jagwinder Singh Dhaliwal, is an Indian English singer from Southall, London of Indian Punjabi Sikh descent.
Malkit Singh, MBE is an England-based Punjabi bhangra singer. Born in Hussainpur and raised in Nakodar, he moved to Birmingham in 1984. Singh was the first Punjabi singer to be honoured with an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. He is most famous for the songs "Gur Nalo Ishq Mitha", "Tootak Tootak Tootiyan", "Kurri Garam Jayee", "Dekh li vilyait", "Chal Hun", and "Jind Mahi", the latter two from the soundtrack to the popular film Bend It Like Beckham.
Swami is a British Indian electronic music/ bhangra/ world music act from Birmingham, England. "Swami" is also the pseudonym of the DJ producer Diamond Duggal. Swami currently performs as a hybrid electronic DJ act with special world music guests and collaborations including Deep Forest and PunjabTronix.
Sukshinder Shinda is a British Punjabi playback singer-songwriter and bhangra record producer from Handsworth in Birmingham, England. He hails from Village Dhamai, District Hoshiarpur, Punjab in India.
Arif Lohar is a Pakistani Punjabi folk singer. He became popular in Pakistan as well as in India after his famous song "Jugni" with Nooran Lal in 2006. He usually sings accompanied by a native musical instrument resembling tongs. His folk music is representative of the traditional folk heritage of Punjab. He is the son of the renowned folk singer Alam Lohar.
RDB is a band initially formed in 1997 by three British Indian brothers, Kuldeep, Surjeet and Manjeet Singh Ral. The band's style blends western genres with traditional Punjabi beats and vocals. After the death of the eldest brother Kuldeep in 2012 and the departure of Manjeet to start a solo career, RDB has continued with the brother Surjeet.
Diamond Duggal also known as DJ Swami is a British-Indian music producer, composer, musician and AI researcher. He has produced for a number of notable artists, including Shania Twain, Pras Michel, Apache Indian, Maxi Priest, Stereo Nation, Zoheb Hassan and Viktor Kiraly as well as remixing for artists including Erasure, the Beat and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He is an accomplished guitar player and multi-instrumentalist and toured as lead guitarist with Boyzone and Robbie Williams. Diamond is also co-founder of production duo Simon and Diamond with his brother Simon Duggal. As DJ Swami, he performs and records electronic, Indian Punjabi bhangra and South Asian music both as a solo artist and as band leader of UK electronic world music acts Swami and PunjabTronix. DJ Swami also tours and performs in collaboration with Deep Forest.
Sahotas were a U.K. based Bhangra/Rock/World music band. The band, started in Bilston, Wolverhampton in the mid-1980s, had a line-up of five brothers. They have released music in both English and Punjabi. The lead singer was Surj Sahota, and the music director/producer was Mukhtar Sahota.
Gurinder Kaur Kainth, popularly known by her stage name Miss Pooja is an Indian singer and actress who primarily sings Punjabi songs in Bhangra, Pop and Folk genres.
Heera Group UK is a bhangra music band that originated in the early 1980s. Also known as the pioneers of British Bhangra, and one of the most successful British Bhangra bands in history. The lead singers are Palvinder Dhami and Jasvinder Kumar.
Muhammad Mumith Ahmed, known professionally as Mumzy Stranger or his producing name SP, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He made his mainstream recording debut in the summer of 2009 with his debut single "One More Dance" along with follow-up single, "Showgirl". The following year, he released Fly with Me which is the lead single from his debut album, Journey Begins.
Hartinder Dhami better known as H-Dhami is a British-Indian Bhangra artist.
Jaswinder Singh Dhami, better known as Jaz Dhami, is a British-Indian playback singer, music composer, music producer, and performer.
Multitone Records, originally Savera Investments, was a British record label founded by Pran Gohil in 1978. Pran was formerly Regional Head of Polygram, Asia Pacific based in the Netherlands and also Executive Chairman of Spartan Records, London. Multitone Records specialized in bhangra style music. The style itself was commercialized by Multitone Records, which is considered to be the pioneer of British Bhangra and the label grew to become the "largest Asian record label in the world" during its lifetime under Managing Director Jitesh Gohil. In 1992, the company entered into a joint venture with BMG in order to spread its label throughout Europe and internationally. Multitone's artists formed the "who's who" of the British bhangra scene including The Safri Boyz, DCS, XLNC, Sasha, Amar, Apna Sangeet, Alaap, Chirag Pehchan and many more. A number of Multitone's records entered the UK and International charts including "People of the world" by Sasha, "Take me higher" by Bindushri and "Tu hai mera sanam" by Amar. Multitone's music also entered the market on the Indian subcontinent with hits like "Patel rap" by Bali, and hits of Abba in Hindi by Salma and Sabina Agha.The company began distribution in the United States on 27 June 1994 through M.S. Distributing Co. Paul Bernard was appointed as the US representative of the company. The US debut featured albums by Pammi and XLNC
Bhujhangy Group are the world's longest-running bhangra band. The group was founded in Smethwick, near Birmingham, England, in 1967 by brothers Dalbir Singh Khanpur and Balbir Singh Khanpur, who had come to the United Kingdom to in the mid 1950s and been joined by their families in 1964, initially working as labourers in the West Midlands' factories. They were named Bhujhangy – meaning "kids" – as they were still teenagers, and their first recording was "Teri Chithi Noon Parthan", a 7" EP recorded in 1967 and distributed manually in pub juke boxes before being officially recorded and distributed in late 1969-70.
The Brit Asia TV Music Awards, also known as Brit Asia TV World Music Awards or the abbreviation BAMA, is an awards show that has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 2010, usually in October. The awards show is produced by Brit Asia TV. Award winners are decided by public voting on a website from a list of nominees presented by the event organizers at a nomination party. Website desiblitz called it "UK's largest celebration of South Asian music" and "the biggest awards in the British Asian Music calendar".
Tru Skool is a Derby Midlands, UK based Punjabi bhangra, hip hop, record producer. He was awarded multiple Brit Asia TV Music Awards. His produced albums "Back to Basics" by Diljit Dosanjh and "Bacthafucup" by Karan Aujla were charted on Billboard Top Canadian Albums.
