Hardeep MC

Anecdotal evidence shows Bhangra, the exuberant and catching form of music and dance originally inspired by Punjabi farmers commemorating the harvest festival of Baisakhi, being celebrated since the 15^th century. History takes us through a Bhangra scene, which has celebrated the rise of Kuldip Manak’s vivacious voice, mourned the fall and loss of Chamkila’s notorious lyrics, parodied folksy hits from duo Mohammed Siddiq and Ranjit Kaur, and wedded to pop beats of Malkit Singh and Gurdas Mann. Today’s remix-mania enjoys criticism and consumerism thanks to the emergence of Generation P[unjabi] artists such as Balwinder Safri and Jazzy B. Bhangra and book ended with seasonal artists from the UK such as Alaap, DCS, Apna Sangeet, and B21 and artists from North America such as Bhinda Jatt and Harbhajan Mann.

Yet, reaching beyond ethnocentric sounds of Punjab, a new breed of South Asian remix savants have helped place Bhangra on the map of world dance music by mixing the instruments, styles and compositions of our long forgotten “pinds” helping to open the territorial sensibilities that restrict musical imperialism. Central to bhangra beats, even the dhol has become involved in the appropriation and folklorization of Punjabi traditions in a North American cultural context through developing neocolonial relationships between such mix maestros and Western elements of rock, reggae, hip hop, and jazz, elegantly spiked with quintessential dhol drummings and tabla tappings.

Does this imperialism of the dhol and Bhangra fulfill some need or desire that goes unaddressed in our Anglo-American cultural milieu? What is it about the cultural positioning in contemporary North America that make percussive music based in the cultural traditions of Punjab so nouveau now? Is listening to the dhol on BBC and NPR an indication towards multicultural encirclement, or a continuation of cultural imperialism?

Harjit Singh from Wolverhampton heads Birmingham City Council's World Music Department teaching the Punjabi dhol. Ten-year-old Terry Dark (right) practices dhol. BBC

Today’s fusion foray of global beats helps break down such barriers of metamorphic resistance and transcend ethnocentric paradigms. For Western sounds, the inclusion of rustic rhythmic stylings in post modern world fusion music represents a shift to fostering cross cultural exchange perhaps even towards promoting peace and tolerance, conceivably because Westerners lack a connection to culture materially and spiritually. "If a man sings of God and hears of Him, and lets love of God sprout within him, All his sorrows shall vanish, And in his mind, God will bestow abiding peace." – Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

World music and their inspirations may reach into emotional and mystical dialogues associated with a new age spiritual renaissance and “holistic” view of progression seen in politics, economics, arts, and entertainment. Feeling the dhol on the dance floor may serve as a response to the alienation and artificiality we feel in contemporary North American society: disjointed world views, diminishing communal identity, increasing asceticism, and a seemingly increasing dependence on technology.

As Indian born and/or bred artists share in this alchemical phenomenon to which we can all relate and which, in practice and performance, fusion also endorses basic values such as personal expression, group cooperation, creativity, and curiosity; music is becoming more and more communal, and not just in a universal sense but in a particular sense — as Punjabism unites in sounds, styles, and songs mostly in part to expeditious technology uniting artistic collaborations. Thus, dhol blasting, which began in the “pinds” of Punjab, can be (and already has been) transported and transformed all over the world, and because of the unique nature of Punjabi music — a music originally forged in a celebratory festivals of farming — the transplanted dhol carries with it not merely sonic nature, but its anthropological overtones as well.

In the midst of the South Asian fusion virtuosos such as Karsh Kale, Talvin Singh, Panjabi MC, one mix-master maestro goes beyond uniting dhol blasting bhangra with contemporary soliloquies of transcendental ethnic beats to popularize a farmer’s ode to his labor, wealth, and prosperity. dj Cheb i Sabbah constructively examines contemporary popular bhangra music and how it intersects with Punjab’s identity, history, culture, bringing globalization of the dhol to mainstream audiences reaching beyond esoteric club scenes.

Why is Chebiji’s Punjabi paradigm different than the others? Chebiji understands Bhangra’s syncretic soundings, history, and tradition and helps modern audiences to appreciate the dhol spiritually and aesthetically. Though he has never set foot in Punjab, Chebiji innately understands the culmination of the dhol with Western sounds and brings new light to folklorization because his idea that collective “outernational” music, a term which dj Cheb i Sabbah coined, is in some way a representation of the collective inner world of spiritual peace, and may be of particular importance in the creation of a holistic, inner and outer global culture of peaceful music producing music that transcends marketing, packaging, and commodification of the dhol to mainstream audiences.

dj Cheb i Sabbah’s adventurous endeavors as a composer / producer / ethnomusicologist with South Indian classical music (Shri Durga, 1999 and Krishna Lila, 2002) has successfully elected him as a reigning sovereign of global fusion on the West Coast. Today, Chebiji celebrates “our” globalized dhol (professionally known as Mitch Hyare, world’s first dhol prodigy), and an accompaniment of his Bhangra fused traditions combined with lyrics and melodies that are representative of “outernational” music to the Getty Center, Museum of Contemporary Art, and Asian Arts Museum, for mainstream audiences to appreciate the truest expression of Punjabi people through its dances and its music.

The variety and diversity of humanity's musical life, as celebrated in Chebiji’s ecumenical tradition, provides a dynamic link between Punjabi culture and the world, which eventually dictates musical chart placement and appreciation. Using global values of music, meditation and prayer, Chebiji’s resulting musical experiences demonstrate a pseudo Sikhe-like opportunity and equality, where the interacting pop culture becomes a manifestation of our inner Punjabi unity and an outer diversity principle spread throughout the musical realm.

Incorporating energetic “shava shava” like lyrics centered on social Punjabi issues related to love, relationships, alcohol, dancing, and marriage and tones of Sukhwinder Singh and Surjit Bindrakhia, which are always sung in the Punjabi language, Chebiji marries Punjabi pride themes of the rich cultural traditions from our homeland that many ABCDs (American Born Confused Desis) have never experienced. Whether in Hollywood hot spots or at New York nightclubs, Chebiji’s globalization of the dhol helps acquaint worldwide audiences with our youthful cultural sensibilities of chasing women with their colourful dupattas and dancing at an umpteenth wedding in Ludhiana; a true sign of the emergence of Bhangra into popular culture.

Beyond the dhol, Chebiji also introduces the African spirit of ngoma (a term referring to the holistic connections between music, dance, other arts, society and life force. It encapsulates the notion of power in communal performance), where Bhangra is seen as a dance art emphasizing the synergy of group performance where everybody participates. Bhangra becomes recognized as a modern mode of expression linking commonalities of dissimilar cultures through artistic similarities and breaks down any dialectical tensions creating a community of appreciators whether it is a community of college students or Chandigarh farmers. Through rousing performances with a near legendary pursuit of sonic accuracy, Chebiji helps place Bhangra as a force to identify with and experience the music, which differentiates his “outernational” stylings from other one hit wonders waiting to be remixed.

Chebiji’s music is colorful and diverse, reflecting the artistic ingenuity of the bhangra music’s versatility as well as the culture it represents, while allowing him to unite melodic material that perfectly counterbalances the rhythmic backdrop without being separated by linguistic or national boundaries. In Punjab, our culture pervades the music scene and all other aspects of daily life. Therefore, we must embrace the dholification process taking place in world music, welcoming new styles, new tonalities, new sounds, and new ideas, and subsequently the new attitudes that will ensue. Unlike devotional invocations and prayers found in his previous musical successes, Chebiji’s distinctive Bhangra aesthetics laced with urban dhol samplings and folk fusions are here to stay and here to be celebrated by all…the value of our Punjabi culture is the insight of dholification that gives us insight into our past; the preservation of our Punjabi culture is the preservation and popularization of our own history…today. To that, I say, shava shava Cheb i Sabbah…


Photo Credit:

Banging the drum for world music: BBC


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