Oldies sung differently !

In the 1960s and 1970s Bollywood composers adventurously adopted the trippy guitars, spiralling synthesizers and ethereal vocals of psychedelia and mixed it with lusciously over-the-top Indian orchestrations. Jewels included feature songs by Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar, Usha Iyer and yodeller Kishore Kumar.

For more information, visit: http://www.worldmusic.net/psychedelicbollywood

The Rough Guide To Psychedelic Bollywood

Inherently conservative yet beholden to commercial imperatives, the Indian film industry has provided a precious ongoing narrative to the swiftly changing socio-cultural landscape since Independence. Few issues have caused such concern, excitement and debate as the incursion of so-called Western values, yet this Rough Guide shows Bollywood composers at their most playfully engaged, experimenting with radical new ideas, freely adopting myriad ‘outside’ influences and often creating an extraordinary, irresistible psychedelic mish-mash.

Influenced by the Western rock and the intertwined hippy movement, as the sixties rolled on the underground Indian psychedelic scene mushroomed, inspiring composers like R.D. Burman to work far-out music into their blockbuster soundtracks. Evidently the Western psychedelic movement owed much to Indian inspiration and the relationship was mutual: the sounds and styles of the swinging sixties trickled back to Indian shores and went on to manifest themselves, first in the underground scene and then Bollywood.

One of the very first examples of a psychedelic element on the big screen was seen in the classic Hare Rama Hare Krishna. In this film, a young woman runs away and joins a hippy commune where she puffs with pleasure on an oversized chillum and dances loosely to the hypnotic music. ‘Dum Maro Dum’, the famous track from this scene is sung by renowned playback singer Asha Bhosle.

The Virji Shah brothers make up the composer duo known as Kalyanji Anandji. Together they composed several seminal Bollywood hits and openly acknowledged the influence of James Brown and psychedelia on their musical brand; two of their wackiest instrumentals show their worth as standalone compositions here. Other jewels included feature Lata Mangeshkar, Usha Iyer and yodeller Kishore Kumar, all Bollywood megastars whose vocals are taken into another dimension. The full length bonus disc is a compilation of works by the inimitable R.D. Burman.

Delve deep into the time-warp and lose yourself in the heady world of psychedelic Bollywood.

Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle & Mahendra Kapoor: Pyar Zindagi Hai

Disco, Bollywood-style, is typically high-voltage: metallic flares, dazzling over-sized mirror-balls, smoke machines galore and Technicolor flashing dance floors.  Let loose those dancing shoes and boogie down to Bollywood’s glittering disco heyday with Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar and more.

For more information: www.worldmusic.net/store/RGNET1327

THE ROUGH GUIDE TO BOLLYWOOD DISCO

James Brown’s trombonist Fred Wesley famously said ‘Disco music is funk with a bow-tie’ - a witty observation but much too modest for Bollywood. In typically high-voltage fashion, disco done Indian style adds so much more: metallic flares, dazzling over-sized mirror-balls, smoke machines galore and more Technicolor flashing dance floors than you could shake a rhinestone encrusted stick at. 

Disco originally steamed up from the hot and hectic streets of 1970s New York. Embracing decadence and presenting a new souped-up beat-driven sound, disco (like punk) can be seen as a reaction to the placid, perennially positive hippy vibes of the 1960s. The UK, its ears already opened to American dancefloor sounds via Northern Soul, had its first disco number one in 1974 with George McCrae’s ‘Rock Your Baby’. Soon, imported cassettes and vinyl worked their way into the hands of Indian film composers such as Bappi Lahiri, R.D. Burman and Biddu Appaiah. 

While ‘Chand Mera Dil Chandni Ho Tum’, a dramatic ballad from the 1977 film Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin, is an early example of the influence of disco on Bollywood, by the 1980s high energy bass-lines, peppy vocals and luscious strings had taken over.  The fun-loving magpie mentality of Indian film, both visually and musically, meant composers were more than happy to cherry-pick their favourite disco sounds and work them into their songs. On ‘Boom Boom’, sung by the Pakistani pop star Nazia Hassan, producer Biddu lifts Giorgio Moroder’s pulsating bass line straight from the Donna Summer hit ‘I Feel Love’, while the aptly named 1982 blockbuster Disco Dancer is a classic rags-to-riches story with a soundtrack that references dancefloor artists as diverse as Ottawan and The Buggles.  

The vocals of legendary Bengali playback singer Kishore Kumar epitomised the Bollywood sound’ throughout the 1970s. Renowned for his distinctive style of yodelling, his forays into disco heard here reflect his versatile vocal ability. 

Other treasures abound on The Rough Guide To Bollywood Disco, including such classics of the genre as ‘Hari Om Hari’ and ‘I Am A Disco Dancer’. Today, Bollywood disco lives on via modern interpretations and vintage appreciations. The cult club night ‘Bollywood Disco’ in New York is ever popular – their DJs instruct American youth in the long-lasting influence of the genre while their website explains how even contemporary hip-hop producers such as Timbaland have worked titillating morsels from the Bollywood back catalogue into their sound. 

Now it’s time to let loose those dancing shoes and boogie down to Bollywood’s glittering disco heyday.

The Rough Guide To Bollywood Disco also shines the spotlight on one of Bollywood’s greats, highlighting the dazzling career of the award-winning playback singer, actor, composer, screen-writer and director – Kishore Kumar.


Usha Uthup & Bappi Lahiri: Auva Auva Koi Yahan Nache (taken from The Rough Guide To Bollywood Disco)

Exclusive performance by Pritam @ IIFA Rocks 2013. Audio re-engineered  by me.

Disclaimer : I am not the owner of the original audio. 

Pritam ft. Arijit Singh, Aditi Singh Sharma, Raghav Sachar and Benny Dayal at IIFA Rocks 2013

Waqas Feroz  ft Akash
Saanson Ki Mala

Production of A Amplified Studio
Written by Khawaja Ameer Khusro 
Composed by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan 

Akash Musik ft Waqas Feroz - Saanson Ki Mala

Tirchi Topi (oye oye) (DJ Mohasin & Dj Sameer J Retrofunk Mix)

So I asked Shalmali to jam this song with me. I always knew what kind of vocals i wanted when i wrote the song...  But this is not something I imagined. You can hear me wheezing in the background too. :P

Hold On (Shalmali + Howie)

FINALLY ... The first track from Phase 1! BRAND NEW Dubstep/Fusion Album OUT NOW on Saregama!

Phoenyx feat. Arijit Singh - Ka Karoon Sajini (Dubstep) (Phase 1)

MASH UP OF RAMBHA HO +SHAAN SE + KOI YAHAN NACHE + HARI OM HARI + MAUSAM HAI..........

MAUSAM OF USHA UTHAP (RETRO MASH UP) RMX BY DJ NRB

The second version of The..AM's Remix.
Usha Uthup. The indian Queen of Disco.


Oldies sung differently !

Manas Nayak 3