Isle of Seeds

CHARANJIT SINGH – TEN RAGAS TO A DISCO BEAT

BY ios, August 4th

In 1982, veteran Bollywood composer Charanjit Singh visits Singapore and gets his hands on the now holy trinity of a Roland 303, 808, and Jupiter 8 – the core of acid house and arguably the precursor to electronic dance music as we know it today.

Later that year, EMI India releases an album limited to a few thousand copies: “Synthesizing: Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat”. It presents Charanjit’s effort at using what was then entirely new technology to bridge the gap between programmed beats, synth lines, and classical Indian music motifs.

It essentially sinks without a trace.

In 2010, Dutch label Bombay Connection re-releases this LP to an unsuspecting and wholly ignorant public, convinced that these beats were established in the clubs of Chicago, Detroit, and Manchester in the mid to late eighties.

Tracklist:

1. Raga Hairav

2. Raga Lalit

3. Raga Bhupali

4. Raga Megh Malhar

5. Raga Yaman

6. Raga Kalavati

7. Raga Madhuvanti

8. Raga Todi

9. Raga Malkauns

10. Raga Bairagi

Charanjit Singh: 2010 from Rana Ghose on Vimeo.