Naya Beat, Vol. 2: South Asian Dance and Electronic Music 1988-1994

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, embracing their heritage in the face of discrimination and economic struggle, South Asian diasporas around the world experienced a cultural renaissance. In the UK, underground daytime raves and local radio stations grew out of the racial tensions of the 1970s and early 1980s, while South Asians returning to East Africa sought to create new spaces after the mass deportations in the previous decade. New clubs and festivals flourished in North America and the Caribbean, South Asians weaving their own heritage into the diverse cultural fabric of the islands.

The South Asian musicians combined styles from across the region—Indian classical, Punjabi folk—with genres like soca, hip-hop, and reggae, while also dipping into the dancefloor-sweeping electronic jungle, house, and trip-hop sounds on a global level. Merging the formal structures of Western dance forms with the fluidity of South Asian rhythms has resulted in a unique collection of idiosyncratic styles that feel as fresh and subversive today as they must have 30 years ago. However, most releases barely made a dent in the wider music scene at the time, and many artists ended their musical careers in obscurity.

album/naya-beat-volume-2-south-asian-dance-and-electronic-music-1988-1994″ class=”external-link” data-event-click=”{"element":"ExternalLink","outgoingURL":"https://nayabeat.bandcamp.com/album/naya-beat-volume-2-south-asian-dance-and-electronic-music-1988-1994"}” href=”https://nayabeat.bandcamp.com/album/naya-beat-volume-2-south-asian-dance-and-electronic-music-1988-1994″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>Naya Beat Volume 2: South Asian Dance And Electronic Music 1988-​1994 brings together this fragmented history, connecting the intercontinental dots to reveal a shared moment when musicians from Kabbalah to Queens were combining new beat, acid house and dub with South Asian sounds. One of the most remarkable things about this archival deep dive—which follows the equally enlightening album/naya-beat-volume-1-south-asian-dance-and-electronic-music-1983-1992″ class=”external-link” data-event-click=”{"element":"ExternalLink","outgoingURL":"https://nayabeat.bandcamp.com/album/naya-beat-volume-1-south-asian-dance-and-electronic-music-1983-1992"}” href=”https://nayabeat.bandcamp.com/album/naya-beat-volume-1-south-asian-dance-and-electronic-music-1983-1992″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>Naya Beat Vol 1which focused on Balearic gems, synth pop and South Asian disco from the early '80s—is that it doesn't feel like a nostalgia trip. Instead, it's filled with dancefloor beats that still hit hard today, testifying to how ahead of their time these artists were.

Kuljit Bhamra's stirring original track 'Dholdrums', with its dizzying tabla and dhol solos, would not be out of place in a album/dt001-2″ class=”external-link” data-event-click=”{"element":"ExternalLink","outgoingURL":"https://daytimers.bandcamp.com/album/dt001-2"}” href=”https://daytimers.bandcamp.com/album/dt001-2″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>Daytimers Collectionand reveals a more experimental edge at a time when bhangra – a popular fusion of Punjabi pop with hip-hop and reggae – dominated the UK's South Asian music scene. Nairobi-born composer, producer and musician Bhamra was himself a major player in the bhangra scene, creating thousands of songs for major artists such as Premi and even winning an MBE from Queen Elizabeth for his contribution in British Asian music. .