New Beats

The 40-year-old is touted by many as the man behind the Asian underground electronica music scene. “We used to throw small electronica music parties in Mumbai in the late nineties. When I released the album Soundz of Asian Underground in 1997,it had a global impact,” Singh says. The musician is glad that India is listening to a variety of music. “Indian acceptability of different styles and genres of music has increased because of the internet,” he says.

The musician had probably anticipated the internet revolution way back in the ‘90s when he released the limited edition album,Calcutta Cyber Cafe online. “The album is about how the internet has opened a window for India to the world— how the net has changed things,” he informs.

It is difficult to categorise Singh’s music,which is prone to experimentations. “What attracts me in a musician is freshness and honesty. People in the West are already spoiled by some great music from India such as Pandit Ravi Shankar and Zakir Hussain. The younger generation has to have the ‘I’ factor where the ‘I’ stands for India,” he explains and adds,“Delhi-based musician Samrat aka Audio Pervert is a genius. He is gifted and I have immense respect for the Bant Singh Project that he has undertaken,” he says.

With the Indian music industry basking in the glory of global acclaim that musicians such as AR Rahman have received,few know that Singh was the first person to introduce Rahman to the world when he released Soundz of Asian Underground in 1997. “I am waiting for him to release a solo album of just pure ‘Rahman’ music,” he says.