Original synth
“Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat” (check it out) by Charanjit Singh (India, 1982) newly discovered and rereleased by our friend Edo at Bombay-Connections Records who writes:
*Until recently it wasn’t much more than some rumours on the web: a 1982 released LP called TEN RAGAS TO A DISCO BEAT containing Kraftwerk-like acid house music, years before the genre was invented.
So it turns out, the record was no rumour. Only a few hundred copies of the LP were ever pressed, and only a handful seem to have survived. Moreover, the LP outdoes all expectations. Performed on the synths that would later define Acid House, the Roland TB-303 and TR-808, the album sounds light years ahead of its time with its repetitive beats and hypnotic electronic melodies. Its maker, Bollywood session musician Charanjit Singh, set out to translate ancient Indian classical Ragas to the modern synthesizer and in doing so seems to have invented House music along the way. The 10 tracks make a consistent listen from A to Z. Its restrained minimalism and lack of cheesiness makes it incredibly contemporary, sounding animated, fluid and unabashedly alive.”
(54 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
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April 23rd, 2010 at 9:03 am
This is the type of stuff one would hear in my junior college “music synth class” back in the early seventies. With access to Roland, Moog and Sony multi-track recording equipment, we made tape “loops” with synthesized sounds and beats. Easy and fun! This artist cleverly used keyboard and recording equipment with multi-track tape strips in this bold and powerful illustration. I’d like to see more of this persons work. BRILLIANT!!!
What first caught my eye was the drawing on the upper right side. Is that supposed to be the sun shining through a prism? Makes me think of The Pink Floyd’s Dark Side LP. Love it!
April 23rd, 2010 at 2:07 pm
For the best in Basement Bhangra (an amazing fusion of Indian and Western dance music), check out http://www.djrekha.com!
June 20th, 2010 at 6:29 am
This is amazing. The only thing I can compare it to is the similarly Raga influenced “Cochin Moon” by Haruomi Hosono and Tandanori Yokoo (with Ryuichi Sakamoto playing keyboards) – this is from 1978:
June 25th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Original cover: http://ghostcapital.blogspot.com/2010/03/charanjit-singh-synthesizing-ten-ragas.html