| Swami | |
|---|---|
 Swami Photoshoot Jan 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Birmingham, England |
| Genre(s) | Alt/Hip Hop/Bhangra |
| Years active | 1998– |
| Label(s) | Nation Records (to 2004) Envy/Roma Music (2004, Britain) Sony BMG India (2005-2006, India) EMI/Virgin (2007-) |
| Website | www.swamimusic.com www.myspace.com/swamimusic |
| Members | |
| Diamond "DJ Swami" Duggal (guitar, keys, decks) S-Endz (vocals) Sups (vocals) Liana (vocals) Bobby Panesar (dhol) | |
| Former members | |
| Tarsame 'Speed' Jarnail (vocals) Kamaljit 'Kamo' Bura (percussion) Simon 'Subs' Duggal (drums and production) Baba Stormz (bass guitar) Rocky Singh (drums) | |
Swami are a critically-acclaimed [1] British Indian pop/alt/bhangra band from Birmingham, England. Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a genre that is defined in greatly varying ways Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a Music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with Bhangra (ਭੰਗੜਾ pa-PK بھنگڑا pə̀ŋgɽäː is a lively form of music and dance that originated in the Punjab region of Pakistan and India In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Nation Records is a Record label set up by Aki Nawaz which released the first new take on world Dance music, an album called "Fuse" "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Sony BMG Music Entertainment is a diverse music and entertainment group The EMI Group is a British music company comprising the major record company EMI Music – which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in Lead guitar refers to the use of a Guitar to perform Melody lines instrumental fill passages, and Guitar solos within a song structure S-Endz, also known as Turi is a British Asian rapper/vocalist and member of the critically acclaimed UK rap/alternative/bhangra band Swami. The dhol (ਢੋਲ ڈھول; ढोल ڈھول) dohol ( دهل) is a Drum (a percussion Musical instrument The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells British Indians (also Indian British or Indian Britons) are citizens of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in the South Asian country Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a genre that is defined in greatly varying ways Bhangra (ਭੰਗੜਾ pa-PK بھنگڑا pə̀ŋgɽäː is a lively form of music and dance that originated in the Punjab region of Pakistan and India Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland It is also the pseudonym of the band's lead performer, producer, DJ and guitarist DJ Swami (real name Diamond Duggal), who founded the band with his brother Subs (real name Simon Duggal). A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias) Though 'Swami' traditionally refers to a Hindu teacher, the name is an abbreviation of the English phrase 'So Who Am I?'. Swami (Sw (स्वामी Svāmi, IPA:) is primarily a Hindu honorific title for either males or females English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The band has made it clear through interviews that Swami is a band in the traditional sense, and not a looser collective as is the case with many R&B groups. A musical ensemble is a group of two or more Musicians who perform instrumental or vocal Music. Musical collective is a phrase used in reference to a leaderless entity that is predisposed to performing music that may be considered experimental. [2]
Contents |
History
Swami's debut dance album Desi Nu Skool Beatz was initially released on Simon & Diamond Duggal's own Sub Dub label in 1998. After Sub Dub folded the album was picked up by Nation Records. Described as "blinding" by the Birmingham Post,[3] the album received some international recognition when the opening track Mehbooba appeared in the 2004 Olsen twins movie New York Minute [4]. Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13 1986 are American actresses, best known for playing the role of Michelle Tanner New York Minute is a 2004 comedy Teen film starring Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen and Eugene Levy. Nu Skool Beatz was followed by the 2002 album Bhangradotcom, which was less dance-oriented. [5]
2004-2006: The DesiRock Era
The band's big break came with the release of their third album DesiRock, which became popular across the entire British Asian music scene. DesiRock is the third album by British-Indian producer Diamond 'Swami' Duggal's alternative Bhangra group Swami and is also the title of the album's electro/ British Asians are British citizens who are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka By this time Diamond was the only original member remaining and had recruited his cousin S-Endz as rap vocalist in the band alongside British bhangra singer Jagz and MC Sarpanch. S-Endz, also known as Turi is a British Asian rapper/vocalist and member of the critically acclaimed UK rap/alternative/bhangra band Swami.
The title track DesiRock was voted as a BBC Radio 1 favorite, which led to the band doing a Maida Vale session in the summer of 2005, and the track also appeared in the Official 2006 FIFA World Cup edition of Electronic Arts' FIFA series of video games [6]. FIFA Football, also known as FIFA Soccer or FIFA in some regions is a series of football (soccer Video games In the same year DJ Swami won the Media Storm Best Producer award at the UK Asian Music Awards, as well as being nominated for Best Track (DesiRock) and Best Group. [7][8]
In late 2005, the band signed a deal with Sony BMG to release DesiRock in India as So Who Am I with a new line-up losing Sarpanch and replacing Jagz with new vocalist Sups. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sony BMG Music Entertainment is a diverse music and entertainment group India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country So Who Am I is the fourth album by British Bhangra group Swami. With a heavily modified sound (nearly all songs re-recorded with live guitar and drums, and additional vocals by S-Endz), they then embarked on a successful promotional tour of India which included a high-profile performance at the MTV Style Awards. MTV ( Music Television) is an American Cable television network based in New York City. The Hindu credited Swami with bringing British bhangra back to prominence in Indian clubs. The Hindu is a single-edition English-language Indian newspaper [9]
A fourth album of live recording sessions was scheduled to be released in the spring of 2006[6][2]. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Two songs from the sessions have been heard, Afraid and No Apologies, both at one stage were available on the band's Myspace site. Afraid's 'bhangra-fied mix' was also played on the BBC's Desi DNA programme. Desi DNA is a British Television show on the BBC covering Desi ( British Asian) art culture and entertainment These recordings remain otherwise unreleased.
In December 2006, Dhol player and percussionist Bobby Panesar joined the band.
2007-current: The Equalize Era
In March 2007, an update was made to Swami's website, containing details of the forthcoming album and revealed that it would feature many guest appearances including Pras of The Fugees, Boostylz, Lady Ru, French rappers Asuivre, South African vocalist Ishmael, MC Spee from the band Dreadzone, Yam Boy and more. Swami (Sw (स्वामी Svāmi, IPA:) is primarily a Hindu honorific title for either males or females Prakazrel Samuel Michel, known as Pras, (born October 19, 1972) is a Grammy Award -winning American Rapper The Fugees were a critically-acclaimed New Jersey hip hop group that rose to fame in the mid-1990s whose repertoire included elements of soul and Dreadzone are a British band whose music is an eclectic fusion of dub, Reggae, techno, trance, and folk.
It was later announced that Swami's 2007 release was to be named Equalize and would be out in the fall following a tour including Wychwood and Glastonbury festivals. Equalize is an Urban Desi album by the critically-acclaimed UK band Swami released on September 24th 2007
BBC Radio 1 premiered 'Hey Hey', the first single from Equalize on the 14th August. " Hey Hey " is the lead track from Swami 's 2007 Album, Equalize. Equalize is an Urban Desi album by the critically-acclaimed UK band Swami released on September 24th 2007 The song had been hosted on social networking website MySpace for 2 weeks prior to this, in a deal which saw Swami as a MySpace Music Featured Artist. MySpace is a popular social networking Website offering an interactive user-submitted network of friends personal profiles blogs groups photos music and MySpace is a popular social networking Website offering an interactive user-submitted network of friends personal profiles blogs groups photos music and To date, the song has been played over 1. 4 million times on MySpace. MySpace is a popular social networking Website offering an interactive user-submitted network of friends personal profiles blogs groups photos music and
Following the radio premiere of the song on the 14th, Radio 1 DJ Bobby Friction announced that Swami would be performing an exclusive live session at Maida Vale in a few weeks time. Paramdeep Singh Sehdeva, better known as Bobby Friction, is a DJ Television Presenter and Radio Presenter from West London. Maida Vale is a residential district in West London between St John's Wood and Kilburn. [10] The session was recorded and broadcast at the end of September and featured many new songs from Equalize and guest appearances from some of the featured artists including Boostylz, MC Spee and Ishmael. Equalize is an Urban Desi album by the critically-acclaimed UK band Swami released on September 24th 2007
Equalize was released in the UK on the 24th September, and in mid November a music video began rotating for 'Hey Hey'. Equalize is an Urban Desi album by the critically-acclaimed UK band Swami released on September 24th 2007 " Hey Hey " is the lead track from Swami 's 2007 Album, Equalize.
In December 2007, Swami announced that they had signed a new international record deal with Virgin/EMI and would be releasing Equalize in India imminently. Equalize is an Urban Desi album by the critically-acclaimed UK band Swami released on September 24th 2007 The major label release is a new version including bonus tracks, one of them being an all-new version of the track Electro Jugni featuring Swedish popstar DeDe Lopez. [11]
In January 2008, Swami won the 'Album Of The Year' award on DesiHits, and were nominated for 3 awards (Best Album, Best Producer and Best Underground Act) at the upcoming 2008 UK Asian Music Awards.
As of 2008, it is believed that Rocky Singh and Baba Stormz are no longer in the band, and their names have been removed from the list of band members on Swami's MySpace page.
In February 2008, Swami appeared on the UK TV show 'Desi DNA' on BBC 2 and performed Ching and Electro Jugni. The performance of Electro Jugni was also the debut of Swami's new female vocalist Liana. The video to Electro Jugni was shot a few weeks later and is expected to premiere soon.
Discography
References
- ^ BBC Summer Sounds: Swami
- ^ a b Nand, Anoushka. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. DesiRock is the third album by British-Indian producer Diamond 'Swami' Duggal's alternative Bhangra group Swami and is also the title of the album's electro/ "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " So Who Am I is the fourth album by British Bhangra group Swami. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Equalize is an Urban Desi album by the critically-acclaimed UK band Swami released on September 24th 2007 Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Desi Rock. Hot Ashes.
- ^ "Clubs - Swami - Q&A", Birmingham Post, August 21, 1999. Events 1192 - Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the De facto ruler of Japan. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar)
- ^ Yahoo! Movies: New York Minute
- ^ Global-trance. co. uk: Swami
- ^ a b Swamimusic.com: Secrets of 2006
- ^ "It's rappers Vs rockers at 2005 British Asian Music Awards", Hindustan Times, January 24, 2005. Hindustan Times ( HT) is a leading newspaper in India, published since 1924 with roots in the independence movement Events 41 - Gaius Caesar (Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel Despotism, is Assassinated by his disgruntled Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ Press release from the UKAMA
- ^ Vishnu, A. . "New age UK bhangra is here", The Hindu, March 11, 2006. The Hindu is a single-edition English-language Indian newspaper Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ BBC Radio 1:
- ^ Official Swami Site:
External links
- Official Swami band website
- Swami's Official MySpace Page
- Swami's Official YouTube Page
- November '07 interview with Diamond and S-Endz
- December '07 interview with Diamond and S-Endz
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