Basement Bhangra Anthem :: DJ Rekha

I'm sorry I didn't post anything last week. I was pretty overwhelmed and excited and thrilled about the election results, and nothing I was thinking of posting seemed quite appropriate. Anyways. This week I've got something a little different than I usually post about, from DJ Rekha, who you can see on the right.

This is the title/first track off of DJ Rekha's cd "Basement Bhangra" and it's appropriately called "Basement Bhangra Anthem." DJ Rekha was born in London, lived in New Delhi for three years, then moved to Queens. She pretty much spearheaded the bhangra movement in NYC, blending bhangra, hip-hop and dancehall to create some really addictive dance music. She regularly hosts "Basement Bhangra" parties in NYC, so if you're ever in that part of the world, check those out.

Bhangra is a style of South Asian pop music that originated in India and Pakistan, rooted in Punjabi traditions. An easy way to distinguish bhangra from other types of Indian pop music is that bhangra features insistent rhythms played on the dhol, a two sided drum.