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Charanjit Singh

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Charanjit Singh was born on 15 December 1940 in Mumbai and died on 5 July 2015. He was an Indian musician and composer who worked for decades in the Bollywood music industry. As a session musician he played bass, keyboards, guitar and synthesizer on hundreds of soundtracks. He worked closely with composers such as R. D. Burman, S. D. Burman and Laxmikant-Pyarelal and toured with the singer Kishore Kumar. Colleagues often called on him when a modern sound was wanted.

Music and breakthrough

He also released records under his own name. With a wedding band he recorded instrumental versions of film songs, sometimes with steel guitar. In 1981 he made electronic arrangements of the soundtrack of Silsila. His best-known work is Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat from 1982, listed in the album lists as Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat. On it he combined Indian classical ragas with electronic disco. For this he used a TR-808 drum machine and a TB-303 bass synthesizer, devices that would later become the foundation of acid house.

Influence

That album went unnoticed for a long time. Music journalists later pointed out that it may be the earliest example of acid house, and some call Singh the father of that genre. His story shows that dance music did not arise only in Chicago, Detroit or Europe. In the Bollywood studios of Mumbai, too, people were already experimenting with the machines that would later conquer the clubs.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a track from Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat and notice the drum machine and the buzzing bass synthesizer. Try to hear how the melody follows an Indian raga while the rhythm sounds like disco.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Categories: Artists