Kuljit Bhamra
Kuljit Bhamra is one of the most inspiring and influential musicians, composers and record producers on the British Asian music scene. A pioneer of the worldwide Bhangra phenomenon, he combined traditional Indian rhythms, with western instruments and multitrack recording techniques, thus transforming Punjabi music into a new dancefloor sound. Since the age of 18 Kuljit has composed and produced over two thousand songs and is responsible for the rise to fame of numerous Bhangra and Bollywood stars.
A virtuosic instrumentalist and highly skilled improvisor and composer, Kuljit has worked, both independently and collaboratively, for over a decade on film scores such as the award winning Bhaji on the Beach, Bend it like Beckham, Indiana Jones& The Temple Of Doom, The Guru, A Little Princess, Wings Of A Dove, The Four Feathers and Charlie& The Chocolate Factory. He has also worked extensively in London’s west-end and highlights in this arena include assisting on the percussion arrangements for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s massive hit musical Bombay Dreams (he also gave a truly breath-taking performance as on-stage percussionist) and, with his acclaimed score for The Far Pavilions, Kuljit was the first British Indian to compose for a west end musical.
Away from the record-producing and west-end scenes, Kuljit works increasingly as a composer and instrumentalist for his own projects (such as duos with Shan Chana, Alwynne Pritchard and his popular dance band Taala) and also with a bevy of internationally acclaimed musicians from a variety of genres including Mike Lindup, Riccardo Del Fra, John McCoy and more recently Bobby McFerrin. Collaborations in this area include an ongoing and fruitful dialogue with UK saxophonist Andy Sheppard as well as with a host of others including maverick pianist Joanna MacGregor and the Britten Sinfonia with whom he recorded the innovative ‘Bach Meets Moondog’ project.
Throughout 2006 Kuljit has been developing a new cross-genre project with his west-end collaborator David Braun-White. Together they have composed repertoire for a unique ensemble of multi-cultural musicians. This band – the Ku-Da-Mix Orchestra – heralds Kuljit’s desire to embrace all of the musics that appeal to him and to create an ensemble that is a vehicle for his diverse and ever increasing compositional output.
Kuljit has recently been appointed Artistic Director for the Society Of The Promotion Of New Music (SPNM) and is responsible for programming events during their upcoming season (www.spnm.org.uk). As part of this venture, he will be collaborating with Alex Wilson to produce a new Latin Bhangra dance project and also with various orchestras to create exciting new works based on Indian raga scales.
