26
May
2009
RBC desiFEST in Toronto this Saturday
If you’re looking to do something this weekend, and require a desi fix, head out to Dundas Square on Saturday, May 30th for a full day of free performances.
Over twenty acts are scheduled to appear, with highlights including:
En Karma
Raghav
Sukhdev Darapuria
Baba Kahn, Lomaticc and Sunny Brown
The show starts at 11AM and goes on until 11PM. Click on the above flyer for more details, or hit up rbcdesifest.com
24
Apr
2009
Nach Nach Ke Vol. 1 – Free Album Download
Better late than never.
Nach Nach Ke Vol. 1 is the first compilation album to showcase Canadian talent.
Executive Producer Manpal Rana wants the world to see what Canada has to offer the Bhangra world.
Highlights of the album include En Karma, Gurteshwar Grewal and Amen Panesar. It’s more trad than rad, but still worthy of a download.
Hit up nachnachke.com for artist info and to download. Or alternatively, download here.
13
Apr
2009
The Vaisakhi Post (Tigerstyle Video/En Karma & Tarli Digital Free Downloads)
I know it’s been a seesaw day of emotions, and all things considered, some people probably may not want to listen to music today but, Happy Vaisakhi Bhangraw fam.
In celebrating 310 years of the birth of the Khalsa, let’s kickoff with Tigerstyle’s latest video, “Son of a Sardar.” It’s a great visual display of our history.
If you don’t have a copy yet, Mystics, Martyrs & Maharajas can be purchased here
En Karma – “Jaikaaray ‘The Call of Victory’” & Tarli Digital “Zulam ‘The Sacrifice’”
En Karma and Tarli Digital have also released songs to mark this day.
En Karma “Jaikaaray” Download link:
Alternate Download link:
Tarli Digital featuring Dalvinder Singh “Zulam” Download link:
Here’s to wishing you all peace, love, joy and prosperity on this day.
10
Feb
2009
Free En Karma “Tohar Naal Jeena – Traditional Mix” Download
Nick Chowlia of En Karma hooked up a Traditional mix of “Tohar Naal Jeena,” and I have to say it is heavy. In fact, I will go as far as saying, I like it better than the original version.
Hollywood Harv even gets onto this track with an intro DJ Sanj style.
Some things on this Earth are overrated (sleeping, Starbucks, Prison Break) but dholified songs definitely are not.
If you’ve been living under a rock the last few months and don’t know who En Karma is, then hit up their debut video here, and their website here.
Tohar Naal Jeena Trad Mix link
22
Jan
2009
Vancouver International Bhangra Competition
Oh boy! It’s Bhangra competition season, and one of the biggest in North America is VIBC.
In it’s fifth year, the competition is bringing in some entertaining options on the Canadian and UK Bhangra music front.
Starting on February 12, the City of Bhangra Festival will lead up to the competition.
February 20th and the 21st will see downtown Vancouver enjoying a street festival with performances by past winners of VIBC, as well as performances by En Karma and Delhi2Dublin
The eight teams vying for the $5,000 grand prize, will highlight the climax of this event on the evening of February 21.
Also performing that night will be Old School UK Bhangra legends Apna Sangeet, Heera and H-Dhami.
Click on the Flyer for details, or hit up VIBC.org
17
Dec
2008
En Karma “Tohar Naal Jeena” Video
The boys from the West Coast are making a splash with their debut video, and it’s certainly something to be proud of.
The song itself is a great fusion of contemporary and old sounds, and the video is effective. I’m pretty sure we’ll be seeing a lot of this on the Saturday night Punjabi shows on Vision TV here in Canada, as well as these boys touring the country come Summertime.
If you haven’t already downloaded the song for free, checkout the En Karma website or go here.
18
Nov
2008
Free En Karma Download
The Canadian based band En Karma have released their first single “Tohar Naal Jeena,” and it’s a free download.
The track is pretty solid, in fact it’s probably better than a majority of the songs released by bands in the UK these days. I also received word from a reliable “critic,” that their live performance is really good.
The video is set to drop in the second week of December.
But until then, you can download the track from the official En Karma website.
or here.
25
Oct
2008
Introducing En Karma
Ricky, Ravi, Pip, Inder, Nick and JP.
I received a press release the other day from Nick Chowlia (Radio Presenter and Band Member of En Karma.)
Vancouver’s own En Karma claim to be North America’s first Bhangra band, and are just about set to release their first single “Tohar Naal Jeena.”
The group started out in 2006, as a group of friends with a goal to create music people will love dancing to. The first single will be available for free download on November 10, 2008 on their website enkarma.ca.
Don’t worry, I’ll remind you again on the day of release to kop it. Until then, here’s a preview of the song.
It’s a solid sounding song, and I hope they can replicate what UK bands were able to achieve in the 80′s – touring up and down the country. According to some people in the industry, live performances seem to be making a comeback of sorts. En Karma already have performances with the likes of KS Makhan, Sarbjit Cheema, Balkar Sidhu and Sukhdev Sukha under their collective belts.
I’m not sure if the band knows it, but there was another band that was based in California around 1995. The Sangeet Group of California made some noise with the release of the album “Khushi Manao.” I think they hold the title of North America’s first Bhangra band. Some of you may even remember the song “Aao Nachiae,” which made it’s rounds at receptions for quite a few years.
