Swami (band)

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This article is about the band. For the Hindu honorific, see Swami.

Swami at the MTV Style Awards
Origin Birmingham, England
Country United Kingdom
Years active 1998–
Genres Rap/Rock/Bhangra
Labels Nation Records (to 2004)
Envy/Roma Music (2004, Britain)
Sony BMG India (current, India)
Members Diamond "DJ Swami" Duggal (guitar)
Sups (vocals)
S-Endz (vocals)
Baba Stormz (bass guitar)
Rocky Singh (drums)
Past members Tarsame 'Speed' Jarnail (vocals)
Kamaljit 'Kamo' Bura (percussion)
Simon 'Subs' Duggal (drums and production)
Website(s) www.swamimusic.com
www.myspace.com/swamimusic

Swami is a critically-acclaimed [1] Asian rap/rock/bhangra band from Birmingham, England. It is also the pseudonym of the band's lead performer, DJ Swami (real name Diamond Duggal), who founded the band with his brother Subs (real name Simon Duggal). Though 'Swami' traditionally refers to a Hindu teacher, the name is an abbreviation of the English phrase 'So Who Am I?'. 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. [2]

Contents

[edit] 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]. Nu Skool Beatz was followed by the 2002 album Bhangradotcom, which was less dance-oriented.[5]

However, their big break came with the release of their third album DesiRock, which became popular across the entire British Asian music scene. By this time Diamond was the only original member remaining and had recruited his cousin S-Endz as the lead vocalist of the band. 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 appeared in the 2006 Fifa World Cup Germany edition of Electronic Arts' FIFA series of video games [6]. In the same year 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 Swami with a slightly modified tracklisting, and embarked on a successful promotional tour of India which included a high-profile performance at the MTV Style Awards. The Hindu credited Swami with bringing British bhangra back to prominence in Indian clubs.[9]

A fourth album was scheduled to be released in the spring of 2006[6][2]. Two songs from the album have been heard, Afraid and No Apologies, both of which are still hosted on the band's Myspace site. Afraid's 'bhangra-fied mix' was also played on the BBC's Desi DNA programme. However, as of December 2006 the album remains unreleased with no news as to its status.

[edit] Discography

[edit] References

  1. ^ BBC Summer Sounds: Swami
  2. ^ a b Nand, Anoushka. Desi Rock. Hot Ashes.
  3. ^ "Clubs - Swami - Q&A", Birmingham Post, August 21, 1999.
  4. ^ Yahoo! Movies: New York Minute
  5. ^ Global-trance.co.uk: Swami
  6. ^ a b Swamimusic.com: Secrets of 2006
  7. ^ "It's rappers Vs rockers at 2005 British Asian Music Awards", Hindustan Times, January 24, 2005.
  8. ^ Press release from the UKAMA
  9. ^ Vishnu, A.. "New age UK bhangra is here", The Hindu, March 11, 2006.

[edit] External links

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