Culture Shock and BhangraEvolution

Today I have some really cool music for you, music that combines sounds from both sides of the world. This song is a product of a South Asian fusion group called Culture Shock, a group that is dedicated to bringing Western music and fusing it with Indian styles. This song in particular features a mashup of a very catchy and rhythmic Western song and one of my favorite traditional Indian styles- bhangra. This is the style of music that most people think of when they hear "Indian." This is the kind of music to which you "screw in the light-bulb" and bounce your shoulders. But this style of music is so energetic and can get pretty mental when you put a group of dancers together. I love it! Now this song is super cool because it opens with a very familiar Western tune, one that we learn when we are children. This specific melody is one that everyone knows and can recognize, even if we don't know the original words. Now this steady beat is the base of the entire song, providing the beat that the Indian dhol and instruments use as a reference. After the main melody at the  beginning finishes, we are immediately segued into this dope Indian sound, one that is pretty intense but awesome. We are introduced to some bhangra sounds and melodies, and then comes the singing. We get an awesome performance in Punjabi to go along with the bhangra instrumentals. For those of you who don't know, bhangra originates from the Indian state of Punjab, and is considered one of the most hype kinds of music and dance. Even more so than Bollywood, which I totally agree with. And Culture Shock does a sick job of making sure that that we get a balance between that high bhangra energy and the steady rhythm of the Western song. I think it is kind of cool how the song opens and closes with English, having the strong Punjabi in the middle. This song is just so well put together because of how seamless it is. The production is incredible because we don't hear any breaks in beat, any glitches, or hiccups in the song. Everything flows smoothly, between both the lyrics and instrumentals. Now I do have to say, I have listened to some of Culture Shock's other songs. This one has to be my absolute favorite and it is just so hype. Sometimes I listen to this when swaggering down the street, just because it has this slightly thug sound to it. Culture Shock is a group that I will definitely have to keep my eye out for because if they continue to produce more music like this, we will be eating it all up. Today's instrumental song is a little longer, but is just a straight bhangra mix. As iconic as bhangra is, it is one of the lesser known and listened to Indian sounds. So why not post some of that? I hope you enjoy the music and please feel free to comment!