Gold Kartz - Loaded
UPDATE : Gold Kartz Feat Natchatra song is now on our JukeBox
The Urban Bhangra Boys have decided to form a bhangra group to give Malaysia its very own home-grown act, writes DENNIS CHUA. BROTHERS Manjit Singh and Sukhjit Gill of Ipoh are men on a mission.
The “Urban Bhangra Boys†a.k.a. Goldkartz, want to promote the Punjabi music genre’s growth in Malaysian soil and have just come up with their debut urban bhangra album.
Titled Loaded, it is produced by Maestro Records and features 17 songs mostly performed by Manjit or M-Ji and Sukhjit or Surj.
Loaded also features guest artistes Arvinder Singh Raina, MC Dareyno, MC Size, MC Loga, Natchatra and Elvira, as well as the Singapore, Malaysia And Northern Dhol Federation, an orchestra of the dhol which is a common Northern Indian percussion instrument.
Goldkartz was formed three years ago. The group’s album took two months to produce.
M-Ji, 22, and Surj, 18, both grew up listening to bhangra music and developed a keen interest in the traditional Punjabi music during their childhood.
“We grew up listening to bhangra and moved on to urban bhangra, which is the modernised version of the traditional Punjabi genre that celebrates the harvest,†M-Ji said.
“And our idols are bhangra and urban bhangra icons such as Kuldeep Manak, Malkit Singh, Jazzy B, Juggy D and Rishi Rich,†Surj added.
Urban bhangra fuses traditional bhangra with R&B, hip-hop and other modern music genres.
M-Ji said the duo came up with their collective name to reflect their love for bhangra.
“Bhangras like gold to the Punjabi community as it is our heritage. We liken ourselves to carats of gold and Goldkartz is a funky way of saying ‘gold carats’,†he said.
The duo compose their own songs, while their friend Harjinder Singh is the main songwriter.
Surj said: “I sing most of the songs while M-Ji handles the album’s production.â€
M-Ji, the third of four siblings and Surj, the youngest, participated in national Kirtan (Sikh spiritual music) competitions during their schooldays.
“We are from the same Sikh temple and were thus team-mates,†he said. “We became the national Kirtan champions for three consecutive years in the mid-1990s.â€
Besides singing, Surj can also play the traditional Punjabi percussion instruments such as the tabla, dhol and dholak.
M-Ji on the other hand, mastered the synthesiser.
“Most of the great bhangra and urban bhangra stars we admire are based in Britain or Canada. We decided to form a bhangra group to give Malaysia its very own home-grown act,†M-Ji said.
The songs in Loaded come in a mix of Punjabi, English, Bahasa Malaysia and Tamil.
They include Identitimu which contains Bahasa Malaysia lyrics, the Tamil and Punjabi Let’s Party and the English Midnight Walk.
Let’s Party and the Punjabi songs Thumke, Mitra Da and Dhol De Dagge Utte have been played by local radio stations.
“The songs have been well-received by listeners,†Surj said, adding that the songs targeted the young, urban crowd which was always on the look-out for something “differentâ€.
M-Ji said: “Our next step is to write our own songs and later produce our very own urban bhangra and bhangra show which highlights and helps discover local bhangra and urban bhangra talents.â€
Surj believes the duo will achieve their dream in five to six years, perhaps earlier.
“As bhangra music is much in demand, we have great optimism that our target will be achieved earlier than expected,†he said.
M-Ji added: “But making, performing and developing a truly Malaysian bhangra is our lifelong mission, and there is no stopping us once we put our hearts and souls into it.â€
Source : The New Strait Times
Fantastic job by Goldkartz! Kicking Punjabi Verse. Briliant!