DJ Bally Sagoo: Spinning a cultural mix

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It's a classic recipe for Asian artists who want to make it big in Western countries: Take a tune and insert traditional ethnic elements into it.

We have Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and there's Cheb Mami who sang with Sting on the haunting Desert Rose. And there is Bally Sagoo, or Baljit Sagoo.

Sagoo is a New Delhi-born DJ who pioneered "Bhangra Beat", which is a combination of traditional folk and pop music from India (bhangra) and house music.

Incorporating Indian sounds was probably an idea that never occurred to other DJs, but it has become an exciting new musical sound that is even loved by non-Indians, especially young people.

It has brought Sagoo to clubs all over Europe, Asia and the United States, where he plays once a month. He has also gone on tour with Michael Jackson.

"It never crossed my mind either to incorporate Indian music or vocals. I mean, I'm originally from India but I was raised in the UK all my life," said the 30-something Sagoo in a recent visit here.

From the time he started spinning discs back in 1974, Sagoo was more interested in Western flavors like R&B and soul.

"I was a black guy in Indian suit. I grew up in the black community. And I completely forgot about my roots and culture. I just couldn't relate to the (Indian) music. There didn't seem to be anything funky about it," he said.

Being a DJ, however, was always what he wanted to do, despite family objections.

But the road to DJ-dom was blocked by racism as he was not allowed to enter the clubs in his adopted hometown of Birmingham, because he was an Indian and wore a turban.

"I hated my culture more. I thought, what kind of culture is this? I couldn't do what I like to do!" said Sagoo.

This did not stop him, though. He played his music for anybody who would listen, he remixed songs and he did not study and got kicked out of college.

And as time passed he quit rebelling against his own musical legacy, mixing Indian sounds with funky beats and raps.

He got his breakthrough when he gave a demo tape to a radio station, which played his remix and got positive response.

In 1989, Sagoo approached a local company called Oriental Star and played for them a remixed song by renowned Bhangra singer Malkit Singh. The company released the single, Hey Jamalo Tutak, Tutak, which was an instant worldwide success.

In 1994, he signed a major deal with Sony Music, which was evidence of his versatility and the company's belief in his potential.

Sagoo has so far released 28 albums, and his songs have appeared on the Billboard charts, Mainstream Radio One and the UK Top 20.

The biggest market, however, is the Indian market.

"The Indian music scene is big, the film industry is the biggest in the world. But it didn't really make young people relate to it. So I started to remix film music and now films are so trendy," he said.

He released Bollywood Flashback in 1994, whose concept was to revitalize a selection of golden oldies from Indian films.

Now, DJ-ing is more of sideline for him as his main job now is producing acts and artists, something he has done since establishing ishq records several years ago.

It is a small England-based independent label that opens the door for musicians with all types of different styles, and especially Indian acts.

"It's difficult for an DJ in India to get a record deal because the record companies don't recognize people like us. Because the companies are owned by these big fat old man who have no idea whatsoever and experience, and have been doing stuff for 30 years now. They do bubble gum stuff and are not interested in doing something different," he said.

"That's why I established a record company. I want to open doors for Indian acts. They're as good as anyone else."

More Indian acts mean Indian music will spread even further, which is something Sagoo wants to see.

"(American producer) Timbaland recently highlighted a song with Indian drum beats. Madonna did it too. The last few years, people are putting tabla in their music, that's good. The music is slowly creeping through the world. That's great."