DJ Rekha
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DJ Rekha (born Rekha Malhotra, 1971) is a London-born musician who has imported her own blend of contemporary bhangra music to the United States since the early 1990s. Her first album, DJ Rekha Presents Basement Bhangra, released in October 2007 on Koch Records, fuses the South Asian genre of bhangra music with international hip-hop and drum beats. DJ Rekha is a DJ, producer, curator, and activist, and has been credited with pioneering bhangra music in North America.
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[edit] Early life
DJ Rekha spent the first year of her life in London, and the following three years in New Delhi, India. She credits this time in India as critical for exposure to Punjabi, the primary language of bhangra. She returned to London briefly until her family moved to Queens, New York. DJ Rekha spent most of her adolescence in Westbury, Long Island and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. She graduated from Queens College with a degree in Urban Studies while simultaneously experimenting and honing her craft on the turntables.
[edit] Music
DJ Rekha showcases her skills at a monthly event known as Basement Bhangra at S.O.B.'s on Varick Street. Since its launch in 1997, Basement Bhangra has popularized the traditional-modern bhangra blend, rapidly making the genre an essential part of the NYC club scene. Although Basement Bhangra's success is built on loyalty to the sensibilities of its core audience, the first Thursday of every month finds S.O.B.'s overflowing with a diverse crowd of dance-hungry music-lovers.
DJ Rekha has also been relentless in her mission to bring South Asian music to New York by spinning at events like P.S. 1's Warm Up Series, Central Park's Summerstage, Prospect Park’s Celebrate Brooklyn and Brooklyn Museum's First Saturdays. She arranged the music for Bridge and Tunnel, the Obie-Award winning Off-Broadway show. Newsweek recognized her as one of the most influential South Asians in the US, and she has received accolades from The New York Times, CNN, The Fader, Village Voice, and The Washington Post, among others.
Her recent album, DJ Rekha presents Basement Bhangra, marks a new chapter in her burgeoning career. Encapsulating the energy and intensity of the cultural phenomenon that is Basement Bhangra, this 17 track album is a mix CD with four exclusive tracks including two original productions from Rekha. DJ Rekha has collaborated with an array of artists including Wyclef Jean, Panjabi MC, and Bikram Singh to name a few. The album skillfully weaves Punjabi folk traditions, dancehall rhythms from the U.S., U.K. and Jamaica, and DJ techniques that are 100% New York. This record connects DJ Rekha with a larger musical audience while introducing new listeners to the cross-section of the lively music that marries international beats with the tradition of Punjab.
[edit] Entrepreneur
In 2000, DJ Rekha founded Sangament ("sangam" is Hindi for confluence—a place where two rivers flow together), a production company that produces live concerts and provides music consulting services to record labels, cultural institutions, media companies, and corporations. DJ Rekha produces live events and her monthly parties, Basement Bhangra and Bollywood Disco through Sangament, Inc.
[edit] Activist
Because she has almost single-handedly spearheaded New York's bhangra scene, Rekha is regarded as a pioneer in the South Asian music community. She takes this role seriously, supporting a wide range of causes related to South Asians. DJ Rekha serves on the boards of Breakthrough, a human rights organization, and Pop and Politics. She lectures extensively at colleges and institutions about Bhangra and South Asian cultural production. She was NYU Asian/Pacific/American's Artist in Residence and taught a class on South Asian Popular Culture.
DJ Rekha is also quick to provide an enhanced understanding of South Asian diasporas to her audience. Listeners often confuse Bhangra with “Indian music”, although its origins are distinctly Punjabi, rooted in both India and Pakistan. What sets bhangra apart from other Indian pop styles is its insistent drum rhythms played on the dhol, a large two-sided drum.
