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DJ Rekha

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DJ Rekha
Birth nameRekha Malhotra
Born (1971-05-02) 2 May 1971 (age 53)
United Kingdom
OriginNew York City
GenresBhangra
Occupation(s)Disc jockey, Producer
Instrument(s)Turntable, Sampler
Years active1997–present
LabelsKoch
Websitewww.djrekha.com/basementbhangra.html

DJ Rekha (born Rekha Malhotra, 1971) is a London-born musician, DJ, producer, curator, activist. They have been credited with pioneering Bhangra music in North America.[1] Their first album, DJ Rekha Presents Basement Bhangra, released in October 2007 on Koch Records, fuses the Indian genre of bhangra music with international hip-hop and drum beats.

Early life

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DJ Rekha spent the first year of their life in London, and the following three years in New Delhi, India.[2] They credit this time in India as critical for exposure to Punjabi, the primary language of bhangra. They returned to London briefly until their family moved to Queens, New York. DJ Rekha spent most of their adolescence in Westbury, Long Island and currently lives in Jackson Heights, Queens.[3] They graduated from Queens College with a degree in Urban Studies while simultaneously experimenting and honing their craft on the turntables.[4]

Music

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Enthusiastic Indian dancers wear brightly colored clothing under colorful lights on a dark stage, in front of artistic video projected onto a screen. The photo is noisy, with lots of motion blur due to a longer exposure in the dark club, but you can make out a couple faces.
Bhangra dancers at DJ Rekha's "Basement Bhangra" show at SOBs, in 2011

DJ Rekha launched a monthly event known as Basement Bhangra at SOB's on Varick Street.[5] From 1997 - 2017, Basement Bhangra popularized the traditional-modern bhangra blend, making the genre a part of the NYC club scene.[6] The final 20th anniversary show was held at Central Park's Summerstage on August 6, 2017.[7][8]

DJ Rekha has brought 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, Brooklyn Museum's First Saturdays, and the annual flagship Loving Day celebration held in New York City.[9] They arranged the music for Bridge and Tunnel, the [Tony Award] winning Off-Broadway show.[10] Newsweek recognized them as one of the most influential South Asians in the US,[11] and they have received accolades from The New York Times, CNN, The Fader, The Village Voice, and The Washington Post, among others.[12][13][14][2]

Their debut album, DJ Rekha Presents Basement Bhangra, is a 17 track mix CD with four exclusive tracks including two original productions from Rekha.[15] In this album, DJ Rekha collaborated with Wyclef Jean, Panjabi MC, and Bikram Singh, among others.[16] The album weaves Punjabi folk traditions, dance hall rhythms from the U.S., U.K. and Jamaica, and DJ techniques that are 100% New York.[17]

Since 2010, DJ Rekha has hosted 'Bhangra and Beyond', a weekly radio show on BTRtoday.[18]

Equipment

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Entrepreneur

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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.[20] DJ Rekha produces live events and her monthly parties, Basement Bhangra and Bollywood Disco through Sangament, Inc.[21]

DJ Rekha founded Basement Bhangra in 1997 in New York. It occurred on the first Thursday of every month and became an international phenomenon, drawing an extremely diverse audience.[22] It started with dance lessons and then turned into a dance party. It received international press, being featured on the cover of Billboard magazine and in Dutch and Japanese television.[23]

References

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  1. ^ Ryzik, Melena (6 December 2007). "Bhangra's Ambassador, Keeping the Party Spinning". The New York Times.
  2. ^ a b Ryzik, Melena (6 December 2007). "DJ Rekha - Bhangra - Music". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  3. ^ Hendrickson, Tad (29 December 2011). "A Queens DJ Mixes Cultures". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  4. ^ Maira, Sunaina, 1969- (2002). Desis in the house : Indian American youth culture in New York City. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-4399-0673-6. OCLC 663885761.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "After 20 Years, Basement Bhangra Says Bye to New York". Wnyc.org. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  6. ^ Vaishnav, Ruchi. "DJ Rekha calls it a day: the end of Basement Bhangra | News India Times". Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  7. ^ "After 20 Years, Basement Bhangra Says Bye to New York", Wnyc.org, retrieved 4 March 2018
  8. ^ "Basement Bhangra 20th Anniversary: Apache Indian / Panjabi MC / DJ Rekha / Madame Gandhi / Anik Khan / Horsepowar / Sikh Knowledge / DJ Petra / DJ Shilpa - City Parks FoundationCity Parks Foundation". cityparksfoundation.org. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  9. ^ Roy, Anjali Gera (8 April 2015). "Dancing to the Bhangra in New York City". Transatlantica. Revue d'études américaines. American Studies Journal (in French) (1). doi:10.4000/transatlantica.7617. ISSN 1765-2766.
  10. ^ "DJ Rekha". Playbill. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Power and Influence". Newsweek. 22 March 2004. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  12. ^ "'Basement Bhangra' w/ DJ Rekha | The Village Voice". Villagevoice.com. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  13. ^ Wartofsky, Alona (13 May 2001). "What's Shakin'? Bhangra. Big Time". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  14. ^ "CNN "Face of America" feature story on DJ Rekha". YouTube. 2006. Archived from the original on 10 December 2010.
  15. ^ "Indian Summer | The Village Voice". Villagevoice.com. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Bhangra's DJ Rekha Takes the Dance Floor". NPR.org. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  17. ^ "DJ Rekha: turning 'cab driver music' into a viable business". The Guardian.
  18. ^ "Bhangra And Beyond // BTRlisten". Btrtoday.com. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  19. ^ "Hear and Now". Nymag.com. 22 October 2001. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  20. ^ "DJ Rekha Papers – Asian/Pacific American Archives Survey Project". Apa.nyu.edu. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  21. ^ "DJ Rekha: The Pioneer Of Underground Bhangra". The Huffington Post.
  22. ^ "Basement Bhangra, NYC's Longest-Running Dance Night, Blends Politics With Punjabi Beats". Gothamist.com. 1 December 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  23. ^ "Basement Bhangra". Djrekha.com. Retrieved 3 February 2017.

Further reading

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