Naya Beat, Vol. 2: South Asian Dance and Electronic Music 1988-1994

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, embracing their heritage in the face of discrimination and economic struggle, South Asian diasporas around the globe experienced a cultural renaissance. In the UK, underground daytime raves and local radio stations rose out of the racial tensions of the ’70s and early ’80s, while South Asian returnees to East Africa sought to carve out new spaces following mass expulsions the previous decade. New clubs and festivals flourished in North America, and in the Caribbean, South Asians wove their own heritage into the islands’ diverse cultural fabric.

South Asian musicians blended styles from across the region—Indian classical, Punjabi folk—with genres such as soca, hip-hop, and reggae, while also diving into the electronic sounds of jungle, house, and trip-hop that were sweeping dance floors globally. Melding the formal structures of Western dance genres with the elasticity of South Asian rhythms gave rise to a unique crop of idiosyncratic styles that feel as fresh and subversive today as they must have over 30 years ago. Yet most releases barely made a dent in the wider music scene at the time, and many artists ended their musical careers in obscurity.

Naya Beat Volume 2: South Asian Dance And Electronic Music 1988​-​1994 pulls together this fragmented history, connecting the intercontinental dots to reveal a shared moment when musicians from Kampala to Queens were blending new beat, acid house, and dub with South Asian sounds. One of the most remarkable things about this archival deep dive—which follows the equally enlightening Naya Beat Vol 1, which focused on South Asian-infused Balearic, synth pop, and disco gems from the early ’80s—is that it doesn’t feel like a nostalgia trip. Instead, it’s packed with dancefloor bangers that still hit hard today, testifying to just how ahead of their time these artists were.

Kuljit Bhamra’s pounding proto-house track “Dholdrums,” with its dizzying tabla and dhol solos, wouldn’t feel out of place on a Daytimers compilation, and reveals a more experimental edge at a time when bhangra—a popular fusion of Punjabi pop with hip-hop and reggae—dominated the UK’s South Asian music scene. The Nairobi-born, Southall-based composer, producer, and musician Bhamra was himself an important player in the bhangra scene, producing thousands of songs for major artists such as Premi and even earning an MBE from Queen Elizabeth for his contributions to British Asian music.

Just as fresh sounding is “Chamkay ‘D’ Chutney,” by Trinidad and Tobago’s self-proclaimed Princess of Soca, Sharlene Boodram. The track fuses ragga-inspired rhythms with the lively bounce of chutney soca, a genre that merges the melodic Indian influences of chutney (which emerged from the Indo-Caribbean community in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1940s) with the driving beat of soca. The enormous success of chutney music and Indo-Caribbean artists like Boodram highlights the important role of the Indo-Trinidadian population in shaping the islands’ national identity, especially during the 1990s, and reveals yet another facet of the kaleidoscopic nature of South Asian identity and sound. This version of “Chamkay ‘D’ Chutney” is remixed by Naya Beat label founders and compilation curators Raghav Mani (aka Ragz) and Filip Nikolic (aka Turbotito), who add a bass-heavy dancehall vibe replete with sitar samples and laser effects. It’s one of several updated tracks on the compilation; four out of 12 archival tracks appear in remixed form. Turbotito & Ragz also contribute a new original, “Pyaar,” a laid-back ode to dancehall and dub-infused bhangra, with vocals by the late bhangra vocalist Manjeet Kondal.

The compilers’ choice to add their own touch is a risky one, but it pays off. The Turbotito & Ragz remixes offer a sense of continuity, underscoring the lasting impact of South Asian artists on the evolution of underground dance music. Their dreamy Balearic remix of 1994’s “Calling” amplifies Sangeeta Kaur’s weightless vocals, enhancing the original’s ethereal quality, and offering a fitting tribute to a trailblazing artist who broke through the male-dominated early-’90s bhangra and British Asian music scene. (Kaur passed away in 2024; the compilation is dedicated to her memory.) And on “Bass Fire (On and On),” Turbotito & Ragz’ pounding kick and spiraling rhythms offer a dynamic contrast to Bombay jazz and disco diva Asha Puthli’s airy vocals.

Deepak Khazanchi, that track’s original producer, was instrumental in blending Eastern and Western pop and dance music in the ’70s and ’80s, and is one of several unsung pioneers highlighted on this compilation. There’s also Tanzania-born Pankaj “Jets” Jethwa, one of the first South Asian DJs in the UK, and the producer behind the atmospheric Hindi house track “Kali Raat.” He was also the brains behind the Jets Orkhestra, who were as unusual for their multi-ethnic lineup—featuring a Black rapper (Val Dubois, a.k.a. M.C.V) and Asian vocalists (Bindu Sri and, later, Bharti)—as they were for their blend of Giorgio Moroder-esque dance music, jazzy keys, and South Asian elements, as exemplified on the delightfully odd, futuristic “X-290.”

“X-290” is another selection on the compilation that Turbotito & Ragz have updated with arpeggiated synths and heavier drums—additions that don’t just add an extra dose of club-ready energy, but feel essential to Naya Beat’s broader remit, both spotlighting the trailblazing efforts of producers like Khazanchi and Jethwa and breathing new life into their legacy. As collectives, labels, and events like No I.D., Dialled In, and Hungama cultivate spaces for today’s South Asian diasporas to celebrate and connect—an experience that has “felt like finding a family that’s been hiding in plain sight,” as Provhat, co-founder of the UK collective Daytimers, told Mixmag—Naya Beat is unearthing the foundational contributions of those who paved the way.