We are delighted to introduce our upcoming project in partnership with PRS for Music Foundation. 

‘Strands’ is an electronica meets Sufi world music audio/visual collaboration performance by award winning British Indian electronic music composer DJ Swami, popular British Iraqi vocalist Lanja Ali, upcoming British Indian fusion vocalist Unnati Dasgupta and BBC Future Sounds 2020 sarangi player Amrit Kaur. ‘Strands’ is an emotional cinematic musical journey of solace and optimism fused with the uplifting Sufi and Qawwali lyrics of love and spirituality exploring the unique experiences of isolation, loneliness, belonging and soul searching in this different world we all find ourselves in. ‘Strands‘ is to be released online in November.

Find out more about the artists below.

DJ SWAMI

Diamond Duggal aka DJ Swami is an established British Indian music composer and producer. He has composed and produced a diversity of artist albums for Shania Twain, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Apache Indian. DJ Swami was commissioned by Asian Arts Agency as lead artist and composer for ‘PunjabTronix’ as part of ACE ‘Re-Imagine India’. DJ Swami’s music is currently featured in the number one Netflix series ‘Indian Matchmaking’.

LANJA ALI

UNNATI DASGUPTA

Unnati is a London-born singer, songwriter and musician, the scion of Indian classical music royalty – and a woman of remarkable gifts. Recent highlights include performing at Westminster Abbey as part of a memorial service for famed director Lord Richard Attenborough. Unnati’s voice appeared in a sound  installation in the South Asian Gallery in the Victoria & Albert Museum and she has since been the opening act on the main stage at the 2019 WOMAD UK festival.

AMRIT KAUR

Described as the place “where Punjabi folk meets Aretha soul” by OZY magazine, Amrit Kaur is a Sarangi player and singer-songwriter. A history graduate of SOAS, University of London, her musical repertoire is profoundly influenced by the social history and culture of Punjabi women. She was named a BBC Asian Network Future Sounds 2020 Artist as well as BBC Music Introducing artist. Praised for her live ability by legendary producer Rick Rubin, her notable performances include Glastonbury Festival, Jaipur Literature Festival and the UN General Assembly with Skip Marley for World Children’s Day.

This project is supported by PRS for Music Foundation and Asian Arts Agency.