Charanjit Singh, an Indian musician who was rediscovered during the last decade and hailed by some as the originator of the acid house electronic genre, will be touring the United States for the first time. If you count five dates in two cities as a "U.S. tour."
Singh was a session musician during the '70s, playing plenty of guitar and synthesizer for Bollywood film releases. He got the idea to convert Indian music to electronic, beginning with Charanjit Singh Plays Hit Tunes on Synthesizer of Sicilia (a conversion of tracks from the film Sicilia). He followed that with Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat. The album featured synthesizer and an 808 drum machine instead of the traditional tables.
It was a commercial failure until it was rediscovered in the electronic scene at the turn of the century and rereleased in 2010. Now some have labeled his music as the true origin of acid house, predating the music of Chicago acid house founder Phuture by nearly five years. Either way, it's clear that the experts take him seriously: He'll be playing at Lincoln Center and The Kennedy Center among other venues.
Singh began playing the material live during 2012 and now he'll bring his act to the United States at least for the five shows. You can check out the five dates below, and hope beyond hope that he'll find a way to travel west soon.
07/27: New York @ Lincoln Center
08/01: New York @ Body Actualized Center
08/02: New York @ MoMA PS1 Warm Up Series
08/07: Washington D.C. @ Tropicalia (with Protect-U)
08/07: Washington D.C. @ The Kennedy Center
