Charanjit Singh -

Charanjit Singh (1940 — July 5, 2015) was an East Indian musician who recorded multiple soundtrack titles through the 1970s on Odeon. In 1982, he released Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat on His Master’s Voice.

Background

Charanjit Singh Panesar was born in 1940 in Bombay and grew up in the Matunga area. After the early death of his parents, Singh lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law.

Singh spent much of his teens at Singh Musical Instruments, the family instrument business. The operation traced back to Chait Singh and Gurbax Singh, who established Chaitsingh Gurbaxsingh & Bros. in Bombay in 1920 and specialized in instrument manufacture, particularly harmoniums. Singh learned several instruments through the shop environment, including Hawaiian guitar and accordion. He studied classical forms on the bulbul tarang, a push-button horizontal string instrument.

On leaving high school, Singh worked with a pop group that combined Indian musical themes with the Latin-percussion style then common on the Bombay entertainment circuit. The group played weddings and private functions and connected Singh with musicians who worked in Hindi-film orchestras. Meanwhile, he debuted with the four-track Charanjit Singh EP, released in 1968 on Angel Records.

In 1969, Singh toured the United States and Trinidad with singer Kishore Kumar and fellow band member Kersi Lord. Singh used subsequent foreign trips to obtain electronic instruments that remained difficult to source in India. On his first trip to England he embraced the clavioline, an early analog synthesizer. In Amsterdam, he purchased a Farfisa Transicord, an electronic harpsichord. His second solo EP, Film Hits from Mera Naam Joker, appeared in 1970 on Odeon.

Back in Bombay, Singh worked as a session musician for Hindi-film composers including R.D. Burman, S.D. Burman, Shankar–Jaikishan, and Laxmikant–Pyarelal. For the R.D. Burman score to the 1971 film Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Singh played the sustained Transicord drone that opens “Dum Maro Dum.” Pyarelal later identified Singh as the Hawaiian guitarist on “Aakash Pe Do Taare” from Roop Tera Mastana and “Hai Hai Yeh Majboori” from Roti Kapda Aur Makaan.

Singh continued his solo instrumental output with the 1973 Odeon release Instrumental (Film Tunes), expanded from six to ten tracks across 1974/75 repackaged versions. Meanwhile, Singh developed a multi-instrumental stage act built around electronic keyboards, guitar, bass, and exotic sundries, documented on the 1977–79 Odeon releases One Man Show, Laxmikant Pyarelal Presents Charanjit Singh, and Mood with Kishore Kumar. His 1981 release, Charanjit Singh Plays Hit Tunes on Synthesizer of Silsila, embraced a more electronic sound.

Singh next acquired a Roland Jupiter-8 synthesizer, TR-808 rhythm machine, and TB-303 bass sequencer. In 1982, Singh entered HMV Studios in Bombay and applied the three Roland instruments to ten Indian ragas. He programmed the TR-808 with a steady disco pulse and used the TB-303 for sequenced bass patterns, with the Jupiter-8 carrying the raga material. Singh completed the album in two recording sessions. HMV released the recordings as Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat.

Discography: