What is South Asian Diaspora Music?
South Asian diaspora music encompasses musical expressions created by people of South Asian descent (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Nepali) living outside the Indian subcontinent. This music blends elements of Western underground dance music and the traditional Asian music of their home countries in South Asia. Unlike music produced in South Asia itself, diaspora music is shaped by transnational experiences, bicultural identities, and the sonic landscapes of host countries—whether Britain, North America, the Caribbean, or elsewhere.
Diasporic communities have been upholding, and reshaping, the rich legacy of South Asian sounds and artists in different contexts. The term is not a single genre but an umbrella for diverse musical innovations: bhangra-reggae fusions in Birmingham, chutney-soca hybrids in Trinidad, Hindustani classical adaptations in New York, electronic reinterpretations in London, and hip-hop inflected with qawwali or Bollywood samples across North America.
Origins & Lineage
South Asian diaspora music has roots in multiple waves of migration. South Asians have emigrated in record numbers since the end of the colonial era in the middle of the 20th century. Many South Asians migrated to the United Kingdom and participated in its post-war economic recovery. In the Caribbean, ancestors were transported to the West Indies as indentured servants and later immigrants, during the 19th century.
In the 1950s, the Asian Music Circle organised the first Western performances by Indian classical musicians Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan. The AMC then brought Ravi Shankar to Britain, where the sitarist made his Western concert debut in October 1956. Shankar became the world’s best-known exponent of Indian classical music in the second half of the 20th century, and influenced many musicians in India and throughout the world. During the following decade, the Angadis introduced George Harrison of the Beatles to Shankar, initiating an association that saw Indian music reach its peak in international popularity over 1966–68.
British bhangra emerged in the 1970s. A modern and commercial form of bhangra music rose in Britain in the 1970s by Punjabi immigrants who took their native folk music and began experimenting by altering it using instruments from their host country. The first well-known mention was the compilation album Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground released in 1997 and masterminded by Talvin Singh and Sweety Kapoor. In the 1990s, Asian underground was considered hip and broke through to the mainstream, with artists such as Apache Indian and Cornershop frequently entering the UK charts.
In the Caribbean, chutney music was established in the 1940s within temples, wedding houses, and cane fields of the Indo-Caribbean. There were no recordings until 1968, when Ramdew Chaitoe of Suriname, recorded an early rendition of chutney music. In 1970 a young man from Barrackpore, Trinidad, by the name of Sundar Popo leapt to fame with the song “Nana & Nani.” It is because of Sundar Popo that chutney is alive today.
How It’s Practiced
South Asian diaspora music is practiced through live performance, recording, club nights, competitions, and educational transmission. Whether reimagining classic Bollywood tropes as club-ready music, throwing parties or championing DJs of South Asian descent, these groups are building community whilst expressing their multifaceted identities.
Instrumentation typically includes sitar and tabla, and almost all artists use an electronic or acoustic drum kit and/or synthesizer. Various other instruments, including the dholak, sarangi, and bansuri are also sometimes used. Contemporary diaspora music incorporates Western influences like rap and drill but predominantly leans into its South Asian foundations. Many artists are primarily singing in South Asian languages or sampling Bollywood classics.
Club-focused productions, flips, edits, reissues, and collaborations proliferate in India, Pakistan, and the other countries of the region, while the diaspora acts as a launchpad for sounds relishing the space between musical traditions. Collectives like London’s Daytimers, No I.D., and Discostan, or North America’s Brooklyn Raga Massive, host events that blend DJ sets, live instrumentation, and visual art.
South Asian Diaspora Music Today
South Asian artists like Arijit Singh and Diljit Dosanjh are finding new global success as their music spreads among the South Asian diaspora. A groundbreaking moment occurred for South Asian music earlier in 2023, when Diljit Dosanjh became the first Punjabi artist to perform at Coachella. In 2022, Arooj Aftab became the first Pakistani woman to ever win a Grammy, taking home Best Global Music Performance. Also in 2023, AP Dhillon became the first South Asian artist to perform at the Juno Awards in Canada.
Contemporary seekers encounter this music at diaspora weddings, dedicated club nights (“desi nights”), university bhangra competitions across the US and Canada, streaming playlists, and festivals like Dialled In (UK) or No Nazar (LA). Increased exposure to Western sounds and the pandemic have propelled development of contemporary music in places like India, with ripple effects to diaspora communities. Spotify’s explosive growth since its 2019 launch in India has meanwhile propelled local artists to the world stage. Major labels now maintain rosters of South Asian diaspora artists.
Common Misconceptions
South Asian diaspora music is not “world music” in the exoticizing sense, nor is it simply “fusion” for fusion’s sake. Collectives like Discostan distance themselves from other ‘world music’ collectives with a more nuanced approach. It is not monolithic: South Asian diasporas represent a wide variety of linguistic, cultural, ethnic, and religious groups from across the subcontinent. There are sometimes tensions between these different groups within the diaspora.
It is not solely a UK or North American phenomenon—significant scenes exist in the Caribbean (chutney, chutney-soca), East Africa, Fiji, Mauritius, and continental Europe. It is also not defined by authenticity debates; This Punjabi music was unique in that it was neither traditional nor did it seek any authenticity. Rather, diaspora music thrives precisely in the productive tension between heritage and innovation.
How to Begin
Start with landmark recordings: Ravi Shankar’s The Sounds of India (1957) for classical foundations; Apache Indian’s No Reservations (1993) for bhangramuffin; Panjabi MC’s “Mundian To Bach Ke” (2003 remix with Jay-Z) for bhangra-meets-hip-hop; or compilations like Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground (1997). Explore labels like Naya Beat Records (Los Angeles) or collectives like Daytimers and Discostan for contemporary electronic work.
Attend a local desi club night, a university bhangra competition, or a Brooklyn Raga Massive concert. Listen to BBC Asian Network or browse playlists tagged “South Asian diaspora,” “desi bass,” or “Bollywood club edits.” For scholarly context, consult Peter Manuel’s work on chutney and Indo-Trinidadian identity, or ethnomusicological studies on British Asian music.