In conversation with Rav from Panjabi Hit Squad, discovering how the streets of Southall transformed into the playground of the symphony.
When you step into Southall, the first encounter is with that of an aroma rich in ghee, dal, and tikkas. A place where a gurudwara stands boldly across from the tube station, street vendors peddle everything from henna to golgappas to bridal lehengas, and a feeling of entering an alternate dimension takes over—a realm you might not explore if it weren't for the ties that bind you to your homeland. In this London suburb, there exists a community that regards it as a home away from home. It's a haven where many first and second-generation South Asians were nurtured, and where Panjabi Hit Squad discovered not just their music but also their voice —a voice that resonates at the very core of Underground Bhangra.
The significance of Rav and Dee from Panjabi Hit Squad goes beyond the beats they produce; it's a profound statement, a symphony of rebellion.
In this exclusive conversation with Rav, one-half of the Panjabi Hit Squad duo, we scratch beyond surface melodies. Uncovering the genesis of Ms Scandalous and delving deep into how the Underground Bhangra scene emerged as a vital avenue for reconnecting with one's homeland while embracing a mixed identity. In a world where music often transcends borders, Panjabi Hit Squad stands as a testament to the idea that beats can be more than just sound waves; they can be vessels carrying stories, traditions, and the spirit of a community. Southall, with its bustling streets and hidden stories, becomes the backdrop for this musical journey-
D: Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as a British DJ producer and radio broadcaster, and how you got started in the music industry?
Rav: Initially Panjabi Hit Squad was called Asian DJ Culture and we were quite well known within the music circuit throughout the mid-90s. It was in 2001 that we decided to change the direction. We saw this uptake in South Asian music being consumed by the mainstream media, but for some reason, the songs showcased there were very commercial and a mere token gesture. That’s when Panjabi Hit Squad came into existence. One of the first major endorsements that we got was from BBC One Extra. They were starting up a radio station and we decided to board on there, and to our surprise, it became quite a rave. We continued there till 2009, before making a switch to Asian Network which we have continued to this day.
In your journey through the music industry from the 2000s. did you face any struggles as a South Asian?
I guess the struggles came from within the club environment, there was violence and fights that made putting on South Asian nights especially, quite difficult. In terms of us as artists, there were struggles initially, but we were able to overcome those quite quickly, with us being on BBC One extra and our work with Def Jam. Post this, it meant that we can walk into rooms and do events at say Selfridges or mainstream festivals or Glastonbury, which we did.
In your journey through the music industry from the 2000s. did you face any struggles as a South Asian?
I guess the struggles came from within the club environment, there was violence and fights that made putting on South Asian nights especially, quite difficult. In terms of us as artists, there were struggles initially, but we were able to overcome those quite quickly, with us being on BBC One extra and our work with Def Jam. Post this, it meant that we can walk into rooms and do events at say Selfridges or mainstream festivals or Glastonbury, which we did.
Panjabi Hit Squad is recognised as amongst the first to host an Asian music night in UK back in the 90s. What were the people's demands like from such events back then?
At these events, you would have jungle, you would have hip hop and R&B, you'd have later on garage music all of these genres mixed up into a neat little package for the night. We were quite used to the blending of black music culture with brown culture and that was what the appetite was for, at most of these raves. So predominantly a lot of the events– there was a heavy Bhangra lineup in one room, R&B and hip-hop in another room and so on.
Along with your life performances, as a group, you've recorded several albums and worked with major labels in the UK. Could you share some highlights from your collaborations that stand out?
We've worked with some massive names in the industry, we've done remixes with Mariah Carey and Ashanti. But the biggest thing that we quite fixated to do, was to get the female voice out there and champion female talent so having Miss Scandalous and Alicia with us has been amazing. I think that the two main standout projects were, where we worked with the people that were really in our camp.
One of your most celebrated songs is ‘Hai Hai’ and it's again gaining a lot of traction in the underground scene right now. What was it like, recording it at that time?
Ray (with a bit of a giggle) So, we had two different versions of the same song. The song was produced and mixed in two different locations. One was in Southall, and the other was in Birmingham, but the original idea and how we recorded it was done in Southall. We were using a music studio just off Southall Broadway at the time. We had just finished this garage version of ‘Hai Hai’ and I said to Mark (an ex-member of the group) at the time that the song sounds great, but we needed an MC just to kind of fill in this gap. Then we started looking around and weren’t finding anyone that fit. But then Dee (the second member of the group) ended up walking into a very famous record shop in Southall and the girl serving behind the counter was, as we know her now – Ms Scandalous. I knew her from school but never really fell in the same circle. And she said to Dee, “If you've got any music, I rap.” and his immediate reaction was, “What are you doing later on today?” I can never explain this thing, where it's like sometimes that there's a higher power that puts you in a place at the right time and for her she knew she had to just get this one right and she did.
“Dee ended up walking into a very famous record shop in Southall and the girl serving behind the counter was, as we know her now – Ms Scandalous.”
So we cannot go about not talking about Boiler Room Southall. As a South Asian it was a moment of pride to see such representation and recognition for the community and you performed there, first of all, congratulations!! And what was the experience like? And what does this performance signify for the South Asian community in the UK?
Boiler Room is one of the topmost broadcasting brands out there currently, and for them to recognise Asian music and to recognize the Grassroots level of what was going on, is just amazing. We had a complete mix of the movement there. We saw some emerging DJs that day, then we had you had DJ Ritu who's been around for many years. Hats off to Daytimers, their set was amazing, but they wanted it to be representative of the new generation, in contrast to us where we wanted it to be representative of the people that made the scene, what it is. The main thing was the town of Southall, we want to shine a light on the place that has not only given us a career, but also birthed so many others, and that night was a celebration of that. People not just from Southall but also people who contributed to the music scene. It was the whole community coming together for this. Like Vedic Roots, the Sikh brothers own a reggae sound system that they have built by hand and they were the ones who supplied the sound system for Boiler Room. That's very very important because the venue used to hold reggae and dub dances in the 80s. I feel like this Boiler Room kind of got us out of that space of channelling our music into a pipeline. Boiler Room recognizes that there are not just two music genres coming out from South Asia or India. Let's just be specific. It's not just Bhangra and Bollywood. There's this whole music scene that comes from that region and this event was a massively successful showcase of just this.
When asked about what the future holds for Panjabi Hit Squad, Rav replied “We complete 20 years of the song ‘Hai Hai’ this year and we are commemorating it with an event in Southall, where it all started” The event, held on 7th December was a great success with people turning up from all cohorts of the creative industry, including Yushy (legendary photographer) and Raj Pander (celebrated radio and podcast host), mingling and displaying their work.