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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZSAGOO, BallySinger, first to secure a top 20 UK hit singing in an Asian language. Born in New Delhi, grew up in Britain, established himself with dance music melding many elements with filmi (Indian film music); his earlier work plundered Bollywood for ideas and conventions to distort for years, causing something of an uproar with his unbridled sampling of filmi on Char Party (a play on words derived from 'Tea Party' and 'chapatti'). Bally Sagoo On The Mix—The Story So Far on Star '93 was a collection of previous forays incl. Malkit Singh 'Golden Star' (UK), Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rama and A.S. Kang; combining affection for the filmi originals with a sense of humour. Signed with Columbia/ Sony, an indication of crossover potential; Bollywood Flashback '94 had nine filmi songs spliced with ragga, bhangra and hip-hop interjections. Despite operating in the era of the rise of the Indian remix album and despite filmi music's insatiable appetite for brashness, for Indian audiences Sagoo's recreations were nearly as radical a step as his adding beats to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on Story So Far. Sagoo and Devissaro contributed the music to new dance works by Daksha Sheth and Roger Sinha for the young South Asian dance company Yuva, under the collective title of Tongues Untied as part of the annual Vivarta Festival in London. Single 'Dil Cheez' from album Rising From The East '96 caught the mood of the time and the increasing interest in Indian music, benefiting from the playlisting of 'Chura Liya' from Bollywood Flashback on BBC Radio 1; David Toop wrote of 'Chura Liya', 'The blend of ethereal Indian voices, big screen strings and reggae bass and rap is as deft (and daft) as ever.' 'Dil Cheez' ('Any Heart') entered the UK chart at no. 12 and Sagoo appeared on TV's Top of the Pops to promote it. Rising From The East was less cohesive than Bollywood Flashback but more adventurous, mixing hip-hop, house, filmi and bhangra rhythms. He toured as support for Michael Jackson on his HIStory World Tour. |