01/08/2024
“Growing up in a non-musical home was challenging. When I was at home we would listen to an old reel-to-reel machine with imported Punjabi music. The rhythm was captivating.
My interest in kit drumming started at school listening to Led Zeppelin and Duran Duran. Cross pollination of these beats was natural to my ear and hearing them together became the new sound in Bhangra Music.
Dhol Classes started and experience of workshops sent me around the globe doing sessions with bands while The Dhol Foundation became a recognised name. The World Music aisle in record stores was growing as the music became popular and more available. Transglobal Underground and Afrocelt Sound System were at the forefront of this new wave. The late Simon Emmerson explored these cross-overs with Imagined Village and this opened up the chance to collaborate with genres that had not been explored, so came Steve Knightley, already renowned and a folk legend in his own right.
Working with Steve on a track entitled Mother Tongue, opened more opportunities and inspired two more collaborations to this eclectic collective Dream in Colours.
Bennet Cerven, the effervescent fiddle player from the globally touring band The Trouble Notes, and the forever graceful flautist Eliza Marshall, from Ranagri, join with Steve and I to make this a deliciously tasty sound. It is my pleasure to be the rhythmic glue, to be a part of this incredible journey.”
- Johnny Kalsi 👑
📸 Stefanie Tendler
