Tigerstyle
Encyclopedia
Tigerstyle are a Scottish
bhangra group from Glasgow
from a British
Punjabi
background. They are made up of two brothers, Raj and Pops, trained in classical tabla
, gurmat sangeet and various forms of Punjabi
folk music and instrumentation. Coming from a traditional background where religious adherence was the call of the day and learning to play instruments from a young age so that they could perform at their local temple have now turned this young Sikh outfit into the most sought after act.Recently signed to Nachural Records (the label that launched Panjabi MC onto the world stage and into a global hit), Tigerstyle are now preparing their debut single and debut album for a worldwide release.
family, with their roots in Punjab, Punjabi folk music, in particular Punjabi music from the late 1970s to early 1980s, including artists such as Kuldip Manak
and Surinder Shinda
as well as Bollywood
music. They also list Rap
, Hip hop, RnB
and Drum n bass
with artists such as Dr. Dre
and Ice Cube
as influences.
they created Desi Bombsquad Sound System with the intent of nurturing the bhangra scene in Scotland as they felt it lagged behind the English
bhangra scene. The name Tigerstyle is taken from the Tiger Style of Shaolin Kung Fu
named after the tiger
, with the brothers coming from a Sikh warrior background which has its own martial art, Gatka, and the name Singh meaning lion
.
The brothers have released a number of singles and albums and also done official remixes for artists such as Lisa Maffia
and Raghav
. After a legal dispute with previous record companies, they signed to Nachural Records
, the label that launched Panjabi MC
.
Tigerstyle have toured all over the world and shared stages with the likes of Lily Allen
, Dub Pistols
, Misty in Roots
, Talvin Singh
, Nitin Sawhney
, Gunjan, Asian Dub Foundation
, Badmarsh & Shri
, Truth Hurts
, Panjabi MC, Future World Funk as well as Bobby Friction
and DJ Nihal
on BBC Radio 1
. Friction has said of Tigerstyle, "They are without doubt the next Asian/Bhangra act that will break through into the mainstream - it is only a question of time." On 28 October 2006 they performed on the BBC Electric Proms
Asian Network gig.
In the second series of Britain's Got Talent
on ITV1
in May 2008, the song used by dance act Signature
in their audition and again in their performance in the final was "Nachna Onda Nai", a bhangra remix of Michael Jackson
's "Billie Jean
" and Queen
and David Bowie
's "Under Pressure
" featuring Kaka Bhainiwala with covering vocals.
Tigerstyle are one of the few Asian acts to have ever recorded a live session for the late John Peel
. They also performed on the BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury Festival
in July 2007.
Their Bollywood debut came in the shape of exclusive remixes of "Bas Ek Kinng" and "Bhootni Ke" under the guidance of hit music director Pritam, on the soundtrack of the blockbuster movie of summer 2008, Singh Is Kinng
. They also collaborated again with Pritam for Pankaj Kapur's directoral debut Mausam
.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
bhangra group from Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
from a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Punjabi
Punjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
background. They are made up of two brothers, Raj and Pops, trained in classical tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
, gurmat sangeet and various forms of Punjabi
Punjabi Culture
Punjabi Culture is the culture of the Punjab region. It is one of the oldest in world history, dating from ancient antiquity to the modern era. The Punjabi culture is the culture of the Punjabi people who are now distributed throughout the world. The scope, history, sophistication and complexity of...
folk music and instrumentation. Coming from a traditional background where religious adherence was the call of the day and learning to play instruments from a young age so that they could perform at their local temple have now turned this young Sikh outfit into the most sought after act.Recently signed to Nachural Records (the label that launched Panjabi MC onto the world stage and into a global hit), Tigerstyle are now preparing their debut single and debut album for a worldwide release.
Background
Raj and Pops come from a folk background, with the traditional upbringing of a SikhSikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
family, with their roots in Punjab, Punjabi folk music, in particular Punjabi music from the late 1970s to early 1980s, including artists such as Kuldip Manak
Kuldip Manak
Kuldeep Manak was the adopted name of Latif Mohammed . He was a Punjabi singer who was known for singing a genre of traditional Punjabi songs called kaliyan....
and Surinder Shinda
Surinder Shinda
Surinder Shinda is an Indian singer of bhangra music with traditional Punjabi roots, who is considered a "grandfather of modern Punjabi music", and has been described as "legendary". He has had numerous hit songs including Putt Jattan De, Truck Billiya, Balbiro Bhabhi, Kaher Singh Di Mout and...
as well as Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
music. They also list Rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
, Hip hop, RnB
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and Drum n bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
with artists such as Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
and Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
as influences.
Music career
They started their music career in 1997 when as DJsDisc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
they created Desi Bombsquad Sound System with the intent of nurturing the bhangra scene in Scotland as they felt it lagged behind the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
bhangra scene. The name Tigerstyle is taken from the Tiger Style of Shaolin Kung Fu
Shaolin kung fu
Shaolin Kung Fu refers to a collection of Chinese martial arts that claim affiliation with the Shaolin Monastery.Of the multitude styles of kung fu and wushu, only some are actually related to Shaolin...
named after the tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
, with the brothers coming from a Sikh warrior background which has its own martial art, Gatka, and the name Singh meaning lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
.
The brothers have released a number of singles and albums and also done official remixes for artists such as Lisa Maffia
Lisa Maffia
Lisa Finch Maffia is a platinum selling English singer-songwriter, musician, fashion designer, model and presenter, who originally came to the public's attention as the main female member of So Solid Crew...
and Raghav
Raghav
Raghav Mathur , known professionally as Raghav, is a Canadian singer currently signed to Cordova Bay Records. He is best known for his single "Angel Eyes" which peaked at number 7 in the UK in 2005...
. After a legal dispute with previous record companies, they signed to Nachural Records
Nachural Records
Nachural Records is a British bhangra record label based in Birmingham, West Midlands, England.Bands who have released music through Nachural or signed a deal with the company include Sona Family and Tigerstyle....
, the label that launched Panjabi MC
Panjabi MC
Rajinder Singh Rai , better known by his stage name Panjabi MC is a British Indian musician.-Career:...
.
Tigerstyle have toured all over the world and shared stages with the likes of Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
, Dub Pistols
Dub Pistols
Dub Pistols are a London based dub music and big beat band, founded by ex-club promoter, Barry Ashworth, in 1996. The other members of the band were record producer and bassist Jason O'Bryan, Brooklyn producer and lyricist, T. K. Lawrence on vocals, Jap Slut guitarist John King, and turntablist DJ...
, Misty in Roots
Misty in Roots
Misty in Roots began life as a Southall-based British roots reggae band in the early 1970s. Their first album was 1979's Live at the Counter Eurovision, a record full of Biblical Rastafarian songs. It was championed by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, helping to bring roots reggae to a white audience...
, Talvin Singh
Talvin Singh
Talvin Singh Matharoo , is a producer and composer and tabla player, known for creating an innovative fusion of Indian classical music and drum and bass...
, Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney is an Indian-British musician, producer and composer. His critically acclaimed work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of jazz and electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics and spirituality...
, Gunjan, Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation are a British electronica band that plays a mix of rapcore, dub, dancehall and ragga, also using rock instruments, acknowledging a punk influence...
, Badmarsh & Shri
Badmarsh & Shri
Badmarsh & Shri are an electronic/trip hop duo from London, UK.- Formation :Prior to their formation, Badmarsh worked at the reggae studio Easy Street; which was hiring PA equipment to a nightclub called Labyrinth...
, Truth Hurts
Truth Hurts
Share Watson , known as Truth Hurts, is an American Contemporary R&B singer-songwriter.-Albums:-Singles:* 2002: "Addictive" Share Watson (born October 10, 1971, St. Louis, Missouri), known as Truth Hurts, is an American Contemporary R&B singer-songwriter.-Albums:-Singles:* 2002: "Addictive"...
, Panjabi MC, Future World Funk as well as Bobby Friction
Bobby Friction
Paramdeep Singh Sehdev , better known as Bobby Friction, is a DJ, television presenter and radio presenter from west London.He studied Contemporary Arts at The Nottingham Trent University....
and DJ Nihal
DJ Nihal
DJ Nihal is an English radio and TV presenter, as well as club night promoter and DJ, currently broadcasting on BBC Radio 1, BBC Asian Network and since August 6, 2010 BBC Radio 5 Live...
on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
. Friction has said of Tigerstyle, "They are without doubt the next Asian/Bhangra act that will break through into the mainstream - it is only a question of time." On 28 October 2006 they performed on the BBC Electric Proms
BBC Electric Proms
The BBC Radio 2 Electric Proms was an October music festival in London run by the BBC for five years, 2006-2010...
Asian Network gig.
In the second series of Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
in May 2008, the song used by dance act Signature
Signature (dance group)
Signature are an English dance group which consists of British Pakistani Suleman Mirza and British Indian Madhu Singh. Their notable style of dance is British Bhangra and they frequently base their performances around Michael Jackson songs, such as "Billie Jean" and "Thriller"...
in their audition and again in their performance in the final was "Nachna Onda Nai", a bhangra remix of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's "Billie Jean
Billie Jean
"Billie Jean" is a dance-pop/R&B song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was written, composed, and co-produced by Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones from the singer's sixth album, Thriller . Originally disliked by Jones, the track was almost removed from the album after he and...
" and Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
and David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's "Under Pressure
Under Pressure
"Under Pressure" is a 1981 song recorded by Queen and David Bowie. It marked Bowie's first released collaboration with another recording artist as a performer, and is featured on Queen's 1982 album Hot Space. The song reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also number 31 on VH1's 100 Greatest...
" featuring Kaka Bhainiwala with covering vocals.
Tigerstyle are one of the few Asian acts to have ever recorded a live session for the late John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
. They also performed on the BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
in July 2007.
Their Bollywood debut came in the shape of exclusive remixes of "Bas Ek Kinng" and "Bhootni Ke" under the guidance of hit music director Pritam, on the soundtrack of the blockbuster movie of summer 2008, Singh Is Kinng
Singh Is Kinng
Singh is Kinng is a 2008 Bollywood comedy film. The film is directed by Anees Bazmee and stars Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, the film also featured a music video with Snoop Dogg. About 75% of the movie was shot in Australia, around the Gold Coast region and Brisbane using an Australian production...
. They also collaborated again with Pritam for Pankaj Kapur's directoral debut Mausam
Mausam (2011 film)
Mausam is a Bollywood romance film directed and written by first time director Pankaj Kapoor under the Vistaar Religare Film Fund banner. The film stars Shahid Kapoor opposite Sonam Kapoor in the lead roles....
.
Khalistan/Anti Indian government opinion then
Tigerstyle has made music and expressed their opinions to be either in the catagory of anti Indian government/pro Khalistan, and / or helping giving a platform for those who are anti Indian government/pro Khalistan. Here is the link for proof. http://www.indien-netzwerk.de/navigation/unterhaltung/artikel/tigerstyle/tigerstyle-interview-eng.htm#3 . There are other examples on YouTube then.Discography
| Year | Album | Record Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | The Rising | Kismet Records |
| 2001 | Extended Play | Kismet Records |
| 2002 | Virsa | Kismet Records |
| 2003 | Mixtape Vol.1 | Soldier Sound Recordings |
| 2004 | Mixtape Vol.2 | Soldier Sound Recordings |
| 2005 | Bhang Goes Tha Riddim | soldier Sound Recordings |
| 2005 | American Jugni - Bikram Singh | Soldier Sound Recordings / VIP Records |
| 2006 | The Movement Vol.1 | Soldier Sound Recordings |
| 2007 | The Rhyme Book - Blitzkrieg | Soldier Sound Recordings / VIP Urban |
| 2008 | Balle! Shava! Single | Nachural Records |
| 2009 | Mystics, Martyrs & Maharajas | Nachural Records |