Kuljit Bhamra

Biography

Kuljit is perhaps the most prolific musician, composer and record producer on the British Asian music scene. His main instrument is the Tabla and he is best known as a pioneer of the British Bhangra sound and for his many collaborations with musicians from different genres and continents.

He has worked on numerous film scores, including Bhaji on the Beach, A Winter of Love, Bend it Like Beckham and appearances in The Guru, The Four Feathers, Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory.

He also performed as on-stage percussionist in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical Bombay Dreams. He went on to write the Indian music for the West End musical The Far Pavilions and later co-orchestrated the music for the west end musical adaptation of Bend it Like Beckham in which he also performed on stage. More recently, he composed the music for the stage adaption of the popular film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

He has recorded and produced over 2000 songs and is the recipient of many awards including a platinum disc for outstanding record sales presented by the much-loved BBC Radio DJ, John Peel who was a big fan of his music.

His cutting-edge projects and ground-breaking educational work earned him the prestigious honour of MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2009.

In his ongoing mission to Demystify Indian Music and democratise Indian drumming, Kuljit created a new universal Indian Drum Notation System and more recently, the world’s first playable electronic tabla called Tabla Touch® with his company Keda Music.

Kuljit is the patron of various organisations and is passionately committed to promoting the understanding of Indian instruments and broadening their use in all types of music by people of all cultures.