14 Facts About Kuljit Bhamra

Kuljit Bhamra MBE Hon DMus was born on 1959 and is a British composer, record producer and musician whose main instrument is the tabla.

Kuljit Bhamra is best known as one of the record producers who pioneered the British Bhangra sound and for his many collaborations with musicians from different genres and continents.

Kuljit Bhamra's MBE was awarded in the Queen's Birthday Honour's List 2009 with the citation For services to Bhangra and British Asian Music.

Kuljit Bhamra taught himself to play the tabla at the age of six and accompanied his mother, Mohinder Kaur Kuljit Bhamra, who was a popular singer at weddings and public functions.

The band's debut album, produced by Kuljit Bhamra, was played back to back with Premi's, 24 hours a day, on the Asian pirate radio station Sina Radio.

In 1986 Kuljit Bhamra established Keda Records, an independent record label committed to producing high quality cassettes and LPs.

Kuljit Bhamra was profiled in the 1992 movie Confusion a Black Arts Video Project funded by the Arts Council of Great Britain.

Kuljit Bhamra finally gave up his career as a civil engineer in 1994 to concentrate on music.

Kuljit Bhamra purchased The Yard recording studio and renamed it Red Fort Studios.

In 2001 Kuljit Bhamra composed and directed the music for a production of the Ramayana which debuted at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and went on to the Royal National Theatre London.

Kuljit Bhamra continued his involvement in British Asian theatre productions and wrote the music for shows including Layla Majnun ; Deranged Marriage, and Lion of Punjab.

In 2009 Kuljit Bhamra was featured artist at Salisbury International Arts Festival and curated six events during the 16 days of the festival, including a musical event at dusk at Stonehenge, bringing together dancers, musicians and a shamanistic singer.

Kuljit Bhamra led the musical finale of the Liberty Festival in Trafalgar Square on 5 September 2009.

In 2010 Kuljit Bhamra wrote a number of specially commissioned pieces of Indian music for Trinity Guildhall, for their grading examinations in electronic keyboard.