Barmer Boys
Barmer Boys are a music group comprising of Manga, Rais and Rajak Khan from Rajasthan, India and one of the leading folk artists from India. Formed in 2011 at the Amarrass Desert Music Festival[1], the group has since performed over 200 concerts at major festivals and venues across India, Asia, Europe[2] and North America[3][4], featured on the popular MTV Coke Studio, and released two critically acclaimed albums.
| Barmer Boys | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Traditional, Sufi, Gypsy folk |
| Instruments | Harmonium
Morchang Bhapang Khartaal Dholak |
| Years active | 2011-present |
| Labels | Amarrass Records |
| Members | Manga
Rais Khan Rajak Khan |
Musical Style
The musical style of the Barmer Boys can be defined as a versatile blend of traditional, Sufi and gypsy folk music[5]. Belonging to the Manganiyar musician community of Rajasthan, they identify as Sufi Muslims, with a repertoire encompassing a wide range of musical traditions from the region and from religious and spiritual communities of the north west Indian subcontinent. The influence of the Bhakti-Sufi movement of the 15th century on the region, in the form of popular Kabir and Mira bhajans, as well as a variety of Sufi kalaams, is clearly evident in the Barmer Boys songbook, with tracks such as Vaari Jaun, Ranaji and Pir Jilani. Part of their repository are songs of celebration that are typically performed at weddings and births in their villages and communities, but equally at home in festival settings, such as Padosan, Paan Khilayido, Amrano, Mast Qalandar, and their hit song Bole to Mitho Lage, with over 3 million views on YouTube[6]. The band’s versatile sound incorporates elements such as beatboxing (also performed live by Rais Khan[2]) and electronic, dubby beats and DJs.
Members
Barmer Boys are a trio that comprises of Manga (vocalist, harmonium) and Rais Khan (morchang, khartaal, bhapang, beatboxing), with Rajak Khan (dholak). The group has had various percussion players take dholak duties in previous years, including Mangu Khan, Tarif Khan, Barkat Khan, and Magada Khan. Manga belongs to Ramsar tehsil in the district of Barmer, Rajasthan. Rais and Rajak are brothers from Harbha village in Fatehgarh tehsil of Jaisalmer district, Rajasthan.
| Musician | Instrument |
| Manga | Harmonium, vocals |
| Rais Khan | Various percussion instruments - morchang (Jewsharp, jawharp, lamellophone, morsing), bhapang, khartaal, beatboxing |
| Rajak Khan | Dholak |
Discography
| Album | Year | Label | Notes |
| At Home | 2012 | Amarrass Records | 4 Stars - Songlines, 4 Stars - Downbeat Magazine[7] |
| Kesariya Balm | 2017 | Amarrass Records | First folk LP to be made in India in the 21st century[8] |
International Acts
Proclaimed the global ambassadors of contemporary Rajasthani folk and Sufi music, Barmer Boys have performed at hundreds of national[9] and international platforms across Asia, Europe and North America. A few of these international acts have been at Roskilde Festival (2014), Wassermusik, Berlin (2015, 2017), Winnipeg Folk Festival (2015)[10], Ziro Festival of Music (2015, 2017), Music Meeting (2015), Feito A Man (2015), Clockenflap Hong Kong (2015), In2Wild Festival, UK, (2016), Festival 3 Culturas (2017) and Stockholm Cultural Fest (2017), among others.
Notable Collaborations
Previous Collaborations
The group has collaborated and performed with various artists across genres at both national and international platforms. They have shared the stage with artists such as Bombino, Fatoumata Diawara, Vieux Farka Tourè, BaBa ZuLa, Estrella Morente[1], and Khaled among others. Barmer Boys have also worked with Bollywood music composer Clinton Cerejo on their song Pir Jilani[11], featured on MTV Coke Studio Season 3. Rais Khan has collaborated with A.R. Rehman for musical recordings for MTV Unplugged in 2017 and featured on recordings by Grammy Award winning artists Mumford and Sons.
Current Collaborations
The group has performed with various DJs presenting a live fusion of Sufi Gypsy folk techno with artists such as DJ HVAD (at Distortion Festival in Copenhagen), AudioPervert (who has also remixed the ‘Boys Bole To - Awaara Remix, released on Kesariya Balm), Thee J Johanz and DJ Spincycle (Amarrass Records, at Stockholm Culture Festival, Gothenburg Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival[10], Flaunt@Harbourfront Centre and various events in Delhi[12]).
Barmer Boys are also working on a full length release and a full-length live performance with Danish post-rock band Himmelrum. The two bands have performed live at various venues in Denmark[13][14] and have released a single on bandcamp Nagma-Ranaji (2018, Amarrass Records)[15].
In the Press
The group’s first album, ‘At Home’ (2012, Amarrass Records), single-take field recordings made at the artists home in Barmer, received 4 stars in Songlines[7] and was described by Songlines Editor Simon Broughton as “Incandescent Sufi voices that incite ecstasy.” Their second album, ‘Kesariya Balm’ (2017, Amarrass Records), debuted on the Transglobal World Music Charts Top 40 in 2017[16]. Barmer Boys have also featured on BBC Asian Network[17][18][19], BBC Hindi, BBC World Service programming in 2015 and 2016, NPR Music in 2015[20], community radio stations WORT 89.9FM Madison and WFMU 91.1FM.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Amarrass Desert Music Festival Returns For The Third Year -". 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kanal, Nishtha (2018-02-20). "Rajasthani folk comes of age". The Asian Age. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- ↑ Kanal, Nishtha (2018-02-20). "Rajasthani folk comes of age". The Asian Age. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- ↑ IANS (2014-04-18). "Rajasthani folk music group Barmer Boys touring US". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- ↑ "Barmer Boys: Nomad Merasi Minstrels | Art & Culture | Emaho Magazine". www.emahomagazine.com. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- ↑ Amarrass, Bole to Mitho Lage - Barmer Boys, retrieved 2018-12-20
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Songlines Magazine (October 2014, #103)". Issuu. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- ↑ "First time in 30 years: an indie group from Delhi is making its own vinyl records". www.hindustantimes.com. 2017-04-29. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- ↑ "Jazz Like That". The Indian Express. 2014-03-23. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Thomson, Ian T. D. (2015-03-07). "2015 Winnipeg Folk Festival Lineup Announced". The Manitoban. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- ↑ "Pir Jalani - Clinton Cerejo feat. Barmer Boys - Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3". www.coca-colacompany.com. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- ↑ "THE DESERT SESSIONS | Motherland Magazine". Retrieved 2018-12-18.
- ↑ [https://www.jv.dk/artikel/2613942 "Indiske Barmer Boys p� Godset"]. www.jv.dk (in dansk). 2018-05-25. Retrieved 2018-12-20. replacement character in
|title=at position 22 (help) - ↑ [https://www.fyens.dk/article/3257107 "Dansk-indisk dobbeltkoncert: To verdener kolliderer p� Posten"]. www.fyens.dk (in dansk). 2018-05-21. Retrieved 2018-12-20. replacement character in
|title=at position 54 (help) - ↑ "Nagma > Ranaji, by Barmer Boys + Himmelrum". Barmer Boys. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- ↑ NuArt (2017-07-05). "TRANSGLOBAL WORLD MUSIC CHART – JÚL 2017". New Model Radio (in slovenčina). Retrieved 2018-12-18.
- ↑ "The Barmer Boys - Asian Network Live Session - The Barmer Boys - Barmer Boys, Noreen Khan - BBC Asian Network". BBC. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
- ↑ "The Barmer Boys - Asian Network Live Session - The Barmer Boys - Barmer Boys, Noreen Khan - BBC Asian Network". BBC. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
- ↑ "BBC - The Barmer Boys - Artists featured in Global Beats: India". BBC. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
- ↑ "Latitudes: The Global Music You Must Hear In June". NPR.org. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
External Links
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