Before the emergence of British-Asian pop, before bhangra found its way into nightclubs and charts, there was Mohinder Kaur Bhamra. A first-generation immigrant in West London, she became the first woman to sing at Punjabi weddings and community events in the UK. In the 1970s, these gatherings were restrained affairs: men and women sat separately, and music was confined to its expected place. Mohinder’s voice began to change that. With her young son, Kuljit, accompanying her on the tabla from the age of six, she helped shape a new kind of sound and spirit in the diaspora, one that allowed joy and rhythm to transcend the lines drawn by custom.
It was out of this atmosphere that 'Punjabi Disco' was created. In the early 1980s, Kuljit Bhamra, by then already a known figure in the British-Asian music circuit, began experimenting with new electronic instruments. Using a Roland SH-1000 synthesiser and a CR-8000 CompuRhythm drum machine, he recorded 'Punjabi Disco' at the London studio of Roxy Music’s bass player Rick Kenton, with his then 11-year-old brother programming rhythms. Mohinder’s commanding vocals cut through layers of synthetic beats and oscillating basslines, creating a sound that merged the familiarity of Punjabi folk melodies with the pulse of disco and early electronic experimentation.
The album was meant to bridge worlds: to bring Punjabi music into the spaces where people danced together, not apart. But its journey was abruptly derailed. The concept was stolen by the label that had promised to release it, forcing the family to self-issue the record without any distribution. It disappeared almost immediately, lost to time and circumstance.
Four decades later, 'Punjabi Disco' has resurfaced by chance. During the Covid lockdown, the original multitrack masters were discovered, an unexpected find confirmed only after a tip from Massimo di Lena of Nu Genea. Lovingly mixed down and remastered, the reissue includes a previously unheard track and new remixes by Peaking Lights, Danger Boys, Psychemagik, Dexter+Franz, Mystic Jungle, and Baalti, along with a cover by Say She She’s Piya Malik and Naya Beat founders Turbotito and Ragz.
Originally released in the same year as Charanjit Singh’s 'Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat', 'Punjabi Disco' now takes its rightful place in the lineage of electronic innovation that bridged continents. The new 2xLP release, accompanied by detailed liner notes by The Guardian’s Global Music Critic Ammar Kalia and cut to vinyl by Grammy-nominated engineer Frank Merritt of The Carvery, restores a moment in history when sound became a language of belonging.
Mohinder Kaur Bhamra’s 'Punjabi Disco' will be released digitally and on vinyl via Naya Beat Records on October 31, 2025.
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