Bollywood composer, session musician and accidental acid house pioneer Charanjit Singh has died at the age of 75. He passed away in his sleep on July 3 at his home in Mumbai, India.
After years of working in Bollywood and releasing covers of popular Indian songs, Singh released Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat in 1982. Recorded using a Roland TB 303 bass synthesizer and a Roland TR 808 drum machine, the album was one of the first to utilize instruments that would come to define the acid house genre.
The album was a commercial failure in India, but by 1987 the sound was adopted by Chicago's Phuture on "Acid Tracks," kickstarting the acid house movement. In 2002, Singh's contribution to the genre was recognized with a world tour, as well as a subsequent stint touring with Das Racist rapper Heems.
As Rolling Stone reports, Singh was preparing for a London concert and working on an album of world folk music at the time of his death.
After years of working in Bollywood and releasing covers of popular Indian songs, Singh released Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat in 1982. Recorded using a Roland TB 303 bass synthesizer and a Roland TR 808 drum machine, the album was one of the first to utilize instruments that would come to define the acid house genre.
The album was a commercial failure in India, but by 1987 the sound was adopted by Chicago's Phuture on "Acid Tracks," kickstarting the acid house movement. In 2002, Singh's contribution to the genre was recognized with a world tour, as well as a subsequent stint touring with Das Racist rapper Heems.
As Rolling Stone reports, Singh was preparing for a London concert and working on an album of world folk music at the time of his death.
