WHETHER it’s through big performances, weekly classes or collaborations, the Birmingham-based all-female bhangra entertainment team of Eternal Taal are constantly surrounded by music.
The award-winning team, led by UK’s first female dhol player Parv Kaur, have become strong symbols of girl power within the British music industry. With good music being their driving force, Eastern Eye got some of the Eternal Taal team dhol players to go through their massive collections and select songs they love...
Parv Kaur: I am gonna choose Bhabiye Akh Largee by Balbir Singh’s Bhujhangy Group. Growing up in a musical family, I have always loved songs from the great legends, including this one by my father, who was the first to introduce bhangra music to UK in 1967 with his band Bhujhangy. This song was written for my mum. It is based on a true story when my mum first came to England and met my dad at the airport. The song was released and over 50 years later continues to be loved. This era of music, the passion and lyrics is what I fell in love with and what I carry with me today.
Sang Kohli: I am gonna choose Kabhi Palkon Pe Aansoo Hai by Kishore Kumar. I come from a family heavily influenced by Bollywood, and this song holds one of the earliest memories of appreciating poetry and music. Not understanding this as a child, I remember hearing it when older and realising the song’s strength and powerful message. I now have a huge playlist of songs similar to Kishore Kumar which I listen to on a regular basis.
I also choose Darshan by B21 because of its uplifting nature. This song remains very dear to me because it was the first one I played on dhol when I began learning. It was so popular amongst not only the younger generation, but the older generation too. This song helped build my confidence in performing to large audiences that just loved music.
Jazz Rooprai Batth: The first song I choose is London Patola by Jazzy B, who is an artist I have been fond of from a young age. As music became very pop, Jazzy B kept the traditional touches to his music and this song was one of them. I remember we all used to go crazy at wedding functions when this used to come on. This song motivated me to get more into bhangra and that’s when I started dhol classes with Eternal Taal. Jazzy B was one of my bhangra music influences and I even used to wear a bandana like his in my hair. A truly well-written, popular upbeat song which I still play in my car.
I am also going to choose Nach Diya Dove Soniya by Heera because the legendary group were a firm favourite in my household and their songs were on repeat. We had a little dance routine to this, which I can still remember and always danced to at weddings or functions.
Sandeep Sohal: I am going to choose Candlelight by G Sidhu, which is a song I actually know off by heart and always sing to. It is one of my favourites because of the lyrics, which reminds me of being around friends and family. This is such a popular song that everyone loves playing at every party and weddings I go to. Even though this song doesn’t have much of a dancing beat to it, I still think it sounds amazing and makes you get up and do the bhangra. I hope one day I can get the experience of playing dhol to it and have an upbeat dhol version all to myself.
Lina Chefri: I have been singing from a very young age and music is a huge part of my life. One of my favourite songs is Skyfall by Adele because it has so much meaning and the composition really emphasised the emotions. I use this song to practice my vocals even though I am nowhere near as good as Adele’s version. I like listening to songs like this with much more meaning, rather than conventional pop songs.
I also like Unforgettable by French Montana because the song has an amazing slow beat, which I have in the background when writing my own song. There is also a bhangra version of this song, which I love dancing to at Eternal Taal classes.
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