Few acts in the UK can demonstrate such a profound influence, a multifaceted legacy, and carry such a mysterious legendary status as Transglobal Underground.
From their origins in the dance scene in the early ’90s they became one of the country’s best loved festival bands, a techno sound system, a pop group, a club night, a Middle Eastern hit production team, an improvised study group for Indian classical music, an Albanian brass band, a duo… or was it an octet?…
Transglobal Underground exploded onto the club scene with the club classic Temple Head a track with inspiration taken from the UK bhangra scene, with one foot in the Madchester and indie worlds, and another in club music. The mix was totally new (DJs loved it but couldn’t work out what speed to play it at) and the track is still regularly played on the radio today.
The collective went on to practically create a new genre with a series of albums mixing a heady concoction of club grooves, dub, bhangra, rock, digital hardcore and oriental melody, driven by the possibilities of musical technology, inspiration and a massive belief in the need to create something creating a bar that kept others looking for the next level of global experimentation.
The best known albums are probably the most recent, Walls Have Ears, the top 20 Dream of 100 Nations and the BBC award winning Moonshout but they’re almost as well known for their collaborations with artists such as Page and Plant, original lead vocalist Natacha Atlas, the Trio Bulgarka, and Fanfara Tirana.
Lineup: Tuup (vocalist, percussionist, one of the UK’s leading storytellers); Hamid Mantu (founder member, drums, percussion); Sheema Mukherjee (sitar, bass – Cornershop, Imagined Village); Rav Neiyyar (tabla, dhol – Bollywood Band, Diamond Cut); and Tim Whelan (founder member, keyboards, machines).
Now, more than thirty years later, Transglobal Underground continues to fill venues across Europe, showcasing their enduring appeal and influence.
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