Badmarsh & Shri
Encyclopedia
Badmarsh & Shri are an electronic
/trip hop
duo from London
, UK
.
) worked at the reggae
studio Easy Street; which was hiring PA equipment to a nightclub called Labyrinth. After a visit to Labyrinth, he became interested in DJing, and almost immediately went out to buy DJ turntables and records; he later secured a residency position at the club, where he remained for five years. Shri
, on the other hand, had spent five years touring with Nitin Sawhney
, who later produced his debut solo album Drum the Bass. The album was well received in Europe.
The duo came together through Shabs, head of Outcaste Records, who thought that the pair's individually different sounds would complement each other in a group. The duo released their debut album Dancing Drums
in 1998, which contained a culmination of drum and bass
, hip hop
, Indian classical music and jazz.
(co-produced by Mike Spencer
) through Outcaste Records. A continuation of their musical migration, the album was considered panoramic dance music by the record's publishers, switching between dancefloor music, and a more sensuous, chilled style.
The duo drew their inspiration from their respective backgrounds of dancehall
and hip-hop, as well as funk, Latin and African rhythms. They also made use of strings, synthesizers and flute, along with the vocal talents of UK Apache, who is also considered an integral part of live shows.
In the album Signs, there is a song called Signs, which was used in the Battle in Seattle movie soundtrack. The song is played at the end of the movie during the last information and credits.
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
/trip hop
Trip hop
Trip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...
duo from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Formation
Prior to their formation, Badmarsh (whose name means 'rascal' in HindiHindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
) worked at the reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
studio Easy Street; which was hiring PA equipment to a nightclub called Labyrinth. After a visit to Labyrinth, he became interested in DJing, and almost immediately went out to buy DJ turntables and records; he later secured a residency position at the club, where he remained for five years. Shri
Shri (Musician)
Shri is a leading light in the British Asian music scene. His work combines traditional Indian musical styles with Rock, Jazz, and Drum 'n' Bass....
, on the other hand, had spent five years touring with Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney is an Indian-British musician, producer and composer. His critically acclaimed work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of jazz and electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics and spirituality...
, who later produced his debut solo album Drum the Bass. The album was well received in Europe.
The duo came together through Shabs, head of Outcaste Records, who thought that the pair's individually different sounds would complement each other in a group. The duo released their debut album Dancing Drums
Dancing Drums
Dancing Drums is the first album from trip hop duo Badmarsh & Shri. The name comes from a 1975 track of Ananda Shankar.-Reception:Allmusic praised Shri's melodic basslines and strong tabla rhythms, and concluded that "Several tracks go on a couple of minutes too long, and techno snobs will find...
in 1998, which contained a culmination of drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
, hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, Indian classical music and jazz.
Signs
In 2001, Badmarsh & Shri released their second album, SignsSigns (album)
-Reception:Allmusic criticized the album for being slow and poor quality for the first few tracks, but asserted that the duo has achieved a distinctive style and complimented Shri's multi-instrumental versatility.-Track listing:#"Signs"#"Swarm"#"Get Up"...
(co-produced by Mike Spencer
Mike Spencer
Mike Spencer is an English record producer.Mike Spencer is primarily known for his production work with successful commercial pop acts such as Jamiroquai, Kylie Minogue and Newton Faulkner....
) through Outcaste Records. A continuation of their musical migration, the album was considered panoramic dance music by the record's publishers, switching between dancefloor music, and a more sensuous, chilled style.
"We wanted to make music that moved you on the dancefloor as well as at home. Everything had to be emotive, whether it made you angry or made you swoon. But it also had to funk. We wanted it to be about feeling rather than thinking - that was our vision,"
The duo drew their inspiration from their respective backgrounds of dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
and hip-hop, as well as funk, Latin and African rhythms. They also made use of strings, synthesizers and flute, along with the vocal talents of UK Apache, who is also considered an integral part of live shows.
Albums
- Dancing DrumsDancing DrumsDancing Drums is the first album from trip hop duo Badmarsh & Shri. The name comes from a 1975 track of Ananda Shankar.-Reception:Allmusic praised Shri's melodic basslines and strong tabla rhythms, and concluded that "Several tracks go on a couple of minutes too long, and techno snobs will find...
(Outcaste, 1998) - SignsSigns (album)-Reception:Allmusic criticized the album for being slow and poor quality for the first few tracks, but asserted that the duo has achieved a distinctive style and complimented Shri's multi-instrumental versatility.-Track listing:#"Signs"#"Swarm"#"Get Up"...
(Outcaste, 2001)
In the album Signs, there is a song called Signs, which was used in the Battle in Seattle movie soundtrack. The song is played at the end of the movie during the last information and credits.