Bhangra is gaining momentum and is a very interesting and enjoyable musical with folk origins in Asia.Bhangra is is very popular music form amongst both UK and Indian people, many of who originate from the Panjab area in the sub-continent. Whilst the musical style started in the Punjab region it has a great following of fans in the U.K. and also many stduio producers and musicians. As an online mastering engineer I have worked with Bhangra styles and very much enjoy the music. I have visited India many times over the years (though not the Panjab) and have some experiences of the culture of the sub continent including travel to Kerala, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kolkata, Maharashtra. The energetic and danceable music form has also now taken on a urban edge within the metropolis centres across Europe where the youth enjoy the energy and groove held within the music.
Bhangra has entered the charts in the UK which just goes to show it’s enormous popularity and power as a musical genre. Take a walk round East London and you will hear no end of Bhangra tunes blaring out of car stereos. As with mastering any music form the common tools for mastering Bhangra would be high quality eq, compression, width manipulation, audio limiting and another important processes and quality control checks. These factors need to be judged on high resolution mastering grade monitors that are full range (25Hz to 20kHz) and within an acoustically treated and accurate environment.Mastering used to be expensive and was mainly for mainstream musical artists and record labels but now pricing for high quality mastering has dropped much much lower.This means record labels and independent musicians and bands can ensure their music gets the attention and final quality control it deserves. You do need to choose your engineer with care as the “online model” for mastering can easily be abused by people with a few cracked plug-ins, pc and bookshelf speakers. Real mastering takes place using quality equipment by an engineer who has proven him/herself in the industry and who has clients, and studio photo’s to prove he has the equipment he suggests.
As a mastering engineer I master a wide variety of music and tend to treat Bhangra similarly to any modern dance music styles. Of course there are differences. Bhangra is often vocal based and has infectious repetitive lead lines along with head nodding percussive elements. It’s hard not to move your body when Bhangra is playing. Bhangra is not lacking in bottom end weight, bass. This has connection with urban styles such as dubstep and drum and bass. It is more common to hear bass heavy tracks and this creates challenges for the mastering engineer to balance high bass energy with good perceived volumes (competitive level).
The great thing about the UK is it a multi-cultural mixup where music has broken cultural boundaries and allowed all music forms to give and take. The UK is a great place for new and exciting music to be born and that is often the case. The musical culture is enhanced because of this interchange of ideas and cultural expression.When choosing mastering studios online care should be take to ensure the engineer has a high level of skill and comptence. Check that the website has pictures of equipment and a recent clients list. It is wise to steer clear of the cheapest operators and also avoid websites that just have a payment button and an upload button with no photo’s of equipment and room. Use common sense when choosing an online mastering studio. (Why not phone the engineer and get a first impression?)
About Author SafeandSound Mastering is a high quality, online mastering studio conversant with Bhangra music.Click the words below to visit the website for more information.online mastering mastering Bhangra mastering
