Warner Music Canada and Warner Music India launch new joint venture supporting South Asian artists
Singer Jonita Gandhi is one of the 1st artists signed to 91 North Records
Warner Music Canada and Warner Music India have teamed up to launch 91 North Records, a new label to support South Asian artists.
Canada-based Punjabi singer Karan Aujla and award-winning playback singer Jonita Gandhi are the first artists signed to the new venture.
"I think it's a really big moment for me, but it's also a big moment for everybody in my community because something like this hasn't existed before," said Gandhi, who was born in India and raised in Brampton, Ont.
"I just think it's a great place for us to get representation in the global music scene in a way that we haven't had before," she said. "There's a lot of emerging talent from the South Asian community that's incredible, and I think the music is starting to speak for itself."
Gandhi, who is known internationally for singing Bollywood hits for films such as Dishoom, said she is thrilled to introduce the music she grew up with to other cultures.
"If I want to write a song in English, but then add Indian inflections for instance, that might be something that you don't really hear on the radio today," she said. "But for that going forward to be the case, really excites me because now you're going to get a song that people in Canada will understand ... but then you're still hearing instrumentation that's very close to my culture and my roots."
She also said that she is excited to be part of 91 North Records so that she can work closely with Ikky, the Toronto-born producer known for melding hip-hop beats with traditional Punjabi music, who will be the label's creative director.
"Ikky is very, very, very talented. I love the vision that he has for the music," she said, adding that they've already started working on some music together.
"I've always been fascinated by the blending of Indian and Western sounds into culturally impactful, innovative music," Ikky said in a press release. "91 North Records exists to elevate artists pursuing this fusion. Punjabi and South Asian music already competes worldwide, and I'm thrilled to collaborate with emerging talents, showcasing and amplifying what they have to offer. This is no experiment; it's the future."
"I just think that this is going to be a beautiful window into our our community, into our culture, into the music and the richness of our heritage because there's so much happening," Gandhi said.