1. ‘The coolie becomes cool’: Bhangra and ‘Asian Electronic’ Commodification, Essentialism, and Identity Kate Reichert

2. Sharma’s 3 Phases of the Development of ‘Asian Music’ Invisibility – 1970s and prior – Political and social racism – ‘Asian community’ adhered by Bhangra Marginalization – 1980s – Mainstream as ‘world music’ – Continued evolution: ‘Bhangramuffin,’ Apache Indian Commodification – 1990s and after – “Commodification of all things Asian”(322) – Mainstream success continued, remains of earlier exoticism

3. ‘Asian Electronic’ Music in New York’s South Asian Diaspora (Murthy) Mutiny and South Asian Diaspora in New York Labels as “strategy” – “positivist essentialism” (229) Diasporic reinterpretation of ‘Asian’ music – “a space where South Asian Americans can be seen as the producers, owners, and participators in something unique to their own experience” –DJ Zakhm (229) Aesthetics value versus Commodity value – Commodity fetishism and neocolonialism “Ethnonationalist essentialism” versus “politics of recognition” (237) How and why we recreate essentialist categories EssentialismAnti-Essentialism Deconstruction of “monolithic” Asian Identity, but strategic usage of labels

4. DJ Rekha: Personal and Commodified Identity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmo- gqSlWN8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmo- gqSlWN8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOi5Cs5ra 70 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOi5Cs5ra 70

5. Purity and Hybridity of Asian Musical Identity Globalization and Commodification Who is being recognized? Roots, additive identities, or complex routes? – Hutnyk (2005) and Gilroy: concept of hybridity problematically relies on anterior “purity” of 2 or more components (82) “Grannie doesn’t skip a Bhangra beat” by Sudhanva Deshpande – Growing popularity if Indipop and Bhangra pop artists in India, once dominated by artists like Michael Jackson and Madonna – Elitism turns to national pride – “So there you have it, the paradox of bhangra: its emergence as an Indian form in precisely the decade when its listeners have become more integrated into the world market and its patterns of consumption.” – Not representative of a “pure” Indian culture

6. Bringing it all together Essentialism and anti-essentialism are not mutually exclusive Commodification has an influence on the labeling of and identification with various types of music Identity and music production go hand in hand, and are necessarily context specific Asian electronic music and Bhangra have historically created space for identity negotiation in diasporic South Asian populations that are not necessarily bi- but instead multi-cultural