This new Indian electronic music genre is fusing religion and politics
Updated 0247 GMT (1047 HKT) January 13, 2019
"Anyone who doesn't believe in our values and wants to go to Pakistan is welcome to go," cries a voice in Hindi, over a thumping electronic beat. "We won't stop them, we will even pay for their ticket!"
The track, which blends techno and trance, traditional Indian and religious folk music, and political sloganeering -- at another point, a voice shouts "Hail Hindustan!" -- has nearly nine million views on YouTube. Uploaded by a 20-year-old musician who goes by the name DJ Lucky, its title translates as "100% guarantee all Hindu brothers will dance continuously to this track."
This is Bhakti Vibration -- an intense new electronic music genre out of Uttar Pradesh, in northern India, known for remixing speeches by religious leaders, Bollywood stars and politicians, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While some of the tracks are focused on Bhakti, Hindu devotional music, others take a far more political, often stridently nationalist tone.
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