Penn Masala
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Penn Masala is the world's first Hindi a cappella group, formed in 1996 by students at the University of Pennsylvania. Combining South Asian music with a Western musical style, Penn Masala has been featured in the soundtrack of American Desi, and has released five CDs: Awaaz, 11 PM, Soundcheck, The Brown Album, and the compilation album Out of Stock.
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[edit] History
Penn Masala was formed in 1996 by students at the University of Pennsylvania, who wanted to represent their Indian culture and music on campus through a cappella. The students initially called themselves the "Bomb Squad" but soon changed the name to Penn Masala (named after the famous 'Paan Masala' brand of spiced betel nuts.) Among other, more long-standing a cappella groups on campus, Penn Masala stood out as the only a cappella group in the world that sang Hindi music. This defining characteristic of the group brought it immediate attention as members fused Hindi and English tunes in original song formats. Soon, the group began to bill itself as "The world's first and premier Hindi a cappella group". In just four years since its inception, Penn Masala had gained close to 20 members. By 2002, the group had released its first two CDs: Awaaz (Hindi for sound) was released in 1999, and 11 PM was released in 2001. Over the next 3 years, Penn Masala released two more full albums, Soundcheck and The Brown Album, and a compilation CD entitled Out of Stock, which included favorites from the first 3 albums. All four full-length albums of the group went on to garner critical acclaim and generate an immense fan base for the collegiate group.
[edit] Shows
Penn Masala has performed shows all around the globe. Much of their traveling is done domestically; the group performs at numerous universities across the country regularly, spanning cities from San Francisco to Chicago to Boston.
In 1999, soon after the release of Awaaz, Penn Masala, went on its first international tour to England, hitting the airwaves and performing all across the United Kingdom. The group performed two large shows in New York City: once in 2000 at the Zee Gold Bollywood Awards in the Nassau Coliseum, and again in 2002 at the Bollywood Music Awards in the Hammerstein Ballroom.
The group has also travelled to India on two occasions. In 2002, the group travelled to Mumbai, India to perform at the Star Screen Awards, during which time the members appeared on MTV Asia. In 2006, the group celebrated its 10th anniversary with a tour of India, performing at such venues as the National Centre for the Performing Arts at Nariman Point in Mumbai and Swabhumi in Calcutta.
The group also holds a large annual spring show at the University of Pennsylvania itself. The group sings a wide selection of its songs, and incorporates humor throughout the show using skits and videos that often parody or spoof television shows and movies. For example, the 2001 spring show featured a 'Penn Masala Behind the Music', parodying the VH1 show of the same name. The end of the show is usually marked by a traditional gathering of Masala alumni and current members on stage, singing various Penn Masala songs to finish the program.
[edit] Songs and Style
Penn Masala combines various types of music in its songs, including Hindi film music, pop, hip-hop, R&B, rock, and Indian Classical styles. The group also uses a wide array of languages in their songs. Their compositions are primarily sung in English or Hindi, but they occasionally use lyrics in Arabic, Punjabi, and Tamil, as well.
Many of the album tracks are medleys: half the song is an a cappella cover of an English song (in the past the group has sung songs from artists such as U2 and Boyz II Men), while the other half is an Indian song, often a well-known Hindi film song, readapted into a cappella style. Some songs are purely Hindi; for example, "Nahin Samne" on The Brown Album. Other songs, such as "Aicha" and "Aankhon Mein Tu Hai", incorporate Hindi and English lyrics into a single song. "Aicha" even includes some Arabic verses. One song, on 11 PM, entitled "Show Me the Meaning of Being Desi", is a parody of the Backstreet Boys' "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely"; the song follows the same melody but changes the lyrics to lampoon common Indian stereotypes.
While most of the group's songs are re-adaptations of already existing songs, the group has also composed songs of their own, such as "Midnight" on the album Soundcheck and "Desi Ladki" on 11 PM.
Some songs have been especially favorite among fans and critics alike. "Meri Sapno Ki Rani" and "Aap Jaise Koi" were both featured in American Desi, while a music video was made for "Chamak Challo", which debuted in the Top 10 on Channel [V] India. Both "Chamak Challo" and "Bharat Humko Jaan se Pyara Hai", a celebration of India's 50th anniversary of independence, brought immediate attention to the group in the fall of 1997, and have been fan favorites ever since.
