Chutney music

Chutney
Stylistic origins	Bhojpuri folk and later fused with calypso, soca, and filmi
Cultural origins	19th century Indo-Caribbeans with indentured servant or immigrant ancestry
Typical instruments	Bulbul Tarang, Dhantal, Dholak, Harmonium, Khartal, Manjira, Tabla, Tassa beats
Fusion genres
Chutney soca

Chutney music is a form indigenous to the southern Caribbean, popular in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, other parts of the Caribbean, Fiji, Mauritius, and South Africa. It's a mixture of Bhojpuri music, and local music. It is increasingly popular in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and India.

This contemporary fusion of genres was created by Indo-Caribbean people whose ancestors were from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh They were taken as indentured servants by the British to replace laborers on sugar plantations after emancipation. Chutney music was established in the 1940s within temples, wedding houses, and cane fields of the Indo-Caribbean. There were no recordings until 1968, when Ramdew Chaitoe of Suriname, a small country in South America, recorded an early rendition of chutney music. The album was entitled King of Suriname and all of the songs were religious in nature. However, Chaitoe soon became a household name with East Indians not just in Suriname but throughout the Caribbean. Although the songs were religious, they had a dance vibe throughout each track. For the first time Indo-Caribbeans had music that spoke to them and was not specifically Indian or European/American in style. This was a breakthrough for East Indian Caribbean music, but the fame was short lived.

Chutney music exploded again in 1968 with the female singer Dropati, who released an album entitled Let's Sing & Dance, made up of traditional wedding songs. These songs became huge hits within the East Indian Caribbean community. The album gained recognition for chutney music as a legitimate form and united East Indians, regardless of their birthplace.

1969 was a huge turning point for chutney music when record producer Moean Mohammed recorded Sundar Popo with Harry Mahabir's BWIA Orchestra. Sundar Popo modernized the music by including western guitars and early electronics into his music. Although Popo became known as the "King of Chutney," the art of singing songs in "Chutney" style was introduced by a singer named Lakhan Kariya, from the town of Felicity, Chaguanas who preceded Sundar Popo. Other artists, such as Sam Boodram, followed in his footsteps by adding new modern instrumentation into their music. Chutney music until then remained a local music in Trinidad, Guyana & Suriname. However, this was all about to change and Chutney music was about to become an Industry.

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Wikipedia