Southbank Centre to host event series celebrating South Asian music and culture

London’s Southbank Centre will celebrate South Asian music and culture this spring with a brand new series, South Asian Sounds — taking over the arts centre from March 7 - 10.

The four-day showcase looks at “varied musical traditions” of the Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Afghan diaspora, featuring performances from a plethora of artists in folk, jazz, bhangra, Qawwali, and dance music.

The series will also feature curation from UK-based South Asian dance music collective and festival Dialled In, who take over two days at the Southbank Centre from March 8 - 9.

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On March 8, NTS host Anu will play alongside Mumbai’s own Kiss Nuka and Southall soundsystem Vedic Roots late into the night at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer.

The following day, Dialled In returns with a curated line-up of South Asian classical and contemporary artists including 79-year-old Pakistani maestro Ustad Noor Bakhsh's UK debut, supported by Eelam-Tamil South-London raised Pritt at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Speaking to Mixmag, Dialled In's Head of Marketing Almass Badat says: "During the daytime on the 9th, we invite audience members to Unbound Archives, a two-fold music and film programme. Tap into DJ heritage through crate-digging and guest DJ sets with True Form Archive, the largest collection of South Asian vinyl records, and observe Dialled In's film showcase, a visual display of contemporary native and diasporic South Asian stories."

"This is history in the making," she says. "Expect the unexpected and allow your senses to be invigorated across time, place and creative mediums."

Elsewhere, South Asian Sounds will host performances from orchestras, rappers, folk musicians, and more over the course of four days.

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“From film soundtracks to prayer, music sits at the heart of South Asian culture and South Asian Sounds promises to be an incredible celebration of the richness and diversity of its forms,” says Southbank Centre Artistic Director, Mark Ball.

“We’re excited to present such internationally renowned artists representing a wide range of genres and traditions. Their appeal will reach audiences across the capital’s South Asian diaspora, who make up a fifth of our city’s residents.”

Further programming will be revealed in the coming weeks. Grab your tickets to South Asian Sounds here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter