Song of the Day: Rupa Biswas “Aaj Shanibar”

“Aaj Shanibar” is a wonderfully weird Indian disco track from 1982 by Rupa Biswas. The song manages to combine just the right amounts of dancefloor agitation, cheese and Indian elements to prove deeply infectious. Driven by Rupa‘s powerful mezzo soprano, the song is augmented with a disco beat, breaks a plenty (complete with sitar and sarod flourishes) and a bouncy bass line. Lyrics are sung in Hindi.

Rupa Biswas only recorded one LP, Disco Jazz, which was cut in Calgary, Alberta in the snowy plains of Canada. The record was recorded by Rupa “working with a crack team of Canadian disco muscle and Indian studio talent to create the perfect fusion dish”. The record was issued in India only and commands high dollars on the collector’s market. A bootleg reissue was released a few years ago in Europe, but also remains difficult to find and is of questionable audio fidelity. More information on this strange and wonderful record can be found here.