Multitone Records
| Multitone Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 10/19/1978 |
| Founder | Pran Gohil |
| Status | Dormant |
| Distributor(s) | M.S. Distributing Co. (in the US) |
| Genre | Bhangra |
| Country of origin | UK |
Multitone Records, originally Savera Investments,[1] was a British record label founded by Pran Gohil in 1978. Pran was formerly Regional Head of Polygram, Asia Pacific based in the Netherlands and also Executive Chairman of Spartan Records, London. Multitone Records specialized in bhangra style music.[2] The style itself was commercialized by Multitone Records, which is considered to be the pioneer of British Bhangra and the label grew to become the "largest Asian record label in the world" during its lifetime under Managing Director Jitesh Gohil.[3] In 1992, the company entered into a joint venture with BMG in order to spread its label throughout Europe and internationally. Multitone's artists formed the "who's who" of the British bhangra scene including The Safri Boyz, DCS, XLNC, Sasha, Amar, Apna Sangeet, Alaap, Chirag Pehchan and many more. A number of Multitone's records entered the UK and International charts including "People of the world" by Sasha, "Take me higher" by Bindushri and "Tu hai mera sanam" by Amar. Multitone's music also entered the market on the Indian subcontinent with hits like "Patel rap" by Bali, and hits of Abba in Hindi by Salma and Sabina Agha.The company began distribution in the United States on 27 June 1994 through M.S. Distributing Co. Paul Bernard was appointed as the US representative of the company. The US debut featured albums by Pammi and XLNC
.[4]
Following the buyout of BMG by Sony Music in 2008, the label became one of the subsidiaries of Sony Music Entertainment UK Holdings Ltd. where it was listed "dormant"
Multi tone Records was acquired by Moviebox Records International Birmingham who revamped the collection and launched the Bhangra Legends collections and also gave birth to the Legends Band.
.[5]
Labeled bands[edit]
- Alaap
- Azaad
- Apna Sangeet
- Premi Group
- Achanak
- DCS
- Pammis[4]
- Sahotas (signed in 1988)[6][7]
- XLNC[4]
- Chirag Pehchan
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Kuljit Bhamra (April 6, 2009). "The (untold) Southall Story". Asians In Media. Archived from the original on April 13, 2010. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
- ^ J. Poet (1995). "Multitone Records". Rhythm. 4 (2–11). K.F. Russell: 13. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
- ^ Routledge (2002). International who's who in popular music. Europa Publications. p. 196. ISBN 9781857431612. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
- ^ a b c David Stanley (June 18, 1994). "Bhangra Music Comes Stateside Via Multitone". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 25. Prometheus Global Media. pp. 17–18. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
- ^ "Your company: SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT UK LIMITED: Company details - from workSMART.org.uk". Archived from the original on 2012-04-07. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
- ^ "DJ Markie Mark on chasing the mainstream music dream". Asians In Media. December 5, 2005. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
- ^ Bella Jaisinghani (June 3, 2000). "UK Bhangra band comes home". The Indian Express. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
