Accidental Alchemist: How Charanjit Singh created Acid House
In the spring of 1982, inside a modest studio in Mumbai’s Cuffe Parade, Charanjit Singh recorded something no one else in the world had thought to attempt. While experimenting with the machines he’d picked up in Singapore - a Roland TB-303, TR-808, and Jupiter-8, he set classical Indian ragas to a disco beat.
Charanjit Singh had long been a familiar name in Hindi film music. As a session musician, his fingerprints were everywhere. The piercing transicord that opens Dum Maro Dum, the swirling keyboard intro to Meri Umar Ke Naujawano - Singh was a key figure behind the scenes. Composers shifted recording schedules around his availability!

But it was ‘Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat’, recorded over just two days, that would eventually earn him a new kind of recognition; years after it was first pressed onto vinyl. The record paired the modal structure of Hindustani ragas with machine-based rhythm. What he built in that session ticked every box of a genre that didn’t exist yet.
Acid house, as it would later be called was defined by a few key things: the squelchy, pulsing bass from a Roland TB-303, rigid drum loops from a TR-808, and a hypnotic, looping structure that slowly shifts over time.
Sadly, the record flopped. It was too strange for radio, too early for dancefloors, and too niche for anyone to market. The LP sat unnoticed in the corners of a few record stores until Dutch DJ Edo Bouman stumbled across a copy in Delhi in 2002 and tracked Singh down in Mumbai.
Singh was surprised anyone remembered it. When Bouman explained that the record resembled acid house - a genre still five years away in Chicago. Singh didn’t know the reference points. He hadn’t heard of Phuture or 808 State. The TB-303, used by Singh, would go on to define an entire movement in the West.
In his later years, Singh toured clubs and festivals across Europe and North America, performing for audiences often less than half his age.
Unfortunately, Singh died in his sleep in July 2015. By then, the record had already become a holy grail - discussed on forums and documentaries, sampled by DJs, and studied by producers trying to trace the edges of early electronic music.




Comments
Mike Morgan — 1 day ago
Do you need a quick long or short term Loan with a relatively low interest rate as low as 3%? We offer business Loan, personal Loan, home Loan, auto Loan, student Loan, debt consolidation Loan etc.. no matter your credit score.
Personal Loans (Secure and Unsecured)
Business Loans (Secure and Unsecured)
Consolidation Loan and many more.
Contact US for more information about Loan offer and we will solve your
financial problem. contact us via email: muthooth.finance@gmail.com
Phone number: +917428831341 (Call/What’s app)
NELS KATE — 2 days ago
I have been suffering from Herpes for the past 1 years and 8 months, and ever since then i have been taking series of treatment but there was no improvement until i came across testimonies of Dr. UMA on how he has been curing different people from different diseases all over the world, then i contacted him as well. After our conversation he sent me the medicine which i took according .to his instructions. When i was done taking the herbal medicine i went for a medical checkup and to my greatest surprise i was cured from Herpes. My heart is so filled with joy. If you are suffering from Herpes or any other disease you can contact Dr. UMA today on this Email address: dr.umaherbalcenter@gmail.com or whatsapp +2347035619585.
anna cassidy — 3 days ago
I was told there is No Herpes Cure except treatment to control it. I totally lost hope all i could think was loosing my life because it was so embarrassing to have this virus. A few weeks ago I read about a possible natural cure which was 100 percent guaranteed. And I ordered the treatment from Dr Uma. And I also told him about my sister’s cancer, After some weeks we got 100% cured. Now I’m so excited to share this testimony to every article for others living with HERPES, CANCER, PENIS ENLARGEMENT, HPV,HIV, etc. there is possible natural treatment to eliminate this virus. Email him for more info! Dr.umaherbalcenter@gmail.com or message him on WhatsApp +2347035619585.
Mike Morgan — 8 days ago
Do you need a quick long or short term Loan with a relatively low interest rate as low as 3%? We offer business Loan, personal Loan, home Loan, auto Loan, student Loan, debt consolidation Loan etc.. no matter your credit score.
Personal Loans (Secure and Unsecured)
Business Loans (Secure and Unsecured)
Consolidation Loan and many more.
Contact US for more information about Loan offer and we will solve your
financial problem. contact us via email: muthooth.finance@gmail.com
Phone number: +917428831341 (Call/What’s app)
Gloria Ward —
Am here to appreciate Dr Oliha for using his herbal medicine to cure my Herpes virus. since 4years now I have been living with this virus and it has been giving me challenges, I was so perplexed cause i have been taking several drugs to be cured but all of my effort was in vain,one morning i was browsing through the internet then i saw several testimonies about Dr. Oliha curing people from Herpes virus and immediately i contacted Dr. Oliha on his email: oliha.miraclemedicine@gmail.com , i told him about my troubles and he told me that i must be cured, gave me some instructions and which i rightly followed. so he prepared a herbal medicine for me and sent it to me which i used for 2 weeks and everything was like a dream to me and my Herpes virus was totally gone, why don’t you contact him today and be free from your diseases because he is very good and honest Doctor. contact him via email; oliha.miraclemedicine@gmail.com or whatsApp him on +2349038382931
Gloria Ward —
Am here to appreciate Dr Oliha for using his herbal medicine to cure my Herpes virus. since 4years now I have been living with this virus and it has been giving me challenges, I was so perplexed cause i have been taking several drugs to be cured but all of my effort was in vain,one morning i was browsing through the internet then i saw several testimonies about Dr. Oliha curing people from Herpes virus and immediately i contacted Dr. Oliha on his email: oliha.miraclemedicine@gmail.com , i told him about my troubles and he told me that i must be cured, gave me some instructions and which i rightly followed. so he prepared a herbal medicine for me and sent it to me which i used for 2 weeks and everything was like a dream to me and my Herpes virus was totally gone, why don’t you contact him today and be free from your diseases because he is very good and honest Doctor. contact him via email; oliha.miraclemedicine@gmail.com or whatsApp him on +2349038382931
gloria ward —
Am here to appreciate Dr Oliha for using his herbal medicine to cure my Herpes virus. since 4years now I have been living with this virus and it has been giving me challenges, I was so perplexed cause i have been taking several drugs to be cured but all of my effort was in vain,one morning i was browsing through the internet then i saw several testimonies about Dr. Oliha curing people from Herpes virus and immediately i contacted Dr. Oliha on his email: oliha.miraclemedicine@gmail.com , i told him about my troubles and he told me that i must be cured, gave me some instructions and which i rightly followed. so he prepared a herbal medicine for me and sent it to me which i used for 2 weeks and everything was like a dream to me and my Herpes virus was totally gone, why don’t you contact him today and be free from your diseases because he is very good and honest Doctor. contact him via email; oliha.miraclemedicine@gmail.com or whatsApp him on +2349038382931
flora joyce —
Hello everyone, I was browsing the internet and I saw a lot of wrong quote concerning the Illuminati society, I felt bad about it, I want to let you know few things about the Illuminati society. first, I join the Illuminati society through the help of an agent someone introduced me to online, after years of determination to be a member. being a member of the Illuminati
your wealth is guarantee, you will be protected, fame, power influence e.t.c all these they will give you. one thing I want to correct is that the illuminati don’t pay member any salary, if you are newly initiated they will give you the seed of wealth and bless you with wisdom, power, influence e.t.c you need to be successful the seed of wealth is the only money the illuminati society give to their member, with this you can start
anything with the money and you will be successful. another thing is that the society have special blessing for politicians and superstars. being an illuminati member is a personal decision, the society don’t force or beg people to join them. I joined because I want to, nobody force me and am very happy to be a member today because they have contributed greatly to my life by making me one of the leading business woman in the world. if you are interested in joining the illuminati society contact agent sir
Aydin Baris on whatspp +2349137776977 he was the one that helped me, or email us illuminaticultofrich666@gmail.com