Latch Explores: British Asian Identity in the Music Industry with Deep Shah

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Written By Hannah Thacker
 

Next in our series of interviews exploring identity and representation of British Asians in the music industry, we had the great pleasure to speak with Deep Shah, the multi-talented music lover who runs independent platform ocean deep, is the online editor for COLORSXSTUDIOS and has worked with Paul Institute (founded by Jai Paul and A. K. Paul).

Through these various platforms, Shah has sought to foster greater diversity and equality for artists, bands, producers and other creatives and he is undoubtedly the driving force behind COLORS’ online brand as a destination for all music lovers, whatever their background, skin colour or nationality might be. Even still, this music curator has found that there simply isn’t enough representation of British and non-British South Asian artists on more established platforms, which led him to found ocean deep.

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This certainly isn’t the first time that we’re hearing about smaller, independent spaces doing the necessary work to push the wider industry towards making equal and fair representation for Aisan artists the norm, as opposed to the “flavour of the month” practice, as we often find with publications, companies and brands following calendared representation, which is ultimately a symptom of capitalism. In the same way that corporations have commodified Black History Month or Black Lives Matter (check out this great opinion piece on The Diamondback), and therefore further profit from the historical and current oppression of that particular group, the representation of Asian people within the music industry as pivoted by the major companies has the risk of trying to hit a demographic for financial gain - and financial gain alone. It’s undeniable that capitalism is built into the very fabric of our society and so we shouldn’t be surprised by this obtuse profiteering, but it’s the lack of consistency and deluge of unacknowledgement that is the real issue. We examined Reading & Leeds Festival under this same lens in our Hilang Child interview, discovering a severe lack of representation for British Asians in that line-up, and the same can be said of many mainstream music events. Like Deep Shah truthfully states below, “One article here, one booking or signing there isn’t enough.”

As well as celebrating these independent spaces, Shah also gives a nod to British Asian musicians like Rina Sawayama (who we highlighted in our talks with Dog In The Snow and Asha Gold), as well as Joy Crookes wearing a sari at the 2020 Brit Awards and Riz Ahmed questioning what it means to be British on last year’s album, The Long Goodbye. It’s evident that British Asian identity doesn’t belong to one genre or sound, in the same way that any identity doesn’t, for example London composer, pianist and music director Yshani Perinpanayagam is currently writing a piece that draws connections between Indian classical music and Western classical music inspired by how it feels to be British-”Aisan Other”, as shared on Twitter. Once again, Deep Shah hits the nail on the head by saying “Even though we shouldn’t have to, I’d like to think we’re taking things into our own hands. After all, if they won’t give you a seat at the table, make your own table, right?”

Below Deep Shah goes a little deeper into his experience and thoughts on British Asian, and in particular South Asian, representation in the music industry, with several awesome resources if you want to expand your own horizons.

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Tell us about yourself and your role in the music industry.

My name is Deep Shah, a Kenyan-born Indian living in Leicester, who loves to find, share and write about new music.

Whilst I’ve lent my words to a number of publications over the years, my passion for music discovery began in 2013 when I started a Tumblr blog called ocean deep, a project I’ve since relaunched during the start of lockdown last year.

I’m the Online Editor at COLORSXSTUDIOS, a platform shining light on emerging talent from around the world through live sessions. At COLORS, I’m responsible for curating the Music section on the website as well as doing the write ups for the sessions.

I also did a few bits and bobs for a couple of years over at Paul Institute, a venture founded by Jai Paul and A. K. Paul, who were probably the first artists I’d come across who shared a name, and had a skin colour like mine.

What do you think about the representation of British Asian people in the music industry right now?

Aside from the fact that I love to share great music, one of the main reasons I decided to relaunch ocean deep was because of the lack of representation of British South Asian artists (and South Asian artists in general) on more established platforms.

Of course, there are lots of publications, record labels, radio stations etc in the industry who’re supporting and championing British South Asian music, but what I feel is lacking the most, is regular representation. One article here, one booking or signing there isn’t enough. With ocean deep, I wanted to make a conscious effort to highlight South Asian musicians, singers and producers as regularly as possible.

I think the biggest shift in the representation of British Asian people in the music industry is coming from British Asians themselves: from artists like Rina Sawayama calling out the industry for its ignorance, from Joy Crookes wearing a sari at the Brits, from Riz Ahmed questioning what it means to be British on his album “The Long Goodbye”.

Even though we shouldn’t have to, I’d like to think we’re taking things into our own hands. After all, if they won’t give you a seat at the table, make your own table, right?

Which platforms do you think are doing a great job at highlighting British Asians in contemporary music culture? 

Amad Ilyas (of amad.studio) who designed the stunning identity for ocean deep introduced me to Daytimers and juice. Both are collectives/platforms doing INCREDIBLE things for British South Asian artists and South Asian creatives in general. They’ve put out two sick compilations championing SA artists, and have also been giving back to the community through events like the livestream fundraiser for the farmers protest in India as well as hosting an event in London for COVID relief in India in March and May this year.

This summer, Daytimers teamed up with fellow UK-based collectives No ID and Chalo for Dialled In, a festival with the aim of showcasing “how South Asian artists have been boxed in by a predominantly white-focused creative industry”.

juice has been championing the diaspora and giving SA creatives a voice and platform to express themselves and have announced that they’re putting together a directory “to showcase a wider range of South Asian talent”.

 
Hannah Thacker
Next

Latch Explores: British Asian Identity in the Music Industry with Dog In The Snow