Multitone Records, originally Savera Investments, was a British
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...
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. 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. 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
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
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
.
Following the buyout of
BMG by
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...
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.
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Labeled bands
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Alaap
''Alaap'' ( lit. Prelude) is a 1977 Indian musical drama film produced by Hrishikesh Mukerjee and N.C Sippy and directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha, Asrani, Farida Jalal, Om Prakash and Manmohan. The music i ...
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Azaad
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Apna Sangeet
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Premi Group
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Achanak
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DCS
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Pammis
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Sahotas
Sahotas were a U.K. based Bhangra/ Rock/ World music band. The band, started in Bilston, Wolverhampton in the mid-1980s, had a line-up of five brothers. They have released music in both English and Punjabi. The lead singer was Surj Sahota, a ...
(signed in 1988)
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XLNC
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Chirag Pehchan
See also
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Bhangra (music)
Bhangra () is a type of non-traditional music of Punjab originating in the Southall area of United Kingdom. It is a type of upbeat popular music associated with the Punjabi diaspora in Britain. The style has its origins in the folk music of Pu ...
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List of bhangra bands
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BMG
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List of Record Labels
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File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
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Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, b ...
References
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Bhangra (music)
Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom