From the start of his musical education alongside his older brother Late Mohan Singh Nimmana in Birmingham, UK, to the stages of world music scene, Shinda’s love for music and his quest to excel as a multi-faceted artist still burns strong to this day. As a percussionist, keyboardist, producer and singer, Shinda has become a global Punjabi icon himself. From the days when he was mentored by his Ustaad Kuldip Singh Matharu and the dhol champion Ustaad Lal Singh Bhatti to the continued teaching and influence of Professor Baldev Narang and Ustad Ajit Singh Mutlashi, Sukshinder Shinda has built a solid foundation that has allowed him to guide his peers through his music production on works such as ‘Dil Luteya’, ‘Dildarian’, ‘Aish Karo’, ‘Kadi Te Has Bol Ve’, ‘Ghum Suhm’, and film hits for Dil Apna Punjabi, Munde UK De, Shaheed Udham Singh and Teesri Aankh.
An ode to Sikhism, ‘Khalsa Pargat Kitta’ was released in March 2016 and adds to Shinda’s extensive catalogue of religious offerings from ‘Ardaas’, ‘Choj Khalseh De’ and ‘Simran’ with Bibi Ashupreet Kaur and the Jatha Jalandhar Wale. Not forgetting his album of religious duets ‘Satguru Mera’ with Jazzy B and the more recent ‘Langar’ for a Dharam Seva Records project, Sukshinder Shinda is at the forefront of promoting and educating the youth of today with the virtues of Sikhi.
Since his debut album, the instrumental album ‘Dhol Beat 1’ in 1989, Shinda has been garlanded with a number of honours around the world including ‘The UK Bhangra Music Awards – Best Producer,’ the PTC Punjabi Music Awards ‘Best Non Resident Punjabi Music Director’ for Collaborations 3, Best Video, Best Producer and Best Album at the UK AMAs, the BritAsia Music Awards Best Video for ‘Ghum Suhm,’ and last year a recognition of at the renowned 33rd All India Folk Art contest for the Indian Cultural Association in Kartarpur, Punjab.
Shinda, who hails from the village of Dhamai, in the Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, has been the backbone for hit albums for artists such as Harbhajan Mann, Madan Maddi, Manjit Pappu, Nachhatar Gill, Amrinder Gill, AS Kang and Jazzy B over the years whilst his solo performances with his live band deliver his wealth of hits rolled out one after the other.
Taking last year’s ‘Ek Hor La De’ alongside DJ Vix, or his plethora of hit songs like ‘Wanga’, ‘Soni Lagdi’, ‘Akhiyan’, ‘Gal Sun Ja’, ‘Ni Sohniye Ni’, ‘Chardi Kalan’, ‘Tara’, ‘One In A Million’ and ‘Khushiyan’ as an example of the depth of talent the man possesses, Sukshinder Shinda will no doubt be on a music channel, live stage or wedding DJ playlist near you! If you witnessed the 2015 performances at the PTC Punjabi Music Awards or at the BritAsia Music awards you will no doubt be impressed by the chic style and stage persona and of course, the monster hit tunes! With new releases lined up for the year taking shape and live shows planned across the wedding season, we welcome you to the brand new website and the Sukshinder Shinda musical journey!
Words by Jatender S. Heer