What makes Surrey, B.C., a 'global epicentre' for South Asian music?

3 week_ago 16

British Columbia·New

When the 2025 Juno Award nominations were announced past month, determination was a wide theme: South Asian euphony and artists are rising up crossed Canada, and particularly in B.C.

Community enactment is large successful Surrey, which makes becoming an creator a batch easier, says Chani Nattan

Courtney Dickson · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 29, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

People execute connected a signifier that says main stage. a motion supra says let's perceive it BC Junos Plaza Party

When the 2025 Juno Award nominations were announced past month, determination was a wide theme: South Asian euphony and artists are rising up crossed Canada, and particularly in B.C.

AP Dhillon, who lives connected Vancouver Island, arsenic good arsenic Karan Aujla, Jazzy B, Chani Nattan and Inderpal Moga, each 4 of whom are linked to Surrey, B.C., are up for South Asian Music Recording of the Year.

It's Surrey that's peculiarly notable erstwhile it comes to the genre.

Rolling Stone magazine in 2023 called the emergence of South Asian euphony successful Canada the "Punjabi Wave," and noted however galore of those fashionable artists hail from B.C. — mentioning Aujla's Surrey connections specifically.

Headshot of Karan Aujla.

Karan Aujla is 1 of galore South Asian artists with ties to Surrey, B.C., up for a Juno Award Sunday. (CBC)

Juno Awards president Allan Reid has described Surrey arsenic the "epicentre" of South Asian music, connected a planetary scale.

Why Surrey?

For the past respective years, 5X Fest, celebrating South Asian euphony and art, has been held passim Metro Vancouver. Executive manager Harpo Mander said that's mostly owed to immigration.

"A batch of planetary students coming from the Punjab portion of India chose this arsenic a destination oregon got admittance successful schools here," she said. "A batch of them were backmost successful India writing, performing."

She said determination are radical who aren't needfully based successful Surrey, but spell determination to marque euphony with artists successful the community.

"Now a batch of those radical are making a planetary interaction due to the fact that they were truly talented and they benignant of came unneurotic with different talented people."

WATCH | Chani Nattan speaks to increasing question of Punjabi music:

These artists are elevating Punjabi euphony with worldwide hits from Surrey, B.C.

Surrey songwriter Chani Nattan and vocalist Inderpal Moga stock the moments starring up to their archetypal Juno nomination. Both artists volition beryllium performing connected March 15 for the Junos Plaza Party and astatine the Juno Awards connected March 30 astatine Rogers Arena successful Vancouver.

According to Statistics Canada, successful 2021 determination were astir 212,000 radical of South Asian descent surviving successful Surrey — astir 38 per cent of the city's population.

Harj Nagra, who has been making Punjabi euphony for astir 12 years, said having a ample South Asian colonisation has surely been beneficial for section artists, but added that societal media has helped dispersed the connection about the genre worldwide.

"I deliberation similar [previously], I would accidental determination was antithetic demographics of radical that were listening, truthful not truthful overmuch of the younger crowd," helium said. "More and much radical are much progressive successful Punjabi euphony and they're listening to it. They'll spot idiosyncratic station a video reel [on Instagram] and they wanna perceive to it, they wanna marque a TikTok."

A antheral wearing a burgundy overgarment sits successful a signaling studio.

Surrey-based songwriter Chani Nattan, who is nominated for a Juno Award for COOLIN, said Surrey is engrained successful who helium is, partially due to the fact that of the pridefulness locals instrumentality successful him and different Surrey artists.

"Surrey is similar the backbone of my life," helium said. "I've seen a batch of artists travel up from their hometowns, they don't person arsenic overmuch love. Being portion of this assemblage from here, I consciousness similar they've truly embraced me."

WATCH | South Asian practice astatine the Junos:

B.C.’s South Asian musicians nab aggregate Juno Award nominations

B.C.'s increasing South Asian euphony country takes the spotlight astatine this year's Juno Awards, with galore artists from Surrey and the Fraser Valley getting nominated. As Sohrab Sandhu reports, the metropolis is accelerated emerging arsenic a large hub for the South Asian euphony industry.

Growing up, Nattan thought he'd person to relocate to the U.K. to get the enactment helium needed to person a vocation successful music, but much and much producers, photographers, videographers and studios person popped up successful Surrey, making it casual to find radical to collaborate with.

"Now I consciousness similar that full hub is successful Canada and a batch of it is successful Surrey."

Mander hopes it stays that way. She's inspired by the way Latin music, a determination genre, became mainstream, and stayed there.

"It's precise mean to perceive to similar a Latin opus oregon a Latin creator connected the radio," she said.

"I deliberation that's what we're hoping for, is that Punjabi euphony is not conscionable a infinitesimal successful time, but thing that sticks astir for a precise agelong clip from present on."