Rajah Betta Flips Classic Ad Jingles & South Asian Cultural Memory For The Club On 'Offcuts'

After shifting back to India last year, Mumbai-born NYC-honed DJ and producer Sagar aka Rajah Betta has just released a 2-track EP 'Offcuts' with label 'Stereo Ferment'.

Having already been played at places like The Lot Radio and by Daytimers at Four Tet's Under The K Bridge party, the tracks were created by Sagar "to catch my friends off guard on the dancefloor". Consequently, the tracks pull from the cultural memory of South Asians (especially Indians). It samples the ad jingle for Nirma detergent powder, one of the most popular jingles from 90s' India on 'Dirty Hairy' atop a broken techno beat, while 'ChokL8' centres 'Chok There' by popular reggae-meets-bhangra artist Apache Indian over a mix of skeletal breakbeats.

Sagar does push the tracks' worth beyond the gimmicks as the zany guitar chords from the Nirma ad balance out the sombreness of pouncing heavy thumps of kicks and the percussive rollers on top, creating an economic assembly that's both hard-hitting and fun. Equally percussion-led, 'ChokL8' brings Apache Indian's desi reggae delivery to grooves befitting the modern dancefloor, leveraging his performance to create a surprising, multi-influenced and dynamic club track even for someone unfamiliar with the sample.

Listen to 'Offsets' below and follow Rajah Betta for more.