Sounds of the Subcontinent

"Good evening, Namaskar, Asalaam Malekum, Sat Sri Akal and Vannakam! Welcome to Sounds of the Subcontinent. It is 4 pm and you are tuned to 88.3 WCBN-FM, Ann Arbor . As always, we bring you music from all over the Indian Subcontinent as well as music from around the world inspired by these Asian countries. My name is sukumari. The number down here is 734-763-3500, give us a call if you have a request. We are starting off today's show with...." This is how we usually start off this show at WCBN, the college radio station of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor . Sukumari created "Sounds of the Subcontinent" in the summer of 1994, to feature music that had no representation in Ann Arbor, knowing fully well that it would be received with enthusiasm. And it has. Since then, several more DJ's have come aboard -- Dan Bass, Richard Wallace, Christian Aalburg, Annapurna Yellamraju (who has left for Texas), and now Malini Sridharan (our first undergraduate host!). 

 

Daniel Bass is a graduate student in Anthropology at the University of Michigan pursuring research in South India and Sri Lanka. His hometown is DeKalb, Illinois; his favorite band is Yo La Tengo; and his favorite food is either idlis or ice cream.

When not making progress on his dissertation (in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan), which is most of the time, Richard Wallace devotes his time to music (WCBN included), mountainbiking, and food. He has been know to enjoy the occasional pint of Bell's and is certain in his knowledge that Udupi Palace (Chicago, IL) is the best Indian restaurant in the USA--their Special Rava Masala Dosa is almost as good as Richard's wife, Kameshwari's, pulihara. With food always foremost in his mind, Richard has also prepared a brief guide to vegetarian dining in the Ann Arbor region.

 The creator of Sounds of the Subcontinent (and nearly all of this web site) was sukumari. She was a graduate student in the Romance Languages Department and has now actually completed her dissertation (yeah!).  She also likes to listen to music, read about it, and sometimes make pitiful attempts to sing. When at WCBN, she also co-hosted The Pan-African Heartbeat , which airs every Sunday, 8.30-10 pm. She now is living in New York City, hoping to find a job in the music biz.  Her  favourite foods are idli, appam, idiapam, parathas, dosai, sambar, hot chutneys, pasta, pizza, pâté, ..(too long to list!), but her fave drinks are hot Madras coffee and red wine.  (Sukumari still listens to us over the web at  www.wcbn.org --you should try it, too.)

 As DJ's who are interested in a certain mode of music, we have created great posters for our show, and also written articles on it. You can work through all the evolutions of both by looking at the first poster ever made (with fantastic freely-plagiarised art parts). We have a new one in the works, soon to be on here! They all rock!! You can check out our articles right here:

  • Dan Bass'  Rock and Rebellion in South Asia , WCBN Program Guide, Ann Arbor, 1997
  • sukumari's The Jewel in the Lotus , Agenda, Ann Arbor, 1998
  • La Musique Indo-Pop, Ca vous dit quelquechose? , Tsunami News, Paris, 1997
  • Origins of a DJ , Rapture, New York, 1996
  • Freeform with Spice , Rapture, New York, 1996.

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    We have compiled a list of EVENTS that pertain to this show, both the fleeting and the permanent! Also take a look at our PLAYLISTS if you want to see what kind of music we feature in this show. They include the names of the artists or groups, album and song titles, and the label so you can find the music elsewhere if you are interested. Check out the left side of your dial and discover a whole new experience! Take a trip, make discoveries, broaden your horizons.... You don't have to be in Ann Arbor to listen to us, we'll come to you via
    WCBN-FM, Radio Free Ann Arbor
    Send your comments, questions, events information or suggestions to
    Sounds of the Subcontinent