Cornershop
It may have taken Cornershop a few years to perfect their innovative hybrid of Indian music, British indie rock, and off-kilter danceable pop, but with the release of 1997's ‘When I Was Born for the 7th Time’, and the hit single ‘Brimful of Asha’ the group's multi-cultural fusions broke through.
Cornershop started off as punky, gleefully amateurish rabble rousers, then built a sound of from there that incorporated Bollywood soundtracks, hip-hop, T. Rex-style boogie, and whatever else they felt like adding to their melting pot.
The catchy single ‘Brimful of Asha’, a tribute to the prolific Indian film singer Asha Bhosle, became a genuine hit in the U.K. after a remix by Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) and hit number one on the charts in early 1998. The success led to an opening slot on Oasis' American tour, and Spin magazine named ‘When I Was Born for the 7th Time’ its Album of the Year.
In the wake of this success, the group went on temporary hiatus, but returned in early 2002 with ‘Handcream for a Generation’.
After Handcream for a Generation, Cornershop entered a quiet period, surfacing briefly in 2006 with a single called ‘Wop the Groove’, but their real comeback came three years later when they released ‘Judy Sucks a Lemon for Breakfast’, their first album in seven years. It was also their first album to be released by their new label Ample Play, which the band would continue to run for years, putting out their own music and lots of interesting neo-psych artists as well. The band quickly followed that with a collaboration with Punjabi singer Bubbley Kaur called ‘Cornershop & the Double-O Groove Of’, and their eighth record, ‘Urban Turban’, arrived in the summer of 2012.
They spent the next few years tending to matters personal and political - Singh campaigned hard against Brexit - and releasing the occasional song. In 2018, they issued the disco-inspired "Double Denim" single, an instrumental titled "Demon Is a Monster," and a two-song Christmas release. Their main musical focus was making another album, and the duo wrote and recorded over 40 songs before boiling it down to a solid 12. Titled ‘England Is a Garden’, the band's ninth album is a politically charged mélange of influences and sounds guided by their skilful production and artistic consistency. It was released by Ample Play in March of 2020.
“The quintessential 21st century pop group” - MOJO
“One of Britain’s most charmingly idiosyncratic bands ” - The Observer
