Cornershop

Cornershop are a British band formed in Leicester, England in 1991, led by singer and songwriter Tjinder Singh alongside Ben Ayers. Emerging from the UK indie scene, the group built a reputation for blending noise-pop and lo-fi rock with Punjabi and South Asian instrumentation, addressing identity and cultural politics with wit and defiance from their earliest releases onward.

The band's global breakthrough came with «Brimful of Asha», a tribute to Indian playback singer Asha Bhosle, which became a worldwide hit after being remixed by Fatboy Slim in 1998 and topping the UK singles chart. The parent album, When I Was Born for the 7th Time, mixed Bollywood samples, dub, hip-hop and folk textures into a distinctive and celebrated sound, drawing praise from artists like David Byrne, who signed the band to his Luaka Bop label.

Across subsequent decades Cornershop continued exploring genre fusion, releasing albums such as Handcream for a Generation and collaborating with figures including Noel Gallagher. Their catalogue remains notable for its playful sampling and its role in bringing South Asian sounds into British guitar music, influencing later waves of cross-cultural pop.