In the span of nearly a year, a father-son duo from Winnipeg have found themselves back on the airwaves with yet another holiday-themed song.
The song, infused with Halloween imagery, takes on a Punjabi touch. With Punjabi lyrics, music and dancing, it’s a song the duo said they hope will share the excitement of Halloween with everyone. Titled Ghost Bhangra, the song’s music video has more than 45,000 views on YouTube since it was released on Oct. 26.
Amrit Kang and his son Yuvraj joined forces with local producers and composers to release the video, which sees Yuvraj singing at a number of locations around the city, including the Assiniboine Park Zoo.
Yuvraj said it’s a song he released under his own music label — a first for him.
“I was born here in (Canada), celebrating Halloween for many years. I’ve been enjoying it. I thought, why not do Punjabi music and Halloween, and merge them together, so that all Canadians can enjoy the music together?” Yuvraj said. “I think we can take it into the future.”
Last year, the pair were behind the release of a Christmas-themed song called Aaya Santa, which translates to ‘Santa is here.’
Yuvraj said he grew up learning how to dance. Having learned more about music at a local music academy, he joined with his dad to get the two music videos out.
For Kang, writing has always been a hobby. Having written songs that were professionally recorded by other Punjabi artists, he said he came up with the idea of being a lyricist for his son’s music videos. Aside from wanting people to be together, he said the idea behind Ghost Bhangra was to relate to a Punjabi festival that was similar to Halloween. Lohri, he said, is a festival that also includes elements of trick-or-treating.
“If I talk about to (people) that have (already come) here, whenever there is a Halloween, we always say it is a Canadian Lohri,” Kang said. “Any art form … you can’t bound those things in the boundaries of countries or regions.”
Kang added that even though the music and lyrics are in Punjabi, viewers can fully appreciate the art form. The energy behind it, he said, and the feel for an exciting time is what connects all communities together.
As for the future, Yuvraj said he looks to continue on making more music.