Roland 303 Pioneer Charanjit Singh Dies Aged 75

Indian musician Charanjit Singh has passed away in his sleep aged 75. Despite being fairly obscure outside (and, indeed, inside) India, recent years had seen Singh discovered a new found fame amongst aciod house fans- his 1982 album Synthesizing: 10 Ragas to a Disco Beat saw Singh fusing Indian ragas with the unmistakable squelch of a Roland 303 bass emulator, the piece of kit later to be utilised to such effect by Chicago's acid house pioneers. 

Whilst claims that Singh 'invented' acid house are somewhat far fetched – there are some fundamental differences between the way he let the synth run, and the way acts like Phuture manipulated it's frequencies to give acid's particular alien sound – there is no denying that he made some incredible space aged sounds, striking out on his own with an album that still sounds excellent to this day.

 Synthesizing: 10 Ragas to a Disco Beat was Singh's only album of original compositions, and apparently his favourite. He is best remembered with a listen to the album itself – still an remarkable work, over 30 years on.