The night will serve as the release for DJ Ben G’s new mashup release called INDO-FRESH – The Mashup!  The event will be called the Bollywood Bhangra night and will feature HOODINI and King! and other noteworthy performers.  We will be sharing more information with you regarding DJ Ben G’s album and how you can listen to it.

Come checkout this great lineup at the Conga Room in Los Angeles.

DJ Ben G will take the stage at the Conga Room in Los Angeles to release his mashup EP.  The sound DJ Ben G describes as Indo-Fresh will featured in the upcoming EP that will downloadable shortly.  The event at the Conga Room will feature Hoodini and King, DJ Anthony Valadez of KCRW, DJ Sandeep Kumar, and DJ Sukh.  Click on the link below for more information.

More Info:

If you haven’t already done so – rush to spotify.com and type in Rukus Avenue and get ready to roll!  You’ll hear all the Rukus Avenue tracks there, and some others from artists you may not have heard of.  Spotify is a great way to hear all of your favorite tracks all for a monthly fee.  You can even download the app for your smartphone!

Emerging film maker Geeta Malik’s new project The Troublemaker is best described as getting left behind is the only way of catching up!

Rekha has a bad temper and a bad case of writer’s block. While she lashes out at everyone around her, her life spirals further and further out of control. One by one, her friends are moving on with life, while Rekha is stuck in her dead-end waitressing job. And, unlike her friends, she doesn’t have her parents to fall back on when times get rough.

But one day, Rekha overhears surprising news about her newly surfaced, suddenly rich father, a man absent from her life for over ten years. She decides it’s time to confront him and make him pay for all the trouble he’s caused her since he left. Rekha convinces her best friend, Omar, to take her on a road trip to find her father. Along the way, they rekindle a messy romance, and when Rekha finally sees her father for who he is, she must decide whether to stay mired in her quarterlife crisis, or if it’s time to finally grow up.

Why Troublemaker?

We’ve seen the movies about arranged marriages, dramatic weddings, spicy cooking, and mystical mango trees.  We’ve seen the Indian-American identity crises, the call centers, and the repressive parents.  South Asians in the media are often exotified, mocked with overwrought accents, or cast as geeks or terrorists – but the good news is that these perceptions are starting to change, andTroublemaker is part of that change.

Troublemaker is a universal coming-of-age story that happens to have a South Asian-American protagonist.  It’s relatable to anyone who has ever been in dire economic straits, or been desperate to find a viable career path, and it also speaks to anyone struggling with the task of growing gracefully into adulthood while trying to come to terms with a dysfunctional past.  It appeals, and applies, to a varied and diverse audience in an increasingly diverse world.  The judgment of others, the depth of alienation, and the inability to cope with abandonment are all universally relatable themes, and we see this story through the lens of our protagonist’s distinctive, irresponsible, selfish, and ultimately compelling personality.

Troublemaker is a film that hasn’t been made before, and it tells a gritty, realistic story full of heart, humor, and hope.  It doesn’t pull punches, and its raw sensibility is what makes it a unique experience in a progressively more savvy and diverse global marketplace.

Rukus Avenue is very proud to announce the addition of D’Lo and DJ Ben G to the artist roster.  D’Lo is a multi-faceted artist who has roots in hip hop, and will begin work on his solo hip hop project this December.  DJ Ben G is Rukus Avenue’s resident DJ and has been a long staple at Rukus Avenue events over the years.

Welcome – and thank you for joining our family!

Rasika will kickoff the entire Students of Color Conference with a great motivational speech to embrace self-identity.  The entire 7 minute piece will followed by workshops and various discussions throughout the campus.  The conference is the 23rd annual event.  Rasika’s speech will be certain to resonate with this very energetic audience.

The buzz around UC Davis is growing in anticipation of the 23rd annual Students of Color Conference, and Hoodini will be opening the festivities with a set that will feature his sidekick King.  Hoodini will also be a part of a panel being hosted by Rukus Avenue’s own Susan Areeckal, and will discuss South Asians in Media.  Stay tuned for more information.

Here is the link to the SOCC website::

Directed by Mad Guru aka Adnan Hussain, the new DJ Ben G music video is called JUNGLEE.  Check out the great concept and the innovative idea behind a very cool track that is a ode to vintage Bollywood.  Come one come all – DJ Ben G is here!

Here is a post by Mad Guru:

My friend DJ Ben G sent me a wonderful track he had remixed recently. It had a fun sound that appealed to me and seemed like a perfect fit for some techniques I was working on already. So, without any promises, I set out to brainstorm and see what I could do.

I thought some cool shapes and lights would be an interesting way to play with the beats and movement I felt in the piece. Then I decided to watch the original movie, a wonderful Indian movie called Junglee, starring Shammi Kapoor for some inspiration. I wanted to do something quick, which seems next to impossible in animation, and fun too. I really enjoyed the story of the film and that along with the creative sounds in Ben G’s mix made me think of old 8 bit video games like Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers. It sounded like a mashup of the two and so I thought, why not approach the visuals in the same way.

Check out the music video

The up and coming band Elephants With Guns hits the New York City big city lights on the 12th Of November, as they have been added to the SAIFF music lineup.  The band will be making their Big Apple debut, and will be on the bill with Gingger Shankar at the Rukus Avenue curated event.  The event will take place at the famous S.O.B.’s venue in Manhattan.

We’ll keep you updated.

Gingger Shankar will headline the musical program at the South Asian International Film Festival in New York City (NOV 11-13).  This is the first Rukus Avenue curated music program.  There will be more news to come on this event so please check back with us.

This will mark Gingger’s first performance at SAIFF, but will be 2nd time a Rukus Avenue artist has headlined the event.  Sandeep headlined SAIFF in 2007.  Gingger will accompanied by longtime musical accompaniment Jaswinder Ahluwalia.  Jas plays tabla, and is a perfect compliment to Gingger’s double violin.

We’ll keep you posted on more.