We’re less than a month away from the release Sage Warrior, the second solo album from musician, educator and activist Sonny Singh. The album was created as a companion to the book with the same name by Singh’s longtime friend and visionary civil rights leader Valarie Kaur, with each track on Sage Warrior accompanying a chapter in the book. Sonny had previously shared the joyous, inspiring and heartwarming ‘Pavan Guru’, and now he’s unleashed a video to accompany new single ‘Jaano Jot’, weaving between Punjabi, cumbia, and reggae. “This is a very important song to me – drawing from the revolutionary words of Guru Nanak over 500 years ago yet so relevant in today’s world where millions of people are dehumanized through policies of war and occupation and rising hateful and violent political rhetoric”, Sonny stated. “I see this sacred poetry and music as a call to action to speak up and stand up for the oppressed, from Punjab to Palestine.”

The accompanying video was shot and directed by Shruti Parekh, and depicts Sikh community members in Richmond Hill, Queens preparing food in the kitchen, known as a langar hall, of a gurdwara, a Sikh house of worship. Kaur explains this advent in the upcoming book:

“Langar was embodied protest. Radical and subversive. Eating together with people of all castes and creeds meant rejecting with your body and breath adherence to hierarchy. High caste people ate from the hands of low-­ caste “untouchables,” and vice versa. They were training their bodies into a new way of being, undoing millennia of conditioning. They became new in the act: equal, and equally beloved.

Langar was more than a rebellion: It was a practice for an alternative world of solidarity, dignity, and humility.”

Watch the video for ‘Jaano Jot’ now.

Sage Warrior is out on September 6th.

Photo: Shruti Parekh

Musician, educator and activist Sonny Singh, also known as the trumpet player and singer of Brooklyn Bhangra outfit Red Baraat for a couple of decades now, is back with his second solo full-length, Sage Warrior. This follows 2022’s Chardi Kala, a record of uplifting Punjabi anthems and Sikh kirtan. The upcoming album explores the Sikh spirit of the sant sipahi, the sage warrior, and was created as a companion to the book with the same name by Singh’s longtime friend and visionary civil rights leader Valarie Kaur. Delving deeper into the world of Sikh music and wisdom, the upcoming album and book came to life together, with each track on the album accompanying a chapter in the book. Singh comments:

“As Valarie would send me first drafts of each chapter of the book, the music flowed out of me with so much ease. Her writing puts our community’s history and struggles into language that I needed to hear—that our generation needs to hear. I hope my music helps the ancient wisdom Valarie unearths in her book land in the hearts of listeners.”

Kaur had also this to say about it:

“Sonny’s music captures the spirit of the sage warrior–a full-throated embrace of Oneness, and courageous call to action. He is a profoundly gifted artist, activist, and thinker who embodies revolutionary love in being and breath. It was an electrifying experience to listen to his music as I wrote, and for my writing in turn to shape the music. The book and album were birthed together.”

Sage Warrior is out on September 6th and Singh is already enticing us with the first single, ‘Pavan Guru’, a joyous, inspiring and heartwarming offering.  Produced by Grammy-nominated bass player and musician Kaveh Rastegar, the track is an original rendition of a well-known and recited poem about the mystical Oneness found in nature, written by Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh faith. “I have been reciting and singing the words in this shabad [devotional song] my whole life,” Singh explains. “It is humbling to bring my own musical voice and sensibility to these verses that are so special for millions of Sikhs around the world – and to be able to share them with new audiences outside our community.”

Listen to ‘Pavan Guru’ now.

As the trumpet player and singer of Brooklyn Bhangra outfit Red Baraat for over 10 years now, many will instantly recognize musician, educator and activist Sonny Singh on his new solo project. Under his own name, Sonny is set to release his debut solo album titled Chardi Kala, a record of uplifting Punjabi anthems and Sikh kirtan with lyrics from Gurbani (Sikh devotional poetry) and Sufi poetry mostly written in the 16th and 17th Centuries. “Musically, this project embodies the many spiritual, political, and aesthetic elements that have shaped me,” Sonny explained. “Every song has an original vibe to it, eclectic and unique, from a bolero-mariachi Sikh shabad on one track, to a qawwali song with a reggae bass line on another, then a bombastic Ghadar Party tribute in Punjabi and Spanish on yet another.”

Chardi Kala will see the light of day on May 13th and ahead of it Sonny has shared the jubilant lead single ‘Aisee Preet’, featuring a Sikh shabad (devotional poem) by Guru Arjan, the fifth of the ten Sikh Gurus. The single is offered with an accompanying video shot in Richmond Hill, Queens, which has a large Punjabi Sikh community. Speaking about it, Sonny commented:

“I hope this music and video will help bring more attention to the Sikh community in the US who have too often been ignored by mainstream media. As we Sikhs around the world celebrate Vaisakhi, I want to invite other communities to join us and get a glimpse of our spiritual and cultural practices, while also joining us in our struggles for dignity and justice.

The reality is our community usually only makes headlines in the United States in times of tragedy as victims of racist attacks and hate crimes. Part of our intention with this video, and my music in general, is to amplify the beauty, love, and strength in the Sikh community, who have dealt with so much oppressive trauma but remain in chardi kala – revolutionary eternal optimism.”

Shravya Kag directed, filmed, and edited the video for ‘Aisee Preet’. Watch it below.