Chutney music is a fusion of several genres of music including Indian Folk Music, Bollywood Music, soca music, and Caribbean calypso. It emerged against the backdrop of indentureship in several British colonies, including Guyana and Trinidad and is most popular amongst people of East Indian descent in Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname, and Jamaica.
The indentured servants arriving from India, having been forced to forego their language and culture and assume new ones, found a creative way to merge their roots with their emerging identity. And so was born Chutney music – a genre of music which fuses East Indian instrumentals with Creolese and English lyrics.
Famous chutney artists include: Sundar Popo, Ravi B, Terry Gajraj, Chris Garcia, Tauseef Baksh, and now…introducing…Farouk “De Fyrishman.”
Farouk De Fyrishman was born, as the name suggests, in the village of Fyrish on the Corentyne Coast of Region 6, Guyana, South America. Although he has migrated to the United States – he took his roots and culture, and chutney music with him. As he so humorously put it, “you can take me out of Fryish, but you can’t take the Fyrishman thinking out of me.”
You can take me out of Fyrish, but you can’t take the Fyrishman thinking out of me.
Farouk de Fyrishman
And on this note, Farouk De Fyrishman is busy in New York. Aside from holding a steady, full-time job, he spends most of his free time entertaining, recording, writing songs, and promoting chutney music. To this end, he has created his own Facebook Group where he promotes all things Fyrish, and all things chutney. You can join the Farouk De Fyrishman Group by clicking here.
Not About Money
Farouk De Fyrishman relates that he is fueled not by the desire to become rich or famous, but to promote love and unity through chutney music, because, as he says, “that’s what chutney music is about, promoting love and unity amongst Guyanese people.”
Farouk has won several singing competitions, and has sung alongside internationally recognized chutney stars such as Raymond Ramnarine and Terry Gajraj. And just in time for mother’s day, he would like to bless your hearts with his latest release, a mother’s day song entitled, “Love Your Mother.”
Chutney music is about culture, happiness, and bringing people together, because music is about love.
Farouk de Fyrishman
Singing for Charity
Farouk de Fyrishman often performs at concerts and donates parts of the revenues to persons in need such as those living in poverty or needing costly medical attention.
