In an industry where there is very little protection guaranteed to the intellectual property of those on the local music scene, artists have to adapt and most of all persevere if they want to become successful. Not only do they have to persevere to become successful, but they also have to persevere to be able to make a living from the music they make since they are not signed to any big label nor do they earn royalties from their music sales. All they do is earn money from the bookings they get to perform their music. Those are the struggles of our local musicians as they try to make a name for themselves. No one knows that struggle more than Chait Singh Mohanlall or Bunty Singh as he is popularly known. Now, Bunty is one of the most recognisable names in the local music
industry; that has not always been the case. In his early days, the 28-year-old would walk miles upon miles to sell CDs of his music in an effort to popularise it and make himself a household name. Music is in Bunty’s DNA since his father was a musician and the family has a kirtan group (Hindu choir) – being around music influenced him. He started singing since he was a child as well as playing instruments.
He is a talented dholak (drum) player and would have won several awards for his playing. “I use to walk and sell my CDs from Crabwood Creek (Berbice) to Parika (East Bank Essequibo). I did this just to gain more recognition and progress as I journeyed to become successful. To push my music career, I entered the GTT Jingle and Song Competition two times and was placed in the top ten and another time I came in the fifth slot.” “I also entered in the Mash Chutney Monarch Competition in 2009 and got most promising artiste. I then keep participating in the Mash Chutney Monarch and got no place until 2015 when I placed third. In 2016, I won the Monarch. The next year I got second and then won again in 2018,” he said.
This year, he is back to defend his title with an original song called “Maharani Phoulorie”. Phoulorie is one of Bunty’s favourite snacks and that is why he decided to write a song about his love for the food. The song was recorded in the Shakti Strings Studio.
Apart from being a vocalist, Bunty is also the owner of a recording studio. With just a few recording studios around for local artistes to record their songs, they were forced to leave Guyana and travel to Trinidad and Tobago to do so and with that in mind, Bunty opened Bunty Kris Valarie Janvi (BKVJ) Recording Studio at Shieldstown.
Since the establishment of the studio, several known artistes have recorded their songs at BKVJ, including Prince JP who now resides overseas, as well as Haresh Singh, Roger Hinds, Wata Flow and others.
