DJ Rekha - photo by Ego Magazine

Rekha Malhotra, aka DJ Rekha

Cover to Cover

www.DjRekha.com Conversation with WBAI's Asia Pacific Forum

DJ Rekha is a DJ, producer, curator, educator, and activist. Described as the "ambassador of Bhangra" by The New York Times, she has been instrumental in placing Bhangra music on the map in North America. In 2007 she released her debut CD, "DJ Rekha Presents Basement Bhangra." She has created sound design for NPR, Sarah Jones's one-women play "Bridge & Tunnel," and the off-Broadway play "Rafta Rafta." Rekha teaches at New York University's Clive Davis Department of Music.

Cover to Cover

For many people, record sleeves have the capacity to trigger memories and convey emotion in the most personal way, making them significant not only as tangible objects, but for some, as a first site of direct engagement with visual art. With this in mind, 10 artists - six individuals and two duos - were asked to create a conceptual artwork by selecting twenty LP records based on the album-cover visuals. In the "Cover to Cover" installation, eight crates containing the eight groups of albums create an interactive work of art that visitors can thumb through and play on nearby turntables. The artists were asked to deliver the records to the museum, making these not rare-album wish lists but works created by making selections from what was readily available. Thus, through their choices, each artist communicates a message or tells a visual story that speaks to the unique expressive impact of the 12-inch album cover.

Photo of DJ Rekha by Ego Magazine