Manika Kaur
Australian devotional singer
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Biography
Manika Kaur is a devotional singer, songwriter, and philanthropist from Melbourne, Australia.
Early life
Kaur was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia and her parents were active members of the Sikh community. In 2006, Manika got married and then moved to Dubai.
Career
In 2012, released a music video for the album's track “Guru Ram Das Rakho Sarnaee”, telling the life story of Guru Ram Das Ji through shadow puppets. The video has over 4.6 million views on YouTube.
Bandhanaa (re-released as Satnam Waheguru)
Manika's debut album Bandhanaa was released in 2013 by Shemaroo Entertainment. The album was produced by Sukhbir Singh. In 2014, the album was re-mixed and re-released as Satanam Waheguru by Invincible Recordings.
I Bow To You Waheguru
In 2015, her second album was released by United Sound Recordings through Proper Music Distribution. Its title track "I Bow to You Waheguru" was produced by Talvin Singh.
The album features collaborations with Rakesh Chaurasia, Jyotsna Srikanth, Soumik Datta, Bernhard Schimpelsberger, and Reiner Erlings. She appeared on Sikh Channel, BBC London, ABC Australia TV.
Scared Words
Her third album, Scared Words was released in 2018 on Martin ‘Youth’ Glover's label Suriya Recordings and was released in the US on imprint label partner Six Degrees Records. It features collaborations with Scottish folk musician James Yorkston, Jyotsna Srikanth (violin), and Tunde Jegede.
Discography
| Year | Album | Featured artist(s) | Composer(s) | Label |
| 2013 | Bandhanaa | Shemaroo Entertainment | ||
| 2014 | Satanam Waheguru | Invincible Recording | ||
| 2015 | I Bow To You Waheguru | Rakesh Chaurasia, Jyotsna Srikanth, Soumik Datta, Bernhard Schimpelsberger, and Reiner Erlings | Talvin Singh | United Sound Recordings |
| 2018 | Aval Allah (single) | feat. James Yorkston | Manika Music | |
| 2018 | Scared Words | James Yorkston, Jyotsna Srikanth (violin), and Tunde Jegede | Talvin Singh, Tigerstyle, and Oskar Vizan | Suriya Recordings |
| 2018 | Tu Sultan (single) | feat. James Yorkston | Manika Music |
Philanthropist
Through her foundation Kirtan for Causes, Manika raises awareness for issues such as equality, global access to feminine hygiene products and education of females of all ages around the world.
Her foundation currently supports the education of 100 programme participants, and supports the education of over 200 children. Manika raised over one million dirhams (approx. £210,000) through her first album, which she donated to finance a new Gurdwara (Sikh temple) in Dubai. All of the revenue from Manika's work go to support her charity Kirtan for Causes a foundation created to support impoverished children in Punjab.
Awards
Manika won The 2016 Sikh Award for Sikhs in Entertainment, and placed sacred Sikh vocal music and Kirtan in the World Music Charts Europe for the first time, amassing over 10,000,000 views on YouTube.