How Sid Left The Rose Green Bhangra Scene Behind

The unique guitar stylings of Jaan "Sid" Siddique have taken years to perfect, from his early days busking outside Targets the butchers shop to the present day where he has become one of Nyetimbers most respected musicians. Before he joined "You Are Here", he played with Rose Green bhangra act "Ali Akbars Cosmic Deception" who were once support act to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan during his tour of West Sussex in 1996. Ali Akbar takes up the story, "Before Sid joined us, we were playing standard bhangra, but he brought in the edge we needed to catapult us into the big time. On stage his mind bled through his guitar and I am sure he was the first guy to attach a distortion pedal to a sitar. As time passed it was obvious to me he was going to move into other fields which did not suit our direction, he was becoming more and more influenced by jazz and Uzbeki-flamenco music". Ali's loss was "You Are Here's" gain however as his contribution to the Nyetimber prog-rock scene still reverberates with younger guitarists copying his style.