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Balle balle the Danish way
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A Scandinavian and an Indian join hands to create desi crossover music
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BOMBAY VIKINGS, Mumbai Matinee, Bombay Boys — the music and film industry in India have been obsessed with Bombay (or Mumbai!) for quite some time. According to marketing experts, the name brings about a certain sense of "Indian-ness", which ensures initial popularity of the song or movie. Probably that's what the new crossover band, Bombay Rockers is looking for.
Firstly, let's get this thing out of our heads that Bombay Rockers is a rock band. Their music is nowhere close to rock. The duo of Navtej Singh Rehal and Thomas Sardorf, who make up the band, define their music as "a mix of urban club tracks, with an Indian underground flavour". Though the band follows the crossover style of Hip-hop versus Bhangra style of music (made popular by acts like Rishi Rich Project and Bobby Friction), the "desi" elements in their music is relatively higher than other bands, especially when it come to Hindi and Punjabi vocals.
The Bombay Rockers came into being when Navtej (Naf) began jamming with the Scandinavian vocalist Thomas Sardorf, and instantly came up with a track called "Rock The Party". The hip-hop influences in the track combined with a niche interest from the Indian diaspora, ensured that the track became one of the first crossover tracks to feature at the number two position of the Danish hype chart and number three slot at the Denmark top 20 countdown. And surprisingly, the video for the track has already won a Best Danish Video Award declared by a popular music channel.
The launch of the duo's debut album Introducing Bombay Rockers (Times Music; CD Rs. 195) consisted of a live performance in Mumbai last week; the first single is getting extensively mixed by DJs at popular lounge and fashion bars across the country. "Rock The Party" is instantly infectious with its energetic Punjabi vocals set against a backdrop of low BPM (Beats Per Minute) R&B rhythms. The feel-good, happy groove in the track brings a smile on our faces and makes your legs tap after the first few times you hear the song. The 15-track album picks up tempo with vocally aggressive numbers like "Who Do You Love" and "Non-Stop", which besides being high on tempo, feature energetic vocals.
The twosome have innovatively mixed an evergreen Punjabi folk song called "Ari Ari" in two versions, which pump up the energy level of the original version and give it an international flavour. Other tracks like "Lovesick" and "Shimi Shake" range from subtle rhythms to strong vocals. A highly impressive debut by the Rockers, but one only wishes that they had done away with the slang in the lyrics. The music is powerful enough to impress us.
A. VISHNU
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