Welcome back to India. How long has it been since you were last here?
Navtej ‘Naf’ Singh Rehal (NR): Thank you very much. Well, we’ve been touring a lot since the last five years. We’ve actually been in India quite a few times. It was about 15 days ago since we were last here. We don’t come to Bombay (Mumbai) too often, but India is like our second home.
Thomas Sardof (TS): We love coming back to Mumbai too. It’s our favorite city. We even call ourselves Bombay Rockers. There’s so much activity here—the Bollywood vibe and the buzz. We love the clubs and the restaurants. Even though I’m a white guy, I love my chilly!
Why did you decide to call yourself Bombay Rockers?
NR: Well, it’s quite simple actually. Back in Europe, when you say ‘Bombay’ you instantly know its Indian.
TS: And ‘Rockers’ because we ‘Rock Tha Party’ always! I sing in English, and Naf sings in Hindi and Punjabi. He’s the ‘Bombay’ part and I’m the ‘Rockers’ part.
It has been three years since your last album release. How do you find the Indian music scene now?
TS: The Indian music scene is changing. We can feel it. It’s still mostly about Bollywood though. We do love filmy music, but there should be room for all genres and bands. With the new album Rock and Dhol, we want to bring the non-filmy music back!
How did Rock and Dhol come about? Would you say this album is different from your previous works?
NR: We’ve been working on the album for about two years. There’s a lot of hard work put into it. I think it’s a very different album if you compare it to our previous ones. We have grown a lot, musically and lyrics-wise. It’s just nice to come up with some new good stuff.
TS: Production-wise, we’ve taken it in another direction. With each album, we try to do something different. We don’t want to repeat ourselves too much. This time we’ve gone for the more clubby feeling with electronic vibes. It’s mostly an up-tempo album. We genuinely feel that each song has a special appeal. The album is very melodic, but at the same time it’s bang on! There’s a club vibe there. Its Rock and Dhol… it’s rocking yaar!
What's your favorite track on the album?
NR: We of course love all the tracks. They’re our babies. But, we love ‘Nasha’. It’s about addiction in any form. The track is different and really close to our hearts.
TS: The production is electronic, but still it’s a laid back, up-tempo track. But, like Naf said, we love all the songs. ‘Let’s Dance’ is of course the first single and I heard there are some big fans of 'Chakki Jah' as well. And then there’s ‘Thewa.’ So it’s hard to pick one track.
Any interesting stories behind the compositions?
TS: When we do an album, I usually produce most of the songs. Occasionally, I work with a co-producer. I might have some ideas vocally; Naf comes in and gives his ideas. Then we piece it all together. That’s what happens most of the times. But, some tracks come to our heads a little differently. Once we were standing backstage, waiting to get on (during a tour). There was some dhol like instrument playing. I was humming ‘rock, rock and roll’ and then Naf added ‘with a little Dhol.’ That’s how the inspiration for title track ‘Rock and Dhol’ came about.
When I compose a tune, there are always words in it—words that fit and not just ‘ta-da-da-daaa.’ It has to be “catchy.”
NR: All of our tracks just came to us naturally. We could be anywhere. But when an idea pops, we thrash it out right then. Once we come back to the studio, we start recording it. In fact, melody with the words has been a trademark of Bombay Rockers. It’s always easier to sing that way. In Denmark, we have Danish people singing ‘Teri toh teri tah’ and ‘Ari Ari’ because they are simple words. Everybody can sing our songs. Bombay Rockers music is extremely catchy music.
What kind of airplay do Bombay Rockers get in Denmark?
NR: ‘Rock Tha Party’ was totally head ups and mainstream. Everybody was listening to it, and it was really good on the charts in Denmark. We had Danish kids sending us videos where they’re singing ‘Rock Tha Party’!
TS: When we started out, we released in Denmark first. We didn’t plan to become big in India. We just got together and made some music. Of course we knew that the best chance would be to make it big with Indians because they understand English, Hindi and Punjabi. We didn’t expect it to go mainstream in Denmark though. According to us, Danes couldn't have grasped more than 40 percent of it. But, then again it just shows that music is universal.
What’s the gig scene in Denmark like?
NR: Well, we do gigs all over the world. In Denmark, during the peak times, we did an unbelievable 70 shows in a month. We did two to three shows per day in some clubs and moved on from city to city.
TS: In Denmark, besides the club gigs, there are about 100 different festivals in a year. It’s actually quite crazy. Besides 5.5 million people in Denmark, people from all over Europe come enjoy the festivals in the country.
Is there a Danish music scene for the Indian artists in particular?
NR: If you’re looking at Indian artists from India, then I don’t think so. Danish people don’t get it. As Bombay Rockers, we have carved a niche because we’re the first fusion band from Denmark. Taking music the way we do—more pop instead of hip-hop—makes us very unique. And that’s why, I think, we had a very good chance in Denmark.
TS: Fusion in the UK is done completely by Indians. There is a sizable population of Indians in UK too. So Indian artiste work there. But same is not the case in Denmark.
When we got together, I didn’t know "the Indian music rules". So, I put it together in a very non-traditional way. It was a pretty crazy start. I was actually just supposed to be producing and writing songs. But we liked the way our vocals fit together. We had very different styles but together they sounded really good. So we thought why not just try it. I decided to sing as well. That experimentation, along with all of Naf’s knowledge, turned out to be different. That set us apart.
Can you tell us about your first collaboration ‘Ari Ari’?
NR: We met through a mutual friend at a record label. We were supposed to make a solo Punjabi album only with me. But then we did ‘Ari Ari’, which got good air time in Demark and climbed up the charts rather swiftly. After which we decided to make another track, hence came ‘Sexy Mama’.
We hear that there is an interesting story behind 'Sexy Mama'?
TS: In fact, there are two. I was working on some production and used the flute sample. People think that Jay Sean and the ‘Bora Bora’ guy (Arash Labaf) experimented with flute before us. But that's not true. We actually did it before. So I think they copied us! (laughs)
Also, when I was working on that track, Naf started singing “Sajnaaa ve...” and I thought he said “Sexy Mama…” It sounded like a good line so I recorded it and did a verse as well.
You featured on ‘Nach Lay’ by the rap duo Overseas. Any more collaborations in the pipeline?
TS: We’re actually pretty open to collaborations now. But with Rock and Dhol, Naf and I had so many ideas that we really just wanted to keep it to Bombay Rockers.
NR: We just wanted the time for ourselves. (laughs) But, now we’re definitely ready for collaborations. Anything can happen. We might all of a sudden be popping up in a Bollywood movie. You never know!
Care to elaborate on the Bollywood bit?
TS: We’ve talked to people but we’re still scouting for the right thing. And I think it will happen when the timing is just right. It has to be a special kind of Bollywood movie for our music to fit in. With Bollywood you get one chance, so you better make it right.
Any Indian artists you want to collaborate with?
NR: Yes! There’s a duo we really like - Salim-Sulaiman. They’re great at the kind of music they make.
According to you, who are the new artistes from India/Diaspora that we should look out for?
NR: Well, it’s hard to hear non-filmi artists. There’s Bollywood music and there are a couple of bands that are doing well in India. Back in the days, you had MTV playing music and not reality shows. Today, the music scene has changed a lot. But, we like our boy Ishq Bector.
TS: I really like Bollywood. Since the first time that I came here, I really got into the Bollywood movies—the colors, and people singing all the time. I really like it. But Bollywood rarely thinks outside of the box, and that’s why I think non film music is very important. You have the space to do something different. You don’t have to fit it in a format.
NR: I can’t stop comparing it to Pakistan. Of course, we know that they would love to have something like Bollywood. But, they have much better bands in Pakistan. I can’t say they are musically better, but at least there’s a platform where they can perform. I think India needs to get Indi-pop back. Something besides Indian Idol.
Getting back to music, ‘Ari Ari’ and ‘Sexy Mama’ are now deemed anthems. Why do you think that is? Which new Bombay Rockers’ single could rival their popularity?
NR: For us ‘Ari Ari’ and ‘Rock Tha Party’ had done really well. From Rock and Dhol, we think 'Chakki Jah' has a great chance. But then there’s also ‘Let’s Dance and ‘Thewa’. So we’re waiting for the responses from the listeners and fans.
Can you tell us about your future plans?
TS: Right now its all about promoting Rock and Dhol. We’re going to be performing at Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chandigarh. We’re also planning a proper tour and once the details are finalized, its going to be up on our website.
Do you groove to desi music? Any favorite tracks?
NR: Yes, there are several. We really love Bollywood music. Once during a really long 13 hour road trip we were totally crazy about Love Aaj Kal. And it was ‘Aahun Aahun’ all the way. We heard it a million times!
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