Swami is a Birmingham-based pop electronic band with Bhangra influences. Its founder tells Shrabsati Mallik that popularity of electronic dance music in India is getting international musicians here
Swami stands for So Who Am I. How is this incorporated in your workIJ
Each Swami album is part of our journey in music. A voyage of discovery of our identity through music. Being British and Indian, we are constantly trying to evolve and find the connections between the two cultures that define who we are as musicians and as people. We have an interest in all kinds of music and our albums have explored EDM, rock, world music and now we have tried our hands at pop music. With Upgrade (forthcoming album) we have taken on the biggest challenge of all — fusing all our previous influences into a progressive international pop sound.
How did the group come togetherIJ
Swami originally started as a studio project in 1998 between myself as DJ Swami and my brother Simon ‘Subs’ Duggal as an experiment with electronic dance music and Bhangra influences. My brother moved on to other production commitments after our first album release Desi Nu Skool Beatz in 2000, but I continued with the Swami sound and philosophy. It was not until DesiRock was released in 2004 that the concept of a live band fully emerged with new members Sur and S-Endz. By the time Equalize was released in 2007, liana had joined the band to add a female dynamic to the vocals. The four of us constitute Swami today.
Did you face difficulty in coping up with the industry’s constant demand for innovationIJ
Our longevity is all about innovation, dedication and being self-sufficient. We also like to take risks with our music. You have to be original to make a difference in the long run. I think this involves not only looking at who your influences are but also looking deep into who you are as an individual, going with your instinct and working on it.
How did you think of fusing electronic pop with traditional bhangraIJ
It was a natural idea to blend the two genres of electronic music and bhangra. The environment in Birmingham where we grew up was a melting pot of music — from EDM and reggae to rock and bhangra. There is a huge Punjabi immigrant population in Birmingham and we are constantly exposed to the best of both Punjabi and British cultures. The sound of the dhol, tabla, dholak at family occasions, cultural functions and weddings has always been an overwhelming experience for me. The energy of these percussive instruments is a perfect match for our synthesizer driven electronic dance and rock guitar influences. Also fusing English and Punjabi lyrics and melodies is something very special and exciting.
Tell us something about your new album Upgrade.
Uprgade is an international pop album but we have taken on a bigger challenge with our music by including Hindi in our lyrics this time. We wanted to reach out further beyond the Punjabi-meets-English format of our songs. Bollywood and Hindi seemed a natural progression for us. We always try to bring an element of surprise with our progressive, energising music and this time we are ready to electrify our fans with a video of over 10,000 dazzling light bulbs.
What do you think about the Indian music and pop industryIJ
I think music in India is changing very fast. The past five years have shown a dramatic change in influences and ideas in popular music with hip hop and EDM. I think Bollywood and the emerging festival scene in India have played a big role in this. India feels like the perfect place for Swami right now.
You have collaborated with artistes from across the world earlier. Do you have plans to collaborate with Indian artistes nowIJ
We are always interested in working with the new talent in India. I have recently completed an album for Zoheb Hassan (Nazia Hassan’s brother who wrote Disco Deewane) for release on SaReGaMa India. We also had the pleasure of listening to songs with Salman Khan a couple of months ago. He really liked the new Swami release Do It Again and he played us some of his songs including Hangover for an opinion.
Share some of the most significant moments of the band since your beginning in 1998.
The most significant moment for Swami was discovering that the Olsen twins were big fans of our music and wanted our song Mehbooba in their Hollywood movie New York Minute. The release of DesiRock was a huge moment for us, too. Akshay Kumar loved DesiRock so much he sang it at one of the award functions and danced to it on his live tours. Performing at Glastonbury Festival has always been a significant moment for Swami. Touring across Canada was also a special time for the band, but coming back to India with our new single Do It Again makes perfect sense.
