Vocalist & rapper of Delhi 2 Dublin Sanjay Seran speaks to SHAlINI SAKSENA on how they got their band its name and their style of music
I believe there is a story behind how the band got its name.
We were a part of the Vancouver Celtic Festival in 2006, called Delhi To Dublin. This was a one-off show. One night — club night — of which Tarun Nayar, our tabla, electronics guy, was the DJ, we were asked to push the boundaries of music. We had to add some Irish element to it since it was Celtic. We didn’t know what to do but the artistic director asked us to figure it out and make the music. It was a 15-minute live piece. So I went and created some music by adding some Punjabi lines. Within a year, this morphed into Delhi2Dublin since it was an Indian-Irish mix and we stuck to that style.
Did you ever consider changing the nameIJ
It doesn’t matter what you name a band. It certainly didn’t matter to us. Since we were playing from Delhi to Dublin and everything in between we retained the name. The name doesn’t define the kind of music one is creating.
How have you managed to not stick to a particular genreIJ
No one thought of it. We started writing music and started getting bookings. Most people would not want to fall into a category. The same is true for bands. They don’t try to fall into a genre even if the listeners want to put them into one. When five people come together and write music, it is rare to be of one category only.
How would you describe your musicIJ
Desi base is the category I would like to put my music into. It has elements of Bhangra and Celtic. So it is more like string music, old Bollywood with bhangra electronic elements.
Tell us how you all came together.
It was because of the collaboration which we were a part of. We definitely had other members in the band when we started off. But we are not the same configuration now. But the chemistry among the other members has only grown. One has to work on these relationships since one is on the road so much and things can be stressful. It is important to gel with each other. We are in our happiest zone right now.
Is this your first trip to IndiaIJ Any particular reason why you chose only six citiesIJ
This is our second trip to India as a band. I have been here for the fifth time. The others also have been here at a personal level. As to the cities — it was something that happened and who wanted us and who didn’t want us. We just worked on our band and the bookers. We didn’t want to be here for months and months but we had some time and wanted to come to India and perform so these cities just fell into place.
A lot of international bands are coming to India. What is changingIJ
Bands like Coldplay, Bryan Adams, etc have been coming to India for years. But for bands like ours, what is happening is that the electronic scene that had been bubbling in India for 10-15 years has now come in the mainstream — but not Bollywood where the music has changed. It is large enough that it can support import. Some years back, our kind of music would have had no takers. We were ahead of our times and were not meant to be. But the time is right now and we have a label here which is good.
There was a time when you didn’t want to do music.
When I was younger, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. Most kids want to be a firefighter, etc. I loved singing and knew that I wanted to perform. It was not until I was in the university, when I was in my 20s, that I realised that I wanted to pursue music and be a musician.
What influences your musicIJ
I think that I do my own thing. But definitely culture has a huge influence. I won’t be doing Punjabi music if I didn’t speak the language or if I didn’t have my grandmother living with me and being a part of my life and teaching me how to speak Punjabi. Electronically, if one were to break it down, our music is different — we are very west coast north American. Even geographically, a lot of it is ghetto punk which is west coast music. So being Canadian and that too from Vancouver, being Punjabi, listening to the kind of music I did — all have an influence.
What next for your bandIJ
We go back to Vancouver for a New Year gig. Then I spend some time with the family but some band members come back to India to do their own thing and do some DJing. Then we have stuff in Vancouver and go to Indonesia in March. Then summer starts and we have some touring in North America and Canada. And hopefully we will be back in India next winter.