Metro Plus
Chennai
Hyderabad
Bombay Vikings are back
|
Two years and three albums down, `Bombay Vikings' is a name to reckon with. After songs like `Kya soorat hai' and `Woh chali' became hits, it is `Hawa mein udati jaaye' that is now making waves.
|
`BOMBAY VIKINGS' shot to fame with the song Kya Soorat Hai a couple of years ago. An impressive remix of the original Zaroorat Hai, the new version topped the charts, thanks to some innovative `Hinglish' lyrics, a cool video and some impressive singing. A year later, Woh Chali followed — and became a huge hit and stayed on top for a remarkable number of weeks, though the song was much slower compared to Kya Soorat Hai. But Jambola made up for the loss and a surprise third hit from the album was Angel Eyes.
By now, people began relating to Bombay Vikings' unique style of taking an old song, changing the lyrics entirely, and making a new song, full of attitude and some crazy lyrics. When news of a third album began doing the rounds, the obvious question was: Why not a break from remixes and something original for a change? To this Neeraj `viking' Shridar's answer was, "I want the masses to relate to my style of music and if you want to reach the masses, you need to keep the music simple. In short, my music is for people who want to chill-out." Well, that sounds convincing enough.
Neeraj has spent the bulk of his life outside the country, and this is evident in his music as well. His albums usually show influences from Europe, Canada and places West. In fact, it is surprising to know that this man began his career as a baggage loader at Scandinavian Airlines, soon getting promoted to the post of Deputy Officer. That was long before he started his career producing ad jingles, soon discovered his passion for music, came to India and formed `Bombay Vikings'.
Come to think of it, the whole concept of remixing in the country is changing today, thanks to bands like `Bombay Vikings', `Instant Karma', `Partners In Rhyme' and the rest. Bringing a lot of Western dance and trance influences into Indian music, these bands are a refreshing change from the run-of-the-mill remix albums. In fact, Instant Karma's latest album features some innovative remixing of songs like Meri Soni and Aaja Piya.
Coming back to Bombay Vikings, the new album is called Hawa Mein Udati Jaaye (Universal Music; CD Rs. 125; cassette Rs. 50), recalling a famous line from a song in the classic movie Barsaat and the title single is already gaining fast popularity. A very catchy tune, added to it some foot-tapping accomplishments and some `bindaas' lyrics makes it a very infectious number. The second track, Call Me Up has loads of energy with a `trancey' feel to it. I Believe and You and I fall along the same lines — and sound quite similar too. After listening to these songs, you tend to feel that Neeraj should consider more remixes in each album rather than only one or two of them.
A surprise element of the album is Tera Mera Pyaar Sanam, originally called Woh Tere Pyar Ka Gham in the movie My Love. Falguni Pathak teams up with Neeraj this time — and gives an interesting `jugalbandi' effect to the song. I Got To Get Loved By You has an interesting fusion of some hardcore dance and a `bhangra'-style beat in the background — resulting in a `stop-and-go' kind of thing and Dancing All Night has a `latino' feel to it. Look for the video of this one soon.
Well, the Viking has come a long way — and is sure to leave a mark this time, hitting soon at your favourite disco — and the corner `chai' shop as well.
A. VISHNU
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Chennai
Hyderabad
|
