big deal

there is something about bombay, (and i have a niggling suspicion that it’s bollywood) that causes most musicians to gravitate towards the city. i could be wrong, maybe it’s not the huge amounts of work that the industry provides that’s the cause of this mass movement. maybe the attraction lies in the nice balmy air (when it’s not raining cats and dogs) or the laid back attitude of people which is completely at odds with the city that bustles and buzzes. or maybe, just maybe, small cramped apartments, clogged roads and a daily life that makes you feel like you’re living smack bang in the middle of a bollywood movie is very conducive for making music.

how else would you explain the fact that some of the best bands i hear in delhi, seem to belong to bombay. a few years ago, it was ‘bombay black’ (that’s the story of another post, though) and this time around it’s ‘black market’ and ‘interplay’.

i first heard ‘black market’ at dv8, having had gone there with a friend, straight from work, tired and yearning for six feet of horizontal space to lie down in. but minutes into their gig, and i could have kissed my friend. these guys were fantastic. funky, fresh and a complete treat to listen to. combining influences from r&b, rock, acid jazz, the outfit had a line up, i’m told is ‘killer’ – consisting of dhruv ghanekar (guitar), lindsay (drums), sonia saigal (vox), harmeet (keys) and sheldon (bass).

‘interplay’, i caught on thursday at haze. in a city, where jazz enthusiasts sit around twiddling their thumbs (i say that loosely, since i really don’t know what they do) and wait for the ‘jazz yatra’ to hit town, ‘interplay’ comes as a can-i-bend-down-and-kiss-your-rings relief. primarily a jazz band, ‘interplay’ has sonia and harmeet (from black market) joined by adrian dsouza and rushad mistry. the reason i enjoy them so much is, when you watch them play, they look like they are enjoying every single moment of it, as much as you are. they play with genuine ‘feel’. and that is fantastic. and fun. like harmeet says, “we basically do all kinds of other things and other music by day, to pay our bills ... we don't really get too many opportunities to play jazz which is all we really want to do ... so when we do get to play a gig where we can go and play this music that we love, it's a big deal for all us”.

well, harmeet, it’s a big deal for us too. you guys should play here more often.

and those of you who haven’t seen either of these bands in action, should absolutely make a point of it the next time they’re in town. if only to find out what the big deal is.