Reggae beats from the basement

Music can make you think, act up and reminisce, but at the center of it all, it’s helps you have fun. The urban music and reggae champs Bombay Bass-ment have been unwavering in appeal and kicking up a storm every chance they get with their infectious rhythms. Their latest EP OK, Dance is no different. “It’s designed with one purpose in mind — to make people dance. That’s it,” says Robert Omulo aka Bobkat, speaking to us about the band’s six-city tour of India.

MC Bobkat (Robert Omulo), Ruell (Ruell Barretto on the bass) and MajorC (Chandrashekhar Kunder on samples/percussion) are not new to the music scene. The Mumbai-based trio has two albums under its belt — Bombay Bassment and Bombay Bassment X FUNC VIP —as well as an appearance at Glaston-bury where they opened for Snoop Dogg. “Our first album had a lot of acoustic sound to it; the second one was very electronic. OK, Dance represents that sweet spot in between. We’ve found our sound on this release — not leaning to either extreme, just a heady mix of both,” explains Robert.

Their music is inspired by everything from hip-hop acts like The Roots, Public Enemy, Dr Dre, Ice Cube and RHCP to reggae acts like Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley, of course. Their funk-inspired happy sounds punctuated with hip-hop, dancehall, reggae, Soca and Afrobeat has earned them quite the reputation too, not just for their rambunctious live performances, but also for the tunes that make you hip-shake. “Reggae is still at a nascent stage in India, but it’s growing. What is notable is that most people enjoy reggae even if they’re not diehard fans. With this EP, we want listeners to remember Bassment whenever they need to lift their spirits,” Robert adds.  

A friend apparently suggested to the drummer and the bassist that adding his friends (an emcee and a DJ) to the act would complete the sound. “We rehearse and write new material often. We revisit past gigs and figure if we can improve on them,” says Robert.

In the midst of DJing, watching cricket, playing soccer and live acts they are already throwing around ideas for their next. “We will always have another festival to dream of, no matter how much we do. We plan on regularly dropping EPs and are looking at potential collaborations,” says Robert.