Dublin's desi boys visit ooru!

Their rock & dhol is sheer music to the ears. It was a night of extreme madness, as the popular music band Delhi 2 Dublin stopped by the city as part of their India tour recently. The troupe took the city’s music lovers on a frenzy with their mix of Indian roots alongside Canadian style interspersed with bhangra, dub, reggae and electronic.

We speak to this super fun band on what makes them tick. Before they begin sharing their musical journey with us, they add in unison – “Bengaluru is the best city for our music tour across all of India. The people are so friendly and clued in to world music. We also loved the vibes and the aura of this city and would love to come back.”

Delhi 2 Dublin was formed for a performance at the Vancouver Celtic Festival on 16 March 2006. The event was called Delhi to Dublin, which the group then took as their name. Founding members were Tarun Nayar (of Beats Without Borders), Sanjay Seran (at the time hailing from live bhangra act Signia), violinist Kytami, the late fiddle player Oliver Shroer and Adrian Blackhurst (also of Beats Without Borders).

“We came together for a collaboration project for Celtic fest in Vancouver in 2006. It was for a club night put on by Tarun’s DJ collective, Beats Without Borders. The collective needed a name, so we took the name of the party and Delhi 2 Dublin was born,” shares vocalist Sanjay Seran on how they came to being. The band now comprises Sanjay Seran, Tarun Nayar, Jaspaul Ravi Binning, and Serena Eades who are from or near Vancouver, Canada.

Their music comes with a crossover sound that attracts all kinds of people; especially the dhol and violin mash up that evokes a primal feeling connecting people to them. Their live performance is super high on energy and brings the world’s best beats together in a powerful dance explosion.

Talking of some of their most memorable gigs, dhol player Ravi Binning states, “We’ve been really lucky to play some really cool gigs at some of the best places in the world in the decade long span of our career. This year especially has been a memorable one having played in India for the first time earlier this year; all the shows on that trip were amazing. Also, on the top of our list would be Burning Man, Electric Forest, Symbiosis and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.” Bengalureans were in for a treat as they watched these Canadians drop it Desi Bass style which means a good sweaty dance party.

Getting candid on what they do, when they’re not making music, Sanjay adds with a smile, “When we do get down time we all like to get into our Westcoast nature and chill for sure. Serena enjoys Capoeira, Tarun surfs at any opportunity he gets, Ravi likes gardening and I enjoy snowboarding.”