When Wilbur Wove his magic
QUEEN’S ROAD: On Saturday, Wilbur Sargunaraj, known for Indo-World-Fusion, a new genre of music performed at Opus to launch his latest musical work, Feeling Genki. He was in town after launching the album at Tokyo. He was excited to release this album in India and shared that it was produced and filmed in Canada, Ethiopia, Uganda, Japan, Papua New Guinea etc. This was the third time that he had visited Bengaluru and said, ‘’I absolutely love the people and the city.The crowd and the vibe is amazing.’’
He also informed that the proceeds of his album will go to O-PADS International, an NGO based in Kampala, which creates re-usable sanitary napkins for girls across Uganda. Feeling Genki is also partnering with Women of Worth, an NGO which runs two campaigns that Wilbur is a part of - Dark is Beautiful and Girl Arise.
Wilbur comes from a simple background in Tamil Nadu and had a passion for music right from his childhood. He said, ‘’In those times we didn’t have YouTube and other such sites and I grew up listening the 70’s music and legends such as ABBA, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson and Boney M on the record player.’’
He claims that his songs are his way to promote cultural intelligence via the various languages that are heard on the tracks. He is also conscious of his social responsibilities as a musician and says, “I’m a dark person and I am proud of it and not ashamed at all and hence am part of a campaign that celebrates dark skin.’
Wilbur has been a vocal supporter of human rights and has organised numerous concerts and workshops in Indonesia and Mumbai to help the disadvantaged. He is heavily influenced by Jean Vanier, a Canadian Catholic philosopher, theologian and humanitarian who promotes the concept of human equality.
He signs off, ‘’My advice to the younger generation is to not do things for the sake of getting likes on Facebook and YouTube. I personally think that my music should make others happy. So you too should have the passion to make a difference and not just to amass followers and fans.’’