BENGALURU:Bombay bassment, as the name suggests is a Mumbai-based reggae-hip hop band which was formed in 2010. An interesting fact about this four-piece band is that they were the first hip hop act to play at the 2016 Glastonbury festival in the UK. What’s more exciting is that the troupe is heading to Bengaluru to perform to one of their favourite crowds in the country.
The gang has performed numerous shows in the city and was also part of the NH7 Weekender, a multi-city music festival in India. So who exactly are they? The team consists of a Goan, Chandrasekhar Kunder aka DJ Major C (sampling), two Mumbaikars, Ruell Barretto aka BassBarrett (bass/guitar), Jeremy D'Souza (drummer) and one Kenyan, Bob Omulo aka Bobkat (rapper). All four of them are passionate musicians settled in Mumbai. Coming from varied backgrounds, they draw their inspiration from, Run, DMC, Nas, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Bobkat and Major C lived in the same hood in Mumbai so they knew each other long before the band came into existence. Ruel, on the other hand met the two through a mutual friend Jayesh, who actually constituted the band in its current form as a hip hop-reggae act along with their ex drummer. Before the band’s formation, Jayesh informed them what he had in mind for the band as he was the manager at the time, and the members were in agreement with his idea. And thus, Bombay Bassment came into existence with a motto to ‘get the whole party dancing from grandpa to grandkids.’
The band is currently working on their next EP which is their fourth release. “We have already nailed two of the planned five tracks and the compilation will be ready later this year."
Our goal is to make timeless music, at least to be a part of history in that space we represent. We also plan to cross boundaries and markets and of course to collaborate with some of our inspirations. We're already planning something in that space but it's still premature to talk about it at the moment,” says Bob.
He adds, “The new album is still very much a work in progress, so we haven't locked ourselves yet on what look we want the final piece to have. We'll end up with more than the five songs we need, then we'll shape it up after that.”
In regard to their first international tour, the band’s booking agent had asked the team if it was in their interest to perform at Glastonbury. While the band gave an immediate thumbs-up, they were not sure if the opportunity would be given to them until they found out their application was accepted. The team says, "we saw acts we never thought we'd experience live in our lifetime. We also saw the simple conditions most festival goers were living in during the event and realised we're quite a pampered lot."
“We performed on the first day and got such a great response that the organisers asked us to perform on the last day at a different stage. That was humbling, given the fact that it was an international audience, not our buddies in the crowd," they added.
When asked about the challenges they faced since their formation, they point out that being a non mainstream act, opportunities are few and stages are even more scarce and not too many venues are built to accommodate live bands.
Where: Fandom of Gilly’s refined
When: April 14, 8pm