We had the chance to interview Andy Williamson from the band that allows you to have a cinematic listening experience, The Bombay Royale.
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The eleven piece band, The Bombay Royale from Melbourne makes a great combination of Indian tunes and other western based genres. Fronted by two Indian musicians, Parvyn Kaur Sing and Shourov Bhattacharya, and Australian musician Andy Williamson, the band released their second and really impressive album The Island of Dr. Electrico, early last summer. We had the chance to interview Williamson about the story of the album and the concept of The Bombay Royale.
How did you start to have interest in Bollywood music scene for the first time? Can you tell us some of your favorites from Bollywood soundtrack albums?
For me personally it was from collecting records and visiting India. As a musician you’re always hungry for new sounds and what I heard in India just blew me away. Soundtracks to films such as Don (Anandji and Kalyanji) and Shalimar (RD Burman) are two standouts but there are literally hundreds of films from the 1960-70’s period with killer soundtracks. Those composers in Bombay took styles such as psychedelia, surf, funk and disco and came up with a fresh, uniquely Indian interpretation of them. There is no question that the good stuff is as fine as any of the soundtracks to come out of Europe or the USA at that time.
The Bombay Royale’s second LP, The Island of Dr. Electrico was released this summer. Can you tell us about the creation span of the album?
It was mostly written over a period of 12 months ending in November 2013 when we started the recording process. It marked a departure from our first record in so far as there was much more collaboration in the writing process. It felt like a progression and a more developed work – we’re pretty happy with the record as a representation of where we’re at.
If The Island of Dr. Electrico was chosen as a soundtrack for a movie, what would be the story of the movie?
It’s all a bit murky but Dr Electrico is a henchman of the Skipper (and also evil, most likely insane!). His island is a fetid, suffocating place of exile and not recommended for sunbathing. Our clip for Henna Henna is essentially the opening of the film and is set on the Skippers private jet where the Tiger has been taken captive with a sack over his head, bound for Dr Electrico’s island for, um, experiments. The fate of the Tiger is not exactly clear but its fair to say things aren’t looking good for him. As luck would have it the Mysterious Lady (a fellow secret agent who also has a bit of a soft spot for The Tiger) has disguised herself as an air hostess and is coming to his rescue with the duty free trolley and a bag of wasabi peas. What happens next is still with the scriptwriters (!) but you can be sure that in the finest Bollywood tradition the plot involves action, skullduggery and a romance that must overcome any number of obstacles. And a righteously funky soundtrack!
How did Parvyn, Shourov and you start to make music together?
When the group first started it was essentially as a cover band. I’d already transcribed and arranged around 30 vintage Bollywood tunes and I set out trying to find musicians who could help me realize the project. Melbourne is musically and culturally diverse so it didn’t take too long to find the right people. Parvyn’s father is a well respected Sikh musician and she had been performing with his group since she was a little girl. Shourov on the other hand was the friend of an old drinking buddy!
What about the rest of The Bombay Royale crew? How did they come together?
Almost all of us had already played in bands together, shared houses, been to university together, or all three. Melbourne has a pretty tight knit music community so finding the right people was not so hard.
I’d like to hear about the story behind the costumes that you guys wear in live performances. And as far as I know every member in the band has his/her own character. How did that concept come out?
We’ve performed in costume from the outset because basically performing in jeans and t-shirts just never seemed like an option. The music itself has strong narrative connotations and I think much of its appeal comes from its seeking to create a cinematic ‘world’ in the mind of the listener. The costumes are really just trying to support that sense of an imaginary place. It’s not that we want to turn it into an Andrew Lloyd Weber musical though. If I had to cite an influence I’d say Sun Ra or Parliament – they were both costumed bands but audiences understood that they were essentially serious musical (rather than theatrical) acts.
You played in the festivals like Glastonbury and WOMAD. And it’s really easy to imagine that the gigs of The Bombay Royale would be like a carnival. Can you try to describe the feeling you have while playing live with The Bombay Royale on the stage?
The best moments are when you lose yourselves collectively and hopefully the audience does too. There’s nothing quite like a big live band in full swing, its like a locomotive when it gets going. It’s not really to do with the profile of the gig either. Sometimes this can happen on a big stage like Glastonbury, sometimes its in a tiny club for 200 people.
I imagine that it’s not easy to tour with an 11 piece band. Do you have some other sets as a less crowded The Bombay Royale?
Nope! If anything we’d like to make it BIGGER! Those old soundtracks were often recorded live with bands of 20 plus musicians so it was a real challenge to keep it to 10-11 people. A string section for example would be amazing, as would more percussionists. A four piece version of the band simply wouldn’t be the Bombay Royale.
It’s easy to feel influences from different genres like surf, funk and disco in The Bombay Royale’s music. Do you reckon that we’ll hear some other musical influences in future albums of The Bombay Royale?
Definitely. Perhaps the greatest thing about 1960’s-70’s Bollywood soundtracks is that they took any number of influences and created a pastiche genre. It’s this creative license and playfulness that appealed to me from the beginning. Whilst we like to use this era as a springboard for our own ideas, its inevitable (and desirable) that other contemporary influences will find their way in.
Have you ever had a chance to hear any comments about your music from an Indian musician? What do they think about this mixture?
Well, we obviously have at least a couple of Indian musicians in the band J . But yes, we’ve had a generally enthusiastic response from Indian musicians and the Indian community generally. MTV Roots in India has been a notable supporter and has regularly aired our clips there on National TV. We’re also having some of our music used on the upcoming Bollywood feature film (not allowed to say which one yet – sorry, they’ll have their lawyers after me!). It’s definitely part of our dream to visit and perform in India as a band.
As a band from Melbourne, what kind of influences do you gain from the city?
Like any city Melbourne has its advantages and disadvantages. Amongst the positives are the waves of immigration that have brought different cultures and traditions here. We also have a long established musical and artistic community that is important to the identity of many Melbournians. Sometimes our isolation from the rest of the world makes us a bit insular , but then I also think it can be a real blessing too.
