Delhi 2 Dublin

My favorite band includes some of my favorite people. I've followed the band since their unusual coming together of east meets west with a good dose of rock 'n roll resulting in mighty fine dance music that energizes fans of all ages and cultures

Vancouver-based Delhi 2 Dublin is a group of five musicians who mash up electronica and world music, keeping it heavy on the Bhangra, Celtic and Dub flavours. Fusing tabla, fiddle, dhol, Punjabi vocals, and electric sitar with scorching electronic beats, the crew takes listeners on a wild ride through global sounds and synchronicities.

D2D CD's available for purchase at amazon.

Part One of an animated series where our D2D heroes are on a quest to rescue their astral warrior monkey, Hanu, from the evil clutches of their nemesis, Ravana.

Saving Hanu.

Mixing it up at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival

I first discovered the folks who would become Delhi 2 Dublin on Stage Five at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. Then Creative Director, Dugg Simpson put together a series of workshops featuring a diverse selection of music and dance. The Collaboratory brought artists together before the Festival weekend to get to know each other, learn about each other's music and develop new music together for the weekend. The response from artists and audiences was so strong and so positive that the anniversary project was been remixed every year between 2002 and 2008.

The final Collaboratory, Next..., was the first Collaboratory to be presented on the Evening Concert Stage. It was based in the Festivals' growing creative community and in the neighbourhoods and nightclubs of Vancouver. Like past collaborations, the foundation was in music but from the earliest discussions, everyone involved wanted this version to go further. Dance, performance art and video were all included in this this special event. Beyond increasing the fear factor, complexity and resulting flow of adrenalin, everyone felt more voices was the right step.

Delhi 2 Dublin and friends reinventing world music, theatre, and dance fusion.

More about the Vancouver Folk Music Collaboratory.

Reinventing the Global Groove

The five members of Vancouver-based Delhi 2 Dublin come from different backgrounds and different musical influences. A live collaboration put together in 2006 as a one-off performance piece for a club night called Delhi to Dublin was so well-received that requests for additional performances led to the official formation of Delhi 2 Dublin. "Not being able to fit into any specific genre allows the band to create whatever they like and not be judged for it. The audience expects nothing less." The band finds this advantageous for their live show as it enables them to create a flow to their sets much like a DJ would for the dance floor. Tarun Nayar, Sanjay Seran, Kytami, Andrew Kim and Ravi Binning create a heady and energetic mash-up of Bhangra, Celtic, Dub Reggae and Electronica. "Audiences love to see a band transcending stereotypes and letting the music speak for itself."

A selection of fan-generated video capturing the magic of Delhi 2 Dublin.

Delhi 2 Dublin's official music video for Tommy.

Superstars of the Planet Electric!

Delhi 2 Dublin continue to push the boundaries with the May 4th release of its new genre-busting album, Planet Electric. It's as if the band has been sent on a mission to further spread their sound beyond the planet and out into the galaxy. They describe Planet Electric "as the buzz of the world plugged into a large socket, electrifying the people and charging up their energy". To capture the dynamism of their live shows, all of the tracks on the album were road-tested for months before recording. They also spent ten days and nights writing the material as a group, an approach that has led to this album being much more representative of the band as a whole. The icing on the cake was mixing the album with noted UK producer Diamond "DJ Swami" Duggal (Apache Indian/Maxi Priest/Nusrat Fateh Ali).

Delhi 2 Dublin are road warriors. They have played major festivals in both Canada and the U.S. including Music Matters in Hong Kong, Bumbershoot in Seattle, Earthdance in California, High Sierra in California, Stern Grove in San Francisco as well as such diverse events as SXSW in Austin, the Keelung City Ghost Festival in Taiwan and the Olympics in Vancouver. The band has an ambitious schedule planned for 2010. They will perform from coast to coast in Canada, everything from electronic music festivals like Evolve in Nova Scotia and Shambhala in British Columbia to festivals like Harbourfront in Toronto and the Winnipeg and Calgary Folk Festivals, before heading back to the U.S. for more dates. If they are appearing at a venue near you, experience them live!

Live video of Delhi 2 Dublin performing at the 2010 Evolve Festival in Antigonish, Nova Scotia (Canada).

Delhi 2 Dublin continues to create some of the most danceable musical groups in my experience. I have attended many live performances where the music has mesmerized and inspired everyone to get up and dance - from toddlers and kids to teens and seniors - everyone feels "the fire inside" and "harmonizing" with the D2D crew. Breaking through the barriers of age, class, and ethnicity, D2D always delivers an upbeat happening!

It's A Worldwide Thing!

While on tour, Delhi 2 Dublin spread the message of multiculturalism and world music through performing at local schools.

The D2D musicians represent an eclectic backgrounds (Indian, Korean, Filipino, Japanese, English, Scottish and Irish) and are a terrific example of the positivity of the Canadian melting pot and that we are all "one race and one kind".

Hour Magazine wrote that "Delhi 2 Dublin is the United Nations of rock 'n' roll". They are a Vancouver, Canada based band that plays an energetic mash-up of Bhangra, Celtic, Dub Reggae and Electronica with a healthy dose of global rhythms and club beats. Tarun Nayar, Sanjay Seran, Andrew Kim and Ravi Binning along with new members Jaron Freeman-Fox and Sara Fitzpatrick are diverse in both their backgrounds and musical influences. The band has been together over four years and is scheduled to release its latest album, Planet: Electrified, on May 3rd in Canada. The album title is apt because the six musicians feel that they plug directly into the world's music and energy.

 

Planet: Electrified is what happened when Delhi 2 Dublin gave 10 of their favourite producers the chance to remix their most recent album, Planet Electric. It represents an expansion for the band - they gave the producers the chance to take Delhi 2 Dublin's sound and twist it, push it, contort it into everything from electro house to techno to drum 'n' bass. Says band member Tarun Nayar, "We love it - it's amazing to hear tracks we're so familiar with done in a totally different way. We're also really happy to be collaborating with some of our heroes - from world electronica legend Gaudi to tropical hipster Poirier to UK-based drum 'n' bass heads Shiva Soundsystem".

 

There's a fair bit of Canadian content too - an effect of the great relationships the band made with other producers across the country over the last year of touring - people like DJ RSK aka sonicanimation (Rossland), Kashoo (Nelson) and Adham Shaikh (Nelson). There is also a brand new track called "Give It Away", the result of working with two great new fiddle players. The song is a departure for Delhi 2 Dublin and features big booming 808s, a string section and traditional Punjabi "Heer Ranjha" lyrics.

 

A live collaboration put together in 2006 as a one-off performance piece for a club night in Vancouver called Delhi to Dublin was so well-received that requests for additional performances led to the official formation of Delhi 2 Dublin. "Not being able to fit into any specific genre allows the band to create whatever we like and not be judged for it. Our audience expects nothing less." The band finds this advantageous for their live show as it enables them to create a flow to their sets much like a DJ would for the dance floor. "Audiences love to see a band transcending stereotypes and letting the music speak for itself".

 

The Delhi 2 Dublin crew is constantly touring. The strong word-of-mouth on their live performances has enabled them to build a loyal and continent wide fan base. The band has played several of the top festivals in Canada and the U.S. and, in 2011, is expanding its horizons to include performances in the Pacific Rim and Europe. A new line-up, a new album and new international touring opportunities all signal that originality and evolution are all part of the Delhi 2 Dublin experience. They have become one of Canada's most buzzed-about bands and 2011will only see them enhancing that reputation.  

Live shows are certainly an experience; the trio of CDs bring it all home. The energizing compositions will have you in motion, whether you are dancing in the living room, tuning into your creative self, or attending to the mundane household chores, you will get the job done!

Tarun

Tarun

Of Irish and Punjabi descent, Tarun is a hybrid, a meeting point between east and west; a cross-cultural (con)fusion. He is a classically trained tabla player, a DJ, and a producer, obsessed with fusing traditional Asian sounds with wicked electronic beats. He performs globally, trains in Mumbai, and represents the Canadian massive in Vancouver.

As a producer, Tarun creates South Asian influenced sonic landscapes and uptempo Asian beats and breaks. As a DJ, 'Tspoon' mashes funk, hip-hop, dancehall and bhangra into a bouncy, juicy dancefloor madness. As a tabla player, Tarun trains classically in the Punjab school, and represents in both traditional and electronic situations. He travels to India regularly to study the tabla.

Tarun is currently performing with 3 projects; global music DJ collective Beats Without Borders; crazy Celtic Punjabi live electronic act Delhi2Dublin; and bhangra/ grime/ hip-hop trio BPM.

Sanjay's influence comes from hip hop and UK bhangra music. His musical interest arrived during his late teens when he began to play the dhol - a large Indian barrel drum which is used as the back beat for most bhangra music. Sanjay has found his true calling as a vocalist with Delhi 2 Dublin where his enthusiasm and personality shine through!

Although Sanjay honed his performance skills as a percussionist he quickly found himself back in the vocalist seat, and for the last six years his voice has been his instrument of choice. Sanjay's past projects have been credited for changing the world music scene in Vancouver by putting what he calls the 'Neo-Bhangra' sound into the ears and hearts of the masses. Sanjay is currently continuing his vocal training with Indian classical teacher Neeraja Aptikar.

Andrew's roots are Korean. With more than 30 years of musical experience and a master of guitar and sitar, his musical schooling also reaches back to his childhood. At age six he began cello lessons; it was when he discovered his father's guitar that his love for music began. Since then Andrew has travelled the world studying sitar in India on a scholarship and performing in China, India, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Africa.

Andrew's music includes traditional Indian sitar, Indian styled violin, solo instrumental guitar compositions, as well as various Indian, African, and Japanese collaborative projects including Dharmakasa.

Ravi has bhangra running through his blood. He hails from the most respected and longest running bhangra family in Canada, the Punjabi Arts Association of Richmond, better known simply as PAAR club.

Ravi started dancing for PAAR's children's team at the age of five and in his early teens picked up the dhol to continue in the footsteps of his father and older brother. His love for the art of bhangra is apparent when he picks up the dhol and plays the beats of Punjab to the dancing world. Ravi has won MVP awards as a competitive bhangra dancer at the collegiate level.

Ravi and Sanjay have previously collaborated together with the Bhangra influenced hip-hop band SIGNIAtures.

Jaron's early life was not exactly normal. Raised by a single mother in northwest BC, moving from town to town, house-sitting in the middle of the mountains, living out of a car, and following the folk festivals made up Jaron's childhood. Being homeschooled, and largely self-taught on the violin, Jaron's musical life was filled with jamming, busking, teaching and writing music.

At age 17, Jaron left for music school in Vancouver, Canada. Within his first year at music school, it was obvious that this fiddler was not your run-of-the-mill jazz student. Taking courses from all years of his program, Jaron set the unofficial record for the most credits ever taken simultaneously, while performing with acts like The Paperboys, Shane Koyczan, and Dehli2dublin. By his second year, in an attempt to make up for the lack of classical training in his early years, Jaron became dedicated to studying classical violin, and was taken under the wing of the renowned violinist Marc Destrube.

However, despite his progress, Jaron's ears were already burning with a new sound, and he felt propelled to investigate the boundaries of the violin's scope. This calling led him to the art of South Indian Classical music, where the violin has a 200-year-old tradition. Jaron was put in contact with a violin guru living in Chennai, the world's hub of South Indian music, and a few short months later, Jaron was on a plane to India, to study under this new teacher. This immersion into Indian music was intense and profound, and changed Jaron's sound and attitude towards music forever.

At age 14, a huge change took over Jaron's musical life when he was asked to become an apprentice of the great fiddler/composer Oliver Schroer. This many-faceted mentorship included orally passing down Oliver's massive repertoire of violin music, recording together, Jaron being an extra set of ears in the studio, and the two of them simply going through the every-day life of a genius, nutty musician. Tragically, Schroer was diagnosed with leukemia in 2007, and the illness became terminal during Jaron's study in India. Jaron immediately returned to Canada, directly to Toronto where Schroer was receiving treatment. Over the following months, Jaron focused all of his efforts on honoring Schroer's legacy, and the profound relationship they had developed. Schroer passed away in July of 2008, and left to Jaron his violins, his solo-violin repertoire, and so many of his stories.

Fiddler and vocalist, Sara is a native British Columbian who grew up on the Sunshine Coast. Her Irish mother encouraged Sara to pursue playing the violin. Sara's live performance debut started by busking outside the local liquor store, playing lively Irish fiddle tunes. Although classically trained, Sara has displayed a wide range of styles.

Kytami is a Filipino-Japanese-English dynamo of a fiddle player. She began the violin at the age of three. As a youngster she was trained as a classical violinist at the Vancouver Academy of Music. During 2002 Kytami released her debut album, "Conflation". The album was a mish-mash of tracks recorded with different hip hop producers in different studios, the one cohesive element being Kytami's electric violin.She has since performed throughout North America ranging from Celtic to heavy metal music and her music has been licensed for use in snowboarding and skateboarding videos.

Described as an explosive one-woman electric violinist knock-out, Kytami mixes Vivaldi and Beethoven against hip hop/dancehall/drum n bass beats and then commits a 360, executing epic-like music montages. She could score a movie!

In addition to D2D Kytami has collaborated with Vancouver's Third Eye Tribe, Blackie LeBlanc & the Kytami Revolution, Blackie and the Triumphs, and punk-metal band Lownote.

Kytami left Delhi2Dublin late 2010.

Musical projects which have involved Kytami.

Catch up with Delhi 2 Dublin as they travel the world in search of new venues.