Botown bring the Bollywood funk

A week ago I unexpectedly stumbled across Botown, a band promising reborn Bollywood grooves with a funk soul twist. I’ve never considered placing these music genres together, especially as their roots lie half way around the world, but the prospect of a night in the Jazz Café with a new take on funk and soul was something I couldn’t pass on.

I was lucky enough to get a pre-gig interview with Ajay and his band. It was clear that they had a strong musical focus, “Bollywood is the soul of India, it has the same purpose as soul music, the identity thing, the liberation thing,” and for the Western band members who had never heard Bollywood before, funk and soul instantly worked with it. They also told me that although they were excited about the launch of their debut album (‘The Soul of Bollwood’, launched that very night), to them the band is all about the live gigs.

As soon as they got going Ajay had the Bollywood fans singing along whilst the saxophone and bass later got everyone grooving. The crowd of mainly 30-somethings couldn’t help shaking it down.

The band’s female singer, Rekha, didn’t make much of an appearance at first but later came on to showcase her wonderful voice, accompanied by the sax and some well timed breaks. The highlights of the night were definitely ‘Chura Liya’, a 70’s Bollywood classic brought to life with some reggae beats and the ever impressive sax, ‘Roop Tera’, Botown’s first single, and ‘Laila’ which Rekha took to town. ‘Haule haule’ saw the band running up to play along the balcony, which appeared to be too much for the classy drunk next to me who almost fell flat on her face trying to work out what was going on.

Despite one or two songs and the nine of them being crammed on to the stage, Botown provided some great soul and jazz, and Bollywood music that I actually enjoyed…for once.

I’m not sure how they would go down in India but for those who grew up with their parents playing Bollywood classics on cassettes, or others who are just curious about Bollywood, jazz and soul with a difference, Botown won’t fail to deliver.