Vengaboys: Our dream is to do a big tour across India

We like to Party, Boom Boom Boom, We’re Going to Ibiza — Vengaboys has to its credit some of the biggest party anthems of the ’90s. Having enthralled audiences in India first in 2019, the Dutch pop band, comprising Captain Kim (Kim Sasabone), Partygirl D’nice (Denise Post-Van Rijswijk), Cowboy Donny (Donny Latupeirissa) and Sailorboy Robin (Robin Pors), is once again eager to bring the party back to what they call their “second motherland”.

“Our first visit to India changed our lives,” Kim tells us, adding, “India feels like our second motherland. If you want to call us the Bharat Boys, you can, because it is the truth!”

Here, Donny chimes in to add how Indian culture has inspired the group, which recently released a cover of Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s

Navneet Vyasan 2019 single, 1999 (I Wanna Go Back), with a sprinkle of their trademark Eurodance vibe.

“We grew up in the Netherlands. There have always been many places where we got in touch with Indian culture. A lot of Indians live in the Netherlands by way of Suriname, a former Dutch colony. So, we went to school with people who have Indian roots,” Donny shares, adding that the band, formed in 1996, would love to record their hits in Indian languages someday.

Vengaboys brought into the world of music a new trend dominated by flamboyant costumes, flashy makeup, energetic beats and an animated twist to party numbers. Though they parted ways in 2000, they reunited in 2007. And now, the band, based in Rotterdam, is hoping to perform in India soon. “Our dream is to do a big tour, so we have time to meet people all over the country, instead of limiting ourselves to the big cities,” says D’nice.

Organisers hope to ignite change through conversations on pertinent topics such as climate change