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SKA VENGERS’ LATEST IS A TRIBUTE TO UDHAM SINGH
Popular Delhi-based band, The Ska Vengers, unlike the majority of musicians, make it a point that their music is socially relevant. And with their latest music video, Frank Brazil, the band has done it again.
The video is a tribute to the Indian freedom fighter Udham Singh, who avenged the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by shooting down Michael O’Dwyer in London,UK, in 1940.
In fact, the band has even compromised on their usual sound for the video.
Stefan Kaye, who was involved in the song’s production, says, “With this song, we have tried to symbolise both — Indian and Western cultures. So, although there are elements of funk music in the song, since it is our homage to one of the greatest freedom fighters, the intention was to tell the story from both sides of the world.”
He adds, “To depict Indian ethos, I have used lot of Indian instruments like tumbi (which I played myself), dholak and others. For the Western backdrop, I used string quartets. The song’s chorus is borrowed from the popular murder balled, Electric Chair Blues.”
Speaking about the inspiration behind the song, Taru Dalmia, who has penned the lyrics for the same, says, “Part of what drove me to write the song is that upon first learning about Udham Singh, I could not believe that I had never heard of him. I grew to admire his single-minded determination as I got to know more about him. I find that Britain often likes to gloss over the brutal and exploitative nature of their regimes in Africa and Asia. The song is our attempt to pay tribute to one of our national heroes.”