Vibes that make a difference

In an interview with the Mirror Magazine, musician Apache Indian elaborates on his latest album and what it takes to make music that lasts

Sometimes in a world where many differences can create a divide be it religious or racial it is often through music, that one makes a connection, it’s the melody that brings people together.

Twenty five years in the international music industry, this is just what renowned musician Apache Indian(aka Steven Kapur), believes in, and it’s what makes his music relevant, we find out.

We met up with Apache, while he was in the country to promote his album ‘IN JA’. But first, we ask him, to take us through a day in his life, back in the United Kingdom (UK).

Apache runs a music academy, which he started three years ago as a charity. “When people talk about giving back, I thought what can I do?” he recalls. This pushed him to set up a youth club, called Apache Indian Music (AIM) at the Handsworth campus, (‘South and City College Birmingham’), for kids off the street.

Three years on, the academy comprises 250 young people between the ages 16 and 24, all of whom are employed. A few of them are into music and are guided by Apache. Free recording facilities are also provided. Aside from this, the academy also pro- vides life skills training and free meals.

“I spend a lot of time doing that when I’m in the UK. So that’s a day in my life. It’s go to the academy, look after my kids, share knowledge, experiences and learn from them as well, because they’re young people,” he explains.

Back when his family, first moved to the UK, from India, they had to make their way in the country, he recalls. One had to make sense of the culture, the religions, the schools etc. Apache made sense of it, through music. This drives him to help the young people, find their voices, find their way and try to break down racism in the process.

“Let them enjoy music, let them contribute to the community that we’re in. I’m very passionate about that and we’ve written songs about it over the years,” he tells us.

As our photographer fumbles with his camera, we observe the beautiful sunset in the distance. Staring out at the Galle face beach, Apache, recalls it was his first trip to India, back in 1993, which inspired him.

The poverty stricken city of Bombay and the homeless children, he had never seen something like that before. When Apache left India, his life changed completely.

“I wanted to write about it, I got

March 26, 2017

inspired by it. My academy was inspired by those days. I believe in making a difference and it came from those images that I saw in India,” he tells us.

We talk about his musical journey. This began when his vibrant sounds of Dancehall, Reggae and Raga, fusedwith his distinctive vocal style, got him a quarter million pound, record deal with Island records. He was 22 at the time.

Sooner his songs, “Chok There”, “Arranged Marriage”, “Don Raja”, “Boom Shack-A-Lak”, “Raggamuffin Girl” and “Make way for the Indian” saw its way to the music charts.

“I like to keep things simple,” Apache explains. His long dread- locks hang about him, while he adds he didn’t write any songs to please anybody. “Doing my own thing, being proud of my roots and my culture, that’s how I started. It became like a movement. To tell people who we are and where we’re from. It was recognising a change in the British culture,” he recalls.

Growing up and constantly hearing people telling him, he was not British, it’s all these things that he tried to capture, through the music.

“So I had lots of things to say and it wasn’t easy, but it was real and honest.”

Following his success, Apache realized that he was in a position to make a change. He decided to