The Bombay Royale is an 11-piece Australian band fronted by singers Parvyn Kaur Singh and Shourov Bhattacharya and led by Andy Williamson. The band performs original music that blends funk, disco and pop music with the classical and folk music of India, much like the soundtracks of 1960s and 1970s Bollywood movies. The band was conceived by musical director Andy Williamson who also plays saxophone and flute.
Musical style
The Bombay Royale was originally inspired by the soundtracks of 1960s and 1970s Bollywood movies. Early in its career, the band performed covers of popular Hindi songs from that era such as "Jaan Pehechan Ho" and "Dum Maro Dum". However, it now composes and performs its own original music, synthesizing Indian classical and folk music with Western styles such as funk, rock and disco. The vocal lines and lyrics to The Bombay Royale's songs are written mostly in Hindi, Bengali and English. The band composes its music collaboratively with major contributions from saxophonist and band leader Andy Williamson, vocalist Shourov Bhattacharya, keyboard player Matty Vehl, bassist Andre Lobanov, guitarist Tom Martin and others.
Biography
The Bombay Royale was formed in Melbourne, Australia in 2010 by Andy Williamson. Parvyn Kaur Singh, the band's female lead singer, is the daughter of Dya Singh, a traditional shabad singer. She is a Bollywood dance teacher and is married to the band's multi-instrumentalist Josh Bennett. The band's male lead, Shourov Bhattacharya, is a second generation Indian-Australian musician and entrepreneur of Bengali descent. The Bombay Royale released its first album You Me Bullets Love in April 2012 and was chosen as iTunes Breakthrough World Music Album for 2012. In 2013, the band was booked to play at Glastonbury Festival in the U.K. and toured Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. In January 2014, The Bombay Royale made its U.S. debut, playing at GlobalFEST at Webster Hall in New York City and at The Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C. It has also played at many other major festivals including WOMAD, and Sakifo Music Festival in Reunion. The band released its second music video Henna Henna in May 2014 and its second album The Island of Dr Electrico in July 2014 under the HopeStreet Recordings label. In August 2014, Rolling Stone magazine featured The Bombay Royale in its list of '10 New Artists You Need To Know'. A number of the band's tracks were licensed to video game company which featured them in the popular video game Far Cry 4, released in November 2014. In March 2016, the song Henna Henna was featured in the closing scene of episode 6, season 2 of the popular American TV show "Better Call Saul" In July 2017, the band released its music video for its single I Love You Love You from its new album Run Kitty Run, which was released in August 2017. The band then toured Europe, playing in the in France and festival in Hungary.
