Delhi 2 Dublin began as a one-night collaboration at Vancouver’s Celtic Fest in 2006. The festival may have been Celtic, but South Asian and global DJs were here, too. Singer Sanjay Seran says, “The organizers wanted Celtic electronic music, so we created it. It was curated as a collaboration.”
At the time, Seran was in a Punjabi pop band. That original performance all those years ago has led the band to become a global phenomenon. “We played what we knew and what we liked, and that became Delhi 2 Dublin.”
Seran says it took time for the collaboration to become something more. “A year later was when we became a band. It was after Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival in 2007. We had a meeting in the hotel afterward.” That hotel meeting included questions like, “Is everyone down?” and the exclamation, “Maybe we should become a band.”
“We grew into a band over time,” says Seran. Twenty years later, he doesn’t get too hung up on how the band’s music is labeled. Is it a mashup? Is it fusion? Who cares! “It’s been so organic,” says Seran. “We’re just bringing in the stuff that we like, and our backgrounds, to the music that we’re making.”
The band has seen personnel changes over the years, and now includes four musicians. Founding members Sanjay Seran and Ravi Binning lead the charge, balancing legacy with reinvention. Violinist Serena Eades brings her Berklee-trained musicianship and electrifying stage presence to every performance. Keyboardist and tabla player Kal Mattu adds a renewed vibrancy to their ever-evolving sound.
And what can audiences expect when the band rolls through Alberta? Seran says, “You should expect it to be awkward, because this is a theatre tour. You’re going to be seated. You’re going to want to dance, and you’re not going to know if you should or not. But then the band will say, ‘Hey, get up off your ass,’ and it will turn into a party. Maybe five percent of the people will wonder what this is, but the rest of the people are going to have the best time ever and possibly even get sweaty.”
He adds, “Energy begets energy. It just starts. It’s a magical experience that doesn’t happen unless the audience is into it.”
The band’s albums span several styles—and languages. The 2019 album, We Got This, was their first English language album. Working with producer Gavin Brown, it was a deliberate attempt to get more radio play in Canada and beyond. Brown, who has worked with everyone from Barenaked Ladies to The Tragically Hip, helped Delhi 2 Dublin reach new audiences.
Now, says Seran, the band plays a variety of songs, and they don’t worry about whether people can sing along. “Delhi 2 Dublin is way more about energy and vibration than it is about understanding lyrics.”
Delhi 2 Dublin has numerous concert dates coming up, including six Alberta shows. Find details at delhi2dublin.com
Check out Delhi 2 Dublin’s new song, “Smooth Operator.”
