Bombay Vikings
Encyclopedia
Bombay Vikings is a pop
and rock
group that combines Indian
and classical music
. It was formed in 1994 Stockholm, Sweden. The band was originally started by Neeraj Shridhar
, Oscar Söderberg and Mats Nordenborg, and became popular with remix hits like, Kya Soorat Hai, Woh Chali and Chod Do Anchal
The group Bombay Vikings caused a sensation both in India as well as overseas among the Indian music community due to its unusual combination of classical Bollywood style and European experimentation. It has been one of the most notable musical groups in India to emerge in the past decade. It is the first group to produce songs in Hinglish, i.e., a mix of Hindi and English. This idea of combining the two languages to produce a beautiful and melodious song first came to the mind of the frontman of Bombay Vikings, Neeraj Shridhar. Nowadays, Neeraj also sings as the playback singer for many Bollywood films, and has delivered many hits in recent years.
Neeraj with his voice control, diction and sheer range became sound vocals base. His ability to pull strings on the guitar and to compose and write songs – ranging from pop rock, jazz, hip-hop, soul and reggae- took the band to a higher plane.
Mats – the man with tremendous lungpower-brought in the rich sounds of the saxophone. Mats, a specialist in jazz, used this knowledge to profit while composing for the new band.
Mats & Johan Folke, a Keyboard specialist used their years of exposure to the different genre of music to work magic on the keys of the synthesizer.
The band was soon joined by Morgan on the drums, Par on the bass and Staffan as a Lead guitarist.
Bombay Vikings were now complete and begin performance live all over Sweden and Norway. When all the musicians got together and began jamming, little did they know that they would be coming out with a new form of music. But the thirst to do something creative for the India- the land of their preferred brand of music – was always there.
For although Neeraj had shifted base to Sweden his heart still swayed to the music of Indian tunes such as Oh Mere Sona Re, Mere Sapon Ki Rani, and Mere Samne Wale Khidki Mein played constantly in his mind but soon he realized that though the tunes rang clearly in his melodies the words came with difficulty.
He was traveling from Stockholm to Uppsala by train. Looking out of the window he saw a car running parallel to his train. Flashes of Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore in Aradhana came in his mind, as did a clutch of words from Mere Sapno Ki Rani suddenly, the lyrics did a back flip in his mind, and became:
Give your heart to me; I’ll be your lover boy
I’ll be your sweetest candy and your huggy toy!
The words began to come in a flow and the song was over reached the studio and began, She’s A Heart Breakin’ Woman - and the rest is history!
His album apart from the above-mentioned songs had the title song “KYA SURAT HAI” which made immediate recognition with the youth. The album remained on the top of all chartbusters for almost 11months. Thus increasing the popularity of Bombay Vikings all over the world.
Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar was so impressed with the remake of her song 'Main Chali', that she even invited Neeraj in her own function on her birthday, to perform.
Three songs of the album were made into videos-'Woh Chali', 'Jambola' and 'Angel Eyes'.
This time Neeraj worked with guest singers Linnea Sporres and Indian singer Falguni Pathak to produce superhit songs. The videos of the songs 'Hawa Mein Udati Jaaye' and 'Tera Mera Pyaar Sanam' were huge hits as well.
In the same year, the album 'The Best Of Bombay Vikings' was released, which contained the biggest hits of Bombay Vikings till then, along with a playback song of the film- 'Rules:Pyar Ka Superhit Formula', in which Neeraj had sung a song called 'Kabhi Phool Dena' for music director Sandesh Shandilya.
In The same year, Neeraj produced a single titled 'Hum To Anything Karega', a remake of the song 'Hum To Mohabbat Karega'. This song, along with Neeraj's previous few hits, and the songs of other artists such as Falguni Pathak, were released in the album 'Fusion Remixes'
This was the final Bombay Vikings album till date.
playback singer in 2006 till now.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group that combines Indian
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
and classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
. It was formed in 1994 Stockholm, Sweden. The band was originally started by Neeraj Shridhar
Neeraj Shridhar
Neeraj Shridhar is a Indian singer-songwriter, who is lead vocalist of a pop and rock group Bombay Vikings. He is also a popular Bollywood playback singer. He is also a Music Director and a Lyricist. Bombay Vikings became popular with remix hits like, Kya Soorat Hai, Woh Chali and Chod Do Anchal ...
, Oscar Söderberg and Mats Nordenborg, and became popular with remix hits like, Kya Soorat Hai, Woh Chali and Chod Do Anchal
The group Bombay Vikings caused a sensation both in India as well as overseas among the Indian music community due to its unusual combination of classical Bollywood style and European experimentation. It has been one of the most notable musical groups in India to emerge in the past decade. It is the first group to produce songs in Hinglish, i.e., a mix of Hindi and English. This idea of combining the two languages to produce a beautiful and melodious song first came to the mind of the frontman of Bombay Vikings, Neeraj Shridhar. Nowadays, Neeraj also sings as the playback singer for many Bollywood films, and has delivered many hits in recent years.
History
Bombay Vikings were formed in 1994 in Stockholm, Sweden. Mats introduced Neeraj Shridhar to Oscar Soderberg. This brought together three very talented musicians- each experienced in his own field. The band was born primarily because all the musicians shared one interest in common –the love for Indian melodies- be it in Hindi films or Classical Music.Neeraj with his voice control, diction and sheer range became sound vocals base. His ability to pull strings on the guitar and to compose and write songs – ranging from pop rock, jazz, hip-hop, soul and reggae- took the band to a higher plane.
Mats – the man with tremendous lungpower-brought in the rich sounds of the saxophone. Mats, a specialist in jazz, used this knowledge to profit while composing for the new band.
Mats & Johan Folke, a Keyboard specialist used their years of exposure to the different genre of music to work magic on the keys of the synthesizer.
The band was soon joined by Morgan on the drums, Par on the bass and Staffan as a Lead guitarist.
Bombay Vikings were now complete and begin performance live all over Sweden and Norway. When all the musicians got together and began jamming, little did they know that they would be coming out with a new form of music. But the thirst to do something creative for the India- the land of their preferred brand of music – was always there.
For although Neeraj had shifted base to Sweden his heart still swayed to the music of Indian tunes such as Oh Mere Sona Re, Mere Sapon Ki Rani, and Mere Samne Wale Khidki Mein played constantly in his mind but soon he realized that though the tunes rang clearly in his melodies the words came with difficulty.
He was traveling from Stockholm to Uppsala by train. Looking out of the window he saw a car running parallel to his train. Flashes of Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore in Aradhana came in his mind, as did a clutch of words from Mere Sapno Ki Rani suddenly, the lyrics did a back flip in his mind, and became:
Give your heart to me; I’ll be your lover boy
I’ll be your sweetest candy and your huggy toy!
The words began to come in a flow and the song was over reached the studio and began, She’s A Heart Breakin’ Woman - and the rest is history!
His album apart from the above-mentioned songs had the title song “KYA SURAT HAI” which made immediate recognition with the youth. The album remained on the top of all chartbusters for almost 11months. Thus increasing the popularity of Bombay Vikings all over the world.
Forming The Band
The leader of the band, Neeraj Shridhar hails from Jallandhar, Punjab in India. Neeraj moved to Sweden when he was 13, and developed his passion for music there. He enjoyed listening to both western and Indian classical songs. He formed his band , "Bombay Vikings" in 1994, which performed at many places in Europe. The band mainly performed English songs with Neeraj adding a strong Indian influence. After some years, most of the band members got separated, but Neeraj chose to keep the name of the band for forming another band with the remaining members, but this time, he was ready to perform in India.Kya Soorat Hai (1999)
Neeraj produced his first ever album, 'Kya Soorat Hai', in the year 1999, after keeping the project in the closet for almost 3–4 years, because most of the Indian Music Companies did not find a reason for the album to be popular among the Indians, due to its strong English and Western influence, and demanded changes in it. Finally, Sony BMG agreed to produce the album in India, without any change. The album consisted of 8 tracks, all of which were remakes of old Indian songs. Every song was basically English, with a few 2-3 songs containing hardly 3-4 lines of Hindi. But in spite of this, the album was a huge success in India, and opened the doors for westernization of music in India. The songs 'Kya Soorat Hai', 'Mona Re' and 'Night Is So Perfect' were a rage among the teenagers. The video of the song 'Kya Soorat Hai' starred South-Indian Star Prabhu Deva's brother, and was a huge hit due to its hip-hop feel. The song 'Mona Re' was also made into a video.Woh Chali (2000)
Soon after the success of this album, Bombay Vikings came up with yet another successful and innovative album, 'Woh Chali', in 2000. This album contained 4 remakes of old songs, and 5 originals, with which the new face of Neeraj Shridhar came up, i.e., a modern world-class music composer, which shut up the mouths of all the critics who blamed Neeraj to do simply 'Copy and Paste' although he never remixed any song, but remade them. All the songs of this album were basically hits, especially the songs 'Woh Chali', 'Jambola', 'Angel Eyes' and ' Jump Up'. The song 'Angel Eyes' was not only successful in India, but was a huge international success as well.Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar was so impressed with the remake of her song 'Main Chali', that she even invited Neeraj in her own function on her birthday, to perform.
Three songs of the album were made into videos-'Woh Chali', 'Jambola' and 'Angel Eyes'.
Hawa Mein Udati Jaaye (2002)
Following this, Bombay Vikings released another superhit album 'Hawa Mein Udati Jaaye', in 2002. This album again revived the old songs in a modern way, hence making the youth admire the beauty of the old songs as well. This album was a complete function, and produced some of the greatest songs in India.This time Neeraj worked with guest singers Linnea Sporres and Indian singer Falguni Pathak to produce superhit songs. The videos of the songs 'Hawa Mein Udati Jaaye' and 'Tera Mera Pyaar Sanam' were huge hits as well.
In the same year, the album 'The Best Of Bombay Vikings' was released, which contained the biggest hits of Bombay Vikings till then, along with a playback song of the film- 'Rules:Pyar Ka Superhit Formula', in which Neeraj had sung a song called 'Kabhi Phool Dena' for music director Sandesh Shandilya.
Chhodh Do Aanchal Zamana Kya Kahega and Fusion Remixes (2004)
In 2004, Bombay Vikings came up with 'Chhodh Do Aanchal Zamana Kya Kahega'. This song, and the album, was again a huge hit. The title track had the main lines sung again by Linea, and was a huge hit along with its video, which was played in every music channel for almost a year. The youthful songs 'Ik Badal' and 'Aa Raha Hoon Main' were also milestones, and the video of the song 'Aa Raha Hoon Main' was a commercial hit.In The same year, Neeraj produced a single titled 'Hum To Anything Karega', a remake of the song 'Hum To Mohabbat Karega'. This song, along with Neeraj's previous few hits, and the songs of other artists such as Falguni Pathak, were released in the album 'Fusion Remixes'
Zara Nazron Se Kehdo (2006)
Success of the band followed when it came up with yet another superhit album 'Zara Nazron Se Kehdo'. This song along with its video, which starred Bollywood actress Celina Jaitly, was a huge hit. The song 'Mere Dil Ne' was also made into a video. After this album, Neeraj chose to take a short break.This was the final Bombay Vikings album till date.
Rise of Bollywood career (2006)
Neeraj started working as a BollywoodBollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
playback singer in 2006 till now.
Forthcoming Bombay Vikings album
Bombay Vikings has announced a forthcoming album entitled 'U n I' but a release date has not been announced.Studio Albums
- U n I (2011)
- Zara Nazron Se Kehdo (2006)
- Chhodh Do Aanchal (2004)
- Hum To Anything Karega-Fusion Remixes (2004)
- The Best Of Bombay Vikings (2002)
- Hawa Mein Udati Jaaye (2002)
- Woh Chali (2001)
- Kya Soorat Hai (1999)