International Reggae Day 2024: 'Reggae music is a niche genre in India; people still associate it with Bob Marley'

Warren Leitao listens to many different genres of music but reggae music evokes a different kind of feeling for him. He shares, "Reggae music makes me happy because it has a very positive and uplifting lyrics and a nice easy vibe.
It helps my soul when it's down." Leitao has fond memories of one of his earliest introductions to the genre, which he took to after listening to 'Buffalo Soldier'. "My dad had a CD of Bob Marley. He would listen to it every Sunday afternoon with his glass of whisky," he adds.

Every year, July 1 is recognised as International Reggae Day around the world to celebrate reggae music and culture. Interestingly, it was popularised by Bob Marley around the world but has since then seen many other bands play and sing the music not only from Jamaica but around the world. It has even reached Mumbai and India at large, as several bands play the music along with other genres.

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Reggae music in India
While Reggae Rajahs were one of the first in recent times to pursue the genre since they formed in 2009, there have been several others that have dropped up in Mumbai and The Fanculos is one of them. Started by Ramon Ibrahim, the five-piece band plays a variety of genres but most importantly ska music, along with reggae and more. For Mumbai-based Ibrahim, who was born in the UK, this has a personal connection. "I have been into reggae for many years since my father is from Guyana in the Carribean. So, I have been listening to a lot of reggae music since I was a kid."

However, the Mumbai musician says he has been mainly listening to ska. "Ska is actually the pre-cursor to reggae," he informs, continuing, "It was the music that was born in the 1950s. When I came to Mumbai in 2010, I wanted to start a ska band because it is good fun music. I thought people would sort of like it because it is good party music, and good for festivals." It led him to start the band in 2012, and Ibrahim has never looked back since then, after the current line-up came together in 2016.

Unfortunately, the Mumbaikar believes its popularity in India and even in Mumbai hasn't been as rich as the music. He explains, "You may not want to hear this but it hasn't really caught," When I started The Fanculos, which is a ska band and not a reggae band, I thought it would catch on but it did not. It was really big in England, when I was there. In fact, it is currently undergoing a resurgence in the world right now." The musician even cites the new show 'This Town' from the makers of Peaky Blinders, which traces the popularity of Ska music in the country in Coventry to rhe 1970s and the 80s, considered the early days of the British wave of Ska.

In India, Ibrahim believes the lack of popularity has been due to how English music, he believes has been a minority in India. "If you look at English music, it is a minority in India. Most people in India listen to music in Indian languages and anything other than that including English music is niche. Even when they do listen to English music, it is pop music." So, the Mumbaikar says, when you do look at Ska or Reggae music in India, it is a niche within a niche.

Even as The Fanculos continue to play a mix of ska and reggae music, he says the genre has made slow progress in this time, as there are only a handful of bands in the country right now playing music from the genre - either ska or reggae. Apart from the Reggae Rajahs and The Bombay Bassment, Ibrahim highlights Dewdrops from northeast India, which he believes is probably the only pure reggae band, he has heard in India. The Ska Vengers is another Indian band, which is probably the only other known ska band, according to him, but hasn't heard of them in recent times.

With independent music careers, the Fanculos come together to jam and practice every time they have to perform on stage. Luckily, he says venues like antiSocial and Bonobo, in Mumbai have been promoting and championing local music a lot more but being a business, it is only when there are more ska or reggae music listeners can the genre get more popular.

Will reggae go beyond Bob Marley?
Beyond getting popular, Ruell Barrett, member of The Bombay Bassment, which plays a variety of genres including reggae, affirms our observation about the genre suffering due to a classic stereotype. He shares, "Most people associate reggae music with Bob Marley. A few of them would know UB40, which is the extent of it, apart from songs like 'Mysterious Girl' by Peter Andre, 'Coco Jumbo' by 9Tendo and Mr. President." However, he says when it comes to reggae music, nobody knows other artists, he says, like the next generation of the Marleys, or the latest songs coming out of the genre in Jamaica or in the UK. This, he believes is because they are not mainstream or played on the radio, as much as other genres including electronic music. "In our country, you have to follow a genre, especially like reggae, to know more," he adds. However, Barrett believes there has been some kind of growth for reggae music in India in the last five years with Goa Sunsplash, being one of India's only and probably biggest reggae festivals, which happens in Goa, once a year. The festival not only gets Indian musicians but also international acts, thus expanding the awareness of the genre in the country. In the years, the city-band has been active, Barrett says, "A lot of people associate Bombay Bassment with reggae music, even though we cover other genres like hip-hop, dance hall and soca too." However, he agrees with Ibrahim to say that reggae is still a niche genre in India that still gets associated with Marley. "Hopefully more people will follow the genre but for that there needs to be more coverage, people need to listen to the songs and like the songs too."

Leitao has been one of those who may have grown up with Marley's music but has since listened to others like UB40 while tracking the occassional reggae song too.

Interestingly, The Bombay Bassment started out only as a two member drum and bass project in 2010 with Barretto on bass, and drummer Levin Mendes on drums - both of whom were part of an earlier band, Aftertaste, that disbanded. Today, apart from Barretto, the band includes producer and disco jockey Chandrashekhar Kunder, popularly known as DJ Major C and Kenyan rapper Bob Omelu, popularly known as MC Bobkat. Bringing in a wide range of sounds, they are constantly experimenting with their music. In 2016, they also achieved the feat of being the first hip hop act to play at the prestigious Glastonbury Festival.

Over the years, the band has been busy creating different kinds of music and has even released an EP 'Ok, Dance' in 2017, along with four singles after that including 'Bam Bam' - One Love and Reggae Over India, among others.

Even as Leitao picks Three Little Birds by Bob Marley as his favourite song today, there is Karan Pillai, a former music journalist, in another part of India in Chennai, who has explored a part of the internet. Beyond Marley's music, which he was introduced to during his school days, he has discovered a reggae music that most people may not know. "Reggae represents the high-spirited and soulful nature of its origin country, Jamaica. It has a smooth vibe to it that is very refreshing from other genres. The fact that there is a small corner of YouTube where people upload reggae versions of non-reggae songs prove its unique appeal," he concludes.