Make Way for the Indian

Apache Indian,the stage name of the British-born and raised Steven Kapur,has been touring around the world regularly,but it has been five years since he last performed in India. The India tour,which begins in Mumbai tonight and will cover Delhi on March 4,also forms the first leg of his world tour this year.

“I will,of course,be performing old hits like Boom Shack-a-lak and Chok There,but my fans will also get to hear a lot of my new material,” says the London-based musician. The new material will find its way into an album called Musical Freedom,which the artiste hopes to release later this year.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to call Kapur one of the pioneers of Indi-pop,along with Biddu and Suneeta Rao. His massive success paved the way for India’s first popstars like Alisha Chinai,Shaan and Sagarika,and Shweta Shetty. Kapur has collaborated with international artistes like Shaggy,Boy George and Maxi Priest,while his Indian collaborations include Bappi Lahiri and AR Rahman as well as a memorable appearance in the Prabhudeva-starrer,Lovebirds.

The singer himself says that he was only doing what he loved. “It was an exciting time and I’m happy that people loved my music so much,” he says,in that familiar deep,raspy voice. Apache Indian is well-known for addressing the concerns and angst of British-Asians in his hip-hop and reggae-inspired music. His albums include No Reservations and Make Way for the Indian. Songs like Arranged Marriage,with lyrics that go Me wan gal from Jullunder city/ Me wan girl say a sohni kudi…,struck a chord with the Indian youth.

At present,however,it’s the state of the world that concerns the 43-year-old and,as he informs us,his despair at the political mess in the world has been addressed in Musical Freedom. “Look at the world,politicians have ruined everything. There’s war and violence. Politics has failed and now it’s time for musicians to set it right through their art,” he says. Clearly,the youthful rebel in Kapur is still alive and kicking.

Apart from the new album,Kapur is looking forward to opening the first Indian branch of his Apache’s Bar,already present in cities like Birmingham and Toronto,in Mumbai or Delhi. “It will offer a platform for live music,” he explains,“and not just reggae; youngsters today are experimenting with a lot with music and we hope to provide an equal opportunity to all.”