'I’m In My BombayMami Era,' Says Swiss–Indian Singer Mixing Swiss Cool With Desi Heat

With her unique sound and style, BombayMami is an emerging artist to watch out for. The Swiss – Indian singer burst into the spotlight when we saw her dashing down the Swiss Alps wearing a traditional lehenga outfit in her song Fire in Delhi that has taken the internet by storm, racked up over six million views and won praise from all over.

BombayMami is no newcomer to her homeland and has visited the country many times, but this visit is her first work trip where she performed her latest song Hot Boyz, a genre-blending, sensual summer anthem at the BUD X NBA House festival last weekend.

Ahead of World Music Day (June 21), the songstress, who previously went by the name of Ta’ Shan, shares how she blends two cultural backgrounds to make unique music.

Excerpts from the interview:

You were formerly known as Ta‘Shan? Why the change to BombayMami?

My real name is Shanta. Ta’Shan happened because Shanta means peaceful. Ta’Shan is basically derived from Shanta. My father always said that when I'm on stage, the attitude comes out. It's a peaceful attitude and then BombayMami came about. BombayMami has always been part of me. I've been doing music for quite some time now. I wanted to reinvent myself and BombayMami has always been part of it. But in a more specific way, my whole persona just feels like I'm definitely now in my BombayMami era, in a fusion of cultures. Ta’Shan was a period of my life as an artist, and now she is still living there as BombayMami

How did BombayMami come about?

BombayMami has always part of me since I started making music. It happened to be literally, just me and my friend doing a shoot behind our house, taking clothes from my dad and my mom.

My parents are into fashion and they dressed me in all these sherwanis, mixed and matched fashion kind of things, like I do even now. BombayMami came about because we needed a hashtag for Instagram. My mum asked me my favorite city in India? I said Bombay. Mami is kind of like a play on words because in South America, they call a girl ‘mami’. So, it became BombayMami.

Tell us about the idea for your latest song Hot Boyz and its accompanying raunchy music video?

It's a kind of an homage to the female gaze a little bit as well. It’s kind of changing, switching the roles a bit. It's also Pride month and so it was the perfect time to release this song because it is a bit for the girls, the gays and of course all the hot boys that feel like a hot boy out there. It’s a cheeky song, talking about things without any filter.

What was your strategy when you thought of making a song like this? 

When I made this song, I was very intentional with it. I knew I wanted to make a sexy song. I was inspired by Missy Elliott. She has a song called Hot Boyz. I love that song and thought that this is the topic for my song. We have the sarod, the sitar, the tabla and it's all live instrumentation. So this gave the song a nostalgic feeling like how back in the day R&B and hip-hop was. But what I have done is given the song a modern feel with the classical instrumentation, giving it a fusion angle. I wrote the song with Kemi, my best friend from London and it was produced by Mint Sauce and Yatin, a friend from Delhi. I also collaborated with Tudor, who is the producer of the whole album. He then merged the Indian classical with the production by Mint Sauce. We completed the song in one or two sessions.

So let’s go back to how you got into music.

I grew up inspired by R&B and hip-hop and Indian classical music. It was the love of my life. I grew up being so close to that music, because that's what we saw on MTV. That's what we heard. At that time there was no internet. So, it was just the TV. It was also the CDs I used to buy, artists like Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Destiny's Child, Alicia Keys, M.I.A. I was just so inspired by all of these artists. I also felt like it was representing me, being brown. That's how I could connect to someone, because I don't look like Britney Spears, or Christina Aguilera. I started going to the studio when I was 14 years old and I used to do hooks for other rappers and artists. I always knew that's what I wanted to do. This journey just took me to create something, to be active in writing. When I went to Los Angeles in 2012 I was blown away, because everybody there is a producer, an artist, something or other. It's like Bombay, a hub, a melting pot. I was there for the first time, and I was, like, oh, my God. I want to do this.

Tell us about the cultural background you have with your parents? 

My dad is Bengali and Saurashtrian, but grew up in Benares. My parents are both professional travelers. So, they were basically doing tours and that's how they met. We used to travel a lot between Switzerland and India. My mom is from Bern and grew up there. I grew up partly there for the first years of my life and then went to school. So, it's the opposite kind of cultures coming together. Being from Switzerland is so different from being from India. My parents had a very open mind and open spirit, it was a very free upbringing.

You also released a song called Fire in Delhi.  Tell us what the song is about and why did you name it Fire in Delhi. 

Well, the inspiration happened when I went to Paris to a museum that had an exhibition called the Bollywood Exhibition. I walked in and there's this song Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai playing.

That was the inspiration for the sound of the song. I showed it to my producer and told him this is what I wanted. In terms of the meaning of the song, it's an affirmation song for me and for obviously everybody who needs it. I listen to my gut feeling and go ahead and make my own decisions, I'm basically the captain of my ship. I was in a situation which was a bit toxic and when I got out of it, I was just like, this is not happening to me again. Like nobody can take control of my life and my decisions. So that's how the song and the meaning of the song came about. As for snowboarding, I can just say I had this idea for a while in my head that I wanted every song of mine to have a color. So for Fire in Delhi it was all the fiery colors. I had this lehenga that I had from a wedding. The mountains are an hour away and my song is fast-paced, so all this would match. I called my friend Santino and we headed to the mountains. My mom, baba and two other friends came along. It was so much fun shooting it, because people couldn't believe it. Like, what is going on? They thought we're shooting a Bollywood movie, because that’s the first impression you get.

Are your songs, personal or any emotional burst of your feelings?

It's always personal, it always comes from within. It's always like my feelings towards society, towards relationships, towards politics.

What about Hot Boyz?

If you go through a relationship, it prompts you to do something like this. Well, I have a weakness for hot boys, which can be problematic.

So, would it be Indian boys or Swiss?

(laughs). Okay…. (pauses) I've dated a Tamil boy. It's a cultural thing as well. I'm very free spirit. I want things to be similar. It's more about the energy that you bring to the table. Like, can you accept me, can you be with someone who is like me, an extrovert, a world traveler and keep up to the same level.

What’s next for you?

I have an album “Peaceful Attitude” coming out in the New Year. The songs are going to be quite different. It's a very diverse album, with a lot of different sounds. People, I think, will expect an up-tempo album, but it's actually not. It's quite mellow. 

Any more saucy videos? 

(Laughs) Loads of saucy videos, visuals. I think we have a lot of fun creating that and maybe I'll shoot some stuff in India as well as I want to be here more often and leave Europe. Honestly. I have so much to learn about the cultures. I feel like I'm still like a baby, still learning and evolving, which will help me with creating my music for my next album. I want to spend time in Varanasi, learning, being with my gurus.

Have you decided on any collaboration now that you've been coming to India so often.

Hanumankind and I have connected even before he blew up with his song Bad Dawgs. So, we've already been in contact. But I think, for me, it's an organic thing. It has to happen organically. Like, we need to connect, we need to be in the right space to do something because I always feel like you can't force art. If it's a genuine collaboration, then people will also feel it. So, definitely, I would love to work with Hanumankind or other artists. I feel it's just the right timing. But nothing planned as of now.

Do you have any siblings? 

No siblings, but I have loads of cousins, not so much in India, but in Switzerland. On my earlier trips to India, we always used to go to Benares, Goa, Udaipur, Bombay. We have a lot of family friends here too.

Are you into Bollywood movies

My absolute favorite movie is ‘Dil Toh Pagal Hai’ because I grew up on that. I think it was so ahead of its time. I loved the dancing scenes, the music, the fashionable clothes, it was just always so iconic, the silver outfits they were wearing.

Any favorite Bollywood actors?

Kareena Kapoor and Rekha. They're all fab, I'm so inspired in general by Bollywood. All the aesthetic parts, the drama, the theatrical parts

So you speak Hindi or any other language? 

A little. I don't speak Hindi. I'm practicing.

Do you love Indian or Swiss food?

I'm a big foodie and so I love Bengali food. I also like dal makhani, dosa. vada pav.

Are you very religious? 

No. Not at all. I'm not religious. I love religion and I love what it stands for, but I'm spiritual. That's the right word. I'm very close to nature. I hug trees and stuff like that. I'm a tree hugger. I just believe in being closer to nature, I think it's just like energy.

I can see you’re very stylish with all those ornaments you’re wearing right now?

Neon a stylist did all this for me. So it's all her jewelry. I have a lot of jewelry as well. I love fashion, I love dressing up. I love feeling feminine and feeling like a queen, honestly.

I love to look like I'm straight out of a movie (laughs).

So, did you take up any training in music or Indian classical? 

I started like three, four years ago with Hindustani classical and vocal training when I found a guruji in Kolkata who helped me. Obviously, it's a long never-ending process. I feel I'm still a baby in it. Like, just kind of getting to understand things. But it has helped me immensely with my vocal strength. I’m also training in the tabla. 

Could you give us a message to all your fans?

Do things with your heart, honestly. Do things that you really enjoy. Don't waste time on things you don't like to do as much, at least not for a long time. As much as you can, just be free in what you do and listen to your gut feeling. Collaborate with people, be open to collaborate.

I think that's really important. When you can create with people, the best things can happen.

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