General Zooz
 General Zooz

British band UB40's next album to feature Indian reggae artist General Zooz from Reggae Rajahs

Zorawar Shukla aka General Zooz has been a regular name in the festival circuit across the globe

Iconic English reggae/pop ensemble UB40 is all set to launch its new album Bigga Baggariddim next month. And the album features a collaboration with General Zooz from the Delhi-based outfit Reggae Rajahs. Zorawar Shukla aka General Zooz has been a regular name in the festival circuit across the globe.

Robin Campbell of UB40 states, “We really enjoy collaborations and this is a natural progression from the original Baggariddim, only more international. It is a perfect companion to our last album For The Many because it uses the same rhythms/backing tracks, but features some of the reggae friends we’ve met and worked with around the world.”  Elaborating further on the band’s India connection he says, “India feels very much like home since we live in the middle of an Asian community in Birmingham. Indian pop music and Bollywood was a major part of our lives. Asian weddings, Indian curries and Bhangra are a regular affair with us. The Rajahs opened a couple of shows for us when we toured India and they’re massive over there. They’re three guys, all deejays and each of them with a different style but they run an annual festival in Goa, which is a very laid back, hippy place. We played a gig on the beach there and about ten thousand people showed up! It was a brilliant show, but we love going to India. We even played at the Bollywood Awards one year.” 

Speaking about the collaboration, General Zooz of Reggae Rajahs adds, “My group, Reggae Rajahs, opened for UB40 in Mumbai in 2017. The band had never heard of any reggae artists in India before and they were excited to know about us. I imagine they enjoyed our show because they stayed in touch with us and a few months later they asked us to feature on ‘Bigga Baggarriddim!  UB40 are one of the defining bands of my childhood. I remember listening to their tapes in my parents’ collection growing up. Apart from “Red Red Wine”, their rendition of Can’t Help Falling In Love was an absolute favourite of mine. So, you can imagine, that it is a huge honour for me to be asked to feature on a song with them. From the moment I heard the quality of the music they sent me; I knew that this collaboration was going to be something special. With the perfectly synced drum and bass and the groovy horn section, the instrumental track was the ideal base for me to write an ode to the music I love - Roots, Rock, Reggae.” 

The album Bigga Baggariddim will release on June 25

Related Stories

No stories found.
Indulgexpress
www.indulgexpress.com