After the runaway successes of his earlier releases, ABCD with Anuradha Sriram, Daddy Don, Humpty Dumpty and a new version of his chartbuster track ‘Anbe (My Love)’, Indian origin Malaysian Raggae Icon Sasi the Don’s latest track, Come follow me. It chronicles his early years and musical influences that have shaped his celebrated career. Apart from Sasi, Come follow me boasts of several renowned Swedish musicians and sound engineers including producer Tomas Granlind. The track also has famed mixing engineer Martin Ankelius and Bjorn Engelmann, the mastering engineer who was nominated for this year’s
Grammy awards and has previously worked with The Backstreet Boys,
Britney Spears and Westlife, among others. Indulge chats with Sasi the Don about his latest track, Indian roots and more.
Tell us about the new track.Come follow me is a track that I along with my friends from Sweden came up with as an endeavour to give people a song they can dance to. It is a groovy song but carries an important message, that this is a new beginning post Covid-19, and one must look at it with hope and positivity. The song encourages people in strong positions to change and positively influence the lives of others.
How was your working experience with Tomas Granlind, Martin Ankelius and Bjorn Engelmann?Working with Tomas, Martin and Bjorn is a very interesting part of my career. With Tomas, I have worked in 2008, as well, when he produced my track with Dr Alban and I knew that we had the same wavelength and we got along very well. During the lockdown I spoke to him about creating songs and connecting creatively again, I then met Martin and Bijon. In the first couple of meetings itself, we were on the same page and that is very important when you’re making a song. I am thankful to them, it was truly an enriching experience working with these world-renowned artists.
Did you face any challenges while creating the track?Challenges were mainly because of the time difference between Malaysia and Sweden. We did the whole song on Zoom calls and there was a seven-and-a-half hour difference, so sticking to schedule was sometimes difficult.
What inspired you to become a musician?It wasn’t something I planned, to be honest, the opportunity came by and I just decided to go with the flow. I’m glad that I grabbed the chance and that is why I now have hundreds of songs and six albums. My inspiration came from artists I grew up listening to like Apache Indian, Shaggy and Dr Alban. The main driving force was just the world of music and the unique propositions it offered, I met reggae artists from the US, Australia, India and Sri Lanka, it was inspiring.
What does music mean to you?Music means the world to me. I always admire India because it’s got such strong roots in classical music. I see music in everything and that makes me connect with my surroundings and with people. Music is so powerful and it can transcend any boundary, it has the power to influence lives and make a difference.
You have collaborated with many famed artists. Who is your favourite?I have collaborated with a lot of famous people from India, Malaysia and around the world. My absolute favourite is Apache Indian, we recorded my song Hold up in 2004 together. My second favourite is Anuradha Sriram who I recorded my song ABCD with in 2018.
Tell us about your Indian roots.My great grandfather left Chennai in the early 1900s. Back then, there were no flights, so he travelled in a boat and came to Malaysia — and that’s how it all started. I am still in touch with my relatives hailing from Chennai and Bengaluru but don’t get the chance to meet them so often. I am always proud of my roots and I think it’s always good to know about your ancestry and where your roots are from.
Are you open to Bollywood music?I love Bollywood music. To be honest, I fell in love with Bollywood after Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, I remember being in high school back then.
Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Jackie Shroff, Akshay Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan have all influenced my love for music. I would love to work with all of them if ever given an opportunity.
Any plans of performing live in India?I have plans to come to perform in India soon, I would love to perform live as I think it’s very important for me to connect with my fans there. India is a musically rich country, there is so much diversity in it and as an artist, it will be a pleasure for me to be able to perform in front of the audience there.
What are your future plans?I want to record more songs; I want to shoot more music videos — I want to bring my music to everybody. I especially want to connect with countries like India, Africa, the US, the UK and a few others, the world is so big and I feel there is so much opportunity for me.
