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interviews Yam Boy and Goonda-Raj | Yam Boy and Goonda-Raj |
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(l-r): Goonda Raj and Yam Boy
"I got into British Asian music listening to Asian Dub Foundation, Cornershop, Fun Da Mental, Charged and their legacies are seemingly forgotten now. That dangerous experimental and widely creative streak that pushed so many boundaries isn’t as prevalent anymore. I guess they had to go all out to break stigmas and now people may feel there ain’t nothing to rebel against. But that ain’t true! Rebel against mediocrity."
- Yam Boy Yam Boy and Goonda-Raj are a cross-country spanning entity, completely striding the balance between classical Indian mystique and hip-hop beats. Their eccentric mix of rap, poetry and mandolins over electronica has gained them plaudits from everyone including Eastern Eye, Asiana, Adil Ray, Metro and the Evening Standard. Yet, they remain largely unknown except to a handful of people, content to be making people to fall in love to and hoping someone out there will hear it. 2006 looks set to be their year, what with a new EP out that takes their music to new levels, aided by classical South Indian violins and the dulcet and sultry voice of singer, U’Mau. I caught up with Yam Boy in between poetry workshops and Christmas shopping to find out just how hungry he is. Introduce yourself and tell us your favourite way to cook yam…Hi there, I am Yam Boy – beatnik Brasian poet, rapping mandolin player and keeper of the key to Goonda’s cage. My favourite way of cooking yam is to cook em as roast potatoes with a bit of chilli, lemon, cumin and garlic. Serve up with a lovely nut roast and broccoli. Who are Yam Boy and Goonda-Raj?We’re a vocals-and-production team from South London and Birmingham. I am a spoken word poet and rapper. I put out “Gujerati Yam Boy� early last year. Goonda was in the group Maad Ethics. We’ve known each other for a good few years. We used to be in a band together. Last year, we were talking about doing a project together that took hip-hop and British Asian music to the next level. So, we started working on beats that were quite experimental and electronic. I was playing live mandolin and guitar on them and doing quite loose poetry based flows. The lyrics are quite esoteric and spiritual. By the end, we had an album, “Maad Ethics�, that was received quite well. We toured it round festivals and live venues most of 2005. From September, we’ve been trapped in the studio, finishing a new EP that will be released at the start of next year. It’s called “The Hunger�. 
Album Cover Well, we didn’t mean to keep up the food conceit. It’s always going to be looming in the background due to my name. But food becomes a metaphor for multiculturalism and diversity, and celebration of the spices of a thousand different tongues. “The Hunger� is more about our hunger for the music. It’s a progression up from “Maad Ethics�, which was just Goonda and me and our internet connections and a year’s worth of ideas. “The Hunger� was turned around quicker. By the time, I had finished my festival tour of the summer, Goonda had been working away in the studio. We banged out 8 tracks and then took them out to a lot of collaborators. This feels more like a collective piece of work, whereas Maad Ethics was just us. We had U’Mau, a gorgeous singer singing on 3 tracks (1 of them is in Nigerian), Last Mango in Paris and rappers HKB Finn and Vee Kay op up to do guest verses and DJ Disscuss rocks the scratch again. The main collaborator is Dr Jyotsna Srikanth, an amazing South Indian Carnatic violinist. We originally approached her to do one track (“The Music In Me�) but the stuff she played for it was so amazing and so gorgeous that we had to get her to lay stuff down for all of them. The melodies she put down are something else. Really classical and really melodious. There is a lot of texture. The beats are mostly percussion-based. The melody lines are extremely intricate and well-thought out and Goonda has married them well with the beats, U’Mau’s harmonies and my mandolins and guitars. Thematically and lyrically, I’ve tried to compliment the instrumentals. Also, I’m moving away from all out political ranting assault. I’m becoming more interested in different themes and concepts and a lot of stories. “The Music In Me� is about Last Mango and my passion for the different types of music we grew up with and how we marry them together in the music we create. “Just Like Dad� is about the immigrant experience seen through the eyes of the next generation… we’re doomed to repeat the cycles of our ancestry… that’s the key. “Nuclear Sonnets� is just saying everything that has ever been written about love has been done, what new ways can I use to celebrate my devotion to Mrs Yam. Etc etc. Get the EP… it’s a little free stopgap we’re doing before the next album, which will be late 2006/early 2007. It’s a beautiful piece of work. Your stuff sounds quite eclectic. How do you feel you fit into the Asian scene?I’m not entirely sure we do. The British Asian scene is a funny one. Much as I respect the existence of artists like Jay Sean and Raghav, they do nothing for my ears. It’s not my thing. Also, the more popular they get, the more people seem to forget about British Asian music that was so sonic and so far beyond anything else being made at the time. feel that the history of British Asian music in this country is occasionally pissed on. I got into British Asian music listening to Asian Dub Foundation, Cornershop, Fun Da Mental, Charged and their legacies are seemingly forgotten now. That dangerous experimental and widely creative streak that pushed so many boundaries isn’t as prevalent anymore. I guess they had to go all out to break stigmas and now people may feel there ain’t nothing to rebel against. But that ain’t true! Rebel against mediocrity. 
(l-r): Goonda Raj and Yam Boy I place a great deal of importance in our live work. This is why we strive to have as many gigs as we can. They’re the best place to showcase your work. Also, they are such a natural high. I love performing. I love staging our work and using it to rock crowds (well with as much rocking as you can do with electronica and poetry). We tried to do as many festivals as we could this summer. This took us all over the country, to Glastonbury, The Big Chill, London Mela, and RISE. It was quite an experience. I definitely had a blast doing it all. I was performing mostly with Last Mango in Paris, my co-hort in the D’Archetypes project. It was tiring stuff and I didn’t get to go away this year but we opened ourselves up to a whole heap of different audiences and played with loads of bands. I’m sure Ray Panthaki from Eastenders was checking us out at Glasto. So, yeah… good stuff. Ha. That certainly is true. Well, I’m currently finishing up all the press and artwork for the “Hunger� CD so it’s all ready to send out at the start of next year. Working on some vocals for a Scottish rapper. Doing some vocals for SwadhaBeats. Also, concentrating on the D’Archetypes. We have four songs written and we are currently demo-ing them. I’m working on an instrumental for MC Riz. I only produce two good finished songs a year and I’m hoping this will be one of them. Also, I work as a freelance music journalist. I had a short story published in a book called Tell Tales volume 2 (www.telltales.co.uk) earlier this year. We did some interesting gigs around that, where we read our stories to a DJ soundtrack. That was pretty cool. I think there are a couple more tour dates booked for us early next year. I’m currently working on two book projects. I’m finishing up a book of essays and short stories I wrote based around my first trip to India last year. The idea and the stories have been knocking about for a year now so it’s now time to finish them up. I’m nearly done. It has a working title “How I Became Yam Boy� and will be printed under my government name. I’m sure the name will change though. Once that’s over and done with, and hopefully sold to someone, I’ll work on my first novel proper, which has the working title of “Untitled.� It’s all kinda worked out, what will happen. So yes, 2006 will be a busy year for Yam Boy and Goonda-Raj. We hope to do twice as many festivals, promote “The Hunger� EP to death then bang out an album towards the end of next year. I’ll be releasing some of my own stuff as well. I have some acoustic and some darker trip-hoppy tracks that will appear at some point (probably as downloads). Then, we have the books and one day a collection of poetry. It’s all completely manic and busy and my new year’s resolution is to make a big flow chart for my studio with all the milestones in it so stuff is getting done. Also, www.yamboy.net will be relaunching in the New Year, with loads more stuff, a more user-friendly outlook and nicer design. What are your hopes for 2006?That my loved ones make it out alive at the end of it. I was really freaked out by all the extreme weather conditions this year. I’m slightly worried now. My only wish for 2006 is that we learn to recycle more, turn off more lights, conserve more, consume less, eat healthier and find a TV antenna high enough to string Louise Walsh from so he can made an example to the world. I’d like to end this interview with a poem I wrote about this sense of impending doom that seems to be pervading my waking dreams at the moment… Big up everyone, hit me up for a copy of “The Hunger�, download it whatever… just listen to it and love it. Big up my friends and family, happy New Year, some Christmas cheer and I hope you get everything you asked for on your Christmas list… especially if you asked for world peace. Five Year Plan
By the time I turn thirty, the world may be ready brek
I’ll be running for cover come 2010
In five years time, I’d like to think about having kids You can drop the author an email at: kaythreegee72@gmail.com |
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