Jay Sean and Juggy D discuss the perils of the lockdown for artistes

Jay Sean and Juggy D

Before the pandemic brought the world to a standstill, Jay Sean and Juggy D were scheduled to leave New York and London for their respective commitments on the same day - March 11. Despite toiling through the year, the two are finding it difficult to take any pleasure in the forced sabbatical that has followed. "You kinda feel useless at times," Sean says at one point. He could well have been speaking for both. As they discuss "feeling unproductive" and how eager they are to resume work to provide a better life for their children - Sean has two and Juggy, three - it is easy to see why these two, never willing to rest on their laurels, are so revered.

Unsurprisingly, Juggy opens the discussion asking how Sean is making the most of this period.

Jay: In the past, we would use the [weekdays spent at home] to play with the kids, and perhaps watch a movie, because they were our "weekends". Normally, as artistes, we work on weekends. But now, I know that this is my "every day". I don't want every day to feel like a holiday because only God knows how long this will last. So, I try to structure the day so that I do some productive work and [formulate] a routine.

Juggy: The kids have a routine. It is very regimented in terms of what time they will eat and go to bed. So we've figured out our lifestyle around them.

Jay: That's important. There's the temptation to get lazy and stay in pyjamas and sweat pants. And it is important to not fall for that.

The duo chats on video call

Jay: As this virus affects large gatherings, and in the knowledge that [finding] a vaccine could take a year, which implies gigs would be affected, do you think online shows will be an income stream?
Juggy: [Musicians] will be among the last to see normalcy [return] in our jobs and lifestyles. When I talk about doing [gigs] online, now, I wonder if I should charge people. How many times can you keep [doing free concerts]? You're cutting into your time, and as [artistes], we've worked hard to get to where we are. You can do one or two odd concerts, but if this goes on for a longer period of time, we've got to tap into it. If I'm going to do a concert, I will still donate [part of the] money to charity. But, we can't be sitting around with no source of income for how[ever] long this takes.

Jay: You're right! A lot of celebrities have been doing charity functions. I recently did one too for India [IForIndia]. Of course, we'll do that - use our platform for greater good, to raise awareness and money. But, the entertainment industry has taken a big hit. Shows aren't being made, and concerts are not happening. The entertainment industry is suffering. The problem is that the average Joe, who doesn't know [how] the entertainment industry [works], will look at someone like Chris Martin or Drake and say: 'Oh, they're good. They've got millions of dollars. They don't need to work!' But, they've got massive houses, mortgages, and bills to pay. They've got payments that they were to make based on their projected income. Someone like Drake, who was about to go on a world tour and make $20M through it, didn't make it. Also, it has a trickle-down effect. [An artiste] has his managers who eat off him, and people like the graphics [designer], sound production artistes, and tour managers, who work for him for his concerts.

Juggy: There's a period when you can sit back and say, okay, I don't need to work. But you can do that only for a certain [amount of] time. We all need an income. Our lives are based on the size of our income.

Jay: What have you experienced during this period that you think you wouldn't have, unless you were forced to be in this place?
Juggy: I'm spending time with [my son], teaching him stuff and seeing him pick it up so quickly. If I was on tour, I don't think I would have been able to do that. Being at home has been up and down, emotionally. Initially, it was okay; you think that you can stay at home and spend time with the kids, which you don't get to do enough. Then I went through a point where I felt [low].

Jay: You feel a bit useless at times. You wonder what you are doing, and feel you shouldn't be sitting around [all day]. I've been randomly doing things around the house. The 'man around the house' kind of [chores]. At some point, people wonder if they're being productive. You see other people [being productive] on Instagram, and that's also the problem with social media. You see others doing things, and say, I'm not doing enough.

Juggy: People paint a pretty picture on social media. But you never know what's going on behind the scenes. And our industry is like that as well. There have been many occasions when I am about to go on stage, even though I've [not been up to it]. You may have lost somebody in the family, so you're facing these emotions, but you have to jump on stage and entertain people. That's a roller-coaster of emotions. And when you come off-stage, your energy just dips. This Instagram stuff [is like that].

Jay: How are you packing in your exercise?
Juggy: I've got it all set up and, like they say, 'I'm starting from tomorrow'. For the past few [weeks] I've been comfort-eating. Normally, I'm good. I watch what I eat, and [train]. I love that. But since that was my schedule, and now, I'm sitting at home, I didn't know how to deal with it. I've been eating everything, but now I've spoken to my personal trainer, and we've set out a plan. I plan to come out of this [period], ripped. But you're inspiring!

Jay: I knew what was going to happen, and told myself that since we are going to be at home, there will be a tendency to eat crap, just because it is there. During the quarantine, a lot of people have been drinking [as per] airport rules: where you can have a drink at 9 am in the morning without being judged, because you could have been flying in from a place where it's probably evening right now. People are drinking a lot at home. So, I made a decision to not have alcohol, eat well, and train differently. I'm not going to the gym, so I wasn't doing my regular weight [training routine]. I took to a body-weight programme. I love to experiment; if I know I won't go out for a month, I'm going to notice how any change I make, affects me.

Juggy: How do you feel about releasing new music right now?
Jay: Neither of us has recording equipment at home. But because people have reached out and told me to be part of [their] songs, I knew I would have to have a studio at home this time. My engineer lives in California. [His team] shipped the equipment to my house and I set it up in my basement. My engineer accesses my computer remotely, and controls my laptop, as if he's sitting right there in the room with me. That's how we are creating songs.

Juggy: I was to release a song; it was ready, and we were to shoot the video [before the pandemic]. I was talking to the director [recently]. I don't want to put the song out without the video, and don't know if we should. There's another song that I got you to feature in. That's ready too. We could do a lyrical video with it, and then shoot a regular video when things get back to normal.

Jay: People will forgive us for not creating an actual video, because they know we can't shoot one. A lyrical video would make sense. You could even cut a montage video, like we did for Freak. Or [we] could do a quarantine video. I too might put out a video from home. People will think it's cool that we tried.

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news