27 May,2010 10:33 AM IST | | Sheena Thomas
They've been churning out some kickass music for more than a decade. But their latest track is literally 'hard hitting.' And it's among the songs chosen by the FIFA team to be performed at the Soccer World Cup ceremony on June 10, in front of a crowd of 70,000, not including all the many of us who will be watching the show on television. Salim, the musical better half of the Salim-Sulaiman duo, talks to CS about music making the world go around:
WHO: Salim Merchant
WHAT: Talks about Indian music going global
WHERE: At a studio in Juhu
FIFA fever
We decided to make a song on Africa, the lyrics of which were penned by my wife. The song touches upon the trials that the country has faced in the past and how it has emerged stronger. It turned out to be a very inspirational and larger than life number and before we knew it, the FIFA team had approached us to perform at the World Cup ceremony.
African R&B artist Loyiso Vincent Bala and Kenyan singer Eric Waninaner fell in love with the track and came down to Mumbai a few days ago to record it with us. Sulaiman and I will also be performing at the Nelson Mandela Foundation on June 8, where we'll be singing Shukran Allah (from Kurbaan) with Waninaner who will be performing a verse with us in an African language.
Going global
It is great to know that Indian music is touching people's hearts across the globe and is uniting us into a big family. Even when I meet foreign musicians, I click instantly because they're so much like us.
Music evolves with time, and I believe that A R Rahman has bridged the gap between different genres so beautifully. He's made our presence felt on the global map and it is an honour to be representing our country musically.
If a film gives us an opportunity to experiment, we just go crazy. Even though Kurbaan was based on terrorism, I felt that we could give it a touch of Sufi music. The film might not have done too well, but we're glad that the music did.
We've now reached a point where we feel the pressure to push the envelope and deliver hits with every project.
Band of brothers
I'm glad that I'm partners with my brother. We complement each other really well. Even though we had our share of stupid fights at the start of our careers, we've really matured as individuals and musicians.
Since we've grown up listening to the same kind of music, we have similar tastes. It helps to like and dislike the same kind of music, because then you don't argue over work. I couldn't have asked for a better brother and partner in Sulaiman!
