At Tipsy Tiger on September 25, it was a lit night thanks to a performance by singer Ash King, who kept everybody on their toes the whole night, performing his hits like Aunty ji, Te amo, Mera yaar and much more. He and his band interacted and sang with the crowd while revellers clicked pictures and posed with the singer. In an interaction with t2, the singer talks about his music inspiration, the industry, his latest hits and more.
Hello, welcome back to Kolkata. How does it feel to be at home?
First of all, happy Durga Pujas! It’s my fatherland... people say motherland, but my father is from here. When I come to Kolkata and perform at a club like Tipsy Tiger, I feel at home, at ease. I just arrived here from London and it makes me so happy to vibe with the audience, the fans and people here. I was talking to some people here and they told me that so many Bollywood artistes came here to perform, I feel like it’s such a respect, such a pleasure, it makes me really happy. Calcutta is the hub for Puja festivities, for the lovely vibe and its absolutely jaw-dropping food. The first thing I came and had was chai.
Tell us about your latest hit Mera yaar... how was your experience with the entire shoot?
Mera yaar is a song that is very special to me because it’s a song with different cultural backgrounds. I am heavily into Afro music, Afro beats and similar things. My mother was born in Kenya, I have a heavy inclination towards going to Kenya, to Africa. I said to Abhijit Vaghani, that I wanted to do a music fusion, something related to RnB, Afro beats and Dhvani Bhanushali was there, the work she put into this song was wow! That is what you call an independent artiste. When the song released, it was a hit, like a viral hit! Now TikTok we don’t have in India, but outside it was a hit on TikTok. Honestly, at first I didn’t believe in the song, I had my doubts regarding it, but this completely proved me wrong. It just grounds me, it shows me that I might not know what lies ahead, and it made me humble and much happier.
Ash King is a big name in the industry now. But looking back at the early years, what would you have done different?
First of all, Ash King’s roots lie in Ashutosh Ganguly; it’s a feeling of being at home when I hear my name. Besides that, looking back, there are many things that I could have done differently. One of the things is that I felt like I could have strategised more, I felt like I could have learnt an instrument at least, like a guitar or a piano. I also feel like I could have given more importance to my health, because I feel like it has a lot to do with the energy that you can carry, mentally or physically.
I think, recently, mental health has become a little bit of an issue for me, so I am looking into that more and more. And lockdown taught me a very important thing, I wish I could visit the cities more where I performed at... every city is beautiful in its own way and I wish I could have explored them more. When someone comes to Kolkata , I suggest biryani to them. Arsalan is my favourite! I suggest to my friends this restaurant and the dishes all the time.
You have been inspired by artistes from all over the world. What is on your playlist right now?
I have Spotify downloaded and all, but I mostly listen to music on YouTube. I mean my friends, my music band suggests me this and that song and I give it a listen. I think that compared to earlier times, our friends are like our DJs, you know when you hang out with a friend or go to house parties, they are the YouTube DJs blasting off music on bluetooth speakers and that is when all online streaming platforms cannot mount to the importance that they have in our lives. Playlist-wise, I don’t have any particular one, I listen to music from anywhere and everywhere all the time. Normally I listen to mostly RnB, and Afro beats.
The crowd went wild at Tipsy Tiger with people dancing, taking selfies and doing Insta lives
(L-R) Shreya Kumar, Athistha Jaiswal and Sanjana Agarwal grooved to the music. “We are going to be dancing and singing all night,” said the trio | Arti Mishra enjoyed the music and the vibe at Tipsy Tiger. “I was so hyped to finally witness Ash King here live! I am enjoying every moment,” said Arti.
Coming back to last year’s Puja hit Kanya, how was the experience shooting for the song?
I loved, loved making the song and I never ever knew that it would be such a hit! In this industry a lot of the young composers are into so many new beats, music, but it is also like a battlefield for them, they are always trying to innovate new music, new rhythms and it is tough out there. They are kind of bound to make and create new kinds of vibes. While shooting for the song, I had so much fun! Going back to my Bengali roots and singing a Bengali song. Plus, the word Kanya is so cool! It's such a sweet and fun title of a song.
Lastly, what would you like to tell your Kolkata fans? What would you like to say about the vibe here?
Honestly, it’s not about what I like, it’s about what everybody likes. The way I behave is how inspired I really am. So we cannot be bothered to do something if we are not inspired by it, I believe. When you perform live, what the audience gives to you is the inspiration for you to want to do something. Similarly, I have to give them something to inspire them. I believe in the swapping of energies, and I just hope that I can inspire them to inspire me. And the vibe in Kolkata is wonderful. It’s not only about Kolkata, it’s about India, the vibe here is lovely!
Whether you are in Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, wherever you are, India as a whole has such a great vibe! I love performing everywhere and I hope in the near future we (the audience and I) will interact and connect more , much more than what we are doing today. I love, love them all.