MUMBAI: Gypsy Hill, a band formed by two London based DJs would be performing at the SulaFest this year. The seven people band that was formed originally by only two DJs, DJ Kobayashi and DJ Herbert Newbert, soon came to be known for their high octane performances.

“We’ve both been making music from a very young age and found ourselves in various bands and projects over the past 20 years or so. I guess you could say that in recent years we’ve been taking a less-is-more approach to our productions, and there’s certainly a stronger Middle Eastern vibe coming through,” says the DJ.

With the current trend and focus being more on electronic and traditional music being sidelined, the duo shared their sentiment. “As DJs and producers, we tend to think in terms of music we like, and music we like less - it wasn’t a conscious decision necessarily, but we love to discover music both old and new. We both have very different musical and cultural backgrounds so each brings a different approach set of influences. When we make music we always try to create something that makes us move, and that tends to be the focus.”

Considering their flair to explore and experiment, the band has fused the very rare Balkan Beats in their music. “Balkan Beats, in a nutshell, takes influence from the traditional music of the Balkan and Eastern European regions and fuses it with modern electronic production. In Gypsy Hill we use these sorts of sounds but also add in a bit more of a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavour.” The band loves the traditional and modern music both and considers that music is at its best and most satisfactory when both the formats are in tangent with each other.

After having performed across the globe, the band feels, “The festival scene is pretty strong, currently. Earlier too, it was great fun to perform at various festivals and be discovered by fans. We can’t wait to perform for the first in India that too at SulaFest, which has a great vibe and fantastic set-up.”

However, they feel sad that most of the band members will have to travel back right after the show. But, before that happens, “We would like to taste some tarka dal and have a glass or two of wine at the Sula fest.”

The band has just finished a new album featuring Swingrowers (who played last year at SulaFest), Koby Israelite, The Turbans and many more.

SulasFest is scheduled for the first weekend of February.