MUMBAI: India’s first ska band The Ska Vengers will release their new song and video, ‘Frank Brazil’ on 31 July to commemorate the 75th death anniversary of Indian freedom fighter Udham Singh. Frank Brazil was one of the many aliases that Singh, who is often referred to as Shaheed Udham Singh, used.

The animated video, created by Kunal Sen and Tisha Deb Pillai, follows the 21 years of Singh’s life after the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre on 13 April, 1919, leading up to the assassination of Michael O’Dwyer and his execution in Pentonville Prison shortly after.

‘Frank Brazil’ is The Ska Vengers’ version of a murder ballad. A murder ballad is a traditional form of poetry where the lyrics form a narrative describing the events of a murder, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath. Interestingly, the chorus is adapted from a Bessie Smith song called ‘Send me to the ‘lectric chair’ in a tribute to the genre of murder ballad. Smith is regarded as one of the best blues singers of the 1920s.

The track, a typical Ska Vengers production, features a curious mix of different styles and instruments. Alongside ska staples like the bass guitar, piano, drums and strings, one can hear Punjabi folk instruments like the one-string tumbi and percussion-heavy dhol and dholaks and even the comb.

The band’s line-up includes Begum X (vocals), Delhi Sultanate (vocals), Stefan ‘Flexi’ Kaye (organ/percussion), Chaitanya Bhalla (guitar), Tony Bass (bass), The Late Nikhil Vasudevan (drums) with support from Shirish Malhotra (tenor saxophone) and Kishore Sodha on trumpet.

Ska Vengers’ vocalist Delhi Sultanate learnt of Udham Singh while studying at University in London in 2005 and through the Asian Dub Foundation song, ‘Assassin’ (1998), which is about Mohammed Singh Azad, a name that Udham Singh used in court and to sign his prison diaries.

“I’ve wanted to make a song about Udham Singh ever since I learnt of him and have been researching him over the years. The idea came up again at a jam session earlier this year,” says Taru Dalmia, who performs as Delhi Sultanate. “Part of what drove me to write the song is that upon first learning of Singh I could not believe that I had never heard of him. Also, his story throws up a series of questions. One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. The song is our attempt to pay tribute to one of our national heroes,” he adds.

Begum X aka Samara C says the band was inspired by Singh’s last words. “The lyrics of our murder ballad are from the point of view of Shaheed Udham Singh and are inspired by his words as transcribed in his court hearing. When he was asked why he killed Michael O’Dwyer, he said, “He was the real culprit. He wanted to crush the spirit of my people…For full 21 years, I have been trying to wreak vengeance…I am not scared of death. I am dying for my country…It was my duty. What a greater honour could be bestowed on me than death for the sake of my motherland?”

‘Frank Brazil’ is animators- Kunal Sen and Tisha Deb Pillai’s second video for The Ska Vengers, after ‘A message to you, Modi’. “We wanted to depict the character in a contemporary, stylised and dynamic manner, taking a different route from the conventional “text book" representations of India's freedom struggle,” says Sen of their idea of the video.