MUMBAI: Are you ready to witness some high energy performance? They got some funky brass and jazz music to sway the Indian audience as they head to India for a three-day tour, in association with Johnnie Walker the Journey which commences tomorrow. Globally famous for their high-energy shows, Lucky Chops – a New York based jazz-brass band is gearing for its debut performance in India. Their show will be held in Pune on 18 January, Kolkata on 19 January and Hyderabad on 20 January 2019. One of the band members, Daro Behroozi speaks exclusively about their maiden innings, about brass-jazz funk music, and more, in an exclusive interview with Radioandmusic.

Can you tell us about your collaboration with Johnnie Walker the Journey? How did this happen?

It’s a dream come true. We’ve always wanted to go to India, so when we were invited to come and play, we jumped at the opportunity! Johnnie Walker The Journey is a festival of inspiration. Every note and every beat, you experience at the concert, is envisioned to encourage you to keep walking in your quest for personal success and we couldn’t be happier associating with that. It’s truly amazing.

Johnnie Walker the Journey aims to bring to light, global artists and their talents. How do you see this initiative?

We think it’s very important to build global community through music. Music is a powerful tool to create connections and community bonds. Johnnie Walker The Journey is giving artists this platform to explore Indian audience and giving their home audience an exposure to all kinds of music from all across the world. It is truly commendable. They are iconic and their journey has been truly inspiring in bringing some of the best artists and gigs to Indian audience, standing true to their brand value.

Is it your first tour to India? What are you looking forward to?

Yes it is! We’re looking forward to the food, the sights, sounds, honestly, the whole experience is so exciting for us!

Any key highlight of your upcoming performances at three different Indian cities, you want to share?

We’re going to be sharing some new songs from our upcoming album! They’re a lot of fun and we’re excited to play them for new audiences. Also plenty of classics mixed in will be there. 

What is your take on Indian music? Are you fond of it, if yes, why?

Yes definitely. We are very inspired by the Indian brass band tradition! We’ve also been exposed to Indian classical music through the Brooklyn Raga Massive concert series and community in New York. 

Is Indian music popular abroad?

A lot of people seem to be fond of Bollywood music and Indian classical music. We’re also hoping that more and more people get exposed to the Indian brass band tradition. 

Can you tell us about your genres - funky brass and funky jazz music? 

The brass is all about the sound, which comes from the breath. The Jazz is the improvisatory spirit that opens up channels to other realms through accessing our intuitive heart energy. The funk is the groove that comes from the heartbeat and makes our bodies move. 

What is that one striking thing about these genres, which sets you apart?

We try to fuse all of these elements with countless other sounds, creating a very unique sound inclusive of all of the world’s music. 

You are known to share the healing and inspirational power of music with everyone. What led you to choose this mantra of helping others?

Our parents, communities, musical mentors and inspirations are responsible for instilling these values in us, and we’ve found that music, brass music in particular, has provided us with a means to share that with others. 

Lucky Chops is also known for training young musicians. What inspires you to do so? What difference do you find between young musicians from those experienced ones?

We benefited so much from our music teachers, so we want to pass along what we’ve learnt to young people. We feel that it’s so important for the next generation to learn to be creative, in touch with their emotions, expressive, true to themselves, and open to new ideas in order to address the problems facing the world, and we believe that learning music can help young people grow in all of these areas. 

Lucky Chops is known for their high energetic performances. What is your source of motivation?

The music itself creates an energetic flow between us and the audience that powers all of us for the duration of an entire performance and beyond. 

Are you looking forward for collaborations with Indian artists? How do you see these cross-cultural musical teaming?

We would love to collaborate with some Indian brass musicians. As I stated earlier, we think it’s very important to build global community through music. Music is a powerful tool to create connections and community bonds. 

India is known for its varied food cuisine. Which food items are you planning to try?

As much as possible!! We are so excited for the food!