PRESS RELEASE

15 YEARS OF BREAKING BOUNDARIES –

The passion, energy, and connection of Botown

“If you like Bollywood you will love Botown!” The Times

“The UK’s best Bollywood music act.” Metro

“Rebooting Bollywood anthems with a shot of soul and funk”. Rolling Stone

“At last, a serious desi band who all play their instruments and can hold their own in the live arena! Like George Clinton having a party with Mohammed Rafi in an illegal Mumbai drinking den...its a party everyone wants an invite for!” 

Bobby Friction (BBC ASIAN NETWORK)

“Soulful…Playful fusion”. Evening Standard

“Apart from making old filmi music cool again, the cool British band has blazed a trail on the live scene, created a new genre and released a critically acclaimed album that has taken everyone by surprise” Eastern Eye

“Botown have taken a bunch of Bollywood’s best-loved anthems and given them the shaft treatment.” Evening Standard

Chart topping, chai stirring, sold out show-stopping Bollywood band Botown are now in their 15th year and soon to embark upon an epic eight date UK Tour. Regularly performing sell-out shows (including at London’s Jazz Café, Glee Club Birmingham and Harrow Arts Centre) Botown are all set to break boundaries at new iconic venues nationally this year. This is not just Bollywood. This is Bollywood totally in love with 60’s soul and funk. Botown’s multi-cultural sound has built a loyal audience which is about to expand as the band journey to more non-Asian spaces.

For the first time ever, Botown will perform at Birmingham’s iconic Hippodrome, The Beck Theatre in Hayes and Gravesend’s Woodville Halls. Birmingham Hippodrome is a heritage venue with a mission to provide audiences with “that “goosebumps” feeling through memorable and extraordinary experiences”.

Leading Asian publication Eastern Eye credited Botown as having created a “brand new genre” through their one-off musical sound; and according to the Metro, Botown are: “The UK’s best Bollywood live music act”. The unique Botown sound propelled their single “Roop Tera Mastana” to number one on BBC ASIAN NETWORK’s download chart (2010).  Furthermore, their debut album reached the Amazon Funk Charts

Top 10 in (2011) and the iTunes World Music Charts Top 10 (2011).

This multi-cultural celebration of music that Botown represent is symbolic of London, the city numerous individuals call home. Botown headlined London’s Diwali in the Square (organised by Diwali in London Committee in partnership with the Mayor of London, 2013), performed at the 2012 Olympics and for the British Asian Trust, a charity set up by HRH The King of England (2013).

Botown is found and led by critically acclaimed roots musician Ajay Srivastav. Ajay’s single “Aaja Sajana” with T Series reached number one in India. Ajay topped the blues chart with his albums “Powerless” (2021) and “Karmic Blues” (2019) and has performed alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Apache Indian and Jamariquoi. Botown is Ajay Srivastav’s vision come true.

Ajay Srivastav states:

"Fifteen years of Bollywood Soul power! From the first beat to the last encore, Botown has turned every stage into a dance floor and every show into a celebration. The fact that we're still here is testament to the passion, the energy, and connection we have with our audience. This year we're gonna make it extra special... as we lean back into our love of retro-Bollywood, we've lined up some great new mash-ups and we're fired up to rock. As well as the live shows, we're also releasing a bunch of our favourite songs which reflect our unique take on Bollywood music."

On the special occasion of their 15th anniversary, Botown are to release new social media content in August including a twist on Bollywood classics “Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhen”, “Zindagi Ek Safar”, “London Thumakda” (REL Sep ’24) and “Ole Ole” (REL Oct ’24).

Botown hits the spot!

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Press Release written by Aashi Prime