New World Order

That’s the opinion of ‘The Mysterious Lady’, discussing The Bombay Royale’s latest merger of musical brilliance and cinematic imagery in the form of sophomore release The Island Of Dr Electrico. Calling in out of character, Parvyn Kaur Singh says the Melbourne ten-piece were committed to exploring the extremes of their Indian-leaning fusion sound, leaving behind the self-professed “party time” of their 2012 record You Me Bullets Love for more sonic intricacies and plotline intrigue.

“Bollywood’s so fantastic in a sense that it’s all about [possibility], and to dream and the vivid colours and music and vibrancy of it – you get lost in the fantasy world."

The ‘60s Bollywood feel that was prevalent on their debut once again comes through. “There are so many awesome Bollywood film clips where they are just wearing the most ridiculous things, and when I say ridiculous I mean it in a really good way. We definitely use that as inspiration,” Singh remarks.

“[Bollywood’s] so fantastic in a sense that it’s all about [possibility], and to dream and the vivid colours and music and vibrancy of it – you get lost in the fantasy world. So it’s really good escapism, and in India that’s what it has been used for forever; forgetting about however stressful or not so hunky dory your own life is, and getting lost in that love story and dreaming the impossible can happen.”

Many additional threads are also woven within The Bombay Royale’s cloth, from spaghetti western to strains of funk and surf. A newfound focus on space within the music, meanwhile, has allowed vocalists Singh and Shourov Bhattacharya (The Tiger) to make the melodies more rich and complex.

“It’s really important that we share something with our audience and give the listener their own moments to reflect within the music as well, so they have their own experience,” she adds.

The world-renowned act are soon to be donning their costumes domestically, bringing to life the twists and turns of their music. Expect stories to play out on stage, but done more subtly than theatre as “it’s still about the music”. However, the more Singh lives inside the identity of The Mysterious Lady, the more she has found an excuse to become who she really is and express the freedom of her character in everyday life.

“I feel like we’re becoming more intertwined and connected,” she says of her stage front, “and now it’s just me that’s there. That feeling of a powerful, strong and courageous woman who is also sexy and holds herself with grace and poise, but can kick butt whenever she wants; that’s what I want to be in real life!”