Bouncing to the beats

In an unlikely combination of dubstep, reggae, hip-hop, sometimes called ‘future dancehall’, Korean-German brothers Buddysym and ChrisImbiss aka ‘Symbiz Sound’ performed at The Humming Tree recently.

The last gig of their five-city India tour for ‘NH7 Layover’, they took the concept of live music to a whole new level — other than the live guitar parts and Buddysym jumping onto the deck, there were also ‘games’ involving the crowd, where they had to jump, clap, bounce and do dance moves that the duo taught. 

Charles Dickenson of local four-member dancehall/rap/hip-hop crew, Low Rhyderz opened for the Berlin-based duo. Despite the jumpy tunes and heavy basslines, only one man was seen dancing on the floor while others shyly grooved in the corners.
When it was time for the bass-heavy ‘Symbiz Sound’, ChrisImbiss joked, “When there’s nobody in front, I feel bad. When I feel bad, I say bad things. Nah, I’m just kidding!” A second later, the first bassline was dropped.

   The friendly, interactive nature of the brothers only added to the energetic and versatile set that they played.

Collaborations that they did with musicians from Venezuela, Jamaica and other parts of the world were played alongside their originals.

From ‘Soundboy Dead’ and ‘Taking Over’ featuring Zhi MC to Shakka Boom! and ‘Ruff Ride’ featuring Lady Chann, they played an intense 90-minute set that the audience couldn’t get enough of. The fun high-energy set ended with a mix of reggae king Johnny Osbourne’s ‘Buddy Bye’ and a new song called Yeeruh, which was reminiscent of a South African choir.

“We had a tough time initially because people were quite shy. But by the end, it was great fun for us. The people were lovely and really appreciated it,” said the duo after the gig.

   Noopur Vasuraj, an attendee, was impressed with how the duo mixed reggae and dubstep. “I wish it was a bigger venue for a gig like this. But other than that, for anybody who isn’t familiar with this genre, this gig would’ve been a great start,” she said. “Low Rhyderz was fun but missed the sync without the full band,” added Noopur.

Prateeque Jacob George, another attendee, added, “They made me bounce
like a three-year-old on a trampoline!”