Last November, when Delhi 2 Dublin playeda sold-out show at Winnipeg’s West End Cultural Centre, the floor reportedly shook and there were reports from unsuspecting neighbors of earthquake-like tremors around the West End area.

So if you don’t snatch up tickets for Delhi 2 Dublin’s Oct. 22 concert at the Garrick Centre before they inevitably sell out, you might be lucky enough to feel the good vibes all the way from home.

The six members of the Vancouver-based band ambitiously meld Celtic fiddling with Punjabi-style electronica and reggae rhythms. Though the mix may sound chaotic, it evolved organically from the diverse band mates’ backgrounds to create a unique, contemporary sound.

“I just wish the radio would catch up sooner - not everything is pop music,” says Sanjay Seran, the group’s lead vocalist. “And there’s a lot of really great stuff out there, whether it’s in a different language or not.”

They’ve toured the globe extensively over the last five years, putting on euphoric live shows. 

“I’m not necessarily always happy being known as ‘a live band’. I think that’s kind of the reason why we’re focusing so much on songwriting, because we really want the next album to be like, ‘Hey, these guys have put out a fucking awesome album, and they’re great live.’”

D2D got together in 2006, during what was supposed to be a one-night only stint at the Vancouver Celtic Festival.

However, the one-night only event grew into bookings for other local shows and eventually bigger stages, like at the Winnipeg Folk Festival and Shambhala Electronic Music Festival in B.C.

“It wasn’t until a year later (in 2007) when we were like, ‘OK, I think we’re a band now,’” jokes Seran.

“We sat down maybe four years ago and were like ‘So what’s the deal? What do we all want to do?’ and everyone said, ‘We want to just play, we want to stick together, play huge shows and get bigger and bigger and bigger, and just take over the world.’”

Now, D2D is pumped to play their Canadian dates and showcase new material from the recently released Delhi 2 Dubland EP, which features Winnipeg’s own Odario Williams of Grand Analog.

The festival circuit is good fun, but, according to Seran, playing to an audience that really appreciates the bands’ chops is incredibly rewarding.

“When we’re playing and it’s a Delhi 2 Dublin tour and we do hit our bigger markets, then that’s awesome. Like a show in Winnipeg where we get there and it’s like ‘Holy shit, these people came to see us?’ You don’t ever get sick of that, you just appreciate it so much every single time.”

Published in Volume 66, Number 8 of The Uniter (October 19, 2011)