Vengaboys: Our dream is to do a big tour in India, which is not limited to cities

From We like to Party to Boom Boom Boom to We’re Going to Ibiza, pop band Vengaboys is credited for giving party anthems in 90s era, and as they revive their peppy tunes, the Dutch band is eager to bring the party to India once again, which they feel is their “second motherland”.

The Eurodance music group, based in Rotterdam, comprises Captain Kim (Kim Sasabone), Partygirl D’nice (Denise Post-Van Rijswijk), Cowboy Donny (Donny Latupeirissa) and Sailorboy Robin (Robin Pors). It was in 2019 when they first crossed borders and created a buzz in India.

“Our first visit to India has changed our lives. Mostly, Americans like to call Europe ‘the old World’. But to be honest, from the very first moment we set foot on Indian soil, we knew: India has been here forever and it will always be,” Captain Kim tells us, adding, “You feel everything in the country. India feels like our second motherland. If you want to call us the Bharat Boys from, you can because it is the truth”.

Here, Cowboy Donny chimes in to open up about how Indian culture has inspired the group, which recently released a cover version of Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s 2019 single, 1999 (I Wanna Go Back), with a sprinkle of their trademark Eurodance vibe.

“We grew up in the Netherlands and there have always been many places where we got in touch with Indian culture. A lot of Indian people -mostly Hindu- live in the Netherlands by way of Suriname, a former Dutch colony. So we went to school with people that have Indian roots,” a proud Cowboy Donny shares.

“We of course have many Indian restaurants which are very popular, but also traditional Indian fashion items have found their way many years ago in the Netherlands. In fact, we would love to record our hits in the Indian language, so if there’s anyone out there willing to help us out with that, hit us up on our socials,” he adds.

Formed in 1996, Vengaboys brought in a new trend into the music world, dominated by flamboyant costumes, flashy makeup, energetic beats and animated twist to the party numbers. The Vengaboys jukebox paused for a bit when the group parted ways in 2000s, but they overcame the lull when the band reunited in 2007. Since then, they have been quite frequent with the music, while taking some breaks as well.

Apart from Pors, the band consists of Donny Latupeirissa, Denise Post-Van Rijswijk and Kim Sasabone. “At a party I once saw a guy with this big ass tattoo on his back reading; ‘No regerts (regrets), which was probably one of the funniest I’ve seen,” says Sailor Robin to sum up their journey.

Now, they wish to come back to India for a tour soon. “As soon as we can. Some of our most memorable shows have been in India. Thanks to everybody that was there. Our dream is to do a big tour so we have the time to meet everybody all over the country. Instead of being limited to the big cities,” concludes Party girl D-Nice.