Hear BODMAS Champion Rajasthani Folk and Electronic Music on ‘Desert Disco’

In the year or so it’s been since the release of his debut single “Camel Culture,” Madhya Pradesh-bred DJ and producer BODMAS aka Jai Singh Ranawat has kept himself busy. After all, the high-energy “Camel Culture” gained acclaim from electronic artists such as Afrojack, Nucleya and Krewella and even got picked up as the soundtrack to the London Indian Film Festival trailer this year, all because it presented a refreshing blend of Rajasthani folk vocals and waves of drum and bass, jungle, bass music and more.

The producer says the song helped introduce his sound and style to new audiences and that he still receives messages and appreciation every day. The track did really well across all corners. “The whole appreciation energy got converted into inspiration to make more music,” he adds. That’s where his latest single “Desert Disco” comes in, considering it was in the works since last year and was finally released earlier this week.

Clocking in at just under five minutes, BODMAS throws everything he’s got into “Desert Disco.” There’s the refrain of Rajasthani folk vocals going over seriously quaking bass rhythms. The pace quickly takes a tremendous turn into drum-and-bass and jungle territory, morphing over and over, presumably with the intent to turn all club dancefloors upside down. “I wanted a gritty and bouncy beat on this one. I remember the idea was so inspiring that I finished the first draft in an hour and it was banging already, and then I decided to finish it. It took about a year to give it perfection and add fresh sounds. The vocals come from a social gathering in Rajasthan. A bunch of male vocalists were just singing and having fun, but they sing really melodically. I grew up listening to such gatherings and have always liked them,” he says.

Although there have been BODMAS shows on occasion – pandemic notwithstanding – the producer also took a camera crew with him to a hill range in Rajasthan to film a DJ set in October last year. In the set, he presented songs like “Ghani Ghani” and an unreleased cut called “Bhopa Bass.” It might just get a release later this year, along with “remixes for some big artists,” as Ranawat terms it. He adds, “The live show season is right around the corner, so I am preparing a special set with my original music to give an overall experience of my Rajasthani street folk and electronic music. It’s going to be a really fun year.”

Listen to “Desert Disco” below. Stream on more platforms here.