New Delhi: Indian band SANAM has collaborated with global artistes to celebrate cricket’s spirit of togetherness with the song “Way-O, way-O”.
As part of its partnership with the International Cricket Council (ICC), personal mobility company Uber has released the song to energise fans at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, 2019.
The anthem is a cultural blend of harmonies written by Sonal Dabral and composed, produced and curated by Michael (Mikey) McCleary.
The makers include artistes such as SANAM, Jahmiel (Jamaica), Catherine Taylor Dawson (United Kingdom), Simba Diallo (New Zealand) and choir group Khayelitsha United Mambazo (South Africa).
“The anthem is truly a celebration of the sport. When Uber and Mikey McCleary first contacted me and told me everything about the anthem, it got me really excited and then I told the band about it,” Sanam Puri told IANS.
His bandmate Venky S said the vibe on the sets was “chilled out”.
“A good dose of laughter is essential to build camaraderie on sets…we felt that this translated on screen while working on the anthem. It was also a great experience for all of us artistes, who came together and created a signature cheer, transcending geographical barriers,” he added.
Samar Puri shared that they are used to shooting on their own.
“Where we direct, produce and I personally edit the videos we make. So this was a good experience to have…where we didn’t have to worry about anything other than our performance in the video,” he added.
On what they like about cricket, their bandmate Keshav Dhanraj said: “All the four of us enjoy playing and watching cricket. Whenever we get a little time off work, we try to squeeze in a small game of cricket.
“Such an unpredictable game, so many small factors can change the game completely. That’s what makes it interesting. We look forward to days where we can play cricket. Cricket is worshipped in India and now with the World Cup coming close, India is buzzing with cricket fever. We believe that ‘Way-o, way-o’ will resonate with fans across the world,” he added.
