Rootless brings something very different and unique to the modern music industry, and it was certainly needed. Shining a deserving light on the World music scene, the multi-cultural project fuses Romani and Indian influences into a triumph of elegant euphoria and luscious tribal rhythms. The listening experience is unique and hypnotic, with producers AG Productions doing a wonderful job of blending traditional folklore with modern mainstream tones and a potent, relatable mix.
Hailing from Scotland, Rootless has recently unveiled their debut effort, ‘Rakitaki Tanana’. Among a flurry of tablas, accordions, saxophones, and dhol, the project delivers a precious, timeless atmosphere, one that’s both cathartic and dance-inducing. Simply, ‘Rakitaki Tanana’ feels carefree, elegant and strikingly diverse.
Intrigued by the project, we caught up with the brain behind Rootless, AG Productions, to learn more about their work… Interview below!
Hey AG Productions, thanks for chatting with us! We appreciate your multicultural approach towards music making. The Rootless project has just been launched, a fantastic contamination of Romani and Indian influences. Why is pursuing traditional/folklore music important for you?
For us, traditional music is one of the most ancient ways of keeping our culture alive. It’s more than just melodies or rhythms; it’s part of who we are. Through this music, we find those deep cultural connections we share with Indian traditions, and every time we play, it feels like we’re reaching back to where it all began.
For us Roma, it’s like time travel; a way to look back at our roots and truly feel the journey our people have taken. With Rootless, we get to honour that history while creating something new, something that keeps our heritage alive for the next generation.
How did you get in touch with all artists involved? Can you clarify each role and whether there was artistic alchemy between all of you?
At Ando Glaso (a charity and collective focused on Roma culture), we’ve always worked closely with a wide network of Roma artists from the Romanian, Slovak, Hungarian, Czech, and Polish communities, among others. The idea of an Indian-Roma collaboration came from our creative director, Janos Lang, but Rootless really started to take shape when Janos, as a violinist, began collaborating with the incredible tabla player Hardeep Deerhe (Sodhi) during a multicultural music project.
Sodhi, who also programmes Glasgow Mela and is deeply connected in the music scene, loved the vision and invited other talented Indian musicians to join the project. He also brought on board renowned Pakistani music producer Sarmad Ghafoor, whose experience on major productions like Coke Studio Pakistan added a whole new dimension to our sound.
‘Rakitaki Tanana’ marks Rootless’s debut single. A particularly sharp and eclectic example of world music drenched in Romani and Indian influences, it also showcases keen electronic and pop elements. How do you balance the ‘traditional’ component of the project with more mainstream, pop influences?
Modern Roma music has developed in a very similar way to Indian music, where traditional styles blend seamlessly with Western influences; think of bhangra or Bollywood. In the Roma world, you see the same evolution through styles like manele or chalga, where the roots stay strong but the sound is refreshed with modern elements.
We wanted to follow that same path. It’s about honouring the traditional foundation – the rhythms, melodies, and stories, while allowing contemporary sounds like electronic and pop textures to take the music somewhere new. For us, that balance feels completely natural, because both Roma and Indian music share this ability to adapt and evolve while staying deeply connected to their roots.
Am I right in thinking that Rootless wants to sound modern and catchy, perhaps also quite dancy and energetic? Are there similar releases in the pipeline?
Yes, that’s absolutely right. We want the music to feel modern, catchy, and full of energy, something people can dance to, while still staying true to our cultural roots. ‘Rakitaki Tanana’ is just the beginning; we’re building a strong repertoire of our own original compositions that reflect this unique blend.
The deeper we dive into each other’s musical heritage, the more connections and inspirations we discover. It’s such an exciting journey, and we can’t wait to share more of this evolving sound with our audiences very soon.
Was it hard to put together Indian and Romani influences? Perhaps the two music traditions (so rich and extensive) are not as far from each other as we think they are…
It actually hasn’t been as hard as people might think, because the connection is already there. Roma people originated from India, and even though we left over a millennium ago, those roots are still present in our music, in our rhythms, and even in our language.
As we’ve been working together on Rootless, we keep finding little reminders of that shared history. There are words in Romani and Indian languages that are exactly the same, and those discoveries create such a natural bridge between us. The connection is there; all we have to do is explore it and let the music bring it to life.
AG Productions is the fulcrum for the idea behind Rootless. How did the company come about?
AG Productions was born out of the work we do at Ando Glaso, a charity dedicated to supporting Roma arts, heritage, and youth initiatives. Over the years, we’ve delivered countless projects across the creative, heritage, and youth sectors, always with the aim of ensuring that Roma culture has a strong and visible presence in the cultural life of Scotland and beyond.
Building on that experience, we decided to create a professional, Roma-led production company, AG Productions, to produce high-quality, multicultural projects, materials, and events. It allows us to take what we’ve learned in community and artistic settings and bring it to a broader audience, while staying true to our roots and our values.
From a creative standpoint, do you have an official studio you work from, and how do you usually work? Is it a collaborative setting?
Yes, Ando Glaso has established a creative hub that also houses a fully equipped recording studio, which has become the heart of all our projects. It’s a space where ideas come to life, from community workshops to professional productions.
What makes it special is that it’s not just a studio; it’s a collaborative environment. Young people who grow and develop their skills through our programmes often step into professional roles within AG Productions. ‘Rakitaki Tanana’, for example, was largely produced by these young talents, guided and supported by Sarmad and Janos. It’s a true team effort, where experience meets fresh creativity to create something unique.
What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
Yes, we’re really excited about what’s ahead. Our next performance will be at the Aberdeen Mela on the 7th of September 2025, which we can’t wait to share with everyone. After that, we’ll be heading back into the studio, focusing on creating new tracks and preparing upcoming releases. This project is still evolving, and the deeper we go, the more inspired we become, so there’s definitely a lot of exciting music on the horizon.
