Dhamaal Soundsystem, one of America's most vibrant South Asian club performers and music bands, is currently touring India, and plans to set dance floors on fire in Mumbai, Goa and New Delhi.

The San Francisco-based group, which is a rage among alternative and South Asian music lovers in the US, consists of 20-odd members, including technicians, who trace their roots to different parts of the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka.

"Our goal is to showcase South Asian or sub-continental music, including sufi, Hindustani and Carnatic classical with a Western perspective," Maneesh Kenia, who set up Dhamaal in 1999 with DJ and producer Janaka Selekta, told IANS.

"Please do not perceive us as another group which just hitchhikes on Bollywood remixes and Bhangra-hip hop," said Maneesh, an Indian American who quit his career in music software to follow his passion.

Dhamaal launched its self-titled album here last week on the sidelines of a performance. The band describes the album, released by HOM Records and Tapes, - as a culmination of over six years of performances at club nights featuring genre-bending sounds.

Sukhawat Ali Khan, a Pakistani qawwali singer and son of noted tabla maestro Salamat Ali Khan, is a part of the band.

"There is such a deep crossover between cultures. A couple of our crew are not desi (Indian) and they are just as important as anyone else. There is also a lot of stylistic crossover," said Dhruva Ganesha, another group member.

"We drop heavy beats that come from all kinds of places and don't necessarily fit the desi tag though South Asian elements are definitely a strong part of our sound. Yet they do not define our entire package," Ganesha said.

The band attracts not just South Asians but local artistes of San Francisco, even though according to Manish fusion is still only a far second to Bollywood music among South Asians in the US.

"For the diaspora, fusion is a thing to reconnect with their roots. It is something new and it always carries the 'wow-effect'," said producer Selekta.

"It makes available a wider option. But what we are looking at is to provide organic fusion and not just synthetic music and sound. It is electronic music with a natural feel."