Recently, Seema had the pleasure of interviewing O.Z & JKeyz who are a couple of 21 year olds ready to take the Asian scene by storm! The comments of each of them have been colour co-ordinated to help you distinguish who is saying what. The following key can be used as a guide to help you with this as well.

Seema: Congratulations on your debut album Revolution, how long did it take to do the album?

JKeyz: Well the album took alot of commitment, as we were both at university. But wid the support we had, it made it easier. It took about 6 months to do because we had alot going on at the time. We had exams so the stress of it all. You know how it is if you're a student, it was hard work but all our hard work paid off in the end.

O.Z: Yeh we were doing the album from my bed room studio and we had to fit uni with the music and also working with Shama and Kelly they were very busy people and we had to plan around them. But yeh we did it and it was a massive success. It just goes to show hard work really does pay off.

Seema: The album has received raving reviews and been described as a 'breath of fresh air' how does it feel to get such a positive attention at such an early stage? JKeyz: It's a great feeling. When you get to hear your music played by others knowing that you have spent alot of time and hard work producing it. It makes it worthwhile. O.Z: Its brilliant. You know we made the album from a bedroom so it shows you if

O.Z

your dedicated and committed what you can achieve. There is no limit of what you can achieve when you got a dream you must fulfil it and be the best never settle for second best.

Seema: There are so many Asians trying to get into the music industry, what sets you apart from the rest?

JKeyz: Well, many in the industry try to copy and rip off mainstream samples (not naming any record label or artists of course). We try to produce original music and dont do sampling and bootlegging like others.

O.Z: Well what I would say to you is listen to our music and judge for yourself. You will see a difference and if you cant then your deaf! (lol). No but on a serious note we like JKeyz said we don't sample and copy we invent and create new ideas. We dont think ah yeh this western song sounds good wid this and let me take this. Thats not music, it is about expressing yourself and experimenting wid new ideas thats all we do.

Seema: I hear you got a bollywood track lined up! Tell us more about that. Also, at the tender age of 21 how did you manage to involved in such a project?

O.Z: Well you hear right!!! Its been done and the audio has now been released. The film is called "I Proud To Be Indian" which will be released on 25th January. The opportunity came about when my good friend Ali Jacko introduced me to Salman Khan. Ali is the world kickboxing champion for those of you who dont know. Anyway he is Salman's bodyguard. At that time revolution had just been released and Salman was here for the shoot for Bhagban. Well we were introduced and he loved the song 'Without You' on the album and asked us to do a bollywood version to it. So we did this. Incidentally his brother Suhail was producing a film and when he heard the song he just said I want it in my film. So that was it we did the song and now its in the film and thanks to Ali Jacko the doors have opened now and were in talks wid other producers to do more bollywood film. So there! That was how it happened!!

Seema: How did you guys initially enter the music industry?

JKeyz: Well previous to this I had worked alongside other bhangra producers on their albums and it went from then. Unfortunately for me at the time I was new in the business and got scammed and I'm not afraid to say it!!! I put it down as experience and looking back, it is that which has made me more determined in what I do!!

O.Z: Well to be honest I always laugh when I'm asked this. My parents sent me to Uni to be a doctor lol but I ended up becoming a music producer. Somewhere down the line something went wrong. I used to play alot of instruments when I was small and then when I came to Uni I started experimenting with the music, I was dj'ing alot at Uni. Then I started mc'ing in clubs. Then I started making music I met jay bout 3 years ago when we were both at a club dj'ing and then from there we just went on from strength to strength.

JKeyz	Seema: According to many of your fans the track, "Without You" was addictive and has been labelled by many as the 'highlight' of the album. How did you produce that track? What process did you follow? O Z: Oh my god this track was a nightmare. Let me tell you we spent near 2 months trying to find the right singer. We experimented with loads of singers. You should have heard them they were terrible. We nearly gave up on this track. But we thought we would give it one more shot and then there she was our angel Shama there to save the day.
JKeyz: It was a big group effort everyone did there fair share. It was a tricky track to produce from start to finish as it follows a love triangle storyline, therefore the music had to be composed according to the lyrics that went with it! The tracks structure was also important, as we wanted to finish the track at a high point and make it catchy to remember. It was worth all the stress!!

Seema: The track "Without You" has also been compared to last years' best selling RnB single 'Dillema' which is also a love song, were the lyrics based on a real life story?

JKeyz: Well I'll pass it onto O.Z to explain it to you!

O.Z: Well.... what can I say. It is based on a true story. It's a love triangle very soulful track. Myself and iceman and J Keyz sat down and wrote the whole song, composed the melody. I won't go into the details of whom it was based around but whoever she is knows. See what we try to do is to express our emotions through our music so our fans can listen to it and relate to the track. This is why it's so addictive because 9/10 people can relate to it either you've been in that situation or you know someone who is. So you listen to it over and over again.

Seema: What was it like working with artist Shama in "Without You"?

JKeyz: Shama was great! I have known her for ages we use to gig together back in the day and perform at shows and melas. At the time when we were producing the track she was busy promoting her album Kameleon that did well in the Hindi charts. When she heard our track she fell in love with it straight away and wanted to sing it! The song was particularly difficult to sing but she was able reach those notes that the others couldn't!!

O.Z: Yeh she was very professional and great to work wid. She loved the song and could relate to it making it even easier for her to sing and to express her emotions.

Seema: What was it like working with No 1 selling artist Kelly Digpal? JKeyz: Kelly was really understanding with us. At the time we were working from a home studio so we had the minimum equipment and no soundproofing. This meant that we had to make sure the vocals had no interference or background noise. Kelly therefore had to make sure he got his vocal levels perfect, which he did! O.Z: It was fun he's a top guy real down to earth. Were going to go more tracks wid him and we may even produce his solo album. Were in talks at the moment (all depends how much he pays us) only joking!! So watch this space!!

O.Z

Seema: The track 'Damage' shows versatility in which the fast lyrics have been skilfully layered with baseline, which climaxes to a ragga bhangra style beat and bass. Where did you get the idea for this track?

JKeyz: Well there's no ragga in it are you sure you've heard the track! We've used a catchy melody and flowing baseline, making it quite a jump up party track, a track that's definitely for the dance floor! We also wrote the mc'ing lyrics in Punjabi that is a first for any bhangra album, I'll let O.Z fill you in on that.

O.Z: Again we experiment with different sounds and try to be unique. That's what we did! We wanted to make a club track wid a wicked baseline. Something different something you never heard before!!

Seema: Fans were very impressed with O Z's mc'ing in Punjabi, which has never been done before, was it difficult to do?

O.Z: Well I believe if u put your mind to anything nothing is ever hard to do. Everything is possible. Again we experimented wid it and it worked its sounds good. The listeners loved it so as far as were concerned it was a job well done.

Seema: Your album has received a lot of attention from girls in particular, who want to know more about you guys, is there any message for them?

JKeyz: Yeah, just keep listening and buying our music, we've got a lot of work in the pipeline and you will start hearing our names mentioned a lot in the industry as well as the mainstream!

O.Z: I just wanna say thank you for supporting us and buying our album. If you wanna know more about us just log on to our website www.vadarecords.co.uk. Sign up for our mailing list and then you can follow us around as much as you want (hint hint!!).

Seema: There isn't a name for the bands yet, are you planning to come up with a name in the future?

JKeyz: Well we are going to be known by our artist names, but we are a team and were known as 'OK productions' short for O.Z and KEYZ, so wherever you see that you will sure find us!

The Film

Seema: What else have you got lined up in the near future that we should know about? O.Z: Well we have just finished a bollywood soundtrack that is to feature in the film "I proud to be Indian" directed by actor and director Suhail Khan. The track should is out now so please buy it. We are also in talks with other film producers in India regarding other soundtracks to films. Alongside this we are currently working on our album "2 can play this game" which should be out at the beginning of this year! So make sure you buy it!! And you never know we might have a mainstream release. So watch this space....

Seema: Any final word for the desitunes4u readers?

O.Z & JKeyz: Yeah, we just wanna say thanks for your support all of you. Hopefully its gonna be a big year so watch out O.Z & JKeyz are gonna take over and please buy the album "2 Can Play This Game."

That concludes the interview, firstly a big thanks to the duo for taking some time out to chat to us. You can e-mail them direct at vadarecords@mail.com now! Plus don't forget the check out their site which they mentioned earlier as the pair have a massive future ahead of them, trust us!!