DJ Dev & Irfan went on a mission to find the latest on the so far undiscovered talent from the UK shores. They searched high and low with no success then they came across the Mentor Kolektiv; I know it sounds like they are the FBI or the KGB or something like that but ever heard the term optical illusion? Well this is more like deception in the 1st degree as they are a group of desi music artists who where hand picked by the main man Mentor. The deadly desitunes4u duo drove down to Doh Point Noh studios and two takes and two parking tickets later, this is what went down!

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.

Irfan: Firstly, individually gives us an intro of yourself. Basically tell us what you are all about!

DES-C: My names DES-C; first of all hi Irfan. I'm the Punjabi vocalist out of the Mentor Kolektiv. Basically I started singing about 8/9 years ago as a youngster. I just started singing in the bathroom; you know the shower flex. It wasn't like 'I want to be a big star.' One of my relatives noticed me and said 'Yeah, you should do something and be serious about, maybe take some time for some lessons or something.' That time I didn't really have it planted in my head. Then I took on dj'ing about a year later I decided yeah lets try this singing thing maybe it can work, maybe it can't. It was a hobby for me even if I did make it or didn't you know. I spoke to my manager, Paul, an I said to him lets do something with singing, 'lets form some sort of boliyan crew for weddings' or 'something for anniversaries and birthday parties and stuff.' He goes 'Yeah, it could work.' So we got together a live tumbi player, dhol player and myself a Punjabi singer, you know. Then I said hang about I can push this a bit further so I started making demos and I gave them to various record labels. I got some response but it wasn't the type of response that I was looking at so my demo found it's way into Mentors hands and he invited me to his studio and said lets to something. That's how I became part of the Mentor Kolektiv.

A.C: I'm a rapper; I've been doing drum and bass for time. I've been MC'ing for about six years now. I've been performing at Brixton and basically all over the country really. I've been doing hip-hop with my mate 'Terra.' We put stuff out and it got good reviews in magazines like Hip Hop Connection. We did a thing on Channel East and Mentor was the TV Presenter. He gave me some of his beats and I was like 'yeah, heavy' but then he went to Tanzania so I couldn't do anything with him. He came back and did a remix of the Missy Elliot tune and I read about it in the paper. I was selling Mixtapes outside the Kanye West concert and bumped into him their and he was 'like come into the studio sometime.' Then he called me about making some tunes together and it went from there really.

Mr Mak: I come from the street level, I DJ in clubs, play at clubs. I DJ pretty much all over the country. I met 'Firing Squad' from Kiss FM and basically gave them a demo and they introduced me to 2point9 and which is the 'The Rishi Rich Project' management. They took me on board so I started touring with them, did stuff on the Kiss Show with them and eventually Mentor asked me to join the Kolektiv. Mentor: I'm a producer; I kinda look after the group. I manage the day-to-day activities, gigs and all that stuff. I produce the beats and give a general direction of the group.

Mentor Kolektiv

DJ Dev: Who came up with the name Kolektiv and who decided to spell it the way it's spelt?

Mentor: Well, I was with the management and we were looking for a name for my own solo thing. We thought of different things like Mentor Movement, the Mentor Crew, the Mentor Cartel and then we thought we'd used what would probable describe it best and that was Kolektiv. The spelling kinda came up because obviously it's more a kind of hip-hop thing frenetically, in Tanzania we do things frenetically, the way it sounds so that is how a Swahili speaking person would spell it anyway.

DJ Dev: This one is for DES-C, we talked about vocalists and lack of the original lyrics in bhangra music and melodies, what is you whole view on this?

DES-C: There are various vocalists out their who come out with different types of styles when writing the lyrics but for me my lyrics are based situations to do with love, cultural, to do with you heart is broken, you know. I write my lyrics around what I feel and bounce of Mentors beats so whatever kind of he got 'fast, slow' I will do the vocals around that. So in the same way we are making a new sort of melody as well and it's original rather than anything, you know. I tend to keep my lyrics traditional, I write my own lyrics. I don't take the lyrics from the norm you know. I want to keep away from that sort off stereotype of 'Gidian Di Rani' and 'Gide Vich Nach' and the standard same old, same old, you know. It's quite boring; people want to hear something original, something to do with party situation you knows but something different.

Irfan: This ones for Mentor, when Masaeb last spoke (click here to view interview) to you talked about how you set up the label (Poa Records) in Tanzania and how it was the 1st time you were producing on your own. In hindsight how has this experience helped your production skills?

Mentor

Mentor: I've got a lot more experience now being in the studio and communicating with artists. Being a producer it not just about making beats at the end of the day, it's about communicating with the artists and getting the best out of them. Recording and Engineering as well, my skills on these departments have really developed since then. Also, being a producer and being out there own my own has given me the mentality to really sink my teeth into stuff and not wait around for someone else to do it for me but just to do it myself you know. It's helped become really independent and get of my own back to get things done you know.

Irfan: Mixtapes are fast becoming a trend on the desi music scene with Tigerstyle and The Sona Family releasing them amongst others! What made the 'Mentor Kolektiv' want to put out a Mixtape of your own?

Mr Mak: I think our main intention was to promo us as the 'Mentor Kolektiv' as we are not actually selling the Mixtape. The UK market for selling Mixtapes is not that big at the moment. We are following the US trend, which is massive for Mixtapes. We are using as a backbone to promo our music and us as a brand. It's more than just about selling the music initially.

Mentor: It gives you a good idea of the kinda of music we will sell in the future. The stuff that I've done as a producer in the past, I put on there a bit. Plus to showcase the individual talents of our band including A.C. and DES-C as well as a few other artists that we have collaborated with.

DJ Dev: You say it's not available to sell, so how do people get their hands on the Mixtape?

A.C: We'll be pushing it in the street; I've got a street team. It will be all the different areas Southall, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and anywhere we the core audience is going to like it then we can push it to them. Also, you can get it on the website (www.mentorkolektiv.com) and we'll be pushing it at shows as well.

DES-C: Like A.C. said you could get it thought the site but the way you get it is if you purchase a sticker or whistle or even a shirt for that example [Everybody Laughs]. Mentor: DES-C, DES-C, just use your initiative and stuff! You get a sticker (looking at DES-C) and you get a free Mixtape with 21 tracks, so it's good value for money. It's the best sticker in the world [Everybody Laughs]. DJ Dev: So 21 tracks, out of them, how many actually feature the Mentor Kolektiv? Mentor: 5 tracks plus individual freestyles. The main tracks are Pasand, Any Girl, Kaalja, and Tokha.

Mixtape Volume 1

Mr Mak: It's mixed live as well, not computer produced. It's from one of out live sets. That's what a Mixtape should be really about.

Irfan: You featured Blitzkrieg on a couple of tracks on the Mixtape. What can I say about this guy except that he is without doubt the best out and out desi rapper ever! I heard he did his tracks in one take! What was it like to work with him and how highly do you rate him?

Mentor: Yeah, yeah Blitzkrieg is very talented he did his thing in like one take! He's like a hungry artist, he'll be out there battling people you know, he came down and he was battling people in Leicester Square and just randomly on the street. He calls me up and says 'Yo, I'm in Cuba, I'm battling guys out here.' I'm like 'what you doing like, do you just go round the whole word battling people.' That's what he does so for his it's an art form, a creative art form. He's really good at it; you know what I mean.

Mr Mak: I've never heard him before prior to the Mixtape so from an unbiased stand point I really do rate him. I think he's good.

Irfan: Who are your favourite desi artists that you would most like to collaborate with?

Mentor: Hunterz and whole Phat Trax crew definitely man. Their album was brilliant you know. It's similar to what we are trying to achieve by crossing the Asian scene with the urban scene, they've done it really well. All three individual members are really really talented. If I could get them on a track with the Mentor Kolektiv, like all of us on one track then that would be great.

DES-C & A.C.

DES-C: I would like to collaborate with Jassi Sidhu; as for me he's a big inspiration and stuff. He's hit the India coast, the Punjab coast, that is really hard for a British born Asian to do you know. He's the first to make it through, I'm sure he's pretty big for people in Canada and America as well so for me he's the one artist I would like to collaborate with. DJ Dev: It's said that the UK born vocalists struggle on their pronunciation, how are you developing your pronunciation? DES-C: Well basically at a very young

age when I was in my nappies and stuff, the only people that use to put Punjabi to me where my mum and my grand dad. It was pretty hard-core because my mums from back home and was really hard for me to communicate with her in English and she taught me certain Punjabi words and stuff. Then my grand dad, his type of generation, were speakers of Urdu, Punjabi and he was the one that gave me my name (DES-C).

Irfan: Who are your favourite mainstream artists that you would most like to collaborate with?

A.C: Busta Rhymes, Dirty Doogz is good, Klashnekof is heavy, Genesis and Terra, the British Rappers.

DES-C: For me it would have to be Jay-Z and Usher but out of the two probably Usher.

Mentor: Naz is my all-time favourite rapper. From the UK it would have to be Dizzie Rascal and probable J2K.

Mr Mak: Music Soulchild.

DJ Dev: A.C. what did you think of DES-C's vocals before you'd even seen him?

A.C: I though he was like old. I thought he was like 35 and some big man and he must be like have been doing his thing for ages like so was kinda worried as to what he might think about collaborating with someone like me. I was thinking he's old and everything [Laughter] and then I met him and he was like young, I was like massive.

DJ Dev: What sort of crowd response have you been getting on the gigs and stuff?

DES-C: Basically I didn't realise my voice was that raw. When I was singing 'live' people were expecting me to start rapping because of the whole image but when I started doing my free styling from the instrumentals that Mak and Mentor produced, it's a whole silence in the crowd. They are thinking like 'what the hell, where did this guy come from?' Like we weren't expecting him to do that, that's not right, you know? It blew them away but at the same time they are like he's so young. I'm pretty happy that I got a mature voice. I'm pretty happy that my voice appeals to the older skool people as well you know. I want be seen as more than just a singer, a dancer as well you know, a performer.

Irfan: If their was something that you could change about the bhangra industry what would that be?

DES-C: It would be taking beats off the mainstream industry and looping it, just putting Punjabi vocalists on it, a tumbi player, a bit of dhol. I think that is not original.

Irfan: So you feel, that it should be banned? DES-C: Yeah that should be banned! It's quite annoying. The biggest thing that should be banned is Internet Piracy. I can understand people in South Africa or somewhere, where people can't buy the album. But if I've got a guy living on the same Road as me, but just a couple of blocks away downloading then if I find out he's downloading then trust me he won't be living the next day [Everybody Laughs]. Mentor: I would say people should

Mentor Kolektiv

collaborate more and stop kind of beingenclosed in their own shells and get out their and work with other artists.

DJ Dev: You were talking about sampling before but there is a bit of sampling on the Mixtape. Do you want to clarify the reasons for having it on there?

Mentor: First of all, we are not selling this Mixtape; it's a promotional tool. Basically what we've done is Mak's brought in that kinda of Urban DJ element by using other hip-hop instrumentals. It was basically a way of getting DES-C and A.C. to get the free styles down because it was a quick thing. What we do on the live circuit as well is we use instrumentals just to get the crowd lively. It kinda of just bridges the gap between the DJ set and the actually P.A, I mean after hearing us live people say 'you should get some of that down on CD as well' coz people like hearing that kinda stuff, you know. DES-C's grimey vocal over the traditional hip-hop beats is what really gets the crowd going. It was like off the recommendation of people that saw us live that we decided to add it to the Mixtape.

DJ Dev: Would you ever sample on your own solo album?

Mentor: I wouldn't, I don't think that's creative man! I prefer to keep everything original. If I sample then I would sample from something obscure that no one knew and twist it up in such a away that you don't recognise it and make it something else.

Irfan: People always talk about the Internet negatively. What are the positives of the Internet in your opinions?

A.C: Downloading in countries where people can't get hold of you stuff helps as someone half way round the world can hear it but if people have got money and they like your stuff then they should buy it because at the end of the day you wouldn't go into a shop and just take a chocolate bar, as you would get done for it. Music is like a product, which enriches your life that is otherwise depressing. So you may as well pay for something that is enriching your life.

DES-C: The Internet is good if you are starting new and it's easier for people from far places like A.C. said to hear your stuff. It's a bit more for funny when people local to you are downloading, but there you go you can't help yourself can you!

Mentor: The Internet has revolutionised the way we communicate. For people that don't know about us they just click a button and they got our songs, they got our biographies; they got information all that kinda stuff. It's made the us all closer. It's allowed us to do collaborations worldwide with people like 'Sir Aah' from Washington. Like if you want to send a music file to someone you attach it to you e-mail and it's done! Five minutes later the geezer's got your tune in Australia or wherever he is, you know.

Mr Mak: The Internet is a great way to develop our product. Not just the music you know. The Internet is massive and we can use that to brand us worldwide.

Mr Mak

Irfan: The desi scene is saturated with albums coming out non-stop. The standard being very variable with the crap ones mixed in with some really good ones. What do you think can be done to control the number of releases? Mr Mak: It's a lot to do with the Asian Media. They should not review tracks and give them a good rating or even say anything about them if they are nothing. Everything is just being put out their regardless of the quality of the artist or the quality of the music. It feels like everything is just being rinsed out just for

the sake of sales. End of the day that's not what it's all about, it's should about the really good music. Even if they (media) didn't criticise it, if they didn't write about it then that would be better.

Mentor: It's all about the artists as well. If they didn't put out so much stuff then you wouldn't have so much crap. Give quality artists a chance, and be real about the artists that are not that good.

A.C: When mates and me were trying to promote ourselves we used to sent it to the Magazines and stuff. If it were shit then they would tell us and give us advice on how to improve. I think it would be good for the bedroom dj's to get some constructive criticism like this. If your thing's crap and no one is going to buy it then it will save you time and money in the end to do this.

Irfan: If you were stranded on a desert island, and you can take one album with you, what would that be?

DES-C: The Best Of Yamla Jatt. That's because it's traditional and old skool Punjabi and good for weddings and stuff. He's the kind of king, respect.

Mr Mak: If I had a CD without a CD player then maybe one with a lady picture on it… naah… on the real… like I said before Music Soulchild, I can relate to his lyrics.

Irfan: You are currently taking bookings for the Mentor Kolektiv. For anyone interested what can you offer?

Mentor: Just a real raw hype kinda show, we got two great front men (DES-C & A.C) who bring two different elements of music, the hip-hop side and the Punjabi side. So it crosses on both kinda ways with the Punjabi element and the urban element. We also do something called the Producer/DJ battle. I take my sampler and Mak scratches up alongside it, it's just a real hype show.

Mr Mak: Like Mentor said we bring a whole new element to a live gig. We don't just bring the CD down and speak over it. All the gigs we've done so far have absolutely killed it. As soon as we play a track, everyone's dancing straight away.

DES-C: We were the warm up act on the Jay Sean concert in Birmingham and London. We just put Pasand on out site, www.mentorkolektiv.com, as a download just for people that can't access it. It's been on there for 4 weeks now. The show was jam packed and when we where about to finish our we could hear people started whispering 'they going to play Pasand.' It was quite shocking for me, as we've not got a video out for it or nothing. Then everyone started singing along to it and Mentor had a big grin out the back while he was doing his work on the sound system and stuff, so we were pretty chuffed.

DJ Dev: What do you think of live performances from other bhangra acts?

Mentor: Well, I think people should put a bit more effort in because live performance is when people really get to see you. Turn a CD on, then stand on stage and sing. I don't know for me it's not exciting, I believe a show should be a show and people should do something meaningful and experimental.

Irfan: Is your show totally live? A.C: Yeah, I'm doing all the rapping live; DES-C is doing all the singing live and Maks doing his thing on the decks live, scratching live. Mentors got a Drum Machine and when we do the producer battle, that's all live. So it isn't any fake business. Mr Mak: If you come to any of the gigs, Jay Sean, Juggy D, 2point9 as a whole and the Mentor Kolektiv we put a lot of effort in bringing the live element in. We feel that's very important. It's important to look professional and do a professional job.

Jay Sean, DES-C & Juggy D

Irfan: What else can we expect from the Mentor Kolektiv in the near future?

A.C: The CD's only a 1000 copies so it's only a limited edition. So buy the sticker and you'll get the CD! We are trying to build brand so we'll be doing more Mixtapes in the future. Mentor will be doing his solo album, then DES-C, and then Mak and then I'll do something.

Mentor: We got a comic strip coming out. So you'll get an animated version of us online. It's to bring another creative side of us, as we know that we've got the potential to do it and I don't think anyone has really explored that well, you know like combining the music and the animation. Well, not in the Asian market anyway so were trying to bring that to the forefront.

DJ Dev: So what's that going to be about?

A.C: It's going to be about comical stuff but also about what's going on in the world, like political things and stereotyping and just taking the Mickey out of what's happening in the news and the kind of stuff that relates to people.

Mentor: We aren't really out to bring a political agenda across. We just want to talk about stuff that's relevant to us as young British Asians. We don't want to offend anyone but at the same time but just want put a humorous light on it and our own kinda perspective as well.

Irfan: Any final words for the thousand of desitunes4u readers worldwide? You can talk about you parking tickets now [A.C & DES-C both got £40 car parking fines while doing the interview].

A.C: I want to say I don't like Traffic Wardens even though my Auntie is a traffic Warden. She got battered up with a bar for giving someone a traffic ticket and walking away [Everyone Laughing Loudly]. I'm not going to do anything like that but seriously I don't appreciate getting a ticket today of all days because I haven't got any money! I am going to be become a traffic warden and get my money back! Anyways I want to big up all the fans for coming to our shows. All the people that are rowdy rather than the stush people because it's all about being rowdy.

DES-C: Don't download people because it's all about. If you're rich then you are more poor than anybody [Everyone Laughs]. I mean if you rich and your downloading then you are poorer than anybody, trust me!

A.C: It will come around back again and you get what you deserve at the end of the day.

Mr Mak: Thanks to all the people that have supported the Rishi Rich project and the Mentor Kolektiv. Expect a lot more to come from the Mentor Kolektiv and myself. 2point9 have got a lot things that we feel that a lot of people haven't covered so watch this space!

Mentor: Thanks for all the support and love. We are kinda new but some people look at us and think 'they could be the next best thing or whatever.' We appreciate all the support. I just want to say support Asian music because no one else is going to do it for us as this is only the beginning and we've got a long way to go.

Big thanks to the Mentor Kolektiv for inviting us down to the studio and doing the interview with us. Make sure you check out www.mentorkolektiv.com, this is the start of big things to come trust us. If you want to e-mail any of the Kolektiv then you can do just that at the following e-mail addresses.