Swami recently linked up with Irfan to talk about their new album 'Equalize.'

Irfan: In recent times India has proved to be a real success for you. Has the level of success for ‘Swami' gained in India surprised you?

Diamond: Yes and no…Yes, it can be surprising because you never know how well you are gonna relate to your own people when you spend your whole life with a warped perception of music living in London on the other side of the world! ...And no it is not surprising because I have faith that there are many people out there that believe in PROGRESS and as we have seen over the past few years, India is rapidly changing and becoming anexciting place for new entertainment.

S-Endz: We had the opportunity to rework the songs off our UK release before we went over to India . Our sound had radically changed by then and of course our line-up had too, so the "Swami/So Who Am I" album was drastically improved from what the UK had heard and already deemed to be good. So we were excited to go over there and headline the MTV Style Awards and play some other gigs. We are heading back over there next month to release "Equalize" so I guess we will see how the last album has impacted people over the last couple of years. It's gonna be interesting.

Irfan: Your band has changed a bit since our last interview. Can you tell us more about the new Swami crew!

Swami

Diamond: The current live line-up features myself on decks, keyboards, guitars and vocoder, Sups and S-Endz on vocals and Bobby P on dhol. This has worked well for a lot of the club gigs we have been doing recently. We also have Rocky Singh (drums) and Stormz (bass) for the festivals we do around Europe …We like to keep it versatile… Sometimes we do gigs with just me DJ'ing and maybe some dhol or MC'ing. On the album there are many featured guests including Pras, BooStylz, Ishmael, Spee, Sonia Panesar, Yam Boy and Lady Ru and it is great to bring them in for shows when the schedules match up..!

S-Endz: The current line up of myself, Sups, Bobby Panesar and of course Diamond is by far the best and most dynamic line-up we have had. Every piece of the puzzle is here without going overboard.

Irfan: You have worked hard on the ‘live' scene with the band. In your own words describe a live performance by Swami!

Diamond: We are totally focused on making the Swami live experience electric and energetic and genuinely LIVE…there is no bullshit miming when you come and see us…we like to drop some exclusive improvised stuff live too…

S-Endz: Energy, entertainment, songs you will sing along to, and real musicianship.....no faking, no lip-synching, 100% realness!

Irfan: To be blunt they're has a lot of crap being released in the Asian industry in the last couple of years. With nothing fresh, with the odd exception, too much same old same old for my liking! Do you agree with this statement?

Diamond: OK, what I am about to say now is gonna get copied and pasted and talked about but I think it has to be said…Yes, there is too much crap out there and most of it is coming from people who are just not good enough or don't know how to build a good team to make something good enough. On one hand, I hear all this stuff that sounds like some traditional paranoia like there is some kind of preservation order on Asian culture and on the other I hear very amateur whinny Hip-Hop and RnB or clichéd DnB . I just don't think many Asian people take the music industry serious enough and the numbers of artists who do not cross over or build a real career proves this. I believe music is all or nothing if you want real credibility and respect…not a hobby.

S-Endz: We are not here to single handedly save music, but we hope that the public knows to expect something fresh and against the grain from us every time, whilst keeping the core of killer song writing and top notch production.

Irfan: As you are aware ‘Politics' in the ‘Asian Music Industry' is rife. I know you aim avoid the politics as much as possible. As a whole do you think the ‘Politics' in the ‘Asian Music Industry' is contributing to holding back the scene as a whole? Diamond: Politics is of course rife within any industry…and if certain people want to carry on with some kind of problem then that is fine by us…you can tell who they are because their websites are full of crap…we let the music do the talking cos that is our weapon. There a few people who are obsessed with causing trouble for their own selfish needs and they are only holding back their own progress… we just get on with music in a positive frame of mind.

Swami

Irfan: It's been over 3 years since your last album DesiRock; why have you taken so long?

Diamond: Yes that is a long time…we did spend a lot of time focusing on the live recording of the DesiRock album for Sony BMG in India and I have worked on some Bollywood stuff, remixes and other productions too, but the Equalize album has been a year in the making including some very widespread recording sessions…

S-Endz: It's actually only been 2 years since "So Who Am I" was released on Sony BMG which was a complete re working of the DesiRock album from start to finish. Since then we have worked on a number of songs, with at least an albums worth that have morphed into a different project now entirely.

Irfan: I remember an old saying of yours ‘Never Repeat The Same Style' on the next album. Why is this important to you?

Diamond: Repetition is boring to me…the whole point of Swami being such a personal project to me is that I can experiment with new ideas and share them with people across the world. It is the totally honest ‘me' and it will always keep changing and exploring new concepts musically. I believe in progress and don't care much for a stagnant culture.

Irfan: Your new album is without doubt the most international album you have released to date. Tell us more about the international nature of the album in terms of the way it has been recorded and the artists featured.

Diamond: The album has been recorded in India , USA , South Africa , Australia , France and England . I was inspired by working with different artists in different cultures to bring a vibe together in a totally new way. This is not a world music album, this is an international pop album based around my desi and western experiences. Featuring artists from the USA such as Pras from the Fugees, El Feco, Lady Ru and BooStylz really gave some of the tracks that urban edge. I also indulged in a whole new South African flavour with the amazing vocal talents of Ishmael, an artist I am currently working with and who you are gonna hear a lot more of soon...  And of course going to India to get the real desi Punjabi flavor from artists such as Romesh Chohan, Lakhwinder Lakha and Anil Aftab made the whole contrast even more exciting. I used a lot of digital technology in making this album by sending files across the internet to different studios around the world as well as using a Mac laptop with Pro Tools for portability when flying around.

Irfan: I understand you've got a video for ‘Hey Hey' in the works. Can you tell us more about that!

Diamond: The video to Hey Hey was shot in four hours after our recent BBC R1 Maida Vale Session…! We thought as everybody was together from around the world we should just do it! The video has a magazine front cover kind of look to it and was directed by X1X…these guys are just amazing at what they do and such fun to work with.

Irfan: Every time I've spoke to you on the phone in recent times about the new album I've got the feeling you are kinda worried that the new style of music might leave some of your listeners behind as they fail to understand the new evolving sound. What are these concerns that I can sense!

Swami

Diamond: My concerns are really for those people who really do live in a bubble when it comes to desi music and progress. Sometimes I feel they just don't get it because they are afraid of progress, or perhaps even insecure about their identity because they are isolated inside their community…or maybe I am spoilt living in London where you hear a real eclectic mix of music and culture. Let's face it, there are a lot of sheltered Asian people living in a culture bubble around the UK as well as Canada and parts of the US where everything is static and must be according to tradition, but for me the air runs out in a bubble and eventually you suffocate… is that too deep?

Irfan: What else do ‘Swami' have lined up in the near future that we should know about?

Diamond: We are working on remixes right now with more English flavours as well as planning a video for Electro Jugni. We have a bunch of bonus remixes for download via our exclusive website that is listed only on the inside of the actual CD cover and therefore only available to people who bought the CD! We are about to release the album in India and are currently in negotiations with EMI. We will be doing a number of shows in India and Australia in the New Year so here we go again!

S-Endz: Lets not give the game away too early. We'll just say that we've got something that's gonna freak you out....

Irfan: Do you have any final word for the desitunes4u readers worldwide?

Diamond: Please let u know what you think of the Equalize album at swamimusic.com/forums…cos we do this for you…

S-Endz: Peacelovedanceandbewild! Equalize