Richard: First question nice and easy: Can you give us a quick introduction to who you are and what you do?

Swara: My name is Kurran Gadhvi and I am a music producer/musician/music lover! I have been classically trained in eastern classical instruments such as Tabla and Harmonium, but also in western instruments such as Violin and Piano. The influences of the two have allowed me to fuse the sounds into all the music production I do now. I have played in loads of live gigs playing with numerous artists in different genres of music including Bhangra (playing dhol), bhajans/kirtan/ghazals (on tabla, harmonium or vocal), drum & bass (live tabla) and now Grime. If I am feeling the music, I will put my heart and soul into it; play the appropriate instrument to take it to the next level.

Kurran in the studio

Richard: How did you come up with the Swara name? Swara: Production for me only started about a year and a half ago, when my co-producer Ravaliya (Resident DJ at Shaanti at the Custard Factory, Birmingham ), told me to work with him on making some beats. The first beat we made together actually got to the number 1 on Bobby Frictions BBC Asian network charts, the track was called “Line of Control” and it was a remix of a Veer Zaara track. I actually played live tabla on that track. Having produced a track without having a name for our production partnership we had to think deep about what to call ourselves. We wanted a name that

represented us fully. The name Swara actually comes from Indian classical music and means “musical notes”. As Swara, we play musical notes from our western and eastern cultures, and this is exemplified in our music.

Richard: In which genre would you classify your music?

Swara: We cannot be pigeon holed into any genre of music. We make new music everyday, depending on our moods, or what we have listened to throughout the day. We produce music covering a vast range of genres such as Grime, Hip-hop, R&B, Drum & bass, Electro-House, Bhangra, Hindi, Chill out, and classical.

Richard: There are a few desi artists out there who dabble in grime, but they're seen as artists from the Asian scene doing grime, whereas Swara have a foot inside the grime market, how did you manage that?

Swara: This is due to the influence of True Tiger Recordings. The CEO of the record label, Stanza, phoned me up and told me to come down to there studios to record a bit of tabla on a few of there tracks. Having arrived in the studio I was jamming alongside Marcie Phonix and hyper Fenn. The vibe was mad! The sound was so fresh and so different and from there True Tigers signed me up as there official percussionist! I was therefore officially joining one of the biggest Grime record labels in the UK and therefore getting a foot inside the grime market!

From then on I started making beats for True Tigers and artists associated with them such as Purple, Badness, and Wiley. The most recent projects have been with the singing sensation NY (her album hitting all music stores July 9 th ). We have been playing live on radio (BBC radio 1 and 1xtra), TV recording on Channel U and going to be playing at the Roskilde festival in Denmark July 7th!

Richard: Are you looking to bring some more Asian artists into grime?

Swara: We want to bring talented musician into the grime scene. These include singers, MC's and instrumentalists. They don't have to be Asian necessarily. However, it would be nice to see more Asians in the scene. Because there are a lot of talented Asian musicians out there, but see the grime scene as a scene not for them. But with the success we are having, with the music we are creating I would love for more talented Asian artists to get in touch with us so we could work together to make Asian influenced grime to make it appeal to even more Asians! With so many Asians coming from the heart of East London , the birthplace of Grime they should be involved automatically!

Richard: Do you prefer MC based grime or more of an R&G tip? And who are your favourite singers and MCs?
Swara: To be honest, it depends on what mood I am in. The MC based grime; I listen to when I want to give myself a burst of energy! Makes me hype, gets me rowdy! With the word play and energy in the MC based grime tracks you can feel the MC's energy within yourself. MC's such as Purple, Wiley, Ghetto, Badness and Bruza are all MC's who know how to express themselves with lyrics and there performances on stage or in studios just blow you away! The R&G vibe is a lot more soulful version of Grime. And the only girl tearing up the scene has to be NY. That's not being biased because I play in her band, it's because every time I hear her sing, it gives me goose bumps. She is not just a standard R&B singer like a lot of singers in the market. She is keeping it real with the deep tracks she is making; the lyrics are so touching, with the realness of the streets and the grime beats behind her. She is collaborating with so many grime artists it's unbelievable, MC's, Singers and of course producers. Check her website www.nysworld.com.	Kurran & Wiley

Richard: What grime projects have you got coming up in the near future?

Swara: All the grime projects we are working on are all via True Tigers. Working on there next mixtape “Eye of the Tiger Volume 2.” Working with NY on her album and making grime beats for a number of Grime MC's to spit their bars on! So much potential, so many beats being produced the opportunities are endless.

Richard: Switching things to the desi scene now, which artists do your take influence from and who do you think is making manoeuvres in the scene right now?

Swara: Desi composers that have really influenced me are the Bollywood film composers like A.R Rehman and Anu Malik. There musical production on films like Bombay and Umrao Jaan are just incredible. Also I love my bhangra. The don of bhangra production has to be Sukshinder Shinda. He is a real musician. He plays a number of instruments and you can tell this with the quality of every track he makes.

There are so many desi producers, using sample after sample, and making rubbish tunes which is spoiling the scene, with less live acts playing proper music, and DJ's just playing the sample based bhangra tracks. Sorry I had to get that off my chest.

In terms of artists making the manoeuvres right now, I think it is all up for grabs. There are a lot of mediocre singers, mediocre producers out there. Obviously Juggy D, Des-C, with the production skills of Rishi Rich and Mentor are keeping new age bhangra moving. I think the time is coming for a new big sensation.

Kurran & NY

Richard: Are there any desi releases on the horizon? Swara: We are working with a singer called Aly Hash at the moment. He is classically trained singer. Having met him randomly, my co-producer heard him sing in the middle of a street, being told to sing by Bobby Friction, we got him in the studio that week! His voice is incredible. He has so much sweetness, control and charisma. He also has an excellent writing ability, with lyrics in Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi. Our time in the studio is extremely productive. He will hum a tune in his head, I will start playing it on the piano's or the harmonium and the rest all just flows naturally. We already have half of his album completed. Hopefully by mid-summer we will have it completed and go into talks with the big desi labels, and distribution companies. Richard: Do you see yourselves with more focus on the Asian market or the grime market?

Swara: Our focus changes depending on who we have in the studio and on what type of beat we feel to produce. Swara is a production team that focus' fully on the music! We don't want to be seen as Grime artists or Asian artists. We want to be seen as a music production duo that can produce for any type of artist! Music runs through our veins. Our sound is ever evolving, we love hearing new sounds, working with up and coming artists to help nurture their talent and use our music to take them to the next level. Be it Grime or the Asian scene, as long as people love our music I am happy! Be sure to check out www.myspace.com/swaramusic for all the latest on us.