So, with virtually everyone at Desitunes4u pulling out some kind of "Exclusive", the pressure was on me (DJ Dev) to get an interview with someone big. Someone with some controversy, someone who's not afraid to say what they think, someone who can actually walk the walk as well as talking the talk. But artists like this are very few and far between...then it came to me - who better than the Glaswegian duo, Tigerstyle, on the eve of the release of there second mixtape.
DJ Dev: So what's been happening with you guys since the last time I chatted to ya?
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Tigerstyle: Right now we been doin loads of remixes, sum b sides and sum bootleg we got Street Symphony's "Babyboo" and Jody Lei's "Jus the music" official remixes in circulation they been gettin good radio play and club reviews. We've also done 4 tracks for Bikram Singh's debut album which he's signing to music waves, which should be out in the next few months, he's shooting the video real soon. |
DJ Dev: Nice, they're not exactly household names - Where are these artists from?
Tigerstyle: Both are new artists; I don't know where they are from. They are UK talent.
DJ Dev: So you are helping to push UK talent though, that's cool. What else? What's the deal with the mixtape?
Tigerstyle: Yeh well our album is underway and since its gonna take longer than we intended to get a release for that we decided to keep the public entertained with another mixtape. After the success of the last one and the bootlegs on radio we felt people should be able to get hold of the songs somehow. There was a lot of demand for the last one and I'm sure the same for this one in due course.
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DJ Dev: Ok - will people be able to get their hands on this one? Is it going to be a commercial release?
Tigerstyle: Its not a commercial release as such, same as the last one. It's a limited pressing. You can obtain copies from www.zibamusic.com in the USA and www.punjab2000.co.uk, Friends Electrics, Belgrave Road, Leicester either by mail order or you can pop into the shop. I'm going to try set up my online store but to be honest we are busy with other projects so we'll see how it goes. There are a lot of good tracks on the mixtape, the stand out track for us is Ishq Nagni with Labh Janjua on vocals v's Mr Vegas over the coolie |
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riddim its the one we're gonna push in the clubs and on radio. |
DJ Dev: Yeh man, that track sounds hot, but the use of the sample is quite blatant. What are your views on sampling? I thought you guys were generally keeping away from it?
Tigerstyle: Bro it's a mixtape. The whole vibe is to jus give people a blend of sounds they have heard and generally know with something new and fresh. It's a banger nun the less. Our album material is all original though.
DJ Dev: Yeh bro I hear ya. The thing about the last mixtape - the tracks weren't actually mixed in together, like they normally are in a mixtape - can we expect the same from this mixtape?
Tigerstyle: Yeh we don't bother doin that. We're jus keeping it simple. We're too busy working on our other legit material to get technical with the mixtape. It's just a fun release.
DJ Dev: Well if you need a dj bro....
Tigerstyle: Hahahahha! The mixtape is hot for dj's though. It's got tracks dj's want to get hold off.
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DJ Dev: Yeh man definitely
Tigerstyle: I've had so many people ask about the hip hop bootlegs we done, cos they heard em on radio and so many dj's took mp3s from the net and jus played them, I think it's worth dj's gettin hold of the mixtape, especially for the Ishq Nagni tune and its a good way to get hold of all of our latest material at once rather than tracking down each tune individually on vinyl or whatever. Another track which will hit it off is the remix of Dhol Vajda - its a much better mix than the first version from the Extended Play release, it's doin real well at weddings we play - it was always a classic but this mix I'm sure everyone will agree kills it!! |
DJ Dev: Most definitely, that tunes going to get any crowd moving. Talking bout mp3s what's your view on them?
Tigerstyle: It's all good, We've learned that even though people do download (we had 40,000 downloads of the first mixtape) people still generally look for a physical copy of the album if its quality. We had so many e-mails from folk asking to buy the mixtape.
DJ Dev: Same here mate; I've had loads of e-mails querying its availability.
Tigerstyle: It wasn't readily available and this one won't be either, but it shows real music still has commercial pull - the market is just saturated with sh** right now thats all.
DJ Dev: What's your take on the bhangra scene at the moment then?
Tigerstyle: Sooner or later things will look better, no ones coming with any new ideas. Everyone's just rinsing the same old ideas or whatever did well last year. Its like "for fu**s sake Lember Hussainpuri and Master Rakesh ain't the only capable singers in the industry!" Everyone is just goin for the formula that was successful wit Zeus. It's sad!!
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DJ Dev: There seem to be a lack of originality, so which singers are you going to be bringing into the limelight?
Tigerstyle: Bro I got so many new singers on my album. The mixtape brings Labh Janjua back on the scene with a killer track, something he hasn't had for a while and he's singing on a fresh new melody too. The album has alot of new talent from India alongside the big names of now like Lember and Surinder Shinda etc.
DJ Dev: Thats good, I get tired of hearing the same singers on virtually |
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all UK albums. Is it a case of producers being lazy and not seeking out the talent, or is it the case that its just easier and cheaper just to buy lyrics and lay a beat over them?
Tigerstyle: Bro I have vocals coming to me from India all the time. Not all of them are good but what I'm saying is there's so much scope and raw talent in India. I'm getting recordings, which have the prospect of blowing up if producers have the capability to do it, but what everyone wants right now is the same old artists that proved a formula for success last year. |
DJ Dev: Stopping the scene from progressing so to speak?
Tigerstyle: I have few camps selecting good vocals from our catalogues so it's good that there are individuals who are looking at the bigger picture and have a vision for their music. I think its just separating the serious artists from the people who wanna jus live and work off the back of other peoples ideas and success, they ain't bringin anything new to the table. We've never really used singers that were in fashion; from the start we've been pushing the newest vocalists to UK bhangra. We introduced Romi Gill, Bhupi Gill and Kaka on a level that no one had done b4, and the album will host sum sick talent not just artists singing in punjabi from India, but singers and rappers from over the globe that contribute something new to desi music, even the influences on the tracks is not restricted by UK or India, we have straight Hip-Hop, Arabic and eastern influence on tracks.
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DJ Dev: So, any idea when the album will be released or who its going to be released with? You've produced a couple of tracks for untouchables - is that the label you are going to sign with?
Tigerstyle: Bro we are running independently from everyone right now. Tigerstyle productions / soldier sound recordings is functioning the way we want it to right now, totally free from everyone.... totally unsigned. We do ghost productions and supply studio sessions to artists and labels here in UK and buy in vocals recordings from various new artists from India to supply new producers and labels here and in the USA. It's a bigger operation than we envisaged cos we're bringin real music from the artists now, there is no need for new artists to deal wit labels until their products are made and ready to release so no one would need to get stuck into dodgy contracts cos everything would be crystal clear once the products on the table for review before release. Its politics bruv!!! |
DJ Dev: True, the industry seems to be full of politics.
Tigerstyle: Thats just business bro. We've matured quickly over the last couple of years and we're still learning how things are run. It's a hard job to do. I think the UK has so much talent, especially within the desi crews there's a lot of good ideas but right now nuthin seems to be gettin anywhere.
DJ Dev: You are one of the few bhangra artists to be actually producing some mainstream remixes - what do you think of the quality of "desi" remixes coming out?
Tigerstyle: Remixes are remixes bro, don't matter how much we blow up other peoples tracks we still ain't gettin our own sh** thru! That's the politics. The remixes are all tuff, you heard them yourself, Rishi Rich, PMC, everyone doin a sick job - but where's our music? Where's our own sh**? Feels like the mainstream are rinsing our sound cos of the fashion and not really investing anything into our artists and our scene.
DJ Dev: Well, Rishi Rich Project seems to be doing quite well.
Tigerstyle: Bro nuthin is certain until it gets released so don't count your chickens until they hatch. We've had so many set backs it's unbelievable but we're still here, still working. One thing I forgot to mention was the Shaheedi release as tribute to 1984 golden temple massacre and the rise of the khalistan movement.
DJ Dev: Yeah, how did that go down?
Tigerstyle: That CD got released in April around Vaisakhi time and we've hit good sales. Everyone who bought a copy loved it. It's a new concept within our genre to be doin a fully political album.
DJ Dev: I hear all proceeds were going to charity?
Tigerstyle: The proceeds go towards the pressing and then yeah the profits will go towards seva. Slowly we're seeing so many artists collaborating on projects with each other now - its good to see... a couple of years ago everyone was tucked in their own little world!
DJ Dev: Cool, so you're talking about collabos - who would you guys most like to collaborate with?
Tigerstyle: I think it would be a good step for us to cross over and work with people like Ludacris and Busta. Maybe Elephant Man or someone like that.
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DJ Dev: And, anybody from the bhangra industry?
Tigerstyle: I enjoy working with new talent though. I like working with Bikram Singh and the new artists we got from India, and the likes of Blitzkrieg are gonna breathe fresh air to the desi scene. The remix of Taakre by Navdeep was mind blo'in he made it sound totally different but just as raw. On the mixtape you'll hear a female voice, and Manjit from NY thats another talented artist we've come across on our travels. |
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DJ Dev: That name will be quite alien to a lot of our readers, tell us a little about Navdeep.
Tigerstyle: Navdeep is a friend of Bikram's. He's based in NY and he does mostly trip hop drum and bass and Asian underground type shit. His website is www.360navdeep.com. If you listen to Bobby and Nihal or Adil Ray on the BBC you'll know who he is. He played Shaanti last year at the medicine bar and trust me it was a sonic trip.
DJ Dev: That website been down for a while bro.
Tigerstyle: His site is getting renewed.
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DJ Dev: So, he's bringing something different then.
Tigerstyle: Definitely! He's my boy though, he dropped us a track for the 84 Shaheedi CD that brought a whole different twist to the subject matter.
DJ Dev: So, last time I chatted to you guys you just had a third member, but you back to the original two now?
Tigerstyle: The third member wasn't actually a third member. When you roll, you dont think about who's in the crew and whose not, you jus get down to business. We have many folk around while we tour and produce, it dont make them part of Tigerstyle, true at the time he was hooking up sum deals for us but he's doin his own thing now and good luck to him. |
DJ Dev: Cool, so how about some word association to finish this thing off?
DJ Dev: Nihal
Tigerstyle: Sri Lankan brer
DJ Dev: J-Skillz
Tigerstyle: Lame
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DJ Dev: Outlandish
Tigerstyle: Soulful
DJ Dev: Deeyah
Tigerstyle: I dunno her
DJ Dev: Dr Zeus
Tigerstyle: Chillin
DJ Dev: Moviebox
Tigerstyle: Fu** off
DJ Dev: Panjabi MC |
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Tigerstyle: Leen
DJ Dev: Khiza
Tigerstyle: Average
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DJ Dev: Bikram Singh
Tigerstyle: Ready to Blo
DJ Dev: Indy Sagu
Tigerstyle: Bradford
DJ Dev: Ravi Bal
Tigerstyle: Veteran
DJ Dev: Bally Sagoo
Tigerstyle: Businessman
DJ Dev: Tarli Digital |
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Tigerstyle: Woolly Hat
DJ Dev: Raje Shwari
Tigerstyle: Dropped
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DJ Dev: Raghav
Tigerstyle: Talented
DJ Dev: Panjabi Hit Squad
Tigerstyle: Loud...they make alot of noise
DJ Dev: Juggy D
Tigerstyle: Funky
DJ Dev: 22K
Tigerstyle: Grimey, Blitz is my boy
DJ Dev: Metz n Trix |
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Tigerstyle: hahaha cheese
DJ Dev: Sneha Mistri
Tigerstyle: Determined
Tigerstyle: Our comments for the artists I dont know personally are a reflection on their music, not them as people obviously!
DJ Dev: Any final word for the millions of Desitunes4u readers?
Tigerstyle: Keep it locked to the realest of desi artists, and fu** the bullsh** thats polluting our market! Buy your music and download your bootlegs. And keep your ears open. Thanks to Desitunes4u and DJ Dev!!
That concludes the interview, firstly a big thanks to tigerstyle for doin the interview. If you want to contact them you can e-mail them at tigerstyleproductions@hotmail.com and make sure you check their site at www.tigerstyleonline.co.uk !! As mentioned earlier don't forget to check out their B side mixes (Jody Lei & Street Symphony) and the May edition of Touch Magazine cos its got a feature on them by PHS. |
