It feels like a past lifetime now, but I was involved in the British Asian music scene and as you’ve found my web-site, I’m guessing it was my music that brought you here, hopefully 😉
My attempt at an autobiography…
I grew up listening to many styles of music such as Jungle, Bhangra, House, Trance, Hip-Hop, etc but it was UK Desi music that I gravitated towards when I started producing music. I started releasing cheeky remixes around 2002, which got me some attention. I then made my “professional debut” as a contributing artist on Panjabi Hit Squad‘s Desi Beats album, which was released by Universal/Def Jam UK in 2003. Working with DJ Markie Mark on that project is an experience I am grateful to have had. I went on to release several independent recordings between 2005 and 2010 under the tutelage of the legendary Frantic Kam. In that time, I was fortunate enough to have worked with some of the biggest names in Panjabi music such as Surinder Shinda, Lehmber Hussainpuri and the late Dev Raj Jassal. I was Bobby Friction‘s featured artist of the week on the BBC Asian Network and I even produced and hosted my own weekly radio show on Sanjhi Awaz, which was the first independent Asian music station broadcasting on DAB at that time.
It was a crazy period in my life. I achieved everything that I wanted to within a decade so I have no regrets.
The Throwback album…
I never look backwards and I had no desire to re-release my music but people kept asking me for those old tunes. The Throwback features (almost) all the music I made between 2003 and 2010. Every track has been professionally remastered (directly from the master recordings) and we’ve included original versions, no edits or dodgy remixes.
The Throwback is available now via Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Tidal, JioSaavn India and all popular streaming services. From December 2021, you’ll be able to purchase a digital copy of the album over on BandCamp.
I’d like to thank all the people that approached me over the years and asked for those old tunes – I’m grateful that you liked my work enough to still want to hear it and to take the time to contact me. The Throwback is therefore dedicated to you all. Thank you.
In 2018, I released Pretty Look Gal, which featured the talents of Leftfield‘s official tour MC, Cheshire Cat. If you know your UK reggae music history, this man is a Legend. This project was something I’d wanted to do ever since I got into producing music and I’m grateful he agreed to record with me.
Me & music today…
I still have my production studio, The Hive. I still make music and I still spin music for fun (gotta keep those DJ skills sharp) but my output is at a much slower rate than before. I work for a large charity, which is my focus in life right now so finding the time to fire up the drum machine between work and my personal life is difficult. As and when I do get time, I now produce backing tracks (or ‘beats’) for other artists. If you’re interested, keep an eye on my BeatStars page. New music is added (and removed) regularly.
During 2020, I was planning to venture into producing other styles of music (mainly as a personal challenge to myself) but the C19 pandemic shut those plans down. 2021 didn’t pan out much better but watch this space, I’m still around and I may just surprise you with some new music in 2022.
Peace!