Punjabi Blog

Aman Statis Exclusive Interview
With his current release “Truthfully Speaking 2” out in stores now and his new release “Perfection” hitting stores in October… Aman Statis sits down with  for an exclusive one on one interview. Enjoy!

1. First and foremost, where are you from and how did you get the name “aMaN sTaTiS”? 

Well im from San Jose, California (USA) << For all the international people reading this…. And aMaN sTaTiS came up to me by thinking of a unique way to portray myself instead of me calling myself Dj Aman ….I consider that a cheap shot….why u may ask? Well for the reason being everybody and their moms are calling themselves a dj nowadays….funny thing is 75% of the people who call themselves djs haven’t even touched equipment before…they get a hold of the famous mixing program called Acid Pro….and automatically theyre considered djs (in their heads)…well I see it a different way….I learned how to remix through that program but actually learned how to mix live by messing around with equipment and getting the hang of it….but when I first started off it was all remixing on the computer but even at that point I never called myself a dj….and actually even now I still don’t refer to myself as one, even though some people say “go dj, that’s my dj” (TASH!) haha but anyhow im glad that I thought of something original to go by…aMaN obviously being my name and sTaTiS coming from the word status but being spelled out as statis, if you really look at it… aMaN sTaTuS or aMaN sTaTiS…my point exactly! aMaN sTaTiS looks much better!

2. How did you get into the DJ business?

Well it all started off by remixing, I never saw myself doing parties…it was all just a passion of working with music, but what had happened was one day I get a call asking if I was available to dj, in my mind I was like oh wow my first gig, so from there we setup the gig and went on from there, the gig was a huge success and till this day I’ve been getting gigs everyweekend….I don’t only work by myself but with Deejay Pds & The Explicit Dholis (Jesse, Paul & Anu) and yes we’ve done some crazy parties over the years….there will be footage of our best gigs coming up on www.amanstatis.com shortly.
3. How old were you when you started mixing?
Well when I first started remixing I had to be about 14, but when I started to learn how to mix live I was about 17, never really got the hang of it till now, and until this day I learn something new….I’ve learned that you just gotta keep at it no matter what, eventually you’ll get the hang of it, just gotta give it your best…

4. Who are some of the artists you have worked with in the past or will be working with in the future?

Well thanks to Desi Production & BgD Events I’ve gotten the chance to be in lineups with huge producers & singers from the U.K including: RDB, B21, Mitch Hyare, Manak E, Nindy Kaur, Dr. Zeus and Dj Sanj….For the future lets see, the desi scene out here in the bay area is pretty much dead, I wanna explore the world and do gigs in different parts of the country and perhaps go out of the country and see how it is out there…

5. Is there anyone that helped you get to where you are today, or is aMaN sTaTiS a one man show?

Oh, there is no way aMaN sTaTiS is a one man show…I give all due respect to the main man “Mitch Hyare” I was lost until I met him…he actually sat me down and showed me the tips and tricks…everytime I had a question he was there to answer it no matter what…for that reason I always thank him in every album I release, because quite frankly without him and his help I might not be where I am today…

6. How many albums do you have out and are you expecting to release any in the near future?

Ummm as of now I got 2 albums out….Truthfully Speaking & Truthfully Speaking 2…the next release is already finished and its set to hit out stores in October its called Perfection and it will be released through BollyRecord Entertainment…I actually gotta give credit to Bollyrecord for all they’ve done…you can check out Bollyrecord @ www.hindimoviesong.net  its actually run by two guys Anand Sharma and Sunny Singh…I approached them and they didn’t hesitate to say yes we’ll release your cd, the first time I called them and asked they said sure we’ll do it, and for that I’m truly grateful…
7. Who do you look up to in the DJ industry?
In the dj industry I look up to many people who’ve inspired me, there’s actually 4 main people: Sukhi Dosanjh from the BPR Crew, Dj Ray (Rek-N-Effect) & The Brothers of Destruction Dj Sikhness & Dj Tech…these 4 main guys have conquered the name mixing live and show it every gig…these guys surely can’t be dealt with by anyone else, they got their shit on lock…for producers I lookup to many: Mitch Hyare, RDB, B21, Dr Zeus, Dj Sanj, Popsy, Aman Hayer, Sukshinder Shinda, Ravi Bal and there’s plenty more but these 9 are the main ones, they have done so much for the punjabi music scene..

8. Do you like the mix of hip-hop and bhangra, or are you more like the old school generation who likes straight bhangra?

Well it’s a matter of both, I started off doing nothing but remixing Punjabi music with hip hop and rap, but nowadays I’m moving away from that and tryin’ something new… I really appreciate what Dhol Beat International have done with their music…they didn’t even touch remixing Punjabi music with hip hop they did straight bhangra which works for everyone, nowadays I’m trying to explore my options with remixing rock, dhol, and reggae into Punjabi music and give it a different spice..

9. What makes you so different from all the other DJ’s trying to make it to the top?

Style, I’m tryin’ to go a different way which makes me unique in my own way and try to stay away from the same shit everyone else is doing…Meaning remixing Punjabi music with rap or hip hop…that’s what everyone does so for me to stand out I got to do something different which people haven’t heard and will be very fond of…
10. Last, but not least, now’s your chance to give your shot-outs and promote your work aMaN, so let’s hear it!

Ohhhhhhh My Favorite Part!!!! First off I like thank Mitch Singh Hyare for all his help and for what he has done to get me here, like I said without him I wouldn’t be anywhere….Be sure to check out www.aMaNsTaTiS.com (Thanks To Lovedeep Kaloti) and grab your copy of Truthfully Speaking 1 & 2 from your local shops…..Perfection is on the way…Bollyrecord & I will be releasing it in October 2005…Big up to Desi Production & BgD events for all they’ve done for me… Explicit Dholis, make sure you guys look out for this young and talented group of dholis who will definitely be taking over soon with their stylistic abilities…They’re also featured in Perfection, so look out for that…Last but not least of course the people who’ve supported me over the years, and yes that meaning the fans, thanks for all the feedback and keeping me up there! I really appreciate it!….There’s a lot more coming out so make sure you keep it locked at www.amanstatis.com and

Posted under Celebrities Interview

Dj Sanj - Exclusive Interview
Dj Sanj is flying high on the Bhangra Scene with releases like Authorized, and the Americas Most Wanted [AMW] Series. With AMW 3 presenting with slammin’ sound and jammin hits lightin up the dance floors, Sanj sits down with Punjabisongs.com for this exclusive interview.

1. First of all, thank you for sitting down to answer a few questions. Can you please tell us who DJ Sanj is and where are you from?
Who am I? Well I am just a guy who was born in the UK who moved to Toronto Canada and djed as a hobby, who then moved to Dallas Texas and did bootleg remixes as a hobby, who then moved back to the UK to pursue a career in music.
2. I see that you are multi-coastal. How hard is it on your business life, your personal life and your family life?
It’s a full time juggling act. I have two studios, one in Canada and one in the UK, and a production company called Evil-Eye Productions that I run around the clock. So it’s great to have family that support and understand my addiction and passion to my work. But as hard as I work I always make time for my family and friends, because for me that’s what I value the most, even more than my work.
3. When did you first start realizing your talents as a professional DJ?
Well, I never considered myself as a great DJ, I always thought of myself as a producer who DJ’s. When I started out, I enjoyed playing music that made people dance, which is why my music has always been hard hitting and very bouncy. Also, I feel to be a great DJ, u don’t need to be the best “turntablist” or the best mixer, you just need to be the best entertainer. Play for the people, not yourself.
I think that’s something a lot of the dj’s now seem to forget, they just play what they want and focus to much on their DJ “Skills”.
4. How did you get your first break into the record industry and who helped you?
I had been doing loads of bootleg Hindi remixes back in the day under our banner ABC productions. After doing loads of those albums, I wanted to try something different; I wanted to do a bhangra remix album that was geared to what we liked in North America, Hard core desi. So, I remixed the songs I liked of the Roma Music catalogue and sent it to their Vancouver office. Once they heard the album, they sent to it the UK for a response. They loved it, and I guess the rest is history. I have stayed with Envyroma ever since.

5. What’s the deal with the whole name switch from DJ Sanj to JNAS?
Well, the name DJ Sanj is known for desi music and I felt I could do so much more than just desi tracks. So I can up with the name J.Nas which represents a different side of me musically. Kind of like an alter ego. And my latest album AMW 3 showcases two different styles of music. You’ve got tracks like Balle Balle and apna punjab which are pure DJ Sanj tracks and then you have tracks like Kamray Mein Aaja and Dil Ke Bhaatein that are pure J.Nas tracks.
6. Well you know I have to ask with all the controversies going on with sampling and unauthorized use of samples, what’s your take on the situation? And to set the record clear are you guilty of any of these accusations?

 

As for sampling, I am all for it, as long as what you are doing is entertaining people I think its all good. I have never made music for the critics; I have always made music for the masses.
As far as the use of unauthorized samples, I have, to date, never been contacted by or even had a letter sent to me regarding the use of unauthorized samples. I feel people made a small issue into such a big thing without having the facts. It’s funny because the album that made all the fuss in the UK wasn’t even released by me. it was just a collection of bootlegs taken from a series of show I did on the BBC Asian network, which I was paid to do by the BBC. A certain someone just decided to compile them and release them WITHOUT my knowledge or permission. And just because I decided to stay quiet on the matter, people (the media) just started to assume things.
7. You’ve been releasing albums non-stop in the last calendar year. All the Bhangra fans are thankful but want more, so what other projects do you have in mind for the near future?
Doing music as DJ Sanj represents only a fraction of what I do in my day to day music life. I do a lot of behind the scenes productions and I run two recording studios and engineer albums for the mainstream music biz as well as the desi biz. This year I decided to focus a little more on myself, hence the appearance of many more Sanj releases. this year I have worked on a comp called ENVYROMA.com, AMW 3, and LIL Sach’s new album called Baad Phat and Invincible. I am also working on the best of Channi Singh and an Asian R&B album scheduled for release by the end of 2005.
8. You’ve worked with a number of great artists in the Bhangra scene from Lehmber to Karan MC to Surinder Shinda. What artist are you most hoping to work with in the future?

I prefer to work with artist that are apart of our camp. for example Karan MC has been with me for 3 years now and I am looking forward to working on American Desi with him.
I also like to work with a lot of raw and new talent, as I feel they bring something fresh to the table.

9. Many people don’t know that up and coming Lil Sach is your brother. Can you tell us how helpful it has been to have another family member with you for support and suggestions?

It’s great, we are a very close and tight unit. there’s me Lil Sach and Kal-M. we have grown up together and we are always sharing ideas. 3 heads are always better than one.

10. Off the wall questions:
a) Your favorite food, both Indian and American? Butter Chicken/Hamburger
b) Your favorite sport/team to watch? Washington Redskins!
c) The one thing you never go on the road without? my laptop
d) Since you love wearing hats, what’s your favorite in your collection? my water proof prada cap

 

11. I know you’ve had a number of shows out in California and you’ve rocked the house. Can you tell us, where is your favorite place to perform in the world and where would you love to perform in the future?

My fav place to perform is India. As for a place I would like to perform, well , I think I have been practically all over the globe, so I will have to wait and see.

 

12. Finally, thank you for sitting down with us. Is there anyone you would like to send a shot-out to or is there anything you would like to promote?

Big Up  and keep up the good work. Keep’in it real!

Posted under Celebrities Interview

Tigerstyle - Exclusive Interview
Tigerstyle has expaned from underground to mainstream. Popular with the listeners of Punjabisongs.com, Tigerstyle want to take time out of their busy schedule to give their fans a little insight into what makes up Tigerstyle.

> 1) For those people who are outside of the UK, many do not know the full story about how Tigerstyle got involved with and became icons in the Bhangra music industry. Please elaborate on when you guys got started producing music, including the interesting road with different record labels, etc.
We come from a traditionally Sikh family and our upbringing has been enriched with the sense of Punjabi identity. We started out very young, learning classical tabla and various other forms of North Indian music, folk, dhadi sangeet, gurmat kirtan etc. Once we started to get into hip hop and other contemporary music while we were at school, we began to fuse them with our Indian influences and that’s how our passion took off.

From there we established the Desi Bombsquad Roadshow to take forth as DJs the sound we were representing. With DJ’ing, we also started to remix a lot of material and slowly got into production. At this time we came into contact with Panjabi MC who heard our demo and put us in contact with Kismet records. We signed our first deal with kismet and released the now classic album “the rising” in 2000.
The album was hugely successful. I could sit here and go on and on, but best thing to do is direct you to my website to read up from that point until now. www.tigerstyleonline.co.uk
> 2) What is your inspiration behind the music that you guys do? Any major influences growing up, whether it be artists, music genres, mentors?

There was so much goin on while we were growing up, there was so many influences. In terms of genres I’d say punjabi folk music influenced our sound a lot, and it’s where we sample a lot of stuff from. Its where we base our desi sound from. We like that 70s/80s type of punjabi music, Gurdas Maan, Kuldip Manak, Chamkila, Mohd. Sadiq, Shinda, Hans Raj Hans etc etc. in hiphop there’s no bigger name than Dre and the political subjects Ice Cube touched on when he was at his peak influenced us in bringing that raw edge to desi music too. I also listened to a lot of Bob Marley, I like his sense of cultural heritage and giving a voice for his people and having a message in his music. All these elements influenced us in their own way.

 

We come from a religious Sikh family so the preachings of Sant Bhindranwale, and other figures also had a huge influence on us while we were growin up. My dad is a strong figure in our family, and he plays a very influential role within the sikh community here in Scotland, so that sense of community also came from him being involved in the community around us at that time.
> 3) How is the relationship between the two of you as brothers?
Hahaha. Yeah I guess we get along. We’re not best of buddies but we work well together and we understand that each other wants when we’re in the studio so we tend to guide the sound and shape it into what both of us feel. Over the years slowly we have both fallen into our own role and we do treat it like a business now more than when we first started out. Raj concentrates on the studio and technical side, engineering, studio sessions etc., of things whereas I deal with most of the instrumentation, a&r, business, show bookings, bringing in commissions, and meetings. As a team we work well together, I think!

We jus recently set up the company “tigerstyle ltd” and we have the side businesses “soldier sound recordings” and “ak music publishing” set up as well so things are starting to run smoothly. We have also acquired new premises now to house “The Dera” Production Suite. So within months we will be fully functional.

 

> 4) Where are some of the places where you have done some big gigs recently? Have you guys done shows in India? When will you be coming out to the US, mainly the west coast (I know that you are coming down, but this is a chance for you to promote it)?

We do shows all over. If u go onto the tour section of the website you will see the listings of shows. We hit Dubai, Singapore, Australia, Canada, USA, Germany, Norway, Poland and Switzerland all in the matter of a couple of years. In the USA we travel a lot, we toured many times in various cities on both the East and West coast. The problem there is that a lot of media and public don’t really pick up on what’s goin on. I think there definitely needs to be more communication between the websites, magazines and club promoters to ensure tours get promoted correctly. This year, we hit the USA twice. The first leg hit Chicago, New York and Las Vegas back in Feb. and the second leg we jus completed a couple of weeks ago which was Altanta and L.A., so things have been busy.

 

As of yet we have not hit india. There seems to be some hesitation from promoters so we’d rather wait until the time is right and our profile is big enough for them to feel confident.

> 5) A few off the wall questions: a) who is your favorite Bhangra vocalist? b) producer? c) who are some other non-Indian artists that you guys like?

a) Of all time, it would need to be Kuldip Manak. right now I like a lot of singers from india, like Nachattar Gill and Manmohan Waris.

 

b) In regards to production, there are a lot of talented artists out there. Dr. Dre, Neptunes, Timbaland, Scott Storch, Kanye West, Ar Reham, Charanjit Ahuja, Sangtar etc etc. Sometimes, you don’t even know who the production is by, but the work is amazing so its hard to answer that one.

c) Like I said before I was into Bob Marley a lot while I was a student and recently I have gotten back into that vibe. Recently I came across damien marley’s first album ” halfway tree” in Poland while we were on tour and I fell in love with it. About a month ago, he came out with his jamrock single and it blew me away. I’ve jus bought the new album and I’m slowly getting’ thru it. I really admire the work. It’s incredible!

> 6) What are some of your interests outside of producing music?

You know what, there aren’t many, music is my life. i was studyin architecture at art school and multimedia at college before music became full time, so I guess I’m one for the creative industries. I like appreciating art, poetry etc. I learnt a bit of muay thai kick boxing for a bit but didn’t have time to stick with it. I’ve just joined the gym again after about 9 months so hopefully I’ll stick to that!
> 7) Out of all the tracks that you have made, which are your favorites? And, out of all the albums you guys have released, which is your favorite?
I don’t think i have a favourite track or favourite album yet. The albums are all quite old now, so I feel like they are no longer relevant. The new album is one to watch out for. There is alot of good material on there and I do have my favourites aswell. i think its best to wait til its out and then i’ll come back and comment on my favourite bits. Generally we dont feel like we have even released anything to our full potential yet. The new album is definitely something to look out for.
> Given the recent raid of Bhangra shops in the UK in response to DJ Sanj’s “Authorised” featuring excessive sampling of many hip hop tracks, and given that a large part of the popularity that you guys have gained has come from releasing underground tracks, such as the classic remix of “Lean Back,” what are your feelings on sampling? What about regarding music piracy and downloading?
I’d like to make it very clear that we are totally against piracy. The remixes we do are mainly for our dj sets and promotional material only. and the labels which own the copyright to the material which we sample get sent the material directly from us. We have touched base with artists like mr vegas who featured on our recent bootleg hit “ishq nagni”.

The way the dj circuit works is djs put together exclusive mixes for their use in their set to gain popularity. They then press these tracks for general circulation amongst other djs and radio play. After leaving Kismet Records our whole move has been towards generating popularity and public interest as well as a strong following. There has been alot of original material from us along the way as well, in the form of full on original songs and official remixes for artists like Lisa Maffia, Ms Dynamite, Street Symphony, Lamya, Jay Sean, Raghav, Macka Diamond, Luny Tunes, and Wisin Yandel. The list is long! The difference between us and most Bhangra artists is that we do not expect to make money directly from the sales of our bootleg mixes, they are mostly for radio play and to drop in our dj set!!!

> 9) What direction would you like the Bhangra music industry to go into in the future? Maybe with regards to new styles, should the music stay traditional, do more hip hop, go back to the roots of Bhangra?
I think bhangra should go in every direction not jus one! We should take Bhangra, our Punjabi culture, language, traditions, beliefs, and way of life to every corner of the world, places where u dont even see a brown face or a turban or a bindi or a pakora or a samosa hahahah! At the same time we want to work at keeping this all alive within the community. Keep the spirit and sound of punjab alive within our own people, whatever way we can.
> 10) Who are some artists that you would like to collaborate with that you have not already worked with before?
I love Missy Elliot, I think she has awesome talent, we’d love to work with her. We also like A.R Rehman’s production work and we feel like he has brought a whole revolution in Bollywood music which will echo thru the years. It would be amazing to see what would come out of a collaboration with him.

 
> 11) What CD’s are in your CD player right now?

 

The only time i really listen to cds is in the car. Right now the Damien Marley album “Welcome to Jamrock” is playin in there. Thats after we took out the master for “Pure Desi Vol 1” which we jus completed from the studio for VIP records.
> 12)  would like to thank Tigerstyle for letting us sit down and do this very exclusive interview. Now, here’s your chance to promote what you folks have in the future to our audience. What can we expect in the future from Tigerstyle (album releases, new collaborations, etc.)?

Right now we are in the middle of things. the album is 90% completed. Be sure to catch that when it drops in the coming months. The single will be ready shortly and you’ll see promotion starting up very soon. 3 of the tracks from the new album have been taken by microsoft for the PGR 3 X Box game so check that out. We’ve also completed tracks for Achanak’s latest album “Bhangra-ology” on Nachural Records and we have produced Bikram Singh’s debut album “American Jugni” on VIP records.
Check out www.tigerstyleonline.co.uk for the latest info, its updated regularly. And also pls join the mailing list from the website so we can keep you updated. thanx once again! peace.

Posted under Celebrities Interview