Could you tell us about yourselves and your passion for
music?
Vicky and Gurinder (Rowa and Sikhsta) are Bhangra Brothers.
We both grew up in Afghanistan, lived there for several childhood
years, playing on the Tabla and doing Kirthan in the
Gurdwara. Gurinders father was a TV/Radio host so we were
immersed in music and entertainment industry growing up. We were
lucky to have met legends such as Surinder Kaur, Asa Singh Mastana,
Talat Mehmood, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and many more growing
up. Music was always in the household, however, we left
Afghanistan due to the civil war and unrest and moved to
Germany. We went to school, college and graduated
there. We have been doing music since 2000. First we
were DJs and the music evolved from there.
You started off Indian events in Stuttgart around that
time?
We started doing gigs and DJing which were very successful. We
booked a lot of other artists and were recognised for bringing
Bhangra music to a German audience. Music is our passion and
we wanted to do our stuff. There were no Indian musicians or
bands in Germany at that time; so we started work with a Turkish
producer and we released Soni Mutear, our first album. A
German film, Kampfansage, used the song as a soundtrack, so that
really helped launch our music.
The first album came out in 2006, so you were working,
DJing and producing events for sometime?
We toured a lot with Panjabi MC, doing World Music Awards in
Monaco, sharing the stage with Pink, 50 cent, Mariah Carey, so we
had a lot of experiences which put together, bought about the
desire to produce our first album.
Between the first Album and the recently launched 'Sun
Baliye' how did you find time for studio work?
We have been touring a lot all over Europe: Germany, Italy, Norway
and so on, the only market left for us was the UK. The new album,
produced in conjunction with RDB, took a while to finish as both we
and RDB were very busy with our own projects.
What would you describe your music style as?
We draw a lot of influence from hip hop, but conversely, we also
have slow and sad tracks, so there is a wide mix of styles. Mixing
desi beats with Western influences. The instrumentals are
quite important to us, Dhol, Tabla, Dholki and so on.
Growing up, what music did you listen to, any
influences?
There was a lot of music in our household, playing almost
constantly throughout the day, Punjabi Music, Gurbani, Indian Film
music and even Farsi music.
For musicians and artists starting out, what words of
wisdom would you give them?
Do your thing, don’t be afraid of failure, take on board the
positives and negatives and keep going forward.
What do you plan to do over the coming
years?
Promote the album Sun Baliye, travel to India, Asia and several
places worldwide. We have also started putting together new
songs, new sounds, beats and experimenting. Creativity is
something we love and music is a canvas on which we draw.
For our readers, where can they find your music
online?
The album is out on iTunes, Napster and several other online
shops. You can also order from our website,
www.bhangrabrothers.com
As featured in Unfolded Magazine Issue 03 -
www.unfoldedmag.com