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
