Kuly, the eldest of the three brothers from RDB, sadly lost his battle with brain cancer on the 22^nd of May 2012 in Houston, Texas, USA. He had been undergoing specialist treatment to try and cure the disease in the United States. This interview took place the year before he sadly passed away. Individuals looking to make donations to Brain Tumour UK, a charity which works tirelessly to fund research and raise awareness of this disease, can visit www.justgiving.com/Kulyrdb

RDB and Nindy Kaur Interview

Unfolded Magazine were invited to speak to RDB and Nindy Kaur about their forthcoming albums, music and experiences which have seen them explode onto the Bollywood scene with their blend of western genres with traditional Punjabi beats and vocals.

You have said in the past that your father was your first Ustad or music teacher, but tell us about when you first started experimenting with sound?

Kully: We all grew up playing instruments and we were all into gadgets back in those days: computers, audio equipment and the like. Sampling stuff and experimenting.
Surj: We've always had a love for music, right from day one I'd say, especially when our dad bought us an Amiga 500.
Kully: The Amiga came with boxes of software which included music editing software, so probably 400 games and 10 music software programs. It was around that time the Sony Walkman came out.  We sampled (music) from the Walkman, transferred it into the Amiga and started messing around with sounds.
Manj: That bring backs some fond memories.

How did you develop from that into DJ-ing in clubs?

Kully: When we first started we sampled everything: Michael Jackson, Safri; we didn't make music, we just dropped beats and vocals together. The keyboard and computer helped us develop our sound and from there we went onto making our own samples, kicks, snares, high hats, record vocals and so on.
Surj: It was around then we got into the culture of DJ-ing and performing to an audience to see the reaction.
Kully: It was a playground to us and, early on, that’s where our love of music and DJ-ing really grew from and became strong. Over time we did small gigs, bought more DJ equipment and production suites, which allowed us to make remixes and then go and DJ those new sounds.
Manj: We always listen to criticisms and praise so we also improve our tracks and music through feedback and response.

What has been your most memorable gig to date?

Kully: It has to be Lahore for me, it was unbelievable and I never expected to get the reaction we received.  People were singing the songs even before the vocals were laid down for the first verse. I don't
do as many shows as these guys, but they had 60ft billboards and the love that was felt for your music was interplanetary.
Surj: For me, the same.
Manj: Dubai.
Nindy: Delhi.

How did the experience of working with Akshay Kumar and Snoop Dogg differ?

Surj: We were heavily involved in that collaboration. We flew over to LA to speak to Snoop and get his ideas and then flew over to Mumbai, trying to merge two different industries which are so different.
Kully: It was difficult to put together, but we can all agree that the end result was phenomenal: musically, visually and from an entertainment perspective.

Will Bollywood play a big part in your music over the coming years?

Manj: Absolutely, without a doubt.
Kully: The way I see it, being a producer, Bollywood music, especially the more commercial, easily digestible, upmarket and young club type music is blowing up, bringing a new found freshness and quality to Indian music. I said this in a previous interview, but UK Bhangra needs to take a leaf out of the wide range of instruments used in Bollywood music: the orchestra, amazing percussionists and different melodies. UK Bhangra is constricted in terms of melodies and that may be where it is going wrong. The importance of sound needs to be channelled into UK Bhangra.

Drawing my attention to Nindy now, how have you found working with the guys?

Nindy: Horrible, they torture me (haha). No, it's been brilliant working with my husband and my brother-in-laws.

How do you manage your time?

Nindy: Constantly on the go, juggling, juggling all the time.
Manj: She came from the circus (laughs)
Nindy: Yep, juggling, it's been a lot of hard work and my nickname is Go Go Go…
Manj: Nindy Non Stop (laughs)

Could you tell us a bit about the Akhian video?

Nindy: It's in a film style, not a club style, very film-like with a twist in the storyline. It was shot in Canada, very tiring, but well worth the effort.

How did you find the directing of Umar Syed?

Nindy: Excellent.
Surj: He's a visionary and we've shot a lot with him.
Kully: yeah, Umer has got a very good eye.
Manj: And very easy to work with.

Could you tell us a bit about the Nindypendent album?

Nindy: Number one, there are not going to be any slow songs. I'm not into sad songs; I don't want to put anyone to sleep (laughs). It's more like hard dance, trance and house with a lot of Punjabi and Hindi lyrics. It should hopefully be released at the end of April.

How is the Worldwide album coming along?

Kully: It's actually almost finished.
Manj: What happened is we had about 45 songs for the album and narrowing down the tracks is tough.
Kully: It doesn't help when the direction of the album keeps changing, the more we speak to other people and travel. Constantly revisiting the music, the branding and tweaking of it. It's an ongoing process. Because it has been so long in the making, we would rather give people a finished article, than something half-baked.
Nindy: So in a nutshell, it has been
narrowed down from 45 to 45 (laughs)

Kully: We will be releasing some singles in March, so not long after that.

Have you guys thought about a double CD?

Kully: It was going to be, then a CD with DVD and CD with USB (laughs)

Could you tell us about your clothing line?

Kully: The whole clothing line is created by a company called DesiWear and they were originally based in Canada, but distribute all over the world. The idea behind it is that each one of us has our own characters and each would have our own line of clothing, Nindy included, for example my line is very
bright and very loud.
Surj: My designs are a bit more chilled out and relaxed.
Manj: With me, I've gone more urban and mystic - very gothic, eagles, old handwriting and so on.

Lastly, one sentence from all of you, what one piece of advice do you have for someone or a group starting out?

Kully: Don’t do it (laughs), no, really it would have to be do everything properly, be that the music, branding, website, manager... don't cut corners basically.
Surj: I would say get to know the business and liaise with media and contacts who will help get you to that next level.
Nindy: Know your basics, be it singing or playing an instrument.
Manj: Make sure you look the part and make sure you have fun.

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