Karim from Britain’s freshest boy band 3Mix came by DesiHits! NYC office to chat about his love for band brothers Myan and Usman and about being dubbed the Asian Backstreet Boys!

How did you guys meet?

"Small world actually, we were at university still and met at the “Bombay Dreams” audition. I heard this voice in one of the audition rooms and it just stood out. Later we got together at a mutual friend’s place and he brought his cousin along and we made our first record in a day. We really genuinely clicked from day one. It was the start of our friendship. We’re brothers going on a tour. Making music together is a lot more fun when you have people to share it with."

Who came up with the name of the group?

"It was a relative actually. We were throwing around names and someone said ‘how about 3mix?’ We looked at each other and were like ‘yeah.’ We really identified with it."

What music do you guys listen to and who inspires you?

"We grew up listening to Michael Jackson, Teddy Pendergrass, Boyz II Men, Sonu Niigaam…We love classical Indian music and Indie soft rock. You know the way that we write a song is like, I’ll start strumming on the guitar and we’ll go from there…its very organic. More importantly, it’s really enjoyable. I think for artists that aren’t enjoying it, they’re kind of lying to themselves. We love the music. The feedback has been fantastic; we really appreciate the love we’re getting. We love DesiHits! for getting all of this out there! It’s important to have these platforms for emerging artists on the international scene. It makes our scene more viable."

How do you deal with screaming fans?

"The fans are crazy and amazing! At one Mela, a girl gave me her number three times just in case I lost it! You get people that kind of really instantly admire you. As an act, there’s just been a lot of love. There are a lot of families and people saying that they really appreciate you. But right now we’re all single funnily enough. We have a strong work ethic and we want to focus on our work and get that together. I think we’re all of the mindset that when the right person comes along we’ll make allowances."

So what are you up to when you’re not working on your music?

"We go out; we hang out all the time. We watch movies…we’re big fans of comedies. We go bowling, play golf, go to the driving range…we do loads of things. We’re just like brothers. It’s just like, ‘Hey, do you want to come over to my families’ place?’ We’ve got a very close relationship with each other’s families."

Do you ever fight like brothers?

"Not in a malicious way. We do lots of impressions…it’s more banter, like a comic shock value banter. I think to really appreciate it you’d have to see us in an interview together. We say things that only the three of us understand. It’s a great bond that we share. I have great friends that I’ve grown up with since nursery school, but there are no other two guys I would want to share this experience with!"

How do you feel about people calling you the Asian Backstreet Boys?

"The Backstreet Boys are cool, we have a great appreciation of their success in the U.S. Honestly I took my mom to see them recently. My parents love the Backstreet Boys. But we’ve been able to establish our own sound…who we are, we’re here to stay."

In every boy band each member normally has a distinctive personality. How would you describe your, Myan and Usman's  images?

"When we initially started we were three just really crazy characters. It wouldn’t be a far step for me to be overly sophisticated and nerdy a bit and now I’ll kind of live vicariously through Usman. Usman is very edgy. Myan is the funny one, he is very passionate. I’m kind of very determined and driven and focused. The three of us complement each other well and it’s the perfect mix."

The perfect 3Mix!  What’s your perfect playlist?

"I’ve got so much I always just leave it on shuffle I don’t have any playlists. I’m listening to a lot of world music to broaden my horizons…Brian McKnight, T.I., Sean Paul stuff…I listen to a lot of Michael Jackson. I think we appreciate him a lot more now. Like last night my friend and I were walking down the street singing and then you just hear Michael's beats pumping out from somewhere. It’s like Michael fever still. We all love Michael."

Who would you like to work with right now?

"It would be cool to collaborate with Sean Paul, T.I., Kanye West, A.R. Rahman. Those would be like the ideal candidates."

What do you want to say to your fans?

"Thanks for supporting us! We really appreciate all the support and all the love. Keep it up and keep tuning into Desi Hits!"