Tigerstyle has been on the bhangra and urban desi scene for the last ten years and have done some incredible things. Their new album, "Mystics, Martyrs, Maharajas’, drops on October 20th and Desi Hits! sits down with Pops from Tigerstyle to find out the scoop behind their new mastermind project and their remixed version of Sean Kingston’s ‘Bollywood Girls’. 

LISTEN TO TIGERSTYLE'S VERSION OF 'BOLLYWOOD GIRLS'! CLICK HERE

VOTING  ENDS OCTOBER 21st!

  
DH!: What do you think of the original Sean Kingston track, ‘Beautiful Girls’?

Tigerstyle: The original was really successful in the UK. It’s a song you could vibe to but it also had an old-school feel. It was also completely different in terms of production and style, compared to what was out at the time.

DH!: What’s your take on your ‘Bollywood Girls’ remix?

Tigerstyle: It’s very creative. The fact that Sean Kingston mentions all the Bollywood actresses works really well. It was a pleasure remixing the track. A number of DJ’s mentioned to me that they want the new remixed track. For example, Club Asia in London is already playing it. 

DH!: What do you think of the other DJ’s versions?

Tigerstyle: I listened to all of them briefly. I was told that this remix should have an Asian or Bollywood feel to it. I didn’t hear anything Asian in most of the other versions. All the instruments sounded very Western. We have put a Bollywood twist on it. 

DH!: What was your inspiration when putting together the Sean Kingston remix?

Tigerstyle: We wanted to put a Bollywood twist on it. There’s no point in replicating Western sounds so we put our own spin on it. 

DH!: What do you think about mainstream artists coming to India? For example, Sean Kingston.

Tigerstyle: I think it needs to happen. Music has gotten to the point where it’s quite still. The mainstream artists have done as much as they can. We’ve been working on the Asian scene for the last ten years and we’re at that stage where we need to do something bigger now. If you stick to your own scene and do your own thing, nothing is going to progress, in terms of music. The real creativity comes from when you are able to bridge gaps between different communities. That’s when something cutting edge and amazing happens. I  think everyone is realizing that out of all the music genres, Indian music is the richest form of music. Indian music is unlimited in terms of beats, terms and melody. 

DH!: You produced Bikram Singh’s ‘Tip Top’. Tell us about that experience.

Tigerstyle: Bikram’s first album ‘American Jugni’ was a huge success in the UK. ‘Tip Top’ was recorded shortly after the first album. He’s collaborated with only a few select producers. We have a great relationship so he recorded most of the album with us. We stepped up on the quality and people will be impressed with the level of work. 

DH!: Have you produced for anyone else?

Tigerstyle: Last year, we worked on Blitzkrieg’s album, ‘The Rhyme Book’.

DH!: What would you like our readers to know about your new album, "Mystics, Martyrs, and Maharajas"?

Tigerstyle: The album is trying to fuse the gap between bhangra and urban desi music. The single, ‘Balle Shava’, features Vibez Kartel and R&B singer, Nikki. The abum is trying to explore different aspect of fusion. For example, bhangra and reggae, bhangra and hiphop, etc. This has been our mastermind project for the last six years. This is the first bhangra album with people that are true urban artists like Raghav and Blitzkrig. 

DH!: What’s the next single that’s coming out?

Tigerstyle: We’ve just started promoting a new track called ‘Dil Lut Ke Le Gayo’. 

DH!: Do you have any collaborations in the works?

Tigerstyle: We’ve just produced for a new girl Asian girl band from Mumbai. 

DH!: A lot of bhangra artists are getting involved in Bollywood. Is that something you’re interested in?

Tigerstyle: We’ve been working with composer, Pritam, for the last six months. We remixed the ‘Singh is Kinng’ title track and he was very impressed and flew us over to Bombay for a week to work on another song. I can’t really tell you much about it yet.

DH!: It’s a future movie?

Tigerstyle: Yes, a title song for a future movie.

DH!: I read that you learned to play instruments at a young age. What instruments do play?

Tigerstyle: I started learning tabla when I was 9 years old and studied that for four or five years. I just started learning the dilruba, which is a cross between a sitar and a sirangi.