Front Page
US Interviews
Special Features
Nightclubs
Events + Concerts
Album Reviews
Games
Music Videos
Chat Room

Interview Archive

By Belinda Boakye

The pen behind countless recent hits to brace the pop charts, and most notably a pioneer in his own right of the Asian/Urban music scene, Rishi Rich is certainly no stranger to the music industry, with that unmistakable signature sound fusion. And so it seems inevitable that on the eve of the release of his ‘official’ debut album, ‘The Project’ with 2Point9 Records, he can no longer hide in the shade of other undiscovered talent he has previously catapulted into the limelight, for example, vocalists Juggy D and Jay Sean.

The feat of producing music that strikes a chord with youth culture on a universal level has become second nature to Rishi Rich, who was offered a recording contract whilst still at school. His background in traditional Indian music and love of pop and urban music laid the foundations for a track record that has seen him lend his skills to the production of 10 albums before crossing over and having mainstream success with artists like Craig David, Mis-teeq and even Britney Spears.

On this latest album, this songwriter and producer maintains the highest levels of creativity and innovation so desperately needed in UK urban music, working with a diverse range of largely undiscovered UK and international artists.

The Situation meets Rishi Rich to find out his opinion on the state of the music industry. Despite critical musical acclaim and awards, the producer remains grounded in character, believing the key to his success lies in staying true to oneself.

What was it like for you starting out and what advice would you give to young producers looking to break into the industry?
I think it’s important to have good management; I went to see all the record companies from the age of 17 and they had no clue of what I was doing and they had no interest. I was always fusing R&B and Indian stuff from day one, but they were all really confused. It is just about working hard, hustling, keeping knocking on those doors and being innovative.

Inevitably as an Asian artist, because the music is so distinctive it creates that buzz around it. How important is it to you to ‘represent’ for your culture?
I’m proud of sounding Indian and the fact that I have been given a platform where I can do the music that I want and, in a sense, still represent for my people. Sometimes it gets frustrating because people in that same community say ‘Oh what are you doing, you’re trying to be black or you’re trying to do pop music,’ you know what I mean? And I’m like, I’m just trying to be myself. Sometimes I do feel the fact that I’m Asian should be good enough, even if I was doing indie music.

What is your response to criticism that you use watered down traditional sounds and instruments in your music to sort of push it into the mainstream?
A lot people say some of my music is cheesy bubblegum Indian music, and there is some stuff which is like pop, you know, because I like pop music. But people should have an open mind and especially Indian people in general… I mean the video we’ve just done (‘Push It Up’ feat. Jay Sean & Juggy D) has caused so much tension because there was Jay and Juggy on the beach; we shot it in Puerto Rico, and there was girls and stuff… It caused like the biggest commotion in the Indian industry; some people were like, ‘Oh my god, like I can’t believe these guys have done that’, and I was like, come on, we are not in the 50’s anymore!

What do you think it is that makes your music popular; the fact that it’s fresh and urban or the reality that there is a world music vibe underlying throughout?
I think the fusion helps; when I was producing the album I was thinking, ‘Ah, this track would work in India, they would love it there’ or, ‘Oh, this track would work in Canada or the States’, but it happens naturally, you know what I mean? It all seems natural for me because that’s what I listen to. I would do like a real R&B kind of track and then the next track would have a reggaeton kind of vibe to it. It all depends on the flavour.

What did you want to achieve with the new album the project?
The album’s got 19 tracks on it. It just features a lot of people from the Asian scene, a lot of people that are unsigned, because I really believe in that. People from the UK urban scene, debut from J2K, JD (aka Dready from So Solid)… for me it’s about bringing people together, for example the track I’ve done with J2K and Baby Blue. They’ve done this track with a guy called Silinder Pardesi; now he’s like the Asian equivalent of say, Marvin Gaye, but they would never meet; they would never even cross paths. The fact that I’m bringing them together, I think that’s what I wanted to achieve with this album, bringing people together that would never actually work together.

What is your opinion on Myspace websites and similar alternative media promotion?
I don’t see the big labels signing a lot of the artists that are making a lot of noise on the underground. I think it used to happen a lot three to four years ago, like So Solid, when they and other acts like that were coming out, they were getting signed because they were in public where they were playing live at gigs… Now, I mean I do respect the independent culture where they think there are going to do it by themselves, but you can only do it so far. I personally think that if you’re going to make a living out of this business you need to think of yourself and the bigger picture.

What is your opinion of the current state of the UK urban music industry?
I think urban music has gone downhill to be honest. I still don’t hear Radio 1 and Choice FM and Kiss 100 FM playing UK music enough. Not everything that comes from America is brilliant, but it gets recognition because of the ‘name’ behind it… I think there needs to be a lot more urban shows; giving Trevor Nelson his show at 2 o’ clock in the morning doesn’t help; I mean, Choice is a perfect example where they just don’t play enough UK music.

Rishi Rich’s new album ‘The Project’ is out on 2Point9 Records now.