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

Interview Archive

By Keya Modessa

RDB are one of the biggest groups to come out of the UK. This year alone they have sold over 100,000 copies of their albums and have a phenomenal 'global' fan base. Performing in virtually every UK city, they have also toured worldwide playing in countries such as USA, Singapore, Dubai, Europe and even Australia. But why do their names still not ring a bell? The reason is simple. These boys come from a totally different musical background, commonly known as 'Bhangra.'

Bhangra is traditionally a form of folk music and dance that dates as far back as the 14th century. It originates from the state of Punjab, a region between India and Pakistan, and originally was used to celebrate the harvest season when farmers would sing and dance to give thanks for the rich grain they had received.

Essentially RDB (Rhythm Dohl Bass - the dohl being the name of a large drum and the primary instrument used in Bhangra), are a group of three Punjabi brothers from Bradford. The group formed in the year 2000, and since then, their music has begun to appear in bedroom CD collections alongside everything from 'Michael Jackson' to 'Coldplay'.

Kuly, Manj and Surj Singh, began to build a relationship with music at a very early age when they bought their first computer. As Surj explains; "Most people start off with turn tables and CD players but we originated from a computer and we pretty much taught ourselves everything from scratch."

Initially performing as DJ's, the brothers built their confidence and musical style literally in the presence of friends and family. Surj recalls, "Our first party was my 18th birthday. We hired all the equipment, and just got it going. Ever since then, we got used to the idea of performing. We liked djing and playing music for people to dance to. Friends and cousins then began to ask us to play at their parties and it kind of started from there."

Making a name for themselves, the boys realised they could develop their interest with music into something much bigger. From local bookings, they began to take on larger events further away, encouraging their name to grow with their talent. From the three piece Bradford based Bhangra DJ's, the group began to strengthen. They went on to introduce MC's, vocalists, and other members into the group, each with their own individual talent to add to the name of RDB. "We became such a big group and we were turning up to functions wearing these white t-shirts with RDB written on them. People began to call us the Asian So-Solid Crew."

Talent and new members aside, what made RDB so different was not just their large crew like culture, but the control and the 'hands on' approach to their work. Surj explains that eldest brother Kuly once called it 'DIY' and it couldn't have been put any better. "Basically we do everything ourselves from video production to road show events, from flyers through to our website. We even learnt how to play instruments ourselves, before we record them onto the tracks. There's even been some tracks that our dad has put lyrics too - hence the term DIY. There's not another group like us."

With three leaders in the pack it begs the question - who has the most authority? I am however assured that they all play their own 'important' role. Whilst Kuly heads the production side of things younger bro Surj, takes hold of the live events and road shows - more often then not, he's the one you see out and about. Middle brother Manj has recently immigrated to Canada where he is currently on tour hoping to break into the huge North American market.

With so much control in their hands, success basically lay with the release of their first album in 2001, the self-titled RDB'. After the release of this debut on the then new music label 'Untouchable Records,' things really began to take off.

Whilst old school Bhangra veterans such as Kuldeep Manak, Gurdaas Mann and Surinder Shinda are still heavily followed, it's the hip-hop of Dre, the RnB of the 90's, and the two-step garage beats of EZ and Zed Bias, which RDB has fused with the deep-rooted, energetic folk music. "When we first started DJing in clubs we would just play the original (Bhangra) tracks and drop beats behind them. People had never really heard that style before. We brought in the westernised music and because we originate from a Punjabi background we like to push that element. It's like bringing it all together putting it into a bowl and adding a bit of masala (Indian spice) to it and stirring it up - that's the sound you get." The result was a universal connection where people didn't have to understand the words but just appreciate the beats, regardless of skin colour and background.

In less than a year, after their first album was produced, the three brothers released an EP entitled 'Sounds of the North'. After pouring blood, sweat, tears and a lot of time into building a studio in Leeds, the fruits of their labour paid off. The EP and the tunes were a regular feature on the Asian TV and Radio stations nationwide. It featured artists from their now, larger crew and a hybrid of music ranging from traditional 'balle balle' (a generic and well recognised Punjabi cry expressing happiness regularly used in Bhangra) to streetwise multilingual words and rhymes delivered in the fastest of speed. To follow was an assortment of albums from various members of the group, each promoting the production and contagious hi energy rhythms notorious to RDB.

It was during the latter part of last year that some of these musical beats stemming from the Indian sub continent began to cause commotion in Club Land and music charts all over the world. Following on from the sexy high-pitched Indian vocals in Truth Hurts' Addictive and Eric Sermon's React, the jaw dropping beats of Punjabi MC's, 'Mundian To Bach Ke' (Beware of the Boys), really caught the public's attention, as well as that of Jay-Z who features on the remix.

The sheer mention of the song alone conjures up visions of bodies lurching forward, hands raised in the air and an energetic stomp of the feet. Since then any flash of a tabla drum, or twang of a sitar, and music producers have been falling head-over-heels for it.

"PMC [Punjabi MC] has definitely kicked it off for us and right now we are thinking of how to approach the mainstream market. There are people now mixing vocals and beats, slapping it together and not thinking about whether it's pitched in right or if there's any sort of production quality gone into it. They're they just doing it and throwing it into the market hoping to cash in. What we want to do is project RDB, because it's our own music and it doesn't have to be in collaboration with someone else for people to recognise it."

Whether it is fashion, theatre, or music, Asian culture is now en vogue. RDB never allowed the market to dictate their decisions. However they continue to do it their way, and to capitalise on opportunities. A self built studio, a number of UK Asian Awards and, a string of No 1 albums down the line, the Singh brothers continue to pioneer sounds, which many have tried to imitate. The release of their next album is due out later this year, and if things carry on the way they are for these westernised Bhangra gurus, a new wave of talent will be hitting our shores pretty soon under the almighty flagship known as Rhythm Dohl Bass.