Revelling in remixes

SOME LIKE it, most of them don't. It's a genre of music that has spread like wild fire across the U.K in the early 1990s, and is slowly finding a prime slot in India. Remixes are here to stay. Popular songs from Hindi cinema, old and new, resurface, cloaked in a new garb... with more pep and beat... sometimes tuneful, sometimes not.

Artistes/producers such as Bali Bramhabhatt and Bally Sagoo (both of them U.K.-based) opened the door to a new generation of aspiring youngsters to take to remixes in a big way. One such is Partners in Rhyme, again a U.K.-based team of two comprising Hardip and Prem.

The band (if one can call them that) fired the imagination of the young Indian minds with the chartbuster, "Chandni Raatein" from their third album, "Distant Voices" (1987).

Now, the two schoolmates from Coventry, England, who believe that "remixes as a genre has opened up the pop scene and changed everything", are back after a hiatus with the self-titled "Partners In Rhyme" (Sony, Rs 75). Their earlier works include "House of All Nations" and "Once Upon a Rhyme".

So what's special about this album? "Oh! the album itself!", said Hardip during a telephonic interview. "To begin with, all the songs except Nusrat saab's, are original compositions. And of course, the presence of the name Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. It adds weight to the album."

The legendary qawali singer's "Tum Bin Nahin Lagda" is set to a brisk beat with electro sounding rhythm and some funky strains of the guitar. Says Hardip, "Khan saab left a deep impact on me. When he passed away, we decided to pay tribute to him, and that is how the number was included in the album."

The ten tracks reflect different styles... rumbustious Punjabi folk to slow ballads to pop rock. With names like Alka Yagnik ("Ankhon se Tu door"), Kavita Krishnamurthy ("Rabba Mere Main Kya Karoon"), Mahalaxmi Iyer ("Pyar Kehta Ha) and Shankar Mahadevan (the English number "Some Day") associated with the effort, Hardip and Prem hope to taste some success in India. "We were looking for a high-profile cast", they admit.

Punjab-born and U.K.-bred Hardip, who studied Business Marketing at the University of Manchester, is passionate about music and loves to listen to "Pancham dada, Lata and Asha, besides the Khan. Their music has a timeless quality. You can listen to those golden oldies even now and not get bored of them."

Prem, who was born and brought up in England, has a diploma in Music Composition. He is a trained piano and keyboard player. The two of them "just decided to do something connected with music. And we became producers. We feel remix is ideal for the English society, which is a mix of the East and the West. Also, we believe if done properly and in a good way, remixing is O.K.!"

Like many, the 20-something duo, currently on a promo tour of Mumbai and Delhi, hopes to find a foot-hold in Bollywood "and Hollywood." There is a couple of projects in the pipeline and "we have kept our options open. We are waiting". As Hardip philosophically puts it, "If you believe in yourself, then things will work out fine for you." And the partners most definitely believe in themselves and their music.

SAVITHA GAUTAM

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Section  : Entertainment
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