Desi-Box.com | News, Downloads, Videos, Interviews, Bhangra

Amar is an innovative singer/songwriter whose sultry voice and classic singing style can be heard on the sensational single Bombay (which she also wrote) from the Timbaland album "Shock Value”.

Now after nearly nine years Amar is back to conquer the music world with her refreshing Indo-Urban pop album, "Show It Off". The long-awaited album has been in the works for 18-months and features Amar at her creative best, singing exclusively in Hindi to a backdrop of urban R&B beats. Featuring collaborations with Timbaland and Jim Beanz, this album promises to be one to look out for!

Umar B from the Desi-Box.com Team had the privilege to interview Amar. Check out the interview below!

Amar is the daughter of Punjabi singer Mangal Singh best known for the highly popular Bhangra track "Rail Ghadi".

01. Umar DB: How influential was your father in your decision to enter the music industry?

Amar: Very influential. When you grow up in a musical environment, around music 24/7, when going to shows and hanging around backstage as a kid is normal, around rehearsals, when your parents are travelling a lot, seeing your father voice exercising every morning, it seems normal to veer towards that industry as a profession, almost because it’s what you know and what you consider as normal.

I was also a very shy kid, but my dad used to MAKE me sing to our relatives and friends and ultimately it was he that took me to my first recording session, needless to say, I was dead nervous.

02. Umar DB: As a child growing up what type of music did you mostly listen to? And which artists are you inspired by?

Amar: Up until I was about 13 I listened mostly to Indian music. Anything from Bollywood, to Classical, to Punjabi Folk. My dad began his career as part of a very successful Bhangra group, Chirag Pehchan, so that exposed me to traditional Punjabi music.

He then moved into singing for Bollywood movies. Bollywood music has always been closest to my heart especially the older material (think RD Burman, Asha Bhosle) and also the albums of the 80’s and 90’s.

From about the age of 14, I started to listen to National radio. I got into Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Brandy, Aaliyah, Justin Timberlake – a lot of R’n’b and Pop, then gradually got into the whole Tracey Thorn, Bjork, female singer-songwriter type artistes. So, basically a great big pot of different flavours!

03. Umar DB: When did you first discover you had a talent for song writing and how natural does writing in Hindi come to you?

Amar: I first started writing when I worked on my album ‘Outside’ which was released in 2001. The producers that I was working with at the time wouldn’t have it any other way. We would have long chats, about what was going on in my life at the time, the things that worried me, the things that made me happy, the things that made me sad, the things made me jealous, the things that made me mad. After talking about these things it seemed natural to put the thoughts to paper. So I would format the words, then the producers would help me to tweak them. Writing in hindi comes very easily to me. As mentioned, I grew up listening to hindi music so writing something in hindi and formatting it to a song also comes naturally.

Amar’s first taste of success came with her Hindi cover of Dolly Parton’s track "I Will Always Love You" called "Tu Hai Mera Sanam".

04. Umar DB: What is the story behind your Hindi cover of "I Will Always Love You"?

Amar: My dad would hear me belting out the song whenever it came on the radio. At the time I was totally in love with Whitney Houston, Kevin Costner and The Bodyguard. Around that time, he was recording an album of his own and was working in some studios in Coventry, he was going there everyday to write and record.

One day he decides to take me with him, I remember him saying to my mum ‘let’s see how she sounds singing into a microphone’ When we got there, he took me into the booth and told me to sing something, I couldn’t think of what to sing so as I’d been singing IWALU all day at home he said ‘just sing ‘I will always love you’’

So they recorded me singing it. The record company my dad was working with heard it as they were milling about in the studio at the time. They loved it and thought doing a version in hindi would sound sweet. So my dad and a writer very casually penned some hindi lyrics. I sang them the same night and the track ended up getting released and doing very well.

The next step in Amar's career came when she had the chance to collaborate with Talvin Singh where she was featured in his album on "Anokha Soundz of the Asian Underground".

05. Umar DB: What did you learn from your time involved in the Asian underground scene and what was working with Talvin Singh like?

Amar: Talvin is a very creative human being. Whether it be the way he looks, the way he plays the tabla, or the way he comes up with ideas for tracks, it was always clear that this guy lives for music. I first met him when I was 17 and went to his world famous club night Anokha which used to be held at the old Blue Note club in Hoxton Square. I walked into this dark, dingy club in the middle of East London and could hear banging drum and bass beats set against spooky bollywood vocals.I could see beautiful colourful indian material hung up all over the walls, and I remember seeing Talvin dressed in a white Kurta. A lot of cool looking girls were wearing bindis and trainers.

You would see Simon Le Bon and Bjork on one side of the room and on the other you would see Hariharan (singer). It was an incredible feeling seeing so many different types of people together getting down to Indian music, but also hearing Indian voices set to such strong, tribal beats. It sounded like ‘fusion’ had died and a new generation of music had been born where young British Asians where making music that represented them and their upbringings.

Talvin and I chatted for a while and agreed that we should write something together, he had heard my voice on the Whitney cover-track. We ended up recording Jaan, which in its time was a real anthem. It was released on an album called ‘Anokha – Sounds of the Asian Underground’ which went on to represent so much to many people growing in that time. It featured in The Replacement Killers, ad well as a Philips advert, and most importantly took my voice to a mainstream audience.

Amars debut album "Outside" was released by Blanco y Negro Records (recordlabel set up by Geoff Travis in conjunction with Warner Bros. Records) in the year 2000 making her the first British Asian female to be signed up by a major record label.

06. Umar DB: What was your reaction when you were approached by Geoff Travis?

Amar: I couldn’t really appreciate who or how big he was at the time, because I was so young and I didn’t know who he was!! But it was explained to me, and when I realised that he had done so much, I became fiercely proud of myself lol!

07. Umar DB: The album was composed by Nitin Sawhney and Robin Millar, what can you tell us from your time working with them?

Amar: Nitin is a very humble and immensely talented human being. He is such a geek (he will say so himself). We had a lot of fun writing the songs that we did together that ended up on ‘Outside’. Robin is my hero. He produced the albums of one of my favourites bands ‘Everything But The Girl and whilst he wasn’t a huge fan of my earlier demos, he still said to Geoff, ‘I love this girls voice, and I’m going to work with her’. I’m glad he did. Over the course of the following year we became great friends, he brought out a lot of ‘artiste’ in me. We worked with another producer called Ned Bigham, and together we put the album together piece by piece often starting with just one sound and writing a melody around it, then adding more sounds, then talking about what the song means to me and so on and so forth.

08. Umar DB: After the success of your first album you vanished from the music scene. What was the reason behind your hiatus?

Amar: ‘Outside’ was released and received amazing reviews from the music press. A garage version of one of thesongs ‘Sometimes It Snows In April’ became a club banger across the country and ended up on pretty much all of the big garage compilations being released at the time. But I don’t think the albumit was totally understood.

I myself needed some time out to go and become a grown up and decide what I want, lots of things. So I completely
stopped hanging out in the places where I would see my old acquaintances, and had a normal life for a little while. I say normal, I didn’t write for a while. I felt a little disorientated with the whole industry. I guess I needed a little ‘holiday’ from the industry – but NOT from music.

The track "Bombay”, featured on Timbaland’s album "Shock Value”, was written and sung by Amar and also featured Jim Beanz.

09. Umar DB: How and when did you and Jim Beanz meet?

Amar: Jim and I met 2 years ago. We share the same management Sunset Entertainment Group. A few years prior to that, my Dad was working with a British producer called Charlie Hype. I never really thought much of it, he used to work with my Dad, bring him home, drop him off etc. They used to record some amazing tracks though which didn’t end up getting released.

Just before I met Jim, Charlie had lost touch with my Dad. But one day he had come round to our place and wanted to see me. He said he was working with an amazing team in America, that they now managed him, that they also managed another producer called Jim Beanz who was working with Britney Spears, Timbaland, Whitney Houston, Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake.

He said that they had a massive studio complex in the suburbs of Philly and that ‘we need an Indian voice’ and asked me to go to the States to spend some time with he and Jim just to see if we had a musical connection. I initially hesitated, I was so used to empty promises and didn’t want to go so far to be disappointed, but decided to bite the bullet and go. Particularly when Charlie played me his recent productions which sounded hot. It was the BEST decision I’ve ever made - we recorded 7 songs in 5 days – most of these will be on my album.

10. Umar DB: To have been featured on a Timbaland album, how did such an opportunity come about and what was it like working with him and Jim Beanz?

Amar: Those demos were then played to Timbaland by Jim and within days I was on a flight to Virginia to work with him. Timbaland loves and has always loved Indian sounds, voices, Indian feelings and Jim tells me that when he heard my voice he said ‘her tone is dope, I’ve got a track for her on Shock Value’.

At first it seemed like someone didn’t want me there. Jim and I missed 4 flights to Virginia due to snowstorms. But we made it at 3am that night. But US Air had lost my luggage. So I was going to meet Timbaland minus all of the nice clothes I had bought, minus make up, minus hairbrush – after all a girl wants to look good!! Jim told me to go to sleep and that I wouldn’t be needed at the studio till the next day, and that at that point my luggage would be here. So I went to bed.

I get a call at 4am saying, ‘Tim will need you now’. I was like AAAAAAAHHHH!! Jim hurried me to the local CVS, we got some supplies, I got ready and within about half hour we were there, minus all of my nice new clothes. But it didn’t end up mattering. When we walked in (Thomas Crown Studios in Virginia) he was sitting on a comfy chair, with a baggy tracksuit on, surrounded by people including his longtime collaborator Magoo.

He told me he had heard such good stuff about me and loved my voice. He pulled out a big pile of CDs of indian music (bollywood music) and started to tell me which ones he loved and mainly about his love for the old bollywood sound. He then played me a beat that he had done and asked if I could hear myself on it, I definitely could, and that track ended up being ‘Bombay’ writtem by the three of us, myself, Jim and Timbaland. I cannot really describe seeing a hero of yours in the flesh. I had LOVED Timbalands’ work with Aaliyah and Justin Timberlake up until this point, and to actually meet him, let alone work with him was surreal.

Jim, is another one of my heroes. The first time that we worked together I could see that this guy has spent a long time honing his skills and art and I could tell why he was doing so well. He was known as the best vocal producer in America at the time working with the likes of Nelly Furtado. He was also producing and when I heard his productions I just knew realised more why he was getting all of his success. He knows how to get the deepest darkest musical feelings out of you, and he teaches you not to fear doing something different. And musically he is fearless and immensively creative.

11. Umar DB: You also will be featured in Timbaland’s follow up album to "Shock Value", what information can you give us on this?

Amar: Can’t really say much yet about this yet to be honest…..

12. Umar DB: Recently you toured India with Jim Beanz and the Boy Band Rebel. How receptive were the Indian public to the tour and how aware were they of who you were?

Amar: The gigs that we did were very very casual. They were not planned. We would literally walk into a club with tracks in hand, jump on stage, perform them to get a response and see what happens. The first gig was in a club called Red Light – it was jammed full of Mumbai clubbers. We performed ‘Bombay’, ‘Show it Off’ and ‘Masala’. The crowd were screaming with delight, it was a crazy experience.

The best gig that we did was in Dharavi. We performed for slumkids who spend their days picking trash for items that can be recycled. The looks on their faces when we came onto stage and started singing and dancing – I will never forget, they had the biggest smiles! Then they rushed forward to jump on stage with us, it was the cutest thing ever.

13. Umar DB: Can you tell us more about the two tracks that you are going to record with Sonu Niigaam?

Amar: They are complete. One is for my album – its called ‘Bombay Billionaire’ the other is for his album, it’s called ‘A Thousand Pieces’. Bombay Billionaire is a very very hot sexy track – can’t wait for you to hear it.

14. Umar DB: Would you want to sing for a Bollywood movie and if you had the chance which Bollywood composer would you most like to work with?

Amar: I would love to work with AR Rahman. I also had the pleasure of working with my other Bollywood heroes Shankar Ehsaan and Loy for my album. Of course I would love to sing for a Bollywood movie, who wouldn’t?

15. Umar DB: You had the opportunity to perform at the 2007 BBC Electric Proms. How did you find that experience?

Amar: Brilliant. I was very excitable because it all came about at the last minute so we had like a day to rehearse everything. But I LOVE the jazz café as a venue and I love doing small, intimate gigs, where I’m with a live band and a microphone. I can talk to my audience and just sing. I had Jim join me for a song, legendary musician Bill Pettaway, and then my Dad also joined me for a song. This was the perfect opportunity to get intimate with my audience and to do it for such an amazing and renowned event was an honour.

16. Umar DB: Your second album "Show It off" is going to be released sometime this year and has been 18 months in the making. Why has the album taken so long to make?

Amar: Just travelling back and forth has made the process longer. It’s been recorded in London, Mumbai, Miami, and Philadelphia. And then every time we thought we were done, another song would emerge and we’d be like’ ok, this HAS to make the album’. Mainly because our musical connection was constantly growing. For example after the India tour we felt so inspired we came back and did another 3 songs that have made the album, even though the album was already mastered before the India trip.

17. Umar DB: What type of sounds can we expect from your second album?

Amar: I would call it Indo-Urban. You’re going to hear Pop, Sultry, RnB, HipHop, Urban, Sexy, and you’re going to hear my voice in ways that you haven’t heard before.

18. Umar DB: What can you tell us about the video and for people who haven't heard the track, how would you describe it?

Amar: Masala is hotness! It’s a fun, cheeky, but attitude-filled sexy song. It’s HipHop but very Indian at the same time. We shot the video in Mumbai. Myself, Jim and DOE have our own spaces within the song, but you will see me jump into their spaces from time to time. You might also spot Rebel in there!

19. Umar DB: Is there anyone else you have collaborated with on your new album?

Amar: Yes, I have also collaborated with Bollywood royalty Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Apache Indian, and last but not least, my wonderful Dad.

20. Umar DB: Not only have you collaborated with the likes Timbaland, Talvin Singh and Sunu Niigaam, but you also were featured in the track "El Harba Wine" with the famous Arabic musician Khaled. How has collaborating with various artists from different cultural backgrounds enriched your own musical repertoire?

Amar: It just opens your eyes up to music that you might no always hear on a daily basis. For example, Khaled’s music genre is called Rai. It has many similarities to Indian music, the melodies, some of the sounds. If I hadn’t worked with Khaled I would have maybe not heard so much of this music.

21. Umar DB: Which artists would you most want to collaborate with in the future?

Amar: I would love to work with Prince. One day maybe…

22. Umar DB: Finally, do you have any other projects you are working on and have you plans for any tours in the future?

Amar: Right now, I am concentrating on promoting my album, and some other features on other peoples’ albums. But will most definitely keep you posted!

Umar DB: Thank you for your time! Dont forget to tune into Desi-Box.com on Tuesday 11th August 2009 at 8PM GMT Why? I hear you ask, because you will NOT want to miss the EXCLUSIVE WORLD PREMIERE of Amar's new promotional video to the track "Masala" which also features Jim Beanz and D.O.E. from her highly anticipated upcoming album "Show It Off"!

LINKS: www.amarmusiconline.com and www.sunsetentertainmentgroup.com

CREDITS: Umar B for the interview and special thanks to Andy

BUY: Amar - Show It Off - iTunes