‘IMA 10’ HarLene ft Afika NX OFFICIAL ONLINE VIDEO

HarLene
Hindi-Urban Sensation!

Bring together an Indian-Australian singer with an Indian-British urban producer and a South African-American rapper and the result is a potent bass-heavy, club-ready, mega-hit called 'IMA 10'

The brand new single 'IMA 10' is the collaborative effort of the amazingly talented Hindi/Punjabi/Urban singer HarLene, super-producer Shayal, and powerhouse artist Afika Nx. The three have not only crafted a bass-heavy, club-ready, mega-hit, but have in fact manufactured an entirely new genre of music.

'IMA 10' is the creative effort of one of the UK's leading producers Shayal, whose credits include the hit single 'Baby' featuring Ginuwine. He has also worked with Jagged Edge and created the official remix of the superhit 'Down' for Jay Sean. Shayal says of the collaboration, "Really the goal was to fill in the gaps in the Asian market. My experience in Asian-urban music gave me a good idea of what the market needed, and what the future of Asian music is." With a humble chuckle he adds, "I couldn't have asked for a better studio session."

One listen of 'IMA 10' will show you exactly where Shayal's satisfaction comes from. HarLene's velvety timbre flows so effortlessly and beautifully over the booming kick and crisp snares of the dance-ready beat that one almost doesn't even notice the singer is bilingual. After being mesmerized by the devastatingly catchy hook, Afika Nx's growling punchline-heavy rhymes remind you what the heavy beat was made for.

The Hindi-Urban track is the first of its kind: Western urban pop with both Hindi and English lyrics written by HarLene and with American-style rap relevance. With so much going on in one track, the immediate fear may be that the project sounds too contrived, but the team has managed to make a true international hit, showcasing the talents and backgrounds of all three artists and joining the ranks of other international pop acts like The Black Eyed Peas, Madonna and Jennifer Lopez.

The bubbly and confident Aussie, HarLene, is a versatile singer who sings a mix of Hindi, English and Punjabi, and has been singing ever since she could talk – when she was little she often used to say 'I can sing sing sing because I'm HarLene Singh!'

HarLene has been performing in Australia since 2008, taking her unique style to cultural, club and university events in Brisbane. There is no doubt in her mind that she wants to pursue her singing dreams and make it her career. She says of her debut single: "Meeting Shayal was the catalyst for this track. He completely understood where I was coming from and allowed me to create a track that uses all my inspirations and skills — I love singing in English and Hindi — it's who I am, but adding the rap with Afika Nx, to make it so contemporary was genius! I'm delighted with the end product."

From the other side of the world comes South-African born American rapper Afika Nx, who hails from Greensboro, North Carolina and is tipped to be one of the hottest hip-hop artists of 2012. He says of the collaboration: "If you'd told me six months ago that I'd be on a track with Hindi music I'd have laughed at the thought. But actually it's inspired — HarLene's vocals and mine are at opposite ends of the spectrum but they say opposites attract. I had a blast doing it and making the video. I know that UK and international audiences are really going to feel the spirit of the track. It's a 10!"

'IMA 10' releases nationwide in December 2011 and will be available to download from iTunes.