DJ Vix’s Exclusive Interview
We Caught Up With Mr DJ VIX, For An Exclusive No Holds Barred Interview. Questions Posed By Punjab2000's Own, VIXY.
OFFICIAL DJ VIX INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS POSED BY PUNJAB2000'S VIXY
1) Mr Vix, Just in case people have forgotten about you, introduce yourself once again to the masses.. Started out in the music business in 1996 when I set up my roadshow known as The, DholnBass Roadshow, went on to performing at all major clubs in the Uk.1998 I won the best new comer DJ Award presented by Movie Magazine in Hammersmith Pala. 2002 Won the Best Uk Dj Award presented by Choice Fm.Later that year I signed up with the biggest Uk record label MovieBox and released my debut album DholnBass Uncut, where I had the dance floor hit Chit Karda! 2004 saw the release of my 2nd album titled “Vix It Up”. And here I am know with my 3rd album “Identical 2 None!"
2) You’ve been in the game for quite a while, how’s the ride been? And did you expect to get the response that you did got with “Dhol N Bass Uncut”?. The Ride has been very interesting. It’s definitely been a big learning curve for me in the past 11 years! But I wouldn’t change it for the world!It’s too early to compare responses of UNCUT against IDENTICAL 2 NONE!UNCUT was a great platform for me to the music industry. And I think the timing was good too, at that time there were not many dj/producers in the scene.
1) Mr Vix, Just in case people have forgotten about you, introduce yourself once again to the masses.. Started out in the music business in 1996 when I set up my roadshow known as The, DholnBass Roadshow, went on to performing at all major clubs in the Uk.1998 I won the best new comer DJ Award presented by Movie Magazine in Hammersmith Pala. 2002 Won the Best Uk Dj Award presented by Choice Fm.Later that year I signed up with the biggest Uk record label MovieBox and released my debut album DholnBass Uncut, where I had the dance floor hit Chit Karda! 2004 saw the release of my 2nd album titled “Vix It Up”. And here I am know with my 3rd album “Identical 2 None!"
2) You’ve been in the game for quite a while, how’s the ride been? And did you expect to get the response that you did got with “Dhol N Bass Uncut”?. The Ride has been very interesting. It’s definitely been a big learning curve for me in the past 11 years! But I wouldn’t change it for the world!It’s too early to compare responses of UNCUT against IDENTICAL 2 NONE!UNCUT was a great platform for me to the music industry. And I think the timing was good too, at that time there were not many dj/producers in the scene.
2) You’ve been in the game for quite a while, how’s the ride been? And did you expect to get the response that you did got with “Dhol N Bass Uncut”?. The Ride has been very interesting. It’s definitely been a big learning curve for me in the past 11 years! But I wouldn’t change it for the world!It’s too early to compare responses of UNCUT against IDENTICAL 2 NONE!UNCUT was a great platform for me to the music industry. And I think the timing was good too, at that time there were not many dj/producers in the scene.
3) You’re with a half decent record label (lol), how did that opportunity come about? I was introduced via Sukhshinder Shinda, Who is a great friend and a guru to me!
4) You’ve had numerous hits over the years, which track of your own, gets the crowd going at gigs? I’ve got to say DESI BOLYAN! I do alot of wedding parties for alot of different cultures, and its amazing how that song gets peoples hands up in the air every time the beat drops! Some may not understand the lyrics, but they still go crazy on the dance floor…It shows the energy behind Punjabi music is amazing!
5) Who do you look up to in the Djing World? I have to say DJ KAYPER. And this DJ is a FEMALE… Great deck skills!!!
6) What’s been your Best gig and Worst gig? Too many good ones…The worst,emmmmm…………Ok, this was a good few years ago, there was this big gig I was going to perform on and was really looking forward to it, and as I arrived, some one did a bomb threat and the whole place got evacuated, never got to do my thing….Damn!
7) What’s been your most embarrassing moment? Never ever attempt to peel an orange and be on the phone while you’re driving because I did, I curbed my tyre and ended up with a flat tyre, so I pulled over to change it. In, order for me to do so I had to get my record box out of the boot, but forgot to put the box back after changing my tyre. Later, I realized I had left my record box in the middle of the road so floored it back to the scene to discover I had created a controversy because the road had been blocked off by the police had the bomb squad were at the scene, trying to investigate this black box. Cut a long story short I finally got my record box back after being interrogated by the cops!
8) How did you first get onto the Djing scene? And what inspired you to be a DJ? My older brother was a DJ back in the days in the 80’s. So I grew up with DJ equipment always lying about in my house…So I always was messing about on the vynals as long as I can remember! So I took a bit serious when I was 13 started to save my dinner money up to buy my own records! Good old days man!
9) So how did the deal from Kamlee/Moviebox records come about? As mentioned earlier I was recommended by Mr Shinda, to moviebox and I had produced half of DholnBass Uncut by then…Played it to MovieBox, and the said sign on the dotted line!
10) You’ve had good feedback on the videos from “Vix It Up” and “Identical 2 None”, how important is it to have a good video to support the album? And also what do you think of other videos out there, some say they do not support the song etc? It’s very important, it’s representing your product and your image the way won’t to be protrade. And the 2nd part of this question…I’m not here to judge other peoples work. Sorry!
11) Which artist/album has impressed you over the past year? And also which album are you looking forward to in 2007? I’ve always been a big fan of Sukhshinder Shinda’s work since the early dholbeat days in 1994….He has a great ability to make strings of good hits and that’s the quality of a great producer, anybody can really make a hit but follow it on is the real talent! And it has been a pleasure to have work with him on the past 3 albums…
12) Mr. Vix, how do you get a track? Like do the record label give you a certain number of tracks, and tell you to go away and do your thing, or do you source the track yourself by going to a song writer and tell them you want “This type of song”, and then get a singer to sing it?. The 2nd way mate. I’ll first compose a melody, then I’ll take the composition to a song writer, once the song is written, ill asses and select which singer could justify the song.
13) Ok, ‘Identical 2 None’, how did the name come about? And what can we expect from the third release from DJ Vix? On this album there were no tracks that were identical to each other, hence the name ‘Identical 2 None’.You can expect every track on the album to be upbeat from the moment you press play. I’ve kept it purely for the dance floor.
14) Within the album, you have used a gallery of excellent vocalists, and vocals themselves, Such as Lehmber Hussainpuri, and also Manjit Pappu, and also Surinder Shinda, What kind of experience was it working with vocalists of such great caliber? It was an honor working with such great talent, and all who have a great deal of experience behind them. As you will agree, they have definitely justified all my tracks on my album.
15) What is different about “Identical 2 None’ from “Vix It Up”, “DholnBass Uncut”, and the other albums out their today? I think this album has a great selection of different styles of songs, and every track on this album has been stretched to its own full potential. I would say each track on this album has been treated as the main song of the album. Many albums out there may only have the one good track.
16) There’s a few tracks on the album which have doubted peoples faith in “Creativity”, such as “Nah Chahidee” Has been likened with “Tin Cheeja”, and also “Jatt” Has been Likened with “Mode Te Bandook”, in what ways would you agree/disagree with these points?. Firstly, I would like to state that “Nah Chahidee” was produced two years ago, shortly after the release of “VIX IT UP”. At that time, ‘tin cheeja’ was a big track and only the dhol percussion was based around tin cheeja, which I would like to stress, has been created from samples, and these samples are not owned or copyrighted by anyone. I feel and I’m sure you would agree the track works the way it has been dropped, and it still has its own character. But let’s, be honest and logical guys, bhangra tracks main ingredient is the dhol, so does that mean that all bhangra tracks are all copies????.And as for ‘Jatt’ and Mode te bundook’, they have no resemblance whatsoever in musical terms, they are two different tempos and style of music. However, if this track is being compared to ‘Mode te bundook’ I am honored because my music is being compared Sukhshinder Shinda who I look up to.
17) Desi Bonus? Added a sense of mystery before release… But was only found to be the “Desi Boliyaan” From your previous album, why was this added? Was it just a filler? Or was it to give new fans a taste of your previous work? Desi Bonus was not a filler it is a bonus track. The reasons why I put it back In my album is a) I had a huge response on the dance floor b) this album is being released in other countries whereas “Vix It Up” was not c) As you have said it is to give my new fans a taste of my previous work
18) “Meri Jaan” includes a number of different touches to it, different from DJ Vix material in the past, is this maybe a sign that you want to have a hand at Bollywood or the Urban market? As I stated earlier this album has many different flavours and “Meri Jaan” was one of the them, I wanted to show my production skills are not limited to one style.
19) This album missed a familiar face…. Mr. HMC, how come you didn’t use him on “Identical 2 None”? I didn’t want to put HMC for the sake of it, if I felt his skills were required to compliment a track I would have and I just wanted to see if the fans missed HMC Lol.
20) Massively debated is the rumor that Kam Frantic has “Lent more than just a hand” in the production of your new album, what’s your view on this? LOL! Ok guys, I can’t make it any clearer than this, “Identical 2 None” was produced by me, in my own little studio placed at the back of my parents house which I call D’n’B studio. That’s where “Identical 2 None” was programmed/produced by me. The additional production i.e. Mandolin, Guitar and Algoza was done at Frantic and played in by Kam. I’m sure that Kam Frantic would be more then happy to support my statement!
I would like to add to this I can understand why some people may think that because this does happen, but I can say with hand on my heart that this dj can play the keys and has the ability to actually produce!.
21) Some say, that Bhangra is going through a “Rough Patch”, gone are the days of Apna Sangeet, Achanak, Golden Star, Safri Boyz etc, from those days Bhangra moved from “Function Halls” into clubs, which then came DJ’s and PA’s and Internet Downloading, and Illegal Piracy, but what do you think of the industry as it stands now? Do you find it disappointing? And would you put this down to the Illegal internet Downloading? And the fact that sales have dropped by as much as 70% since the days of “Dhol N Bass Uncut”
The music industry as any other has to move with the times, with good comes the bad, what I’m trying to say, that was an era in itself, it was good for that time, and now that transition has come where you can use technology how ever way you want. Music can be enhanced to its max to give you the full satisfaction, you do obviously get a few bad apples out there who misuse it. I think “2007” is going to be a great year for the bhangra industry.The biggest factor for the fall in the music industry is the downloading and the piracy, this indirectly effects many different factors i.e. If the record companies are not making their returns then they are forced to cut down budgets for artist recordings, videos and marketing.
22) Vix, The UK AMA’s have been the source of debate, as to the rumors that “Certain” Artiste have “Bought Their AWARDS”. What do you think of the entire awards, and these rumors, considering the fact that you have been vastly been promoted as “UK Award Winning DJ Vix”, further to this Bally Jagpal has said “He doesn’t know why B21 won an award considering they haven’t released anything for 3 years”? Also hardly any of the labels supported the most recent awards, and the fact that the awards have been slated by about 95% of the public.
First of all, the award I won for the “Best UK Asian DJ” was not part of the UK AMA’S, I was awarded by Choice Fm! Who are equivalent to kiss100Fm or midlands Galaxy Fm! To my understanding how the uk ama’s work is how many votes an artist gets mainly from the internet, who knows who’s on the other side of the computer e.g. The artist themselves????Whereas, choice fm short listed four bhangra dj via public votes, who were myself, dr Zeus, surinder rattan and rdb. On the night of the awards we all had to perform in front of a panel of judges some of which were sparks and kie, we all had fifteen minutes each on the decks and got marked for a) deck skills b) beat matching c) crowd response d) originality. To be honest with you guys, at the time I didn’t think I had a chance against my nominees because I was the only one who didn’t have an album out at that time.
Now some questions from the Extended family AKA Punjab2000 Members… 
23) First Of All… Shveta Would Like To Say…OH KIDHAAAAAAAA?
Teek taak shveta!
24) Privacy, Asks..Vix, What does a producer do? And what do you do? A producer’s role is to produce and along with that comes ability to select the lyricist, vocalists, percussionist and to arrange these elements in such a way that you create and achieve the best results. And that “Mr. Privacy” is what I do!
25) S11NGH Asks..What are your views on ghost production, a term which is commonly used amongst most Bhangra albums? Is it right or wrong to ghost produce albums, and what are your opinions about the people who take advantage of this service, and the people who provide this service? As there is a lack of professional talented producers who can play instruments, and paying someone else to do all the work and pasting your name on the CD cover and claiming it's your is becoming the norm in Bhangra
I’m not here to judge other artists, but I think it is vital to know how to play the keys, it’s like making the roti but not knowing how to make the atta lol!
26) Ghost, Asks…Do the record labels pay for equipment? Promotion etc, or do the artists?. Also which equipment do you use? The record companies do not pay for equipment, an artist is given a budget to produce and record the album, all marketing costs are covered by the companies in many cases.I run a PC using cubase as my sequence song, and a delta sound card, I use a Korg controller keyboard, and for my midi sounds I use the korg triton rack, mo phat by emu and a roland jv 1080.
27) Joshiv, Asks..Which instruments do you play? If any? Also do you model yourself on a younger version of Bally Sagoo? I play the keyboard, harmonium, tumbi and I play a bit of the guitar.Firstly, I’m honored to be compared to an old skool big time artist, however, for this project I was styled by Jasper Conran, who was responsible for my dressing and wardrobe, unless Bally’s been going to the same fashion stylist lol!
28) 007 Kaur, Asks..Whats your favorite color I’ve (her not me) always wanted to know. BLACK!
29) UkPenduBadmash, Asks..Are you gonna do another Boliyan song like the one on Vix It Up (And on the new one) because the track is under rated and simply good! And also, How’s Kam?.(I presume He Means Frantic Kam) Well if I come across any good Bolyan lyrics in the future I would love too, they always work well at weddings, if they are dropped right!That’s another reason why I placed my bolyan back in as a bonus track, I felt it was underrated too.Kam’s just popped over to mine, actually he says he doesn’t recognize your name but he’s says “hi”
30) CurlyZulfan_SardaraGill, Asks.Who do you prefer Manjeet Pappu or Lehmber Hussainpuri? Im gona have to sit on the fence for this question! They both are great, and have their own qualities
31) Sinbad, Asks.. Why on your albums will there be songs where there is rich sounding production, with real instruments and then there will be songs towards the end where all the sounds are created from a Yamaha keyboard? I think mate your question was meant to start with “when” rather than “why”. Ok, life would be much simpler my friend if my music just came from a “Yamaha keyboard”, as you must be aware for the instruments ie. Dhol, dholki and tabla are played in by Sukshinder Shinda! Who is one of the best percussionist's in the business if not the best and is credited on the album sleeve! It’s like Marmite either you love it or hate it…Lol!
Also32) Why do you think / say Identical To None when you sample Dr Dre, Jazzy B, has a song on his new album that was on his last album, uses American rappers like DJ Sanj, has songs that sound like Dr Zeus' and Tigerstyles stuff? (I Think Sinbad Means…. Do you think YOU ARE Identical 2 None or is it the album or both? Well there’s only one vix like there’s only one vixy!p.s I never knew there is a Dr Dre sample on the album…where?
33) Why did you never credit Lehmber Hussainpuri and Majeet Pappu as the artist on you’re video, and why he don’t you approach them to appear in the video? These artists are credited on the album sleeve which are proofed by me before it’s printed. On the video crediting is done by the record company, may be you wanna forward this question to Moviebox.And for the artist not being in the video, that’s up to the video production team, it’s their job to make the video, my job is to make the music!
Ok quick fire round; fasten your seatbelt
Mr. Vix… 34) Chaa Or Coffee? Chaa
35) Zeus Or Sanj? Dr
36) DJ Vix Or Vixy Punjab2000? It’s gotta be vixy
37) Ladoo Or Jalebi? Sticky jalebi
38) Kam Frantic Or Sukshinder Shinda? Kam as an engineer and Shinda as a producer
39) What Do You Use On Your Hair? Hair paste
40) How come your beard is always so perfectly done? Years of practice.lol
41) What was the last thing you ate? Chicken breasts.
42) Jaandi Or Meri Jaan? Jaandi
43) Puchna Or Yaar Kure? Puchna
Back to human questions!
44) What can we expect from DJ Vix in the future? The official moviebox mix tape , featuring hits over the decade of moviebox catalogue, also working on my next album.
45) Finally, Congratulations on your third release, “Identical 2 None”, Any messages for your fans worldwide on Punjab2000? Thanks to all my fans and everyone who supports the “DJ VIX” movement! Checkout the album “Identical 2 None” and my brand new website www.djvix.uk.com.And a big shout to the player haters too!
Peace & Love Dj Vix.