{"id":10821,"date":"2008-03-03T15:50:50","date_gmt":"2008-03-03T15:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tat.reddaisytrading.co.uk\/index.php\/2008\/03\/03\/flying-solo-with-des-c\/"},"modified":"2008-03-03T15:50:50","modified_gmt":"2008-03-03T15:50:50","slug":"flying-solo-with-des-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/2008\/03\/03\/flying-solo-with-des-c\/","title":{"rendered":"Flying Solo with DES-C"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ex-Mentor Kolektiv ace goes solo with First Flight<\/h3>\n
\"\"BEING\u00a0an Asian music star is not plain sailing \u2013 just ask Luton\u2019s Des-C. The 22-year-old vocalist enjoyed immense success as part of Mentor Kolektiv winning a number of awards for their cutting edge sound before hooking up with female rapper Hard Kaur to contribute to the soundtrack of the Bollywood film \u2018Johnny Gaddaar\u2019. But parties and photo shoots to one side the Asian music scene is an incredible unstable industry \u2013 which may reveal why you can find Des-C delivering pizza\u2019s in his hometown as he bids for solo glory. <\/strong><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

His eagerly anticipated debut album \u2018First Flight\u2019 will make its foray onto the Asian music scene at the end of this month and we caught up with the rising star\u2026 <\/strong><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Your debut album \u2018First Flight\u2019 is due to be released later this month. Are you excited about the release? <\/strong><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Yes I\u2019m very excited and yet very nervous about the project. This is the first time I have had control over everything, which is not something every artists gets.<\/div>\n

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\u00a0<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Tell us a bit about the album. What can your fans expect? <\/strong><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Well the album has various flavors that no other album has had in the past. It has been produced by some of the most talented and well known producers in the industry Kam Frantic, Tigerstyle, Alan Sampson who produced Jay Sean\u2019s \u2018Ride It\u2019 and more. I have written 75% of the songs on the album. The album does not only have a Punjabi feel but I have stepped out of the box and have experimented with Hindi songs too.<\/div>\n

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\u00a0<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Do you have any personal favourites from the album? <\/strong><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a tough one! Now most people will always say \u2018yes\u2019 my favorite is so and so\u2026 But unfortunately I can\u2019t pin a favorite one down. I have spent a lot of time thinking about the concepts so listeners don\u2019t get bored. It\u2019s like asking a parent which one is your favorite child!<\/div>\n

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\u00a0<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\u2018First Flight\u2019 signals your first foray into the Asian music scene as a solo artist having been part of Mentor Kolektiv. What made you want to branch out on your own?<\/strong><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

To be honest I liked the concept of the Mentor Kolektiv however to truly express myself as an artist in my own right I had to do something non hip-hop \/ urban . Even\u00a0\u00a0 before joining the MK, I wanted to be a solo artist. The Mentor Kolektiv was a very good stepping stone for me as an unknown artist. However after waiting tirelessly for nearly three years for a decent solo deal from the label I was working closely with at the time, I called it a day. I knew if I waited any longer I would lose all inspiration and the fire of singing. <\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

How hard do you think it will be to establish yourself as a solo artist especially as Mentor Kolektiv is such a huge name in the Asian music scene?<\/strong><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

In the UK industry it\u2019s always hard to establish yourself as a solo act however, the project I have been putting together is not just an album it\u2019s a statement about my singing and songwriting.\u00a0I know that people will still linger on about the group and their success, but the main track that highlighted the group\u2019s success was \u2018Pasand\u2019, which I wrote and sung. That was a hit and that was it! Now I need to continue to build on the success of songs like \u2018Majajne\u2019 from Rishi Rich\u2019s album \u2018the project\u2019. <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

You co-wrote the smash hit \u2018Move Your Body\u2019 for the Bollywood film \u2018Johnny Gaddaar\u2019. How did that come about?<\/strong><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

It came about from my artist development team, HK Music Ltd (Hardkaur). It was a huge shock when I was told that I had to write for Bollywood legend Shanker Mahadevan. It\u2019s not every day that a UK born singer gets an opportunity like that to prove himself worthy enough. I was literally given an hour to put together some lyrics for him. Hopefully I will get another opportunity like that from Bollywood. Fingers crossed!<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Are your surprised at how popular the song has become?<\/strong><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I was told that the soundtrack from the movie had become a smash hit in India, top 5. But unfortunately the film itself was not released in the UK. My relatives gave me a fright when they called me from India and tried to tell me that there was an artist trying to muscle in with my name through the movie. It came as a huge shock to them when I told them that it was me who wrote the song\u2026 I told them not to panic!<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

You left University to pursue your passion for music. Has there ever been a day where you\u2019ve regretted that decision?<\/strong><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I looked in the mirror many a time and realized that this career path was very unstable because of the way the industry was going and only coming across people who were in it for a fast buck and did not really care about my music. It\u2019s when I\u2019m on stage that all doubts disappear, the artist in me takes over and I know it\u2019s what I was meant to do. Yes I could have been a lawyer, doctor, accountant or joined any of the other stereotypical Asian career paths. I just decided to do a job I enjoy.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your take on the current state of the Asian music scene?<\/strong><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Well, (sigh!!) what can I say, we were never a huge industry in the UK when compared to the \u201cwestern\u201d industry to begin with.\u00a0Now we are on a slippery slope that\u2019s going downhill. I really feel for the younger budding artists out there who want to come and prove their worth only to find an industry that\u2019s struggling to meet the challenges of piracy and downloading. Album sales are a fraction of what they were 10-15 years ago. As an industry we are flush with rappers, Mc\u2019s, and producers. We need to revive the live singing out there, to try and get back to basics without \u201cvo-coding\u201d the hell out of songs.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Finally, what have you got lined up for the rest of the year?<\/strong><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

As well as gigs and shows, the label that I am signed to have given me a lot of creative opportunities, one of which is to keep an eye and ear out for talent. So if you are a singer, producer, songwriter or musician I want to get to know you so get in touch through www.5riverrecords.com<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Des-C\u2019s single ‘Tor Nagini’ is available to download at http:\/\/www.desihits.com. <\/a>\u00a0<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

First Flight will be out end of March. http:\/\/www.myspace.com\/descforever <\/a> <\/div>\n

\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ex-Mentor Kolektiv ace goes solo with First Flight BEING\u00a0an Asian music star is not plain sailing \u2013 just ask Luton\u2019s Des-C. The 22-year-old vocalist enjoyed immense success as part of Mentor Kolektiv winning a number of awards for their cutting edge sound before hooking up with female rapper Hard Kaur to contribute to the soundtrack […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}