Goldkartz features at Page 1 & Full Page Coverage at The Sun, Malaysia National Newspaper

BREAKING into the music scene in India is not easy as the competition among budding and established talents is very rife there.

The only Malaysian artistes who had had any impact there were the late Tamil playback singer and actor Malaysia Vasudevan, and Yogi B (formerly of Poetic Ammo) who had worked with big names such as A.R. Rahman (for the soundtrack of Endhiran).

However, a Malaysian bhangra (Punjabi dance music) singing duo made up of brothers Sukhjit Gill, 22 and Manjit Singh, 26, called Goldkartz, is currently making waves in India’s music scene.

The brothers’ first album Loaded was released in 2008 which got them noticed. It was listed in the Malaysian Book of Records as the first bhangra album to be recorded and made completely in Malaysia.

Their second album, 24 Karaatz, which was launched on April 1 by Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, the wife of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, really gave their music career a boost.

The album was released in the UK, Europe, Canada and India and drew positive reactions from bhangra music lovers there.

Tracks such as Ha Karde (which features Rishi Rich and Mumzy Stranger), Paisa (featuring Vibe) and Gidhe Vich Nach (featuring Panjabi by Nature) bear testament to their talent.

The success of 24 Karaatz in India brought them to the attention of director Rajiv Mehra who was about to release his movie, Chala Mussadi Office Office (starring Pankaj Kapur), which is based on the popular TV serial, Office Office.

The duo was invited to write and sing a song for the movie and the end result is Mauja (Joy).

Considering how close the Indian music industry tends to be for outsiders, the inroads made by Goldkartz are indeed impressive.

Sukhjit is still reading law at Universiti Malaya while Manjit is a qualified lawyer currently concentrating on his music.
They had recently returned from a promotional tour in India, covering Mumbai and Chennai.

Though the brothers have been to India many times before, things changed a lot for them after 24 Karaatz.

They were elated that their music video for Ha Karde was shown in many of the local television networks’ music channels.

“It makes us happy that Bollywood has recognised us as well as Malaysia,” said Manjit.

In Mumbai, they performed at a show and also attended several press conferences to promote the movie, Chala Mussadi Office Office.

They also travel regularly to perform at shows and private functions in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Canada and Shanghai.

However, since Sukhjit is still studying, their plans revolve around his study schedules.

When asked about the long gap between their two albums, Sukhjit said it was their passion for music that led them to record their first album.

“We thought once it is released, that was it. But after the release, the response was fantastic and we started receiving invites to do shows. People kept asking us when we were coming out with the next album. So we decided to produce a new album.”

Manjit said they had been learning music since they were young. “We started off learning to play the piano but were always interested in bhangra music.

“We used to listen to bhangra artistes like Malkit Singh and Daler Mehndi. We always wanted to produce a fully-Malaysian-made bhangra album.”

Malkit and Daler, both from India, took traditional bhangra and made it more mainstream, reaching out to a bigger audience. Thanks to them, modern bhangra styles have made it into Bollywood.

When asked what Goldkartz has brought to the table, Manjit said: “The bhangra hubs are basically the UK and India. Any product that comes from there has the same kind of flavour because the music comes from the same clique basically.

“Our music style, our slang is different. Our music is perceived to be different. That’s what gives us the edge.”

The brothers admit they were lucky to get a foothold in Bollywood as the people there tend to stick to talents within their own community.

However, as Manjit pointed out, the director of Chala Mussadi Office Office (Rajiv Mehra) was looking for something new and Goldkartz’s music caught his fancy.

It was not very cut and dry when they were approached to produce a song for the movie. “We had to send the song to Rajiv and Sajid-Wajid, the duo who composed the music for the movie.”

Goldkartz’s song is the only one in the movie’s soundtrack that is not produced by Sajid-Wajid, hence, it was essential to get his and Rajiv’s approval.

“It was a great honour that Sajid-Wajid liked Mauja,” said Manjit.

Other than contemporary music, Manjit said they were both trained in traditional Kirtan (singing of devotional songs).

The first album was produced under Maestro records and distributed by EMI. However,24 Karaatzwas released here under Warner Music Malaysia and globally by Movie Box, a major bhangra music label.

Some of the tracks from Loaded (Sher Punjabi, Tu Nachdi) have been remixed and are now featured in 24 Karaatz.

The videos for Ha Karde and Mauja are being aired now on Zee TV (Astro Channel 108). For more, go to www.goldkartz.com.

Courtesy of The Sun – Malaysia Press