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Meet Bros come clean on competition, splits and their musical plans for this year
Neha Maheshwri Bhagat (BOMBAY TIMES; April 1, 2016)
Clik here to view.
Meet Bros come clean on competition, splits and their musical plans for this year
Neha Maheshwri Bhagat (BOMBAY TIMES; April 1, 2016)
Right from their name to their music Manmeet and Harmeet Singh aka Meet Bros seem to debunk every musical rule in the Bollywood book. Nobody would guess that men behind the jugalbandi Jogi Singh Barnala that propelled them into the limelight, to the dance anthem Baby Doll and now, High Heels, are self-taught musicians. Hailing from a business family, they smirk that it was not the legendary Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar, but a bad singer that inspired them to make a career in music. In a no-holds-barred interview with the musician brothers, they talk of superhits, splits and making music in the age of fast food...
What made you settle on a name like Meet Bros?
In college, we had short-listed around 16 names, which included Tandoori Brothers, Band of Boys, Band of Brothers, Bhangra Brothers and Punjabi Brothers. We then decided to take a part of our names Harmeet and Manmeet and call ourselves Meet Brothers or Meat Brothers. That's how Meet Bros came into the picture.
Artistes like Honey Singh and Badshah got instant recognition. Did that ever bother you?
We are happy that a new genre has been discovered. In fact, with High heels, we have gone into their zone and made a successful song. So we are doing their kind of stuff, but they can't make our kind of music. And that's good for us as it makes us multi-talented and versatile.
How challenging is it to work with a newbie as opposed to established artistes?
We use newbies for most of our songs or at least make sure there is one new person in every album. Nobody meets aspiring artistes here. We've experienced that and didn't like it. So, every month, we keep a day dedicated to listening to new talent - lyricists and singers - who are free to walk into our studio.
All your songs since Baby Doll have topped the charts. Do you have a better understanding of the music that works today?
We don't understand what people mean when they say that our music is the one that works. What's different about us is that our music is happy. We're Punjabis, so the beat is bouncy and the melodies are in the happy zone. Hum khud hi itne excited hain, ki wahi dhune aati hai aur aadmi wohi jaldi pakad leta hai. You don't listen to a sad song when you wake up in the morning, but you can listen to a Baby Doll anytime of the day.
So, sad songs aren't your forte...
Of course, we can. We made a sad song for the movie Dilliwali Zaalim Girlfriend but it didn't work. Hum sad song ke bina khush hai.
You seem to be taking pride in not learning music.
It has been a blessing in disguise. We are making music for people who are so simple, they don't understand complex music. So, we prefer to keep our melodies simple; they are more like poems that can be grasped and sung by even a kid. Today's youth is spoilt for choice and digitally advanced, there is a new song almost every week.
How different are you both from each other?
We are 90 per cent alike, but the 10 per cent difference is actually our strength. We are still learning about each other even after so many years. Manmeet is patient, I am aggressive.
Has Anjjan parting ways with you left a void?
There will always be a void because we had the best time together, especially during the struggle period. But right after he left, we were neck deep in work that we completely moved on. We never had any issues and we still are good. He felt overshadowed and left out by our crazy and loud personalities. Also, he realised that wherever we went, people only spoke about Meet Bros. It can become frustrating for one person in a trio to go through that every day in life. He wanted to be on his own and that's when we decided to cut the cord. We helped him with whatever we could when he was trying to establish himself as an individual artiste.
We have seen several duo parting ways. Do you fear the same?
We have been brought up as friends. We have each and every clause written and signed. It''s not that Bhai hai toh chalta hai. It's too practical for conventional relationships.We have a memorandum of understanding and are on the same page emotionally and personally, too. We would never raise our voice while talking to the other. Our focus is on how to control our aggression and evolve as artistes. We are best of friends. Where is the need for brotherhood? Underwear and wives chhod kar, we have shared everything, including girlfriends.
What made you settle on a name like Meet Bros?
In college, we had short-listed around 16 names, which included Tandoori Brothers, Band of Boys, Band of Brothers, Bhangra Brothers and Punjabi Brothers. We then decided to take a part of our names Harmeet and Manmeet and call ourselves Meet Brothers or Meat Brothers. That's how Meet Bros came into the picture.
Artistes like Honey Singh and Badshah got instant recognition. Did that ever bother you?
We are happy that a new genre has been discovered. In fact, with High heels, we have gone into their zone and made a successful song. So we are doing their kind of stuff, but they can't make our kind of music. And that's good for us as it makes us multi-talented and versatile.
How challenging is it to work with a newbie as opposed to established artistes?
We use newbies for most of our songs or at least make sure there is one new person in every album. Nobody meets aspiring artistes here. We've experienced that and didn't like it. So, every month, we keep a day dedicated to listening to new talent - lyricists and singers - who are free to walk into our studio.
All your songs since Baby Doll have topped the charts. Do you have a better understanding of the music that works today?
We don't understand what people mean when they say that our music is the one that works. What's different about us is that our music is happy. We're Punjabis, so the beat is bouncy and the melodies are in the happy zone. Hum khud hi itne excited hain, ki wahi dhune aati hai aur aadmi wohi jaldi pakad leta hai. You don't listen to a sad song when you wake up in the morning, but you can listen to a Baby Doll anytime of the day.
So, sad songs aren't your forte...
Of course, we can. We made a sad song for the movie Dilliwali Zaalim Girlfriend but it didn't work. Hum sad song ke bina khush hai.
You seem to be taking pride in not learning music.
It has been a blessing in disguise. We are making music for people who are so simple, they don't understand complex music. So, we prefer to keep our melodies simple; they are more like poems that can be grasped and sung by even a kid. Today's youth is spoilt for choice and digitally advanced, there is a new song almost every week.
How different are you both from each other?
We are 90 per cent alike, but the 10 per cent difference is actually our strength. We are still learning about each other even after so many years. Manmeet is patient, I am aggressive.
Has Anjjan parting ways with you left a void?
There will always be a void because we had the best time together, especially during the struggle period. But right after he left, we were neck deep in work that we completely moved on. We never had any issues and we still are good. He felt overshadowed and left out by our crazy and loud personalities. Also, he realised that wherever we went, people only spoke about Meet Bros. It can become frustrating for one person in a trio to go through that every day in life. He wanted to be on his own and that's when we decided to cut the cord. We helped him with whatever we could when he was trying to establish himself as an individual artiste.
We have seen several duo parting ways. Do you fear the same?
We have been brought up as friends. We have each and every clause written and signed. It''s not that Bhai hai toh chalta hai. It's too practical for conventional relationships.We have a memorandum of understanding and are on the same page emotionally and personally, too. We would never raise our voice while talking to the other. Our focus is on how to control our aggression and evolve as artistes. We are best of friends. Where is the need for brotherhood? Underwear and wives chhod kar, we have shared everything, including girlfriends.