Here's our real hard hitting feature with Bobby and Nihal, the UK's premier radio hosts who feature the latest and greatest on their hit BBC Radio 1 show on a weekly basis. If you've heard their show, then you already know everything about these guys. If you haven't, then you've been living under a rock and you definitely need to get a listen. This will be your first opportunity to witness these guys in action in America when they perform as part of the GrandTheftAudioUSA.com tour, coming to your city!

Also check out our exclusive interviews with Raghav featuring his videos and songs and Komposit's Jay Gatzby for more on the Grand Theft Audio Tour.

Bounce: So what's up guys, how you doing today?
Bobby/Nihal: Good Bounce, we are real good! We have been crazy DJing at this festival here, gettin' our drink on, they have this thing here called Magic Juice, you gots to get up on that!

Bounce: Haha, Magic Juice, eh? I heard of Jesus Juice, don't know about Magic Juice.
Bobby/Nihal: Yea bruv, we heard he's (Michael Jackson) not guilty man... there you go!

Bounce: Yea man, its all over the TV stations, radio and everywhere here. But let's get into this interview you guys ready to set it off?
Bobby/Nihal: Yea Bounce, hit us!

Bounce: Alright, after six months you guys won the Gold Sony Award for Best Specialist Radio Show, why do you feel you were given the award over the other nominees?
Bobby/Nihal: Well Bounce, the award was for the Radio Oscars, for the Best Specialist Show, and at the end of the day, we really aren't specialists. Everything this tour that we are about to launch is about opening up music to everyone, at the time they looked at the radio shows and noticed they were doin things, big things. They liked what we were doin, it was new, and fresh! I think that is why we won. To tell you the truth, we are not specialists, rather the music is what it special to us, and it is the music that drives us to do what we do.

Bounce: So you guys were sort of thrown together by Radio 1, looking back on that, are you glad it happened that way? Do you guys feel that you have fused together, and has it been better for the show? What do you think the main basis for the show is?
Bobby/Nihal: See Bounce, Radio One is one of the most influential channels in the UK and probably the world right now. Just having a show on BBC radio one, is a success in itself. To have asian music on radio one, it is good for the music, and helps reach the widest possible audience.

We are like a shop window, our job is to look good for the window shoppers. So in essence we are the gateway to the rest of the world when it comes to new sounds, we push all these new tunes out there, and get people to come in. The only way to get the window shopper in the shop is to make sure the window looks appealing and up to date, and that is exactly what we do with the music we play.

We give massive love to the BBC, they did it first, and set the trend for other radio stations to follow. We are at a stage now for the cultural convergence of aptitude from young British Americans.

On our show you can be black, white, Chinese, we are here for everyone to hear. Bhangra, to Bollywood, to drum and bass, and even Urdu/Punjabi rappers. We showcase everything. We don't wish to be on any pedestal, we wouldn't be where we are without the artists and definitely give them our love as well.

"...the only difference here is that we have 3rd generation people driving things..."

Bounce: Alright, Bobby this brings me to my next question, what is your favorite music?
Bobby: Well, see our show is a reflection of British asian music, we could have taken on Bhangra and Hip Hop or R&B, however Nihal and myself are so open with our joy in music we allow ourselves to play everything we like and the listeners like. Asian level, we rock everything, I mean right now we buzzin' off the dirtiest break beat tracks, and switch it to some UK rap... man I do it all.

Bounce: Cool man, cool! What about you Nihal?
Nihal: Well Bounce, I been a Hip Hop head for about twenty years now, and I have always loved my Hip Hop. I was even rhyming for years, I am currently getting into drum and bass again, see you really have to come to our show with an open mind. We constantly field discussions on our message boards, and 90% of the people understand what this show is about, it's not about making ourselves adhere to any particular genre. We freestyle like you wouldn't believe. We can drop a DJ Sanj track, followed by a Terror Squad, and then cut into a drum and bass, with all that variety happening in a 45 minute segment.

Bounce: Alright, that background information is definitely good to know for our readers. Now guys, you are DJs and you play a lot of mixes on your show and what not. What are your thoughts on these sampling issues, that plague our DJs who make mix albums for self promotion?
Bobby/Nihal: Bruv, I'm gonna give you the music lover's answers; the DJs answer, and the Business Tech answer. Sampling has been around for 20-30 years or more now, yea? Everyone would share tunes back in the day. We do our show to bring music to the listeners, we don't do it for big business. If we get a bootleg that brings more than the original song did, we are gonna play it! Simple as that! Best example is how Hip-Hop beats on Bhangra tracks actually pull a mainly urban audience and cause them to crossover and find out what this Bhangra thing is all about, it's sick bruv! We know there are legalities, and what has happened here is very interesting. See Bounce, there are great parallels within the Bhangra and Hip-Hop scene. Back in the day, people would be cleaning out James Brown's catalogue, and not clearing a single thing... but the tune was still wicked, yea? People have made amazing tracks without clearance. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with sampling when it revitalizes older artists' careers, look at the Mundian To Bach Ke track. I think people should really clear their samples, because in the end that is where the potential comes out, look at Mundian To Bach Ke, it was cleared and look how well it was able to be promoted and how well it is doing to this date.

Bounce: I am sure your input has opened up a lot of eyes, thanks for the in-depth answer! Now, how do you guys describe the UK Asian scene?
Bobby/Nihal: The UK Asian scene is expanding, graduating, it is about evolution, not revolution. We all realize Jay Sean and Raghav and we know there were people before them, and there will be people after them. These people are ambassadors for reeducating minds and ears about British Asians and what they are about. They have a right to make any music they want, whether it be Hip-Hop or pop, and not just electronica. The UK club scene is amazing, the voice of British Asians is being heard. We have new singers, one is Sona Relah, said to be the Asian Alicia Keyes. Big thing about 2005 is that in Britain, is that the parents are supporting their children. They know there is a career to be found in the entertainment industry. For example, someone who lived through the 80's and 90's as a 10 year old kid would be a lot less likely to become anything other than a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. But now if the parents see the kid has talent, they will go out and find out more about it.

Now if you got talent, most parents these days that know what's going on in the UK will say let me speak to your music teacher.

Bounce: Ok, what are your thoughts on the North American scene?
Bobby/Nihal: Ah, my vision of America is, at the moment, that America is the center for black and white music. I love my South Asian brothers and sisters in North America, and I think when they properly log on, they will bring it home! North America is catching up, and when they do, they will take this ten times further because of their will to succeed. Music in America right now however, is very segregated, and really controlled by the US scene. Remember Bounce, it is a numbers game, and America is controlled by the market, it is the number of people demanding the music in the supply and demand equation. Here, the BBC doesn't operate like that, at-least not after 7PM haha!

Bounce: I think you've made a very good point and I can relate to your logic. Now, we do have a lot of emerging talent in North America right now. Artists such as Sumeet, Bohemia, Bikram Singh, Kidd Skilly; have you heard of them, and if so, what are your thoughts?
Bobby/Nihal: Yea, it's actually surprising you bring that up, because we actually been listening to the Sumeet album yea, which we think is absolutely outstanding, extremely out of this world, excellent! Sumeet has a great voice, and understands the ideas we share about pop and melody at the same time, it's just fantastic. Bikram Singh is another very good artist, an amazing Bhangra singer. Bohemia, The Punjabi Rapper, also very good. We also have respect for Jay Dabhi out there, we see him making moves in the US. We are actually waiting for Navdeep's sophomore release, his follow up. It's gonna be off the hook bruv, he is gonna kill it and it should sell bare units in the U.K. See, the only difference here is that we have 3rd generation people driving things, so we kind of have a head start on you guys.

Bounce: Ah yes, but we are catching up, haha! So guys, a lot of DJs here look up to you. Being who you are, and what you have accomplished, what advice do you have to bestow upon the DJ community?
Nihal: Well, we barely get the time to make our own music or remixes. However, when we are out performing we always get compliments for the passion we show. You won't find us hunched over and not looking at the crowd. When we step out there, it's like we're mainstage at a rock and roll gig, we are performing! If we don't look like we are enjoying the music, why should you? We are always jumpin' around, we love our music, and we know our music. Now we do mix, but primarily, we are selectors. We are there to create a party not to metaphorically masturbate about our DJing talents. We don't do it to get paid, I mean don't get me wrong, it is an honor to get paid, but we do it for the love we have of music.

Bobby: You know Bounce, when I was DJin back in the day getting thirty pounds or so, which barely would cover my petrol money now, you would never have caught me saying what is this crap, screw this! I was in a completely different mindset. I was like Oh My God, people booked me, I got people dancing, I was the star. So it is important to know, when you are coming up, be humble and don't let people walk all over you, but don't act like a superstar before you are a superstar either. You will get to that stage one day, and I don't mean drugs and women either, so be thankful, and be humble.

Nihal: See Bounce, our tips are not technical, they are emotional and spiritual tips. Learn how to rock a crowd and show them to love it, create drama, stop a tune on the beat and let it be silent. Look into the whites of their eyes and ask them "How much do you want this next track?"

Bobby: You know I must say, to touch on the technical side a bit. I started using cubase, and people would say I am not using programs like Logic or Pro-Tools. Well you know what, some of the best music I have heard in my entire life has been produced on some of the lowest end software and hardware. To me, it is all about the passion, if it sounds good, it's good to go. Don't get too technical. They say no pain, no gain. The pain hardens you, it's not for the thin skinned, but in the end it's good.

Bounce: Yea guys, very good answer, being a DJ myself, I am sure many other DJs will relate to this answer. Which brings us to our final question, so it's almost over, and you guys can go to bed now (I conducted this interview at 3AM their time)! What are your thoughts on Komposit, progressing the South Asian scene and what can we expect from you during the Grand Theft Audio tour that you guys are doing?
Nihal: Well Bounce, I am a people person. If I get a good vibe from someone I will work with them, and I got a great vibe from Jay Gatzby. So it's happening, Jay has not let us down and it is a great tour, four backbreaking parties in four different places. At this rate, we won't even have time to get jetlag, we will spin beats, and I am really impressed how this has all progressed. Jay is great, he really treats us very nice. I believe in karma, as I am a Buddhist, and Jay has good karma. I am down for young brothers like him who are on the hustle cause that is how we were back in the day also. Another thing people might not know, Raghav is our boy, we have a great friendship with Raghav, and this will help us fuse our talents for even better shows when we reach the US!!

Bounce: That's hot Nihal, and yeah Jay is definitely the man, no doubt about that! Bobby you got anything to say or what?
Bobby: Bounce, bro, I did, however Nihal already said it all. Especially the stuff about Mr. Gatzby. Jay is my brother from another mother, haha, we are family!

Bounce: Hey look at that, you learn something new every day, haha! That is all good to know guys. Well, that wraps up our interview and I want to thank you for all your honest answers and for stayin' up late once again.
Bobby/Nihal: Anytime bruv, definitely our pleasure. We look forward to meeting you when we are out in the US!

Check out Bobby and Nihal on the GrandTheftAudioUSA.com tour in your city!

Do you have any thoughts on this? Feel free to send Vishal an e-mail @ Vishal Sharma aka DJ Bounce.