Episode Transcript
[00:00:08] Speaker A: Hi, guys. Welcome once again to Garage Call podcast. And I've. As you can probably see, I've still got my mustache if you're watching on YouTube. But this is. This episode's gonna be on the 3rd of December, so it'll be too late for you to sponsor so.
Because I was doing it for November, so by that time I should have my beard back and pally's laughing. Who's my next guest? Pali Math you doing, bro?
[00:00:30] Speaker B: Hey, Raj. I'm good. How are you?
[00:00:32] Speaker A: Yeah, very good, thanks. So, dude, I'm gonna say straight up, I didn't know about you until, like, when I contacted you, I thought, wow, this guy's music's pretty awesome, man, to be fair. And your whole guitar reels and stuff are. Are really, really cool. So this is P. Ma So don't. Guys, those of you don't know about him, honestly, we're gonna. I. I think we're going to be in for a masterclass in. In music and stuff. But I can tell he's a bit humble. You can do.
So tell me about yourself, Ali. Where are you from?
[00:01:05] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm from Birmingham, so I'm a musician and producer.
Been doing music now for. Been about 10 years now.
Format, loads of weddings and events, mainly guitar and piano, so that's kind of like my main background.
And then I also produce music as well. Just recently released an ep, so, yeah, just pretty much love music. I'm just a music guy, to be fair.
[00:01:34] Speaker A: What about Birmingham you from?
[00:01:36] Speaker B: I'm from Kings 8. Yeah. Kingsley.
[00:01:39] Speaker A: I'm from Sutton.
[00:01:42] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Quite far from Kingsley.
[00:01:45] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So okay, how you look a lot younger in person than your. Than your reels and stuff?
[00:01:53] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:55] Speaker A: Look like a teenager now.
[00:01:57] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, absolutely.
[00:02:00] Speaker A: So, yeah, how did you get into music? Where did all this start?
[00:02:06] Speaker B: To be honest with you, I've started quite late. So I always loved music as a teenager, like growing up, but I was kind of really, really shy, so I would always be like, quite. Not afraid, but just too shy to say I want to learn an instrument or I like music. And then I think it was. I was about 17 and I got an ipod for my birthday. And from there I just downloaded as many songs as I could. Like loads of different genres. Bangra, R B, pop, hip hop. And I would just like, listen and analyze. And I found myself analyzing music and not like listening to it, just analyzing it like, how is this made? And then I would go and check, like, who's wrote this song, who's produced it? I was Always interested in that kind of stuff.
And then I think it was when I was about 20, I bought myself an acoustic because I always had interesting guitar. Like I've always loved guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, Prince, those guys. I've always looked up to people like that. And then I bought myself a second hand acoustic guitar. And I remember I had one lesson and I couldn't. I'm not really good with like music lessons. So I just kind of taught myself on YouTube.
[00:03:19] Speaker A: Really? Wow.
[00:03:20] Speaker B: Yeah. So I taught myself how to play the acoustic guitar and then. But it was more electric guitar was that fascination with. So then I moved to electric guitar and then I've just pretty much been learning YouTube tutorials, learning myself.
[00:03:34] Speaker A: And so can I stop you? Because like. Okay, so like this music podcast is about music collection. The fact that you've learned from YouTube or yourself. I know people do do that.
[00:03:44] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:44] Speaker A: I'm fascinated by it because I'm the kind of person who needs a teacher.
[00:03:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:48] Speaker A: Myself.
[00:03:49] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:03:49] Speaker A: I actually need like sort of.
[00:03:51] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:03:51] Speaker A: My mind works like that in the sense that we need structure.
[00:03:55] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:55] Speaker A: So how did you start off with YouTube? What did you do? Just. Just tell me about that. Like how did you sort of. Did you search. Oh, guitar. You know, because you. The problem with YouTube, I find there's so much. It's over information at times.
[00:04:10] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:04:11] Speaker A: So much. Yeah. After you.
[00:04:13] Speaker B: Yeah. So when I learned the acoustic guitar, it was just like I would literally go from scratch. So I wanted to know the notes. Each note, each string. Like what is it? E, A, G. I need to know that. And then I wanted to learn chords. So I'd learned like the simple chords then you know, trying and strumming patterns. So I would, I would search like videos for like guitar chords to learn or strumming patterns to learn. And that's how I kind of started off. But as. As then I picked it up just that I wanted to learn by ear. So then I would just literally sit down with the guitar and just try and figure out like scales and patterns myself and then just literally try and do it by ear. And I found that more productive than like. Because like you said, searching for videos on YouTube, there's so much information you don't know which one to. To look at. So that I kind of took that route as well.
[00:05:09] Speaker A: That's pretty cool to be fair. Pretty really impressive because I. I've heard your solos and stuff. They're like fantastic. But some of the songs. Yeah, you've done. We'll talk about your music later. But yeah. Gosh. So you've let that off, off the cuff sort of thing.
[00:05:24] Speaker B: Yeah. And I think it's just like by watching videos of people like Prince for example, who's just like a master musician.
[00:05:32] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:05:33] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So like people like that kind of just inspires you, but, and you kind of hear their sound and you try and sometimes like, like imitating a kind of way, like kind of. Obviously they're perfectionists, so you try and get that perfect sound as well.
[00:05:47] Speaker A: You've said two names there, like Jimi Hendrix and Prince.
[00:05:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:51] Speaker A: It's just they're like world class on another level, aren't they?
[00:05:55] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:56] Speaker A: So, yeah, yeah. I don't know. I was into my, As I said, this is, I don't want it, I don't want this to be like a very formal interview. So, yeah, chat to you about nonsense. So, so I'm into my sort of 80s rockers, all up, Bon Jovi, Journey and stuff like that. So yeah, I, I do like guitar. I, I, I do try and practice when I get a chance. I'm mainly a vocalist.
[00:06:21] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay, wicked.
[00:06:22] Speaker A: So I, I do like class indie classicals and bits and bobs, stuff like that. But so I do practice guitar and I used to do it during lockdown and stuff. We used to have these meetings and so you move and the meetings have like nothing to do with you. So I'm just practicing changing chords, but my hands never got fast enough. Yeah, so we'll move from a to. What advice would you give me if you had to give me?
[00:06:47] Speaker B: I used to, when I used to practice guitar, I used to set my timer on my phone for like a minute and the chord like so, like chord changes. So your hands like changing positions.
[00:06:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:06:58] Speaker B: So say if I'm moving from an E minor chord to a C major, I would keep repeating that for a minute just like until the stopwatch stops. Same thing. And it's just like you just keep practicing, repetition, repetition. Then you get quicker, you get quicker. You put a metronome on, speed the tempo up, do it to the beat as well. So you always getting your timing right as well.
[00:07:25] Speaker A: Hi guys, this is Raj Kaur. Thanks so much for listening to the podcast. If you want to support the rest of my music, if you could go and check me out on Spotify, on Apple Music and add my songs to your playlist if you like them. Thank you.
There's a guy who I follow, I think his website, Justin Guitar, he teaches like that.
[00:08:03] Speaker B: Oh yeah, yeah. Actually he's, I've seen some of His. Some of his stuff as well. Like when I was first starting to play.
[00:08:09] Speaker A: Yeah, all his stuff's free as well.
[00:08:10] Speaker B: Do you know that, like, just thinking shows you everything. Like blue scales, everything.
[00:08:15] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, yeah. So one of my. One of my band members, one of my. One of my best friends, he's a guitarist. So now said his name. He's a great, great guitarist as well.
[00:08:24] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:24] Speaker A: Like yourself. So he's. He. He. He does all my guitar work for me, like with me doing live sets and stuff. So been on radio and stuff. And that. So.
[00:08:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:33] Speaker A: Okay, so from there you're learning music and at what point did you become proficient at it?
Was there a point?
[00:08:43] Speaker B: I don't think anyone. I think. I think music, you're always learning. To be fair, I don't think you can ever get fully. Like, even now, like, I'm always learning.
[00:08:52] Speaker A: But that's why I use the word proficient rather than. Yeah, you know, a master was.
[00:08:58] Speaker B: I think I started to get like, a bit more confident when I started to do gigs at weddings. So I started to play a lot of weddings and events and I can't. That kind of like learning songs.
[00:09:11] Speaker A: Tell me about that. Tell me about your wedding stuff. I find you really interesting, Paddy. Honestly, like, I'm asking you so many questions because I'm excited. Like, I find you really, really interesting, especially because you're doing stuff which you've done this off your own back. And it's quite a brave thing to do to put yourself out there in weddings and stuff. So how. How did that come about?
[00:09:33] Speaker B: Well, to prefer. My family is in the wedding industry. So it was. It was in terms of that kind of stuff they do like wedding. Wedding decorations and all that kind of. So it was kind of like my dad's been in that industry for like 20 years, so he was kind of like, well off. Actually, when he. When I first wanted. I didn't actually want to play at weddings. I used to learn songs at home and dad used to hear me. And one of the first weddings that I'd done was he just. I think he knew the guy and he said that, like, my son's gonna. And my son play and stuff, so it's kind of like a free thing.
But I remember that when I was really nervous, but it was just like picking up, like doing loads of gigs, like. And from there it picked up. I got my confidence and just started posting videos on Instagram and the people started inquiring to play guitar at weddings and that.
So, yeah, we're just learning Bollywood songs, obviously. Everyone, like, kind of like when there's weddings, drinks, receptions. I like that. Soft Bollywood music.
[00:10:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:31] Speaker B: Or kind of learn Bollywood songs, play guitar. And then. And then when lockdown came, then I kind of had a little piano in the. In my front room. So then I started learning that as well. And then since lockdown, I've been kind of. I've been doing a lot more piano gigs lately as well. So then I taught myself to play the piano.
[00:10:56] Speaker A: Really?
[00:10:56] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, it's. Well, I wouldn't say. I think I prefer guitar more, to be fair. Yeah, yeah. I just love music, to be fair. So all the time I'm just trying to learn stuff in it, to be honest.
[00:11:07] Speaker A: Well, to be fair, I'm learning piano at the moment. I'm learning like from. From a proper teacher and stuff. So, yeah, I'm getting there. I've only had about, say about 10 lessons or so.
[00:11:18] Speaker B: Yeah, no, it's a lovely instrument. So especially if you're. You're singing as well. It's nice to play while you're.
[00:11:23] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. So that's why just. We've always had a piano in the, in the living room. But I've just bought one for my studio room here. So. Yeah, so I'm practicing on that at the moment. I'm playing Lean On Me.
Yeah, yeah, playing that and a few other songs and Amazing Grace as well.
[00:11:46] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay.
[00:11:47] Speaker A: Yeah, so those are the tracks I'm learning at the moment and scales and stuff. So it's quite. Because I'm. The thing is, I'm taught in Indian music, so it's quite. I find it quite interesting the way the. It's basically you're looking at two different thought processes and they come. How they come together. Like you. Let's say you've got like a. A minor harmonic scale.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:09] Speaker A: You got the equivalent in. In.
In Indian classical, like the parts. Have you, have you ever. Have you ever looked at the Indian side of it?
[00:12:20] Speaker B: To be honest and not really from being honest with you, like the scale. Yeah, I just. Honestly, when I'm. Even when I'm like making music and composing, I've just obviously. Yeah, you know, your, your theory kind of stuff like scales and whatnot. But to be honest with you, scales wise, I just go by whatever sounds good to my ear, to be honest with you. That's how that is to me.
But I think it's always good to learn scales and learn in scales as well because it's just. It's a good advantage to have.
[00:12:49] Speaker A: Yeah, it's the foundation of it, isn't it like.
[00:12:52] Speaker B: Yeah, I think. I think when I was learning guitar, it was more like blue scales and like. Is it pentatonic scale?
[00:12:58] Speaker A: Yeah, pentatonic skills. Yeah.
[00:12:59] Speaker B: Oh, I think that was the kind of stuff that I sounded good to my ear and it.
[00:13:04] Speaker A: So this is most of the pop songs on pentatonic scale.
[00:13:07] Speaker B: Yeah. So unlike. Obviously, some of the songs only have. Some of the most famous songs in the world just have three chords.
[00:13:13] Speaker A: Yeah.
Did you ever see that video? Was it. Was it by Ed Sheeran? And when he. When he played every song in three chords, he.
[00:13:21] Speaker B: Yeah, that's what I mean. And he can write a song with any. Any four chords. That's all you need.
[00:13:26] Speaker A: Yeah, that's really cool. So, you know. You know, I find about weddings, I'm gonna add a bit of controversy here. So. Yeah, I don't. I don't do many weddings and stuff because I find as a singer you become background noise sometimes.
[00:13:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:42] Speaker A: Find that like.
[00:13:43] Speaker B: I mean, you. Yeah, there has been some weddings where you can find that you just like kind of there fill in the empty, the quiet sound and stuff like that. I think for singers. Yeah, I think for. As a singer, you. You need a spotlight. So when everybody's like sitting down and paying attention.
[00:13:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:59] Speaker B: I mean, at the start of a wedding, if you're singing, sometimes people not paying too much attention. But I think with instrumental music, that's where it comes handy because, you know, it's just like nice. Nice. Quite a nice chilled atmosphere.
[00:14:13] Speaker A: I've seen your videos or like your videos. Like some of your. Your guitar reels, they're a bit more lively than Bollywood stuff.
The wicked solos and stuff you paint.
[00:14:25] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, I wish I could do that at weddings, but I think sometimes it's like they like the softer Bollywood songs as well and like the wedding appropriate songs and all that kind of stuff.
[00:14:37] Speaker A: So what kind of music you. You're into?
[00:14:39] Speaker B: Sort of, to be honest, growing up, it was just like pop, R B, funk music. I love Michael Jackson, Prince.
[00:14:48] Speaker A: I've got a thing to say about Michael Jackson because I knew you like Michael Jackson because your first song.
Which one was it?
Was it All I Want is you?
[00:15:00] Speaker B: Yeah, that was with the. That was with the English vocalist. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:15:03] Speaker A: I could tell that. That the riffs in there were. Were Quincy John's riffs. That kind of vibe.
[00:15:10] Speaker B: I was trying to go for R and B vibe on that one.
[00:15:12] Speaker A: I can see your Jacko influence straight in there.
[00:15:15] Speaker B: I think because growing, obviously he's he's probably one of the best, isn't he?
[00:15:19] Speaker A: So, yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
[00:15:21] Speaker B: It's passed away recently, so, you know, one of the greatest composers, producers that we've ever seen. So. Yeah, so, like, you just try and learn from what. What those people do. Don't you know?
[00:15:32] Speaker A: It's so good. I was telling my wife earlier that I said, I'm interviewing Grey, called Pali, and this is. I says, you know what? I listen to his music. I thought, man, this is. This is really good. Especially because you brought that kind of music into Bangra.
Especially the guitar stuff, the riffs you bring in, it's almost like you're bringing. You bring in like 80s pop Jackal, Quincy John style with Bangara, and it's like. I don't know whether you envision that, but that's what I got from your music.
[00:16:00] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, I think that's exactly what I do. I love funk music and like, the. The bass lines, like when you listen to Thriller, for example, you hear them. Them riffs and the bass lines and that. And that's the kind of stuff that stands out to me. So it just naturally comes out like that, to be honest with you.
[00:16:17] Speaker A: Yeah, no, I'm. I'm really. Honestly, I was so impressed because I think this day and age, you find in. In music, you find it becomes really generic. So your music is honestly a. A breath of fresh air.
[00:16:30] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:16:31] Speaker A: My ears. Anyway, honestly, I'm not just saying that. Like, sometimes you might say, honestly, I really enjoyed you. I did, I did. Added all I want is you to my playlist.
[00:16:39] Speaker B: Oh, wicked.
[00:16:40] Speaker A: That's on my playlist. Like listen to sort of on a daily. So that's on there straight away, because I was. I was so impressed by.
[00:16:48] Speaker B: Thank you very much.
[00:16:50] Speaker A: Yeah. So, okay, so you.
[00:16:52] Speaker B: You.
[00:16:53] Speaker A: You learn piano. Did you learn piano the same way as well?
[00:16:57] Speaker B: Just a couple of YouTube tutorials as well. And then just I think once I learned. When I was learning guitar, I saw the guitar as shapes and patterns. So when I would do chord shapes.
[00:17:10] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:17:11] Speaker B: Scales, shapes and patterns. So I kind of just applied that to the piano. Like scales, shapes and patterns.
That's how I see. See music. Like, I shape some patterns.
So I just kind of apply shapes and patterns to when I'm playing songs or, you know, when I'm playing piano, if my left hand's doing one pattern, you apply that to other songs and your right hand's doing the other pattern, playing this, the melody of the song. And that's what.
[00:17:37] Speaker A: That's what I struggled with when I was learning piano, one of my lessons was it was a place called a piece. Yeah. Called Patterns itself. The name was Patterns and it was a time signature. 3, 4. So it's like 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1- 2. But my left, I was told to my left hand to play 1, 2, 3, 1, 2. And my right hand, double.
Man, it threw me off like it.
[00:18:03] Speaker B: Does at the beginning. It's just like the hand coordination. You just got to get the hang of it. But I think once you. You keep going. Because when I. Even with the guitar when I was first playing six months, I was getting really frustrated. Like 22. Like sometimes you feel like giving up and it's one of them. But then you got. I think when you get through that first six months and then everything else just slowly starts to fall into place. So it's one of them ones. You just got to keep at it.
[00:18:27] Speaker A: That's absolutely amazing, man. Honestly, it's a pleasure talking to you, dude. So from there, how did you get onto the production side?
[00:18:35] Speaker B: You know what production was before any of the guitar stuff? Because I used to try and download this program for Fruity Loops.
[00:18:42] Speaker A: Yeah, no Fruity Loops. Yeah.
[00:18:43] Speaker B: I actually didn't know what I was doing on it, to be honest. I was just trying to figure stuff out. And the whole beat making thing, I always used to love it and all that kind of stuff. Growing up seeing like Bungalow produced like Bali Sagu, Dr. Seuss and you know, just trying to like emulate that, but. And then I started using Logic when I was about like 21, 22. But I wasn't really doing it too well. I was just kind of. I got to a stage when I was making music production. Putting too much in because I've just had so many ideas, but sometimes less is more. And then last year I went. I had a track with the Nilma Siddhu and I learned from Camp Frantic.
So.
[00:19:26] Speaker A: Such a nice guy. Cameras, isn't it?
[00:19:28] Speaker B: Yeah. I love.
[00:19:29] Speaker A: He's hard to get hold of. One of the hardest guys to get hold of ever.
[00:19:33] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, he is. He's sometimes hard to get hold of, but when he's free, you know, even the. Even if it's half an hour or 45 minutes, like the amount that I've learned from a year ago to now is just amazing. And yeah, I tell him that anyway. I tell him that all the time. But he's taught me a lot and.
And it's been a privilege to learn from him as well.
[00:20:00] Speaker A: Hi guys, this is Raj Kaul thanks so much for listening to the podcast. If you want to support the rest of my music, if you could go and check me out on Spotify or Napa Music and add my songs to your playlists if you like them. Thank you.
How did you get in touch with Cam? Frantic.
[00:20:31] Speaker B: To be honest with you, I've been trying to get a hold of Cam for a few years. I think I've been. I didn't. I think I told him once that I emailed him, but I think he was saying something. His emails. Something was up with his emails. But yeah, I just contacted him, to be honest. I just called him and said, you know, I wanted to learn like music production. And when we done first track with Nirmal Sidu, I just like learned so much from him. And then from there it's even like when I'm mixing my stuff, he's taught me how to mix my stuff. As I've got a confidant, I wasn't really confident, like I was having ideas. I'm thinking like, is this good? Is that good? Questioning myself.
And then when I've just recently made my ep, I've just been completely free.
And it's nice when you have like a teacher like that who you can go and show your music to and get advice from actually, like the technical side, that this, maybe this could sound better or maybe that can sound better, you know, you know, things like that. And it just really made me like, sit down, listen to my music, you know, mixing it properly as well.
Yeah.
[00:21:37] Speaker A: By the best. You're honestly taught. By the best.
[00:21:40] Speaker B: Yeah. And he's the best to be very. He's one of the best producers and yeah, lovely guy as well.
[00:21:45] Speaker A: Yeah, it's Cab. Like when I met Cam, it's just. If you can get him, if you can get hold of him, he's just gold, isn't he?
[00:21:54] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:21:56] Speaker A: So your first song, All I want is you. I mentioned it earlier. How did that come about? And the vocalists, that was just me.
[00:22:04] Speaker B: Actually like looking for rm because I always wanted to make like an R and B song that's like me looking for R and B vocalists on like Instagram, social media, dropping messages and literally just getting a vocal and just trying to. Actually, I think when I done that one, I made the beat and then I had like an idea for the vocal line which I composed on the keyboard and then I sent it to the singer and then he. Because I'm not. I'm not a songwriter or anything like that, so he wrote lyrics to it and Then I just made the beat.
That was just pretty much that was done while I was still, I think, learning music production. I think you're still learning now, but that was when I was quite like I would. Was just trying to like make music at that point, but, you know, like not learning, not knowing so much about the techniques and all that stuff behind it. It was just me just. Just being completely free to be French, trying to make an RV song.
[00:23:04] Speaker A: That's a really good song for your first song.
[00:23:07] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:23:07] Speaker A: Yeah. Did you, did you mix it yourself as well? Or someone like.
[00:23:11] Speaker B: Oh, that one was mixed by someone else, another mix engineer, who. Which I found online as well because I didn't really know that many people in the mute, like music industry. So sometimes you just look online for contacts and stuff. So that was when I was a bit younger and like. Yeah, so I didn't really just found someone online for that.
[00:23:30] Speaker A: Did you. Did you. When you.
All these songs released independently or they're.
[00:23:35] Speaker B: On a label independently. Everything's independently with me. Even like my recent EP is all independent. Yeah.
[00:23:43] Speaker A: So how did you find that? Because think about it, it's a. You've got all these big singers on your album as well, and it's especially ones and stuff. So how do you. Like. It's a lot of work, isn't it? Because I'm, I'm an independent artist as well. So. Yeah, yeah. Could you talk about that, your journey as a. Because, because you got no label behind you. You've, you've, you've. You've funded all this yourself.
[00:24:05] Speaker B: Yeah. I think like, once you release the music, then you realize, like, you got to sit down on the laptop and send emails and stuff and, you know, send your songs out to people and then sometimes get replies back. But you just got to keep going. I think that's the side where obviously if you're independent and then you got to think about like, oh, because I make. Even when I'm doing like my cover art, I make some of that myself as well. So I'm just literally doing. For everything from. Yeah, so I think, Yeah, I think it's a good, good thing to learn as well. You learn different things, you know, you get contacts, but I think you just got to put yourself out there, I think. And yeah, I think if it's good music, I think it will reach its destination.
[00:24:48] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:24:50] Speaker B: Sometimes you do hear good songs and you might think like, oh, it hasn't reached the way it needed to. And. And there are loads of songs, especially now with every. There's like a new so many songs every day being released and a lot of good songs get, you know, pushed down under. But it doesn't mean that it's not good music. It's just sometimes, you know, these days with tick tock algorithms and everything like that.
[00:25:12] Speaker A: Absolutely, yeah, yeah. You're absolutely fighting the algorithm, aren't you?
[00:25:15] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. But it doesn't necessarily mean it's not good music. So yeah, keep, keep at it.
[00:25:21] Speaker A: And I think I heard your song your. From you from. Was it PBC Introducing? Yeah, with.
Yeah. Pretty. Pretty.
[00:25:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:35] Speaker A: Pretty is amazing.
[00:25:35] Speaker B: She's really lovely as well.
[00:25:37] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. She, she's to be fair, like Rs pretty cool in this. In the fact that she, she helps a lot of artists out.
[00:25:45] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:45] Speaker A: Starting off and not many, there's not many people like that in the industry.
[00:25:49] Speaker B: Yeah. And I think we need that because then like it helps like independent artists, you know, gives them the confidence that you know, to keep making music as well. Because sometimes you can get disheartened and you feel like you want to stop and stuff like that if it hasn't reached. But people like.
I mean she's helped, helped me, you know, get on BBC introducing and all that kind of stuff and she's. Yes, she's lovely as well so it's really cool to know people like that as well.
[00:26:16] Speaker A: Was there a time when you felt disheartened? Music.
[00:26:23] Speaker B: I think it's like a journey to be fair. So you get some good days and bad days. Like sometimes you might make, make a song and you might think it's the best thing in the world. Then you wake up the next morning. I think it's completely, I think it's always a journey but I think, I think I just got a passion for it to be honest with you. And no matter what, I think even when I was younger, like I used to say, like even if I was working in a music shop, I'm happy because it's to do with music. It does. As long as to do with music. Like that's my favorite subject and it's a shame like I didn't pick them subjects in school because of like my shyness and all that kind of stuff. But you know, like. Yeah, I just, I just love music to be fair so I think I'll just keep, keep at it.
[00:27:08] Speaker A: I was the same at school. I didn't, I didn't pick any musical subjects but it wasn't because I was shy more. I think it's, you know, your guidance. You just, yeah. You just think, oh, I want to become a doctor.
[00:27:23] Speaker B: I think nowadays, like, if I was in school now, I think I'd be. I think nowadays seeing like the generation now, I think more free and then they can. They're happy to pick like, different kind of subjects as well. So.
[00:27:36] Speaker A: Yeah, so. Okay. So the other thing I noticed about your. Your music was you. You were brave enough to do an instrumental album.
[00:27:50] Speaker B: Yeah, that was. I think that was like an experiment, to be fair. It was just me just messing around, to be honest with you. And yeah, I just thought like, because, you know, I made instrumental covers and stuff like that and I always get good responses of them.
But this, when I made that one, I wanted to have something of my own composition, like something that I've composed myself. So that. And obviously like guitar on there, like. Like go down the easy listening route. You know, A lot of people listen to like lo fi beats, chill songs and all that kind of stuff. I think that was just me experimenting, to be honest with you, with that as well.
That's.
[00:28:31] Speaker A: No, to be fair. It's really cool. So how did you transition from doing Western music? Because your first track was Western song. And by Western music, I mean. I mean by. By the. The language and the instrumental music to Punjabi music.
[00:28:48] Speaker B: That started with one of my songs called Tallbeat. It was with Jelly Manjeet Puri. He was a vocalist and songwriter as well, and musician.
It was just me, like literally just trying again, experimenting, just trying something different because I've tried that genre.
I think I made a drill beat once and it's just me trying that genre now because I like to make different genres as well. And I like to. When you. When I'm doing different genres, I like to study the genre before I make it. So for example, let's just say if I'm doing a Bhangra track, obviously I like. Then I like to listen to some Bhangra songs. But then I like to have my own influence in there as well. I like my whole 80s kind of retro vibe and that. And it was just me reaching out to Jellyman Jeep, you know, for a song and him sending me the vocal and me just working, working on the beat. To be honest with you, that's how I got into that. And then once I found out that I like that route, then I just decided to stick to that.
[00:29:52] Speaker A: Yeah, that was unbelievable to. To be fair, because as I said, like I mentioned Jacko and stuff, so that that track reminded. Reminded me of a bong, that track. But with the 80s Jackal vibe to it.
[00:30:02] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:30:03] Speaker A: I don't know whether you're going for.
[00:30:04] Speaker B: That, but like I said, that comes naturally. So it's just every time I'm making a beat or something like that bass line, it will just come in my head and then I like that little funk, that funk, funk kind of music.
[00:30:17] Speaker A: Oh, it's really cool to be fair, because. Do you. But do you. Did you find like I found when I did experimental music, I. I do my traditional Bangladesh music one, you know, once every. Every few songs. But when I came back in the music industry in 2020, so just before lockdown, my music was too out there because I did like, my first track was a track called Zord and it was electronic.
[00:30:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:42] Speaker A: Lots of synths and stuff. That kind of vibe, but would not be lyric. Did you do you. What. What. What did you find in terms of reception to those kind of tracks? Because these days when people, when someone asks like, oh, Punjabi track, you know, all you hear is like that same hip hop beat, a bit of Tumbi sample, you know, it's quite samey and if it's not that, it's not. It's not accepted almost. Did you find the same.
[00:31:07] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that just goes along with. With the trends. Like obviously, yeah, sometimes you do sometimes want to make a song that just goes with the trend, but then as musicians and artists, you kind of want to fulfill your artist side as well.
Because it would just get boring making the same kind of song each time, wouldn't it? So I think like, I think the reception towards it though, like.
Yeah, no, I think people understand that it's different, but then like, sometimes different works as well. You just know. You just never know. You gotta. You don't know until you put it out there. And yeah, sometimes feedback can be good. Sometimes feedback can be like. Some people might not like it, which is fine as well because your music's not gonna. It's not gonna appeal to everybody, you know, like, it's just one of these things.
[00:31:57] Speaker A: No, I'm a fan of new music. Honestly. It's been great to see something fresh and new as well. So. Okay, we've. We've done about over half an hour so far. Yeah, it's good. Compass. So how.
Tell me about your. What's it. What does a day look like in. In the life of.
[00:32:20] Speaker B: Of Pali, to be honest with you, now that the wedding. The wedding season has gone down, I've just been chilling to be honest, making you new ideas. I would literally just have my little home studio here. So I just make. Sometimes compose ideas, make beats, or if I'm working on songs, I'll just do that to be. And whenever you do music, like, I don't know if you know this, feel this as well. Like, time, just life, like it would just be like three hours gone. You're like, whoa. Like, you go in and it's day, daylight, you go outside, it's nighttime, it's like, wow. But yeah, but if it's like wedding season usually I have loads of sometimes requests from like bride and grooms to learn songs sometimes for weddings. So sometimes time can go like that. Rehearsing, learning sounds. I'm always practicing. To be fair, in the last couple of weeks I've not really touched any of my guitar on piano. I just like to have a little rest sometimes as well. But yeah, that's. That's pretty much it. Doing music and being in the wedding and event industry, that's kind of just takes most of your time from March all the way till October, to be honest with you.
[00:33:32] Speaker A: So how are you booked out most weekends?
[00:33:36] Speaker B: Yeah, most weekends. Because like I said, my family also work in the wedding industry as well, so I'm also tied into that as well. So it's most weekends, to be honest with you.
[00:33:48] Speaker A: Brilliant. So what have you got planned for, for the future?
[00:33:52] Speaker B: Future is just to keep making music, keep trying to improve, just hopefully trying to get more out there with my music and just see where it goes, to be honest with you. But in terms of like, yes, just carry on playing at weddings, performing at weddings, I just try and take each day as it comes, to be fair, like as you get older and stuff like that. But yeah, just keep trying to do fresh ideas with music and just keep learning. To be fair, I think you can never stop learning.
[00:34:25] Speaker A: Are there any. Are there any new, new projects that, that. That you can tell us about that are coming soon or.
[00:34:32] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm just working on one or two tracks now. One with a vocalist, am I? Singh is no longer with us at the moment, but yeah, it's like a little Bangladesh. I would kind of think it's like a, you know, the old school bhangra tracks that we used to hear in the early 2000s. Like that's kind of vibe I was trying to. Because I'm very nostalgic. I like my.
Like I still. I still listen to some of the old songs, like even with the punjabi songs, like 90s songs. Like, I love the old synth sounds that they used to use in the 90s like that when used to Be your happy, you know, so sometimes I just try and go for that vibe. It's whatever, whatever I'm feeling to be.
[00:35:13] Speaker A: Fun, to be fair, I love that kind of music that that band era we had, you know, in the 80s, 90s, was. I don't think we'll ever get that back because. Yeah, but what, what I will say is that your music, what I've heard, because you're playing in guitar stuff, you're playing in piano and stuff, you can hear it. You can hear that it's not a sample.
[00:35:34] Speaker B: Yeah, that's what I think. That's what I try and do. Like a. It's obviously when you're playing like yourself, you kind of put your own vibe into it. So you might having a, like putting proper energy and that energy can come out through the sun. Well, which is a sample is good as well. Like, I mean, some, some samples are good as well. Like, but sometimes the natural, like inside here. Absolutely.
[00:35:58] Speaker A: Even like your bass riffs and stuff, like, they're fresh, you can tell that. You can see the organic.
Like, you can tell that you haven't just gone on Splice and just got a bass riff and added it there or a sample. You can tell you've thought about it and added your funk to it. And that's where the funkiness comes in, I think.
[00:36:17] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And I think, like, I think that's the way I still do it. To be fair with you, I use Splice as well sometimes, but that's just for a little.
[00:36:25] Speaker A: No, of course, yeah.
[00:36:26] Speaker B: Could you. Because you can't.
[00:36:27] Speaker A: You can't play everything yourself. Like, do you know what I mean? Like, it's impossible to do that now unless you've got like a thousand. Like a ten thousand pound budget. Exactly.
Yeah. Then unless you got that. Yeah, it's really cool. Okay, so the, the podcast is about musical excellence. So we'll wrap up now. What advice would you give to anyone who.
What would you say musical excellence is?
To anyone who's the one to learn music, or even to myself, I would.
[00:37:03] Speaker B: Say musical excellence is, you know, continue to keep learning, keep striving, have a goal. If you want to learn an instrument, make sure you're practicing. They normally say the 10,000 hour rule. That's like, you know, but you just got to keep. Keep going for it, practicing, don't give up. And yeah, if you love music, then you just, you just put all your heart and soul into it and you get all the rewards afterwards.
[00:37:30] Speaker A: Brilliant. Brilliant.
[00:37:32] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:32] Speaker A: So guys, that was Pali Mathru and Mataru. I'll say it properly.
So where can we follow you on, on, on, on socials? Do you want to let everyone know?
[00:37:47] Speaker B: Yeah, so you can check me out. Bali Mataru on Instagram, Tick tock at Bali Mataru. YouTube @ Bali Mataru as well. And yeah, on all socials, YouTube everything.
[00:37:59] Speaker A: Yeah, brilliant. Okay, so guys, that, that, that was, that was probably if you could make sure you check him out on his socials and if you're watching this or you're on on Instagram, you're seeing a real make sure you follow us, make sure you drop A like and a review and we'll see you next time. Thank you so much. B and stay on it. We'll, we'll, I'll hit, I'll stop the record and we, we'll chat off here as well. All right, perfect. Bless you guys and speak to you later.
