British R&B singer Amar, has brought together some of the biggest names from the English and Hindi music industries for her recently released debut album, Show If Off. Produced by frequent Timbaland collaborator and US export producer, songwriter, vocal producer and usician, Jim Beanz, the album has Amar jamming with Sonu Nigam and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. Reggae star, Apache Indian has also contributed.
This is the first time Amar has sung in pure Hindi. “I’ve worked with several international artistes before and have always sung in English. I always wanted to come up with an album where I’d get to sing in pure Hindi on typical Bollywood beats. I was born in India and my Hindi is excellent too. So, when it came to my debut album, I decided to show off my Hindi singing skills,” she says. That explains the album title Show It Off.
The collaboration
Amar is a huge fan of Indian music, which is what prompted her to go desi on her debut album. “I’ve always been a huge fan of Sonuji’s voice and had always wanted to sing with him. When he came to know of my album, he readily agreed to be a part of it.”
“As for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, it was pretty funny, because when I came down to India to play, SEL heard the music and themselves offered to be a part of the album. I was delighted.” On working with African-American artiste, Apache Indian, she says, “It came naturally, because we’re both from the UK and have been following each others music since the last six years.” Having worked with Timbaland before on Shock Value I and II, she wanted them to produce her album. “Their music is always cutting edge and urban. But this time, they were willing to get together and work on something offbeat, like Bollywood style music”, she says.
{{/usCountry}}“As for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, it was pretty funny, because when I came down to India to play, SEL heard the music and themselves offered to be a part of the album. I was delighted.” On working with African-American artiste, Apache Indian, she says, “It came naturally, because we’re both from the UK and have been following each others music since the last six years.” Having worked with Timbaland before on Shock Value I and II, she wanted them to produce her album. “Their music is always cutting edge and urban. But this time, they were willing to get together and work on something offbeat, like Bollywood style music”, she says.
{{/usCountry}}Amar has worked with several crossover artistes before, but this is the first time she's working with Indian musicians. On the experience, she says, “People think that we in Britain don’t know much about Bollywood music, but I’m a huge fan of the song and dance sequences in Hindi movies. I am fortunate to be working with Sonuji and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy."
The album
The album features a mix of desi music with urban pop. The track list contains both funky, fast-paced tracks like Masala, as well as some tracks on old-school Hindi music.
The singer says she is open to offers from Bollywood. “It’s a dream to sing in a Bollywood movie. I would love to act in a Bollywood movie too, if given a chance,” she says.
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