A young, inspired, traditional and modern infused Bhangra vocalist are the few ways this rising talent can be described as. With only a few months of experience, to achieving a lifelong dream, TANK is the newest contender to enter the Bhangra industry.  We caught up with him recently to bring you this interview.

For those that don't know, could you please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about yourself? How did you get all into the music business?

My name is Thakar Arjan Singh Sidhu aka “Tank” and was born in West London.  I started singing at a young age with inspirations from Malkit Singh and Surjit Bindrakia. 

I always had a passion for all types of music especially asian and bhangra music.  I like the traditional customs and Bhangra dancing. I decided to join a bhangra group so that I could get experience in both dancing and singing.

After performing in front of live audiences at melas and bhangra events I got a buzz for the industry and really enjoyed it.  Being on stage gave me the confidence.  My friends and family gave me lots of support and positive advice. 

So I thought I’d take a chance and follow my dream.  I entered a few talent completion’s and got some constructive advice from some well respected artists.  This is when I approached Bee2 who took me under his wing and that’s how the story began…

You got into music at an early age and amidst all your following studies, you managed to take time out to learn music!  Would you say it took away something from your childhood?

If anything it made my childhood more exciting, as I had the opportunity to do what I loved and was able to study at the same time.

On your album, ‘Tanked Up’ you worked with Sound Pipe team, who are well known of their style and productions.  Do you have any further plans of working with them?

The sound pipe team are who gave me my first break. Bee2 and Taj-e gave me their full support all the way through.  I am so grateful for that. I am currently working on some new material for the future and hope to continue working with them.

Yeah, it sums me up and I wanted to do some thing different with music and portray a fusion of these music styles and beats. I think being Punjabi we are at an advantage of bringing together folk Punjabi music with a more western blend which appeals to every audience.

I think the industry’s getting more and more adventurous, we have our industry taping into Hollywood, Bollywood and we are getting recognised for it.

Our industry is oozing with talent and i think now the new mc’s, rappers, producers want to try something different! It’s great for singers as we get to work with a variety of music influences.

I try to balance out my career and music, but music is what I think about and concentrate on most of the time.

How original do you think the Bhangra scene is at the moment? Where do you see it going?

The bhangra scene offers originality as every artist brings something different to the table.  Every artist’s voice and singing tone is different, which makes music more interesting. Bhangra is already appreciated across the world and so many Non asians love our music. I see Bhangra music progressing forward and becoming more popular.

It is becoming very difficult to find sites that offer Bhangra mp3 downloads, simply due the effects the hard working artists and musicians.  How does it feel to know that people from different parts of the world are accessing and downloading your music?

It is a great feeling knowing that people from all over the world are allowed to download my music (legally!)   Personally for me I feel it is a great achievement to have my name out their.

If you had the opportunity to work with any artist/ producer either from the Bhangra or mainstream industry, past/ present/ future, who would it be, and why?

In terms of the mainstream industry it would be a dream come true if I could work with Kanye West. In the Bhangra industry it would be a pleasure to work with Rishi Rich and late Surjit Bindrakia.

So what you working now?  Any new albums, gigs coming up for you?

I’ve got lots of new stuff in the pipe line with loads of producers from UK and India.

All i can say is watch this space.

Where will you see your self in the next 5 years and what is your favourite all time Bhangra artist?

In the next five years I hopefully see my self as an established artists in the industry and someone who is known for there unique style.

My all time bhangra artist has to be Gurdass Mann the living legend.

What do you think are the biggest factors that are holding back the Bhangra industry, and if you had the power, what would be the first change you would make?

I would try to change the download policy which has affected the bhangra industry greatly. A lot of people download music for free and people should support our industry and buy original albums instead of pirate albums.

Any final words for the readers of SimplyBhangra.com?

I would like to say a big Thank you to all the fans out there who are supporting me and I would like to thank SimplyBhangra it’s been a pleasure!

‘Tanked up’ is in stores now and you can also purchase my album on itunes.