We catch up with Singer/Rapper Intenso to talk about his journey into music and his new single 'Aashiq'!

Briefly talk about your musical journey from start to present

Ok, so I began my musical journey back in 2000 when i was a teen. The UK Garage sound had just blown up in the UK & i became a resident MC at a weekly venue in Manchester which hosted the top names in the scene. I continued this for 4-5 years playing up & down the country & abroad. In 2001 i collaborated with Bobby Akhiyan & released "Akhiyan Akhiyan" which went to No.1 and became a smash hit. Further collaborations with the likes of Metz & Trix - Soni Soni Kurri Kurri, Surinder Rattan - Bollywood Queen, Jinx - Tera Aashiq, to name a few, followed. After a break i returned to the Bhangra scene & was signed by Moviebox & am now in the process of working on my debut album "De-Ja-Vu" with "Thenu Thakia" & "Aashiq" being the first two releases from it.

Why was the Single named Aashiq?
Were there other song titles you had in mind?

I thought quite hard about the title & i wanted the name to reflect the feel & lyrical content of the song. I played with alot of names such as "Tere Bina" Nai Lagda" Dil Mera" but they had all been used alot by other artists in the past and were very generic. I just felt "Aashiq" was fitting as it described my feelings in the song & felt quite catchy & memorable.

How was the concept of the music video born? Was this something you had worked on personally?

I always work on my videos personally. That was the case with "Thenu Thakia" & also "Aashiq". Even when i write my lyrics i try to envision the video & incorporate certain elements of this into my writing. I believe if you look at the end picture to begin with you come out with a well rounded, thought out product. With the "Aashiq' video i wanted to do something completely opposite to the last video. With "Thenu Thakia being so bright, colourful & everything on a grand epic scale, i wanted to go back to basics with this video & add a much more personal touch to it. I wanted to make it very intimate & had the black & white theme in mind from the very beginning, & hopefully, this was achieved.

You worked with Roach Killa on this Single. Do you feel his approach to the Single taking into consideration his style of production was what you wanted?

Yes of course. Roach & I have very similar taste in music anyway & this was just an evolution of our professional relationship. We both massively respect each other as artists & his unique sound was something I had always wanted to incorporate into my own work. He actually produced this record 2 years ago & I told him when i first heard it I loved the sound & wanted to do something with it in the future. I refer to him as the 'melody king' & I knew his style of production would give me the platform to show my versatility as an artist. He has not done any collaboration for a while & from the feedback i have received, everyone has been more than impressed with the chemistry we both showed on the record.

Your Last single "Thenu Thakia" reached the Top 3 of the iTunes chart and so did "Aashiq" - how does that feel?

It's amazing. The response & support has been overwhelming. I never imagined both tracks to have the impact they did but I