Preview of 'Indian Summer' by the Kray Twinz.
When Coventry's Punjab MC hit the soundwave's with flagship single 'Beware of the Boys' (Mundian To Bach Ke) in 2003, the world stopped and listened. Soon enough, Timbaland was declaring his love for Tumbi and Dr. Dre began sampling Bollywood; Asian music had moved from the underground to the mainstream.

Currently, troubling the charts is the Kray Twinz' infections dance floor-filler 'What We Do', which brings together US rapper Twista, British 'grime' rapper Lethel B and ragga musician Gappy Ranks--and is surely the Asian-influenced single of 2005.
The Twinz have a little-known pedigree: they were the 'ghost' producers of 'Beware of the Boys', un-credited on both the US and UK versions of the single. They also worked on the remix of Mark Morrison's 'Backstabbers'; again, in conjunction with Punjabi MC.
This anonymity, however, is unlikely to last long. 'Indian Summer', the Twinz' keenly-awaited debut album, is set for a 2006 release. It boasts an impressive roster of guest stars - Elephant Man, DMX and Snoop all feature - and should prove timely; the Asian scene has gone quiet of late. 'What We Do', released to coincide with Diwali and Eid, has prepared the ground, doing the rounds at parties and earning the Twinz a new raft of fans. Wikipedia has even coined a term for their brand of fusion: 'Indian Hip Hop'.
As DJs, the Kray Twinz forged their reputation in the UK as residents at Shaanti and other acclaimed club nights, particularly in the North of England. They now have their own production company, Krazygroove, and work in Coventry, London and the US. "We have some of the cream of the crop involved in Krazygroove. We do everything by ourselves, we are self-funded and everything is done in a fully professional manner."

The Twinz are unfazed by working with the big names: "we've toured with pretty much every big US act there is; on hearing us live, they understand in more depth what we do and we become friends with them; it's not like a business relationship. Anyone we're worked with, like DMX when he comes to the UK, joins us on stage. Truth Hurts always looks for us when she comes down, Black Eyed Peas are really good friends of ours. People do find it weird to see two Sikh guys hanging out with all these hip hop bods, but that is just 'what we do'! We try to build new content and we feel that we are achieving this on a daily basis, taking our vision worldwide. Of course, our parents were sceptical at first, but they have realised that we are making progress and even though they are very religious people who don't follow our music, they are inconspicuously supportive of us."

'What We Do' is a rich track, Asian-sounding but also unique in itself. The idea, say the Twinz, was "to properly unite the UK and US, with an Indian flavour. Would you believe?! Twista did this track for free! We've managed to do what no one has been able to, uniting UK and US--and we've done it with no egos. We do the production, we put all of it together and want to make a unique sound for every track we do. It happens spontaneously; we build up on ideas as twins, and as long-time DJs we know if the track will be DJ-friendly--we use samples or instruments only if there is a reason for it". Asked about sibling rivalry, they respond decisively: "Certainly not-it's never a competition. We work as a team: we know we can't conquer the whole market by ourselves. The UK scene is based on many talents and many styles, and we want to bring our vision to the world. All our artists are willing to perform live and are ready to be put on the spot. The proof's always in the pudding-- this is what the UK should be about!"

Variety is the Kray Twinz' watchword: Alisha Keys is set to feature on 'Indian Summer'; but, so too is jazz guitarist Ronnie Jordan. The Jadakiss track 'Why', incredibly, features Sanskrit vocals by Lee Ryan of Blue. If fusion is the future, then there is little doubt that in these supremely confident, doe-eyed twins the UK Asian scene has a pair of superstars-in-waiting.