Juggy D is one of the artistes credited with popularising the "Urban desi" music genre in 2003. While dance numbers remain his forte, the Indo-British singer says he might record a devotional song as his mother wants him to.
Be it "Dance with you (Nachna tere naal)" or his latest track "Get down", Juggy D, whose given name is Jagwinder Singh Dhaliwal, has been mostly associated with fast-paced dance music.
Asked if he would like to use music to convey messages, Juggy D told IANS in a telephonic interview: "There's a song that I did called 'Akheer'. The message is that if you are feeling low and you feel like your life is over, then don't feel like that.
"My mum really wants me to do a devotional song. So yeah, maybe I will do that also. But I will do that on a different platform just to keep my mum happy. Even if others don't get to hear it, I will just record it and send it to her."
But for now, he enjoys making dance tracks.
"(I like) the energy. It represents me. I am an up-tempo kind of a guy. I have a lot of energy and I like to portray that in my music, to make people smile and dance," said the "Sohniye" hitmaker, who has been professionally in the music scene since 2002.
And he doesn't care if he gets stereotyped.
"If people say 'This guy makes dance numbers'. That's what I do. It's cool. Sometimes I do romantic, mid-tempo tracks. As an artiste, you experiment with a few other things but yeah, I am known for pop Punjabi music, urban Indian music, and that's what people love to hear from me.
"So, I don't care if people stereotype me. As long as I deliver a good song and they like it, it's cool," he said.
His love for music goes back to his childhood days.
"I was more into Punjabi folk music, but being in the UK, I listened to a lot of reggae and pop music. So, my influence is from all over. Rishi Rich (music producer) was working on one song. Then he decided to work with (rapper) Jay Sean. We ended up creating a genre which kind of shook the music industry.
"The song 'Dance with you (Nachna tere naal)' became an iconic track. Even today, 15 years after the song released, people still love that song."
Talking about his party song "Get down", he said: "The response has been amazing. It is growing nicely. People are loving the vibe."
For this, he again teamed up with Rishi Rich. Doesn't he feel bored of working with him?
"No. I'll never get bored," Juggy D said with a laugh.
"We have so much fun. We bring out the best in each other. He gave me my break, so how can I leave him? I work with other people, but the chemistry that we have, I don't get it from elsewhere.
"Sometimes, when we work together for four to five days, we start getting on each other's nerves. We say, 'I won't be around you anymore'. But then we get back together."
They are responsible for delivering many chartbusters, including "U 'n' I" from the National Award-winning film "Hum Tum". Isn't there any pressure on them while working with each other?
"No. We work on a vibe. When something good is made, you get the feeling. The main thing about music is to have fun with it. If you are under pressure and say 'Okay, we need to make a song like dance music'. That's not going to happen."
Recounting his experience of collaborating with Rishi, he said: "I had gone to Atlanta, where Rishi was staying. In six days, we recorded seven songs. We didn't release any of those songs. After that, we worked on other stuff also."
He has so much material that he can release an album as well. But he won't.
"I want to do singles. You make a good song and a video. Sometimes, you may have eight songs on an album, but only three videos. Nobody even listens to the rest (the ones without videos) so, what's the point of doing an album? I will make songs one by one," shared the artiste, who launched his self-titled album in 2004 and followed it up with two more.
His other frequent collaborator is Jay Sean.
"I have already started working on a song with him. Normally, when we do a song with Jay and Rishi, it's known as the Rishi Rich Project song. This time, I called him up and said, 'I have a song. You have to feature in it'. He is my brother. He can't say no to me," said Juggy D.
