Back with a slate of new projects, and sober for 637 days, 'Dance with you' hitmaker Juggy D on reviving his approach to music-making, and catering to India
Juggy D
In many ways, it’s safe to say that data analytics has renewed Juggy D’s interest in the Indian music market. “Via Instagram, I can see that the [major chunk] of my audience is in India,” he says candidly. “India has always given me so much love that I am grateful for. So, when I decided [to present my new music], I knew that the first place I wanted to cater to, was India,” says the London-based musician, best known to listeners in the country for his two-decade-old track with Jay Sean, called Dance with you.
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If his latest endeavour with Sean, Ban ja meri, and his recent release Tere naal are testimony, the musician continues to have a fine understanding of the taste of contemporary listeners. “Music [tastes] change like fashion does, but pop music will never go out of style. Punjabi music has the ability to make you smile; it makes you want to bob your head and dance. That’s my intention — I want to get up on stage and make people dance. In the last five years, a sort of Punjabi gangster rap has become popular. And while we’ve [created] that vibe in my next song, with a west-coast feel, it is not rap. These trends come and go, but an artiste should not jump onto trends, because they can lose their identity and style. I’m fortunate that my style has been working since 2002.”
A deep interest in the works of independent artistes — who were benefited due to the exposure they received from MTV and Channel V — worked in the favour of Juggy in the early 2000s. Two decades later, however, a new league of artiste continues to enjoy dominance in the industry’s commercialised Punjabi music scene. When pitted against the likes of Guru Randhawa and Harrdy Sandhu, does he feel the need to reinvent himself? “My only competition is me. Whenever people ask me what’s the difference between new artistes and someone like me, I always say, let’s see if they are around for 20 years. I think there’s only a smaller chance that they [may be around], and that’s because today, music doesn’t have the longevity it once did. [New music] is churned out so quickly that people forget songs easily. Having said that, everyone in the industry is growing in their own way. You have to respect everyone. I am in my own lane.”
The singer who has “restructured my life” and is “on a new journey”, encourages questions on his sobriety, and speaks of his desire to help others tackle their addiction to alcohol. “I am 637 days sober today,” he says, giving us a glimpse of his tracking app. “Alcohol wasn’t my best friend. I don’t have a good relationship with it, because I don’t have control [over myself]. Some people are capable of recognising that, and some aren’t. In the Asian community, we have a huge problem in accepting that we have a problem. I am glad that I could find help and reach here. Now, I have people asking me how I got here, and I believe I can [offer my help].”
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