“The Eastern Johnny Sins of the music world”, Mr. UK’s latest Playlist -“2 Play” is an absolute Banger that’s guaranteed to leave you grooving with a super hot music videos

We did an interview with the artist over a cup of coffee about this latest release, here’s what they had to say!

Tell us about your track

Firstly I am thrilled and it’s crazy that they’re comparing me now with Johnny Sins. Few media outlets have said that. So, 2Play is a collection of 10 singles including genres Electro, RnB, trap, and Indian pop for which I teamed up with the Producer PrincePratap who has worked with artists Karma, Kushagra Thakur, VickySingh, Rahul Jain in the past. All the tracks are different in that they feature a distinct rap which targets the theme of that video or the profession involved. Most of the vocal samples and the varying vocal tonalities used have been performed by me myself probably owing to my mimicking abilities. The track “Ride it“ featured in Amazon Music 50 Most Played: India, Fresh Hindi, 2000s Bollywood Romance playlists and crossed 100k views on Youtube along with “Scandal”. “Feel me” and “Khushboo” had about 4k reels each on Instagram.

See I come from Dehradun and got this name from my friends in University who called me Mr. UK affectionately as I hailed from UK (Uttarakhand). I can sing, write, compose, rap and act. I met the Prince of Bhangra Sukhbir pajji in a wedding, and he guided me to pursue my passion upon hearing my compositions. My singing style comprises techniques used in rap, pop, RnB and rock, opera. I can mimic Asha Bhonsle, Lata Mangeshkar, Himesh Reshammiya, Mika etc. to name a few. Growing up Freddie Mercury, Chris Brown, KK, Sonu Nigam, Farhaan Saeed, Himesh Reshammiya have been my inspirations.All these influences inspired me to create English reprised versions of popular songs- Brown Rang, Aapki Kashish, Tere liye, Zara sa, Hey Shona which were enjoyed a lot by my audience. From there sharing the stage with Punjabi singer Jassi Siddhu pajji, performing at the Miss Uttarakhand pageant have been a few highlights. In my college days have worked with artists such as Siddhant Mishra, Alvin Presley, Baidurjya Banerjee, Utkarsh Saxena, and Mahadev who were also a part of the SRM music club, and have performed at various venues across Chennai and Bangalore. My musical journey started in the school choir with my music teacher Mohit Dogra, now an ace guitarist in bollywood and on air promo head at Big FM.I have never had a formal education in music. Initially I worked with Andrew Kamei of the band Raven and Murder in space for a few tracks. From there this was a gradual progression.

Mr. UK | 2 Play “The Eastern Johnny Sins of the music world, Mr. UK brings his new Playlist 2Play”- Garhwal Post Jokingly referred to as the Eastern Johnny Sins of the music world by the Garhwal Post, as he captivates audiences with his diverse range of roles and professions in every hit music video, singer-songwriter Mr. UK comes up with his new Playlist 2Play. Stream 2Play here: https:/youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7hxY_1gDEY4nrZKal21Virbxj55eLkxK https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7c3nbsWh0LEPhVYYCv2DyQ 2Play is a collection of 10 singles including genres Electro, RnB, trap, and Indian pop for which Mr. UK teamed up with the Producer PrincePratap who has worked with artists Karma, Kushagra Thakur, VickySingh, Rahul Jain in the past. All the tracks are different in that they feature a distinct rap which targets the theme of that video or the profession involved. Most of the vocal samples and the varying vocal tonalities used have been performed by Mr. UK himself owing to his mimicking abilities. The track “Ride it“ featured in Amazon Music 50 Most Played: India, Fresh Hindi, 2000s Bollywood Romance playlists and crossed 100k views on Youtube along with “Scandal”. “Feel me” and “Khushboo” had about 4k reels each on Instagram. About Mr. UK “One of the best emerging artists in India and a bringer of impeccable motifs”, according to Midday Media, Mr. UK is an artist (singer/songwriter/rapper/composer/actor, all rolled into one) from Dehradun, who has taken the Internet by storm. He got this name from his friends in University who called him Mr. UK affectionately as he hailed from UK (Uttarakhand). He considers the Prince of Bhangra singer Sukhbir as his mentor, who gave him a new life away from his 6 year corporate job, by guiding him to pursue his passion upon hearing his compositions.His singing style comprises techniques used in rap, pop, RnB and rock, opera. He can mimic Asha Bhonsle, Lata Mangeshkar, Himesh Reshammiya, Mika etc. to name a few and constantly posts them on his channel and on instagram. He considers Freddie Mercury, Chris Brown, KK, Sonu Nigam, Farhaan Saeed, Himesh Reshammiya as his inspirations.All these influences inspired him to create English reprised versions of popular songs- Brown Rang, Aapki Kashish, Tere liye, Zara sa, Hey Shona which were enjoyed a lot by his audience. Mr. UK has had the honor of sharing the stage with Punjabi singer Jassi Siddhu in the past. He has also performed at the Miss Uttarakhand pageant. As ex Convener of the SRM music club he has worked with artists such as Siddhant Mishra, Alvin Presley, guitarist Baidurjya Banerjee, Utkarsh Saxena (The Utkarsh Project) and Telugu rapper Mahadev (Maahaa Project) who were also a part of the SRM music club, and has performed at various venues across Chennai and Bangalore. His musical journey started in the school choir with his music teacher Mohit Dogra, now an ace guitarist in bollywood and on air promo head at Big FM.He has never had a formal education in music. Mr. UK has also worked with Andrew Kamei of the band Raven and Murder in space for a few tracks in the past. Future Plans All his songs have currently been released independently, but he plans to now release them via labels for better marketing. He also plans to go on tour, dates for which are to be announced soon. According to him there is a lack of RnB voice and proper western touch in the Hindi market which is what he targets, amalgamating hindi and english in all his songs. The artist who loves to experiment has a synth wave track “Ruby” and another RnB “6 City ” next in the pipeline. He is also currently working on the first song web series ever called “Bomb Saiyaan”, two songs from which have already been released as singles. In this he plays the role of an agent. Youtube | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | Bomb Saiyaan

Tell us your inspiration behind this track

Most of the tracks in 2 Play were inspired on the spot because as an artist I wanted to keep my youtube channel running so for consistency sake the songs were created out of beat loops by the producer. The idea was to have at least 1 song released every 15 days. Earlier on I did not know anything about the playlisting so I just kept on releasing music on youtube and even created music videos without worrying about distribution to other channels such as spotify or even getting a music PR done. It all started when I met the Prince of Bhangra Sukhbir Paaji at a wedding who gave me a new life by making me realize my true passion. He heard my compositions and asked me to go forth recording them by finding a producer. I was still working in my IT corporate job as a Tech Lead when I met Prince in September 2021. He stayed quite nearby so it was convenient managing time during the covid work from home period. We started doing covers in which we covered songs while putting my own spin on it. The covers were done in all genres. Eventually I figured out that instead of just changing the structure I can even add my own lyrics and compositions on top of the existing melodies. So, I started doing English reprised versions of the songs such as Brown Rang, Piya more, Zara sa, Aapki kashish, Hey Shona etc. These were appreciated by everyone around. I had tried pop, rock, funk, rnb, devotional and the only thing left was rap. So, in Piya more I thought let me try writing a rap. I had never done or written a rap in my life before ,but eventually it paid off. After doing the covers for around 8-9 months I realized that there is no easy time for jumping into originals. Covers for one have a lot of complications- you need permission and license and deal with copyright issues. So, eventually we started with our first single Ride it which turned out to be a blockbuster. Prince(my producer) created a loop and I composed something on top of that. Those days we used to release a song every week and the shoot + date was finalized even before the song was created (which is something we still do to this day lol). It’s always easy to write a song if you know the situation. The song was supposed to be shot in an enfield showroom. So, in the morning I composed the song. I went to Prince’s house at around 12pm. We recorded the scratch by 1pm and immediately went for the shoot so as not to keep others waiting. Most of the songs in 2 Play had the shoot decided even before we started creating the song. Therefore, all the raps that you will hear target that particular situation perfectly. For Judaa and So Gaya if I can recall now, I created the composition before the music was added. By the time I had 6 originals on youtube, I had only 2 of them distributed through an agency in Haryana because it was difficult for me in finding Indian distributors of value and who were cost effective in those days. Most of them took a hefty cut and the big brands like distrokid or ditto left out the indian apps like gaana, wynk. But, later on discovering the value that Prince and other artists were getting on Believe I distributed all the songs through Believe. It’s with time that I’ve gotten better with the music business, terminologies and marketing aspects as well. I would be in much better space had I known when I had started. Although, I’m proud to have released 21 covers and 14 originals all with full fledged videos all ,but working fulltime, since I started in September 2021 i.e in less than 1.5 years.

How long did it take to record the track album EP ?

As I mentioned before that the tracks were all recorded over a span of 8-9 months. In these months 4 other original tracks including 2 parts of the first ever Song web series Bomb Saiyaan were completed.

What is the meaning behind the lyrics?

All the tracks feature lyrics which vary from situation to situation as shot in the video. The track Ride it features me as a Rider who goes to purchase a bike in a showroom and ends up hitting on the sales girl. It is an urban love song with pop beats with Rap lyrics relating to taking the girl out on a bike date. Hathkadi features me as a criminal whom a police girl comes to catch and the dance number features lyrics relating handcuffing to being fun. The rap again is targeted towards police and being cuffed. Feel me is an RnB sensual number featuring me as a plumber. The lyrics is about the intricacies of love making romance. In Scandal I play the role of a Chef. The lyrics is all about the flirting and constant push and pull between a boy and girl before the start of something new. So gaya is a trap rnb infused reggaetón about first love. The subject of the video is a nurse. Rap is focused on the same. In Khushboo I play the role of a wildlife explorer who gets trapped on an unknown Island amongst Tribal girls. The lyrics are about a girl name Khushboo who has driven a boy crazy. In lele meri jaan I play the role of Life Guard. The lyrics are comic ,about a guy who is crazy about another guy ,but this guy is unfortunately straight. In Monika’s seduction I play the role of a Pool Player. The lyrics are about a girl called Monika whom this guy has his eyes set on and wants her to forget everything and just to love him in that moment. The lyrics focus on the emotion of lust. Judaa is about lost love. I wrote this song taking inspiration from my own life events. It is about two souls who deeply love one another ,but the circumstances have separated them without a fault of either of them. It is one of the best lyrics that I have ever written according to me. Although the music and the theme doesn’t justify it. Someday I will make a sad version of the song. In this I play the role of a hypnotist.

What brings next after this release?

All my songs have currently been released independently, but I plan to now release them via labels for better marketing. I also plan to go on tour, dates for which are to be announced soon. See there is a lack of RnB voice and proper western touch in the Hindi market which is what I target, amalgamating hindi and english in all my songs. I love to experiment and have a synth wave track “Ruby” and another RnB “6 City ” next in the pipeline. I am also currently working on the first song web series ever called “Bomb Saiyaan”, two songs from which have already been released as singles. In this I play the role of an agent.

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