Zeus has eyes on Gurdas Maan

Amarjot Kaur

Promoting his upcoming album Global Injection, Kangana-fame singer and music producer Dr Zeus arrives at The Tribune’s office with Punjabi singer Zora Randhawa. In the city for a performance, he says working with American rapper Snoop Dogg for a song, Woofer, in the album was like a “dream come true”. “After releasing a few promo tracks as singles, we decided to drop (launch) the album with the video of Gwandian Da Dhol. There are nine songs in ‘Global Injection’ and we are planning to add four more,” shares Zeus.

Actress Richa Chadha will be making her singing debut with Gwandian Da Dhol. “She was the one who conceptualised the video. Along with Zora, Fukrey actor Varun Sharma has also lent vocals to the song. It is his debut too.”

Twenty-four years in the industry, Zeus says it takes him “like 10 days or a week to make an album.” He has seen music shift from live recordings at studios to the age of digital download. “I never really studied music. I used to skip school to learn music production. At the time when music industry was at the cusp of a technological revolution, I begged dad for £4,000 and bought a sound module and an Apple Mac. I still have them,” he says.

Coming back to Snoop Dogg, Zeus says he was star-struck for a while. “I was in school when I used to listen to him,” he smiles. “Now, I’d love to collaborate with Gurdas Maan.” Though based in Birmingham, Zeus has been frequenting Punjab since he was 12. His influences, he says, range from Tupac to George Michael. “My parents loved Bollywood songs. My music appeals to the international audience,” he says. Zeus has composed and produced music for several Bollywood films, including Ragini MMS 2, Happy New Year, Ek Paheli Leela and Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon. “In Bollywood, there’s a lot of chopping and changing; the director likes the song to fit with the film, rather than it sticking out like a sore thumb! I appreciate that. That was a learning curve too.”

As a child, he remembers visiting his ancestral home in Nakodar. About Punjab, he says, much has changed. “I visit Punjab regularly and we often hear stories about how drug abuse has affected families. It’s sickening. I am not in favour of promoting negative ideas through music,” he says.

Baby Doll stolen 

Zeus accuses Meet Brothers of plagiarising his composition Baby Doll Sone di. “I’ve got my fingers burnt. I made the song and sent it to Meet Brothers, but we couldn’t cut a deal. They wanted to use my name as a co-producer, so I withdrew my music. Yet, they copied it ditto. I didn’t even get paid. The composition was a complete rip-off of Jugni Ji feat. Kanika Kapoor because that’s how the makers wanted it to sound like,” he says. “In UK, one pays separate fees for buying the song and for publishing it. I am not fazed. I have belted out many hits and can do it again. This is just a distraction; I focus on work.”