The Kray Twinz Pack Extra Punch With PMC Monitoring On Board
‘Something that packed a punch’ – that’s what Jaz Singh, one half of the award-winning DJ and production due The Kray Twinz, was looking for when he decided to upgrade the monitoring in his new project studio. Having always regarded PMC products as the Rolls Royce of studio monitors, he began his search there and after demo-ing a pair of IB1SA monitors he was convinced he’d found exactly what he wanted.
“The Kray Twinz has always been about forceful, dynamic, bass heavy sound, so I needed monitors that could reproduce that,” Jaz Singh explains. “My new IB1SA system hasn’t disappointed because it really does have the Wow factor. As soon as I heard these monitors I knew I had to have them – they have bought my whole room to life and because they deliver such great sound across the entire frequency range I can hear every little detail of what is happening in my mix. I’m thrilled with them – they are great!”
The Kray Twinz – who really are identical twins – have amassed an array of accolades during their 25 year career. Originally from Coventry, the brothers have been avid vinyl collectors from an early age, preferring music to school work – much to the chagrin of their parents who, says Jaz, ‘didn’t know the half of it’. These self-confessed naughty boys were DJ-ing massive daytime parties for up to 2,000 people by the time they were 15 and building a reputation for an experimental style that combines House with Bhangra, Hip Hop and R&B.
Since those early days the Kray Twinz have diversified into production and composition, generating mixes for the likes of Sting, Mark Morrison and Keyshia Cole and creating ground-breaking hits for artists such as Panjabi MC, Lethal Bizzle and Jamaican superstar Elephant Man. They have also moved into the sound to picture market, producing award-winning music for TV shows, movie soundtracks and video games. These include a song for the highly acclaimed EA sports game Fight Night, which was nominated for Best Video Game Soundtrack at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards; creating the title song Hustle featuring Twista, Sway and Jag Soulsinger for the Sean Bean Hollywood movie Cash, and working with Bollywood film producers such as Pritam, for whom they created the title song Second Hand Jawani for the 2012 film Cocktail.
Most recently The Kray Twinz have released a track entitled Dhyan De with Indian rapper Emiway, which trended at No 1 on YouTube India with 20 million views.
“The Indian market is huge and Hip Hop is massive out there, so that is definitely a market we aim to crack,” Jaz says. “It’s a bit like what was happening over here in the UK 25 years ago – a completely new scene. They are doing their own thing on YouTube and Instagram with huge numbers of hits and that is very exciting.”
Jaz’s new studio, which is located in his home, is set up to assist in this endeavour. His new PMC IB1SA monitors are being used for Left/Right stereo channels while his old monitors are brought in to give him the remaining channels whenever he needs to work in 5.1. He also has a new SSL Sigma, Apogee converters and equipment from, Korg, Dangerous, dbx, Focusrite, Native Instruments and Pioneer.
“For me, monitoring is the most important part of any studio and I was determined to have the best,” he says. “I also made sure the room was acoustically accurate so that it complemented the monitoring and delivered the sound I wanted. Ultimately, I’d like to have my entire 5.1 system based around PMC monitors, but that’s for further down the line. Right now I am just delighted with what has been achieved because my IB1SAs certainly pack the punch I was looking for.”
About PMC
PMC is a UK-based, world-leading manufacturer of loudspeaker systems, the tools of choice in all ultra- critical professional monitoring applications, and also for the discerning audiophile at home, where they provide a transparent window into the recording artist’s original intentions. PMC products use the best available materials and design principles, including the company’s proprietary Advanced Transmission Line (ATL) bass-loading technology, cutting-edge amplification and advanced DSP techniques to create loudspeakers that present sound and music exactly as it was when first created, with the highest possible resolution, and without coloration or distortion. For more information on our clients and products, see www.pmc-speakers.com.