Steel Banglez

Steel Banglez
Background information
Birth name Pahuldip Singh Sandhu
Born (1987-02-05) 5 February 1987
Forest Gate, London, UK
Genres
Occupation(s) Producer
Years active 2005–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website steelbanglezmusic.com

Steel Banglez (born 5 February 1987) is a British producer and solo artist who is signed to Warner Bros. Records.[1] Best known for his production work with artists including MIST, MoStack, J Hus and Wiley, Steel Banglez achieved his first chart hit as a lead artist when his track "Bad" reached the top 30 on the UK Singles Chart in February 2018.[2]

Early life

Born Pahuldip Singh Sandhu in Forest Gate, Steel Banglez grew up in Newham, east London.[3] Raised in a Sikh family, he was surrounded by traditional Indian instruments such as harmoniums and tablas as his mother was a music teacher.

At the age of 10, he started DJing jungle music alongside his brothers[3] and subsequently presented a show on the pirate radio station Mystic FM.[4] He started producing music in his early teens after a teacher introduced him to the audio workstation Fruity Loops, and soon produced his first track "Dreams" for his neighbour, the influential grime artist D Double E.[3] He soon gained further exposure when he produced the Big H freestyle from the Practise Hours 2 DVD.[4]

Steel Banglez's career was halted when he was imprisoned at the age of 17, serving three years of a six year sentence for firearms charges.[5][6]

Music career

2005–2014: Early music career

While in prison, Steel Banglez befriended the rappers Fix Dot’M, Yung Meth and Colours Miyagi, and would produce beats for them on a keyboard.[5] This resulted in his musical direction becoming focused upon rap, and he also gained attention in south London where the centre of the capital's rap scene was based.

After being released, Steel Banglez contributed production to Fix Dot'M and Yung Meth's mixtape A Fix of Meth,[7] and he teamed up again with Yung Meth, this time with Ghetts, on "Tidal Wave" which was released on SB.TV. He soon started working on tracks with a wider range of artists, such as "Breakdown" (with Big H, P Money, Wiley and Ghetts) and "Go Down South" (with Krept, Konan, Chip and Yungen).[7]

Eager to establish his credentials as a producer, Steel Banglez ran a home studio from his manager's house which offered free studio time to artists, with Wiley and Roll Deep two of the highest profile names to put their vocals to his beats.[5] Steel Banglez later moved to a professional studio in what is now the Link Up TV office where he worked with Cashtastic, Yungen and Krept and Konan.[5] In 2014, Steel Banglez focused on producing Cashtastic's debut album which was due to be released by Universal Music.[3] However, that project ended when Cashtastic was deported.[5] As a result, new production work dried up and Steel Banglez lost direction in what he calls a “mad depressed stage” in his life.[5]

2015–present: Solo career and wider production work

Steel Banglez was newly inspired when he heard the track "No Buddy" by MoStack in the summer of 2015. They connected via Twitter,[3] and Steel Banglez produced his debut mixtape Gangster with Banter.[4] On New Year's Eve of 2015,[4] he first heard MIST and realised that the Birmingham-based rapper's use of phrases from the Punjabi language would help him connect with a large audience.[8]

After making contact via Instagram, Steel Banglez drove MIST to his studio in London where he played him the beat of what would become the track "Karlas Back".[3] He produced MIST's breakthrough EP M I S T to the T in 2016 and then acted as executive producer on his Warner Bros. Records debut Diamond in the Dirt in 2018, which featured artists including MoStack, Jessie Ware and Haile from WSTRN.[9] Another high profile production came when he collaborated with Jae5 on "Fisherman", a track from J Hus's debut album Common Sense.[10]

Steel Banglez's career as a lead artist was also gaining momentum. He signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music in April 2017[11] before signing to Warner Bros. Records, together with his imprint Spiritual Records, later renamed Gifted Music, in April 2017.[12]

He released "Money" in March 2017, which featured several of his friends and collaborators such as MoStack, MIST, Haile and Abra Cadabra.[13] MoStack also appeared on the follow-up single "Bad" alongside Yungen, Mr Eazi and Not3s.[14] Released in November, "Bad" climbed the UK Singles Chart for several weeks before peaking at number 29 in February.[2] In March, the track was certified Silver by the BPI in recognition of 200,000 sales.[15]

Steel Banglez won Producer of the Year at GRM Daily's Rated Awards 2017.[16]

Personal life

Steel Banglez's success has allowed him to help his family by funding his mother's retirement and his sister's university fees.[5] He was given the nickname Steel Banglez by a Jamaican friend in reference to the karas (steel bracelets) that he wears as an initiated Sikh.[3]

Discography

Singles

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[2]
"Money"[17]
(featuring Mostack, MIST, Haile and Abra Cadabra)		 2017 — Non-album singles
"Bad"[18]
(featuring Yungen, MoStack, Mr Eazi and Not3s)		 29
"Your Lovin'"[19]
(featuring MØ and Yxng Bane)		 2018 47
"Hot Steppa"[20]
(featuring Loski)		 —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Guest appearances

List of guest appearances, showing song title, year released, other artists and album name
Title Year Artist(s) Album
"Wife Me"[21] 2018 Raye Side Tape

Production

List of production credits, showing song title, year released, artists, co-producers and album name
Title Year Artist(s) Co-Producer(s) Album
"My Name"[22] 2013 Krept & Konan (featuring Yana Toma) N/A Young Kingz
"Karlas Back"[22] 2016 MIST TBC M I S to the T
"Ain't the Same"[23]
"Madness"[22] Non-album singles
"Hot Property"[22] 2017
"Off the Record 2"[22] Yungen
"Fisherman"[22] J Hus (featuring Mostack & MIST) Jae5 Common Sense
"Screw & Bew"[22] Mostack (featuring MIST) TBC High Street Kid
"Sun Comes Up" (Steel Banglez Remix)[22] Rudimental (featuring James Arthur & MIST) Non-album singles
"99 + 1"[22] Not3s (featuring Mostack) Take Not3s
"Dreams to Reality"[24] 2018 MIST N/A Diamond in the Dirt
"On It"[24] MIST (featuring Nines)
"Uber"[24] MIST (featuring MoStack) Swifta Beater, Zeph Ellis
"Game Changer"[24] MIST N/A
"Display Skills"[24] MIST (featuring Mr Eazi & Fekky)
"Order It In"[24] MIST (featuring Not3s)

References

  1. ↑ "Steel Banglez". Warner Brothers Records UK. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  2. 1 2 3 Peak chart positions in the United Kingdom:
    • For "Bad": "Steel Banglez/Yungen/Mostack - Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
    • For "Your Lovin': "Steel Banglez/MO/Yxng Bane - Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Radar Radio". Radar Radio. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "PAUSE Meets: Steel Banglez". PAUSE Online | Men's Fashion, Street Style, Fashion News & Streetwear. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "How Steel Banglez Beat Depression To Become The UK's Leading Rap Producer". Complex. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  6. ↑ https://www.thefader.com/2018/03/30/steel-banglez-beat-construction-interview-mist-mostack
  7. 1 2 "UK rap super-producer Steel Banglez is finally getting the recognition he deserves". hyponik. 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  8. ↑ "Steel Banglez is the London producer bringing U.K. rap to the pop charts". The FADER. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  9. ↑ "Meet the producers behind Mist's 'Diamond In The Dirt' EP". THELINKUP.COM. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  10. ↑ "J Hus, Mostack and Mist's 'Fisherman' has just gone SILVER!". THELINKUP.COM. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  11. ↑ "Steel Banglez signs to Warner/Chappell - M Magazine". M magazine: PRS for Music online magazine. 2017-04-20. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  12. ↑ "Steel Banglez signs own record label venture with Warner Music! #SpiritualRecords". THELINKUP.COM. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  13. ↑ "Steel Banglez enlists Abra Cadabra, Mist, Mo Stack & Haile for 'Money'". THELINKUP.COM. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  14. ↑ "MoStack, Mr Eazi, Yungen, and Not3s throw a wild party in Steel Banglez's "Bad" video". The FADER. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  15. 1 2 "BPI Awards - bpi" (To access, enter the search parameter "Steel Banglez" or "Bane" and select "Search by Keyword"). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  16. ↑ "Rated Awards 2017 and 2018: Steel Banglez wins Producer of the Year". GRM Daily - Grime, Rap music and Culture. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  17. ↑ "Money (feat. Mostack, MIST, Haile & Abra Cadabra) - Single by Steel Banglez". iTunes. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  18. ↑ "Bad (feat. Yungen, MoStack, Mr Eazi & Not3s) - Single by Steel Banglez". iTunes. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  19. ↑ "Your Lovin' (feat. MØ & Yxng Bane) - Single by Steel Banglez". iTunes. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  20. ↑ "Hot Steppa (feat. Loski) - Single by Steel Banglez". iTunes. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  21. ↑ "Side Tape [Explicit] by Raye". Amazon (UK). Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Behind the Boards: Steel Banglez". iTunes. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  23. ↑ "Mist - Ain't The Same [Music Video] (Prod by Steel Banglez)". Youtube. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Meet the producers behind MIST's 'Diamond in the Dirt' EP". thelinkup.com. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
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