by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

Subir “Master-D” Dev and Vishal “DJ Vicious” Urva, partners in Montreal-based unit the BILZ (short for “brother-in-lawz,” which they are), have set ambitious goals for themselves. They’re after a prominent place in the fiercely competitive international Desi dance-music market, a high enough standard of production quality and musical originality to guarantee long-term staying power, and a breakthrough to non-South Asian listeners.

“We want Canadians to love it,” says Dev. “Not only Indians, but the other cultures and communities. In Latin music, we don’t understand what they’re saying—”

“But,” exclaims Urva, “we like the vibe to it!”

“We want to gain that crossover, and stay there,” Dev continues.

The two, who first made their mark together with an official remix of Keshia Chanté’s “ Does He Love Me,” are certainly qualified for the job. Dev brings 10 years of tabla training and enthusiastic multi-instrumentalism, and extensive history working with local worldbeat and fusion projects, to the table. Urva’s big list of bona fides in the urban party scene, which have seen him behind the decks across the country, have garnered him a long list of contacts and an intuitive sense of what makes a dancefloor go boom. When they roll out for shows in the coming year, they’ll have singer Kashif with them too. “He’s a crazy performer,” says Urva of the former lead songwriter of boy band Inmotion.

The key to both Desi and mainstream market success, the BILZ have astutely grasped, is taking the basic template of bhangra, the tough and funky Indian dance music originating from northern Punjab region, and stretching it in all sorts of directions. “Bhangra has existed for many years now,” says Dev, “so we wanted to give it a little twist.”

There’s only one straight-up bhangra banger on their recent, self-titled debut album, and that’s “Truck Anthem,” a salute to the many Punjabis driving rigs in western Canada. The album’s lead single and kickoff track, “2Step Bhangra,” gives a better picture of the BILZ’s M.O., with bilingual English/Punjabi vocals (largely unheard of in the genre) care of Kashif and Satnam “So-D” Singh, to match the hybrid groove. Elsewhere are splashes of hip hop, slow-jam R&B, reggaeton, flamenco guitar and blues harmonica, never to mention flavours from across the Indian subcontinent.

Their hard work is paying off. The BILZ have solid mainstream-radio rotation for “2Step Bhangra” in Halifax, Toronto and Edmonton (Montreal programmers, pick up your game!), and Trinidad and Mauritius to boot, as well as play on BBC’s Asian Network and 1xtra in the U.K., and the video on MTV Desi. They’re racked at HMVs across Canada, up for grabs at iTunes and looking at steady global traffic at their MySpace page. A signing with India’s important Times Music label promises to be followed by deals in the UAE, the U.K., Europe and South Africa—all moves towards the big score, which is Desi beats at the top of the pops.

Will bhangra bust out to a truly global audience, and will proud Montrealers the BILZ be riding the crest of the wave? “From what I’m hearing,” says Urva, “the majors are interested. They just don’t know how to market it, and what the outcome will be. It’s tough for us, but we’re hoping to set an example.”