TOP bhangra star Manak-e is coming to Southampton this weekend. Vinay Handa will be interviewing him for the radio show Urban Unity.

Manak-e, responsible for some of the biggest hits in the industry, will be talking about his career, the new album and his headline spot at this year's Southampton Mela on August 12.

He lived and worked in Southampton for a few years and Southampton is still very much close to his heart, but he moved to the Midlands to pursue his music career full time and its a move that has proved very successful.

Manak-e has featured on many compilations and recently he smashed it with Hor Glassy on Streetbeats by Ruthless Records and Shera Di Khom and Khushian on Urban Flavas 2 by Untouchables Records.

Previously he had smash hits with Punjabian da Dhol on Urban Flavas 1. But one of his recent tracks was RDB Valey, which appeared on RDBs own album Unstoppable which has propelled him further within the industry. But most recently he has appeared on Danger 3, with Nakhre Valiah, which has been much appreciated on the club scene.

With so many hits, Manak-e has established himself as a well respected act across various audiences, from live pas to full live band performances.

Earlier this year, he appeared on BBC TV, singing his smash hit tune Hor Glassy.

Appearing in such mainstream places has given him an opportunity to develop his singing career outside the bhangra circuit.

His last album Da Next Session which was released in January 2004 had an excellent response. Manak-e has been around for years but this album is something very different and he feels that it is his strongest album to date. It projects him into a dimension which he has not yet seen. The album is awesome, it has hip-hop, R&B, hard core Desi and ragga.

Hear the full interview on Unity 101 tomorrow (Sat 1st Jul)between 6-8pm.