The dubstep community is as passionate as it’s ever been in 2025, but some would argue that the genre’s grown “stale” over the last decade. Enter Twinboys: a pair of 23-year-old identical twins from Lucknow, India, who have taken it upon themselves to spice things up.
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Not many people can lay claim to pioneering a subgenre in music, let alone in this day and age. But for Twinboys, bringing together traditional Indian rhythms with their undying love for dizzying dubstep on tracks like ‘Dankaa’ and ‘SwarRiddim’ was a natural union – one they’re surprised hadn’t been done earlier.
John and Paul Lakra are calling their unique sound desi dubstep, and over the last couple of months, it’s transformed from a minor subgenre into an unexpected hit at major EDM festivals worldwide. They describe the style as the lovechild of tearout drops and soulful traditional Indian music that’s “all part of our masterplan to make our country proud, put India on the map for bass music and bring desi dubstep to the world”.
The twins grew up listening to Bollywood music and were fixated by the intricate rhythms playing on the tabla and flutes from a young age. But as they grew older, the Lakras yearned for a more unique form of expression. “When we were 13 or 14, we used to breakdance, and most of it was to electronic music,” John tells NME over Zoom from their home in Lucknow, citing watching Skrillex’s 2015 Ultra Miami set online as their introduction to dubstep.
Four years later, after years of gradually exploring what dubstep had to offer, everything clicked into place thanks to genre leader Excision’s Lost Lands set, which left a “permanent marker for when we knew we wanted to do this and make dubstep”.
Their road to becoming dubstep producers wasn’t easy. “In Lucknow, it’s an unimaginable thing. The responsibility placed on us all throughout history in Indian society is that we have to have a stable job,” John says. “We have to be doctors, or lawyers, or engineers. Music is no career in India; it’s a side job.”
“We are the first in our heritage and our generation to do this” – Paul Lakra
Following the expected path, John had gotten into a recognised medical college, while Paul landed a position in a prestigious computer engineering school. But even then, they knew they couldn’t give up their shot at making it big in the music scene. “We had our admission forms to complete and on the day of submissions, we had already planned to play a set on Instagram,” Paul explains. “While playing, I turned to my brother and said, ‘I can’t live my life and say that I didn’t try music as a career. I cannot live with the idea of not doing what I want to.’ So we left college.”
Naturally, Twinboys’ decision to skip out on college drew the ire of people around them. “There were so many people who said we were stupid to do this, and that we wouldn’t make it in music,” Paul admits, but instead of feeling backed into a corner, they understood where their detractors were coming from.
“We don’t blame them. They’ve never been exposed to music like this; they’ve never seen someone else from this city do it and make it big in music. We’re the first in our heritage and our generation to do it. Now that they’re seeing us grow and succeed in real time, they’re coming around and they’re becoming open-minded.”
Somewhere over the last three months, Twinboys’ stock has risen in the dubstep community at breakneck speed. Major dubstep DJs have organically taken to their unique sound, repping their songs on some of the biggest stages in the world, like at Kayzo’s sold-out Unleased show at the Vegas Event Center, while tracks like ‘Dankaa’ scored plays from genre legend Borgore at his massive one-night only show in Atlanta. Just months ago, they were struggling to get any more than 50 likes on Instagram. Now, they boast over 16,000 followers and counting as genre giants like Sullivan King and Flux Pavilion promote their social content and songs across various platforms.
Despite their newfound success, John’s confident they’re prepared for everything that’s coming next: “We’re ready for it. We’ve been waiting for this for a long time, so it feels like a natural flow of events for us. It’s great because the Indian audience is growing more supportive of us, and they’re proud that someone is representing them… Many Indian artists have already told us they’ve been inspired by us to do this, so we’re very, very grateful.”
As their music reaches parts of the world they’ve never been to, they’re excited that people are getting introduced to classical Indian sounds, albeit with a twist. “People don’t know about the power of Indian music. Indian music – whether traditional or modern – is so energetic,” John says. “There is so much power in Carnatic music and the ideas of the raga and tala concepts. Because we’ve been surrounded by this sound and this energy for our entire lives, we know that it’ll go so well with dubstep.”
“People don’t know the power of Indian music” – John Lakra
According to Paul, their current brand of desi dubstep is just the tip of their creative iceberg: “For now, we’ve only experimented with blending Carnatic music and dubstep. But Karnataka is just one region of India; there is so much more for us to explore, and that means that the future of our music is endless.” The types of traditional Indian music they utilise in their signature genre-bending bangers aren’t decisions they take lightly – they spend hours researching and watching decades-old videos of traditional compositions before even writing a note of music.
While Indian music plays a major role in their sound, John expounds that they’re careful not to have it overshadow their dubstep elements – on ‘Rage Raga’, chunky dubstep chops echo the rhythmic thumping of the tabla as the song builds, while ‘Chahal Pahal’ sees them balance out soothing melodies with a lighter electronic sound. “We don’t want to put the focus on one sound more than the other, and I think that’s why our music is so unique. We don’t make dubstep with Carnatic influences, and we’re not Carnatic music with dubstep drops. That’s why we’re desi dubstep – we are the best of both worlds.”
Earlier this month, the brothers kicked off their first tour of India, performing in Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune for the first time, with more stops in major cities planned for the near future. The pair are also gearing up to release a new EP on their dream dubstep label, Disciple. They know it’s a big deal not just for them, but for India’s dubstep scene: “We’re hoping to make a permanent impact on the dubstep world. Most importantly, it will promote India, and Indian people will get inspired, and we will change the world,” Paul says.
As that statement suggests, Twinboys’ focus isn’t just on their home country. The boys tell NME that they’re deep into planning their London debut and are hoping to expand into the US sometime in the new year. It’ll mark their first gigs outside of India, and they’re chomping at the bit to bring their music and heritage to the rest of the world.
They tease that they’ve got a lot more in store, but can’t divulge any information just yet. Instead, John leaves us with a promise: “Whatever you’ve seen and heard from us so far is only a fraction of our potential. We are limitless.”
Twinboys are releasing a new EP via Disciple this month.
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