WHEN singer Gulzhan Ibrayeva gets a bit nervous she starts to laugh – a girly giggle that you can't help but join in with.
Today, her mirth is directed at the reaction that fictional Kazakhstani journalist Borat, played in the movie by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, received in her home country.
"I do get asked if Borat is really true," she laughs, "and I know some people didn't like it, it was in bad taste, but they are the ones who do not have a sense of humour. I thought it was funny."
Before Gulzhan packed her bags for Scotland more than two years ago, her reputation as a petite lady with a big voice was well known.
The band she formed with her husband Paul Finnie, called Kinky Durakee, was regularly featured on Kazakhstani radio and television and a special farewell gig attracted an impressive audience of 12,000.
Now, after joining forces with Lothians musicians Stevie Donnelly, Dall Philip and drummer Gary Macauley, they intend to replicate that success here in Scotland.
Their latest band, called Universal You, named after a song by goth-rockers The Cult, has already attracted rave reviews from national newspaper critics and they have been compared to female-fronted rockers The Pretenders and Garbage.
Today, Universal You are set to follow in the footsteps of KT Tunstall, Snow Patrol and Idlewild and record their debut single, Your Sin City, at Rosyth's Sub Station Studio.
They're also getting ready to play loud and proud at a gig on Thursday at one of Edinburgh's newest live music venues, The Ark on Waterloo Place.
"People are going to be hearing a lot more from us," says Gulzhan from her home just across the Forth in Kirkcaldy.
"I think we will get recognition because our sound is a bit different. There are not that many bands at the moment with a female front singer, well not one that sounds like me anyway." The glamorous 27-year-old, who admires strong female singers like The Gossip's Beth Ditto, explains: "I do look foreign and, because I'm petite, no-one expects me to be the singer in a band.
"People sometimes think I'm just the girlfriend of the guitarist – until they hear me sing and hear my big voice."
The couple met when they were both working at an oil and gas field in Atsai, Kazakhstan – Gulzhan as a technical translator and Paul, 40, as a contract administrator for British Gas. "My voice captured him, I suppose," she giggles.
Romance blossomed through a shared love of music and the couple married. They now have a son, Ryan, who will be two next month.
Their band Kinky Durakee, which played cover versions, attracted musicians from all over the world – all of whom were based at the oil and gas field where they all worked.
"We played all the classics – Mustang Sally, All Right Now, Texas and Sheryl Crow. We also played traditional Russian songs which were very popular," adds Gulzhan.
In recent years, Paul and Gulzhan have been writing their own songs which are now the focus of their live sets and are being enhanced every time they are played by the new members of Universal You.
Bass player Dall Philip, of Heriot, Midlothian, says that the songs, with their strongly male/female dynamic, have inspired him.
Dall has been playing in bands since he was 17 years old, but became disheartened after his last band, called dUM dUM, lost momentum.
In the mid-1990s, dUM dUM had a big profile – their single D.ock was a Top 40 hit, they played T In The Park and supported Simple Minds at Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations at The Mound.
But then things stagnated and Dall and his bandmates ended up playing cover versions as a resident band at a venue in Glasgow.
He joined Universal You after answering an advert placed by Paul and Gulzhan on a website aimed at musicians.
"I get such a buzz out of live performance and I love making music," enthuses the 43-year-old who shares his Heriot home with his wife Julie and their three children. "It's great to be playing again."
Dall played his first gig with Universal You last weekend at a charity benefit in Kirkaldy in aid of charity HCPT The Pilgrimage Trust which takes disadvantaged children to Lourdes.
"The energy was really great and I think that the band is really starting to gel," says Dall.
"We are far from the finished article and we are going to continue to get better.
"I think we're a good mix of musicians and it's nice to be playing with people on the same level. I think we are a mature band and we're not pretending to be anything we're not."
Guitarist Stevie Donnelly, of Haddington, agrees that Universal You have an original sound that is in pleasant contrast to the sound of the moment – that of bands like Snow Patrol and their clones.
The 32-year-old, who cites The Eagles, Eric Clapton and BB King as influences, also says audiences will enjoy the fact that Universal You boasts the melodies produced by two guitars.
He adds: "In the short term, people can expect to find us playing more gigs in Scotland.
"I think we will be concentrating on getting a good local following in Edinburgh and Glasgow and then taking things from there."
Universal You will perform at The Ark on Waterloo Place in Edinburgh on Thursday. For more information on the band, visit their website at
www.universalyou.co.uk.
