Mean Deep is a creation of the tabla player, DJ, and producer Deepayan Acharjya, and the multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer, and singer James Whetzel.

The group mixes Deepayan's love for tricky Indian beats with James's love for funky layers of African rhythm.

Mean Deep's shows combine live music, live electronic music and DJ-ing. Deepayan runs one laptop and plays tabla and dhol, raps in tabla language and DJs. James runs another laptop, sings, raps, throat sings, plays the Indian stringed instrument called sarod, plays darbouka, a form of North African percussion, and DJs.

References in the groups music run the gamut from Bollywood and Bhangra to Rock and Hip Hop, from to the West African style of music known as Highlife to Congolese Soukous. Break beats and House beats and the rough sounds of Algerian Rai are also featured in the group's sound.

The group calls its style "funketabla" music (Their record label and production company is named after the style).

As Deepayan says "tabla music at its best is unstoppable; it has an intense rhythmic drive and a scope that boggles the mind. We wanted to extend that rhythmic drive by mixing it with the seductive subtlety of the best African and Black music." James ads "One of the crowning achievements of good African music is that no matter how complex it may be, it sounds easy, and before you even realize it, you find are moving in time with it . Blending Indian and African grooves together makes for some extreme funkiness."

Asked specifically about the meaning of "funketabla" James replies "The funk in funketabla stands for the African or Black influence in what we do and the Tabla stands for the Indian influence in what we do, and the "e" is for everything else, electronica, excitement, etc, et al. So there it is, funketabla, end of story, 'nuff said, the rest is music."