The Score Magazine September 2013

ISSN 0974 – 9128

Vol 06 Issue 09 - September 2013

thescoremag

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India's National Pan-Genre Music MagazinE

AAT Powers: Quirks n Queries

Priya Panchal Bezubaan no more!

Yamaha Powers: BAND OF THE MONTH

Junkyard Groove Lots of groove, no junk

Cover Story

Rahman The man who drives the Indian music eco-system + The Reflections Book launch

FEST FOCUS: ZIRO FESTIVAL, The place to be this month!

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the edit PAD As we fast approach our 4th year running, I cannot help thinking about the real contribution we have made to the music industry as a music magazine.

To make any sort of measurement, I need to do a base-line comparison.

One of the single most important yard-stick of contribution is survival: How can you contribute, if you don’t sink your teeth in and wade through the toughest of times?

3 years running, not many music magazines can claim to have had such vibrancy in its pages or such wide-spread recognition within the industry.

Strategy and Planning Ajay Prabhakar Director, Business Development Pragash VM Editor-in-Chief Nikila Srinivasan Associate Editor Supriya Talupuru Head - Marketing & Operations Sneha Ramesh Creative Director George Vedamanickam Lead Designer Nipun Garodia Content Support Sai Adithya

OurWWW

Another yardstick is sustainability: We know from experience that only the most versatile among us will survive. We score well, from being market fit for music brands to making non-music venue run live music sustainably; we have done our bit.

From a business point of view, the question is: Are you locally sourced? A resounding YES would be the answer. We are truly Indian. No FDI and no foreign overlord. Do you want to support your local scene? We encourage you to support your local music magazine.

The final yard stick is do you have the good-will? To be brutally honest, I am not sure. All I know is good-will comes through time and repeat performances: It cannot be bought or sold. Our philosophy is simple: you might not have the perfect plan for success, but loose integrity is the perfect plan for failure.

We are in the best of times for music. Vijay Nair was just made cover of the ‘Entrepreneur’ and this goes to show only one thing: music entrepreneurism is finally back in India. Music is a sustainable business once again.

On this note of optimism, for those with us on the ‘magical musical ride’, I would like to remind you all to ‘never say die’!

ajay prabhakar Strategy and Planning

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cover story: A R Rahman

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We take a look at the Musical Genius’s ongoing projects.

Not to mention the previously unseen photos of this great.

Band of the Month POWERED BY YAMAHA

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Junkyard Groove: The band that has stood the test of time: a musical drama indeed.

Fest Focus Ziro Festival

From youtube with love Shweta Subram

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Why attend this festival? We give you the reason straight from the musicians mouth!

Carnatic segment Sudha Ragunathan

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The Sangita Kalanidhi awardee on why being brilliant only take practice.

Quirks & Queries POWERED BY AaT

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Her video is viral. But that’s not the part that’s suprising. Read on to know more!

star of the month: Papon 30

Priya Panchal: The Bezubaan singer talks to us about her journey through the Bollywood music industry.

BANDISH PROJEKT

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A one-man band with tales of music spinning across time and motion.

Monali Thankur

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Get up close and personal with this vivacious Bollywood singer .

Talks about being the vox in the populi and more.

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I would say, when I came in I had the whole world in front of me. I was seeing a world which nobody saw.

All the directors who came, supported me.

AR RAHMAN The talent of the musical genius precedes the man himself. The Score Magazine is proud to have this in-depth interview with the Mozart of Madras. We cover exclusive material of him talking about the singers who influence him, the coffee table book Reflections, music he gravitates towards, Coke Studio, his Guru and more!

Photography T Selvakumar

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Flair. Each to their own, is it not? In this interview, we seek to understand the flair with which A R Rahman carries himself with. Where does he start and the music stop? Is there a definition for success in his field?

What is his relationship to God? Are there still things that we don’t know about this man? Turns out, there are. All these questions are now answered in his words. Here’s our tribute to him. We compile for you all the things he’s done this year and highlight his contribution to the field of music.

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I often believe that trust & faith help you to believe that you are not in control, so you can work hard and the results are from the divine.

I think this book is the passion of Selva Kumar (of Audio Media). He’s tried to get in touch with many singers. But we definitely missed artists like Janaki, SBP, Sukhwinder Singh and more because of time constrains. Then again, whatever Selva has achieved with this book is very gratifying to see. What’s good about this book is that people are looking like stars. And, there’s a charm. There’s a kind of glamour that makes it look great. To me, it’s picturesque

On the coffee-table book Reflections

The book Reflections is said to be your tribute to singers who have influenced your music. Do share with us some memorable experiences with the singers in the book.

I think the most important things that happened over the last two decades are to people who come and perform/sing. They don’t feel judged. Previously, this wasn’t the case. Very few singers could survive the acid test of singing to the Director, Producer, Music Directior, Assistant Director and 8 or 9 other musicians. If they are not good enough, they’d get thrown out in the first two attempts. Very few people had that talent to pull this off. They had great voices, great diction, great dedication and the speed at which they could learn a song was incredible. That’s why singers like Lata ji or SPB or Chitra: the greats are so unshakeable. But when the 90’s came, the home studios came (mine was a home studio). There’s no pressure on the talent. No one standing there and they didn’t have to shiver that some body’s going to judge them. If they didn’t get it right on the first attempt, they’d be asked to come back the next day and the next day, till they got it right. The Director and me: we took a decision and stood by it. That we’ll give them enough opportunity to be comfortable and so that they can give their best potential. It wasn’t very kind but it was also a mutual compliment because we waited them to give the song an extraordinary personality that would be exclusive to our song.

Looking at the book, I am pleasantly surprised about the people who have come over the years. Some people have, for some reason, not gone ahead and refined themselves. Some people have refined themselves and gone to the next level. They’ve found a place in the people’s heart.

The book covers musicians who you helped in discovering.

What are the traits you look for in a musician with the potential of working with?

Most of the singers, they came because they were present at the right place and at the right time. Some of them are very accidently discovered. Some of them are compelling; they compelled me to write a song for them because of their attitude, their personality and their voice.

You’ve established K M Conservatory which gives scoop for musicians beyond the realms of film music. But non-film music hardly has the chance as it can’t compete with the budget of a film. When we look at your career: you’ve taken a path from certified commercial success to more alternate paths. Is this the most sustainable path to being a successful composer?

I think you should be a wholesome person. Because sometimes you make a song for yourself but a director likes it. Many songs of mine were taken.

Like, Ashutosh has taken a lot of songs. Mani Ratnam has taken some songs too. Then you think to yourself that it is a movie, it will get a wider viewership.

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When it comes to the artist, did you leave the room open for improvisations?

Yes, there were a lot of improvisations. Actually, Zariya has a lot of improvisations. This score went to Ani Choying and she has got her own beautiful style and the subject was discussed and how to approach it. Then in the end, the music was really slow. We thought of this idea to break it and make a radical change which is also a very old Arabic song.

We’ve heard you mostly record at night. Was it the same for Coke Studio?

No, we had a cut-off time at 10. I’m not like that. I think it was quite convenient because I have kids. I got to spend time with them and they would come to the studio. Now, they have become insomniacs too. They are like, hanging on to me.

What attracted you to the concept? Was it because your schedule allowed you to take out time for it or just something that you wanted to try out in particular?

I think I started liking the whole concept where unusual music talent comes in and it is well produced: you want to watch it again. Since I started working with MTV unplugged, I started getting used to the situation. It is a more controlled environment. You can be more flexible here than in front of audience where you can’t do anything.

My mentality as a musician too: Being a producer, introvert and playing in a studio. The whole process of music-making has changed. I’m getting more confident and am developing trust towards fellow musicians. Also I have had to produce a couple of albums which I couldn’t finish it in time, are still going on. One was with Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan which is from 3-4 years back. We did it but then my commitments went. The other was conceived by my sisters called Chemical Roses. We are having two songs from that and two songs from another album which was very close to my heart. Of course, there is another song based on Rabindranath Tagore’s poem ‘Where the mind is without fear’. There is another one which is an experiment again which clashes in between cultures so I felt like it will make a great statement. If every community watches the role of mingling is much more than clashes and other things which are momentary, things change. We wanted to celebrate being a mother, or being a manifestation of the Creator.

How the creator kind of uses the mother as a channel to create and develop humanity as a great artist as a great human, a son, a daughter, anything. I was trying for many other things but it all fell into place. We got Ani who is from Nepal and we got a Jordanian singer Farah Siraj who is amazing. She educated in Berkley and we have this amazing band. There is Sivamani, Prasoon, Keba Jeremiah on guitar and some of my percussion students who came from my music institute. Then, we auditioned around 40 singers and shortlisted 7 of them who were extraordinary, who have better voices. They could sing anything. Yes, of course, my two sisters are there as a part of it.

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Was this also in the back of your mind that you have not done Non-film music in quite some time and wanted to get back to it?

Playing is fun. Playing is a kind of enjoyment where people are going to take care of any downs you have. It’s a well protected environment, for music, that they provide us.

It’s not unplugged. In fact, we wanted to go a little more technology based like deep motion and all that but I think that is a certain kind of musicality we don’t do per se. It is celebrating cultures in a way. Celebrating completely different things. I mean to say like having Jordanian, then Hindi chorus and then having three generations- Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, I’m playing and then even his grandson is singing. This is how the tradition is passed over and how they kind of nuture the culture, protect the culture in a way and giving back when everybody is so distracted.

It is amazing to see how one family is completely into music and nothing else.

How do you look up to the works of other singers from other countries?

While making music for the film, the director’s vision is the only guiding force for you. I have been a slave which is good because if everybody pulls something into their own directions, you will get nothing. You need to have focus on what you are catering to. But after a while you feel like you have done that enough and you want to go in your own way without any strings attached. I think Coke Studio allows you to do that.

How do you find this entire setup with Coke Studio?

I’m leaving in belief and satisfaction.

Usually when I go I feel I’m frustrated and why am I doing this? But this time I didn’t even get that thought and I felt very comfortable during the whole song. I think it is a combination of things, the resources and the keys. The seven small studios and one big studio, so something is happening in every studio so the output is much more faster than we getting caught in Los Angeles.

On being humble The VJ at Coke Studio had a quick story about Rahman from once before at the Video MTv Music Awards. She asked him if not a music composer what he would be. To which he replied saying probably a driver.

On Coke Studio at MTv I was not such a studio person but for the past 5-6 years, I have worked with other musicians and collaborated. I think MTV unplugged changed that. I have been watching Coke Studio for the past 2 years. It has done some amazing discoveries so I think that led to me being here. I think we were having fun. Nobody said make this song, make that song. Even one of the MTV guys tried but then gave up and said do whatever you want. I think it is a good intention and I hope people like it.

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It is a huge privilege for us to perform with Rahman saab and our father on the same stage. Of the two tracks- one is a bandish by my father while the second one is a 200- year old solo salaam (tribute) to the Rampur Sahaswan Gharana.

Mustafa’s son Rabbani Khan on working with ARR & father for Coke Studio

On Zariya, his Coke Studio song It should be happy. Coke is all about happiness. I wanted to do a song that celebrates being a mother. There is three different communities- there’s the Buddhist community, there’s the Islamic community and there’s the Indian community. So, it’s a combination of that and if you watch that song, I think its beautifully written by Prasoon Joshi. It has that emotion and I think we kind of captured that.

It’s transcending to a little more which we all have as human beings and celebrating being a mother. I would probably get Prasoon to speak about it a little more; he’s interpreted it beautifully!

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In a recent interview, you said that you take God’s help in every song. How does that translate into actual “composing” language?

I think it is a state of mind where every time you have to do something you don’t know, it will either work out or not. Sometimes, it comes naturally, sometimes you feel like Oh My God. I have to shift between many differences in sensibilities. Like I’m doing a movie like Raanjhana which is completely earthy and suddenly doing Marian which is African- how do you switch minds? Sometimes, it is too scary and sometimes what South-Indian audience understand might not work in Northern India. Sometimes you work in Hollywood, you wake up in Los Angeles and they say hey there is the score or may not be the score. You know? I often believe that the trust and the faith help you to believe that you are not in control so you can work hard and the results are from the divine.

People know when they listen to music that is from Rahman. Is it a good thing or a bad thing?

I would say when I came in I had a whole world in front of me. I was seeing a world which nobody saw. All the directors who came, supported me. But now, there are many producers, many programs that have composers.

They are all doing really good in their technology but I’m not able to spot anybody. It is very important in this era: we need to be more focused on our song. It won’t be like a supermarket where people stand labeled and that’s a good thing. That’s the direction new people should take and stick to the thing which is off the stand.

Tell us about going solo on certain projects.

Once Andrew Lloyd and I were talking. I remember telling him that I’m not a story guy. I’m just a musician.

Then, it struck me. Every creative person don’t have to stick with exactly what they are doing. They evolve, they have their own things to say, their own influences, their own journey which can bring about many interesting things. I thought why am I not thinking like an artist and being just a composer. It’s just a small step, expanding your mind. It’s not about making people happy all the time. Art is also about an expression and so far the scripts have been dictating my vision of music.

Who arranges most of your songs?

I arrange my own songs. Always. Sometimes for other programs, my students do it. I have an amazing team who work day and night. There is much more help in writing and the production than before. I used to do it before.

Again and again like sometimes five times, six times, sometimes thirty mixes or maybe forty mixes. Just to strip down things. Before people used to play, they would play it at a place and then they could take a breath. But now, with computers and all the loops, it’s just drag and drop.

You don’t feel it. If you do feel it, it is too much in your face.

That’s the thing which I want to avoid. That’s why we go through our songs again and again and we try it out. It goes through this healing process which takes days and days.

We do something for 3 days but when we take a break and come back and we realize something is wrong and that’s why it takes ages.

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Raanjhana, the film and the music particularly did really well. How do you feel about it? Also, did you catch the film?

Yes, I watched it many times, the score.

The music also was not like “here comes a hit song”. It was catering to the screenplay. I was very fascinated about how Anand Rai made every song work and how a song could own itself beautifully and not trying to say or prove anything. That aspect, I think, he has proved it right to everyone that that’s what he wanted me to do and we had difficult times with him too. Sometimes, even though we felt it was the right song and it may have some “chartbustery” elements, he wouldn’t like it. He would say no, no sir this is too much. The thing that really touched me was when he said “sir, I’m so sad, sir”. I asked him, “why?” and he replies “because Raanjhana is going to be over.”

The kind of musicians in the industry right now: whom do you take a favor to?

I like Amit a lot, I like Pritam. They all make fantastic music, the sound is great. I see all the new songs on Youtube. Then, there’s Sachin - Jigar. At times, I think what am I going to do? But, we are all musicians. Each expression is so different. Each day is different and what you make out of it is different.

If I’m not wrong, you have collaborated with your guru Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan?

Yes, and the small string attached to this is I was working on an album and because of my other engagements I couldn’t finish it. It was like a couple of songs from those albums have come into this in a good way because it suited the whole philosophy of what coke studio stands for. Another point was couple of songs were from my sister’s (A.R. Rejhana) album which we co-conceived together. In fact, this is the first time I was performing with 3 generations from his side: Padmashree & Padmabhushan Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, his sons Murtuza, Qadir, Rabbani, Hasan and his 12-year-old grandson Faiz come together for Coke Studio.

Mahak Rajgarhia/Supriya Talupuru

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Every creative person doesn’t have to stick with exactly what they are doing.

T hey evolve. T hey have their own things to say, their own influences, and their own journey which can bring about many interesting things. I thought why am I not thinking like an artist and being just a composer.

On Music becoming technological

On writing a script Yes, I have been eyeing this for the last 3-4 years. I will be the creative director, overall vision of the movie and the music is my say.

The first movie will be in Hindi. I would definitely want somebody good. Yeah, it’s already written. Written like a significant part.

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I think the most important thing that happened over the last two decades is that people who come and perform/sing, don’t feel judged. Previously, this wasn’t the case.

“Technology is like a monster which has to be tamed. You must know how to handle it.” He’s said to own 12 PowerMacs and two PowerBook portables with the addition of the first iBook in India.

On Hollywood It’s a whole different ball game. There you have to be very original yet within the boundaries of what they want.

On creative freedom in Bollywood It’s always good to gravitate to the main intention of the story. But also, we should have some kind of freedom. We should have.

Nobody knows till something exists. They don’t know how to judge it, they get insecure.

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Before, when people used to play, they would play it at a place and then stop to take a breathe. But now, with computers and all the loops, it’s just drag and drop.

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Reflections of

Selva Kumar T. Selvakumar, a well-known musician and personality in the Indian Film industry talks about the book Reflections, working with A R Rahman and taking photos of reluctant singers!

I always feel that musicians are bad posers. They have standard poses. Not like models and actors. This is not their main profession, obviously! When it comes to singers, they all end up looking the same.

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It was a big task choosing photos because I took it while they were singing. I had 200-300 photos from which I chose the best expression and photo. Downside was that lot of photos the singers have their eyes closed

For the book, there are some more singers like Sakthishree who I shot 15 days before print. I followed up with Nithyashree for years but because her husband passed away, it was not possible previously. But I got lucky and then last minute in June I shot her pictures too.

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I always told them not to pose and ask them to sing and then shoot them.

T hey end up looking beautiful, when they are not conscious.

Tell us about the book “Reflections”. Where did the idea for this book originate from?

In 2009, I worked with Rahman on his K M Conservatory project. I worked in the capacity of a CEO. During one such meeting, I showed him one of the photos I took.

Back then, photography was a passion. In early 2009, we shot for this UK music magazine called Resolution. Rahman is a very camera shy person. Usually, Sharat Aksar does many shoots for Rahman. We thought why not do a photo shoot and if magazine approves, we can go ahead with the photos. The magazine approved it and then Rahman thought I could do some work for him, He needed lot of photos and we did some shoot in my studio. Once that shoot was over, I was thinking why not go for ARR official calendar? As I said, he was always reluctant about photographs. The project came to a standstill. Lot of things changed in last 3 years and in fact even ARR forgot about it at some point and asked me if it’s still on. Finally, I showed him and he was thrilled and gave me a date to release in July. He approved and somehow the book was done.

Share with us some memorable experiences while working with musicians for this book.

When this idea came, we decided to do a lot of singer - related pictures. Rahman thought it said great idea but asked me how we could get it be done. A lot of singers we wanted to shoot were in Mumbai. Since music was my passion and profession, I was able to call the musicians easily. I made a trip to Bombay to meet those singers. My shoot in Mumbai was done in 4 days! I able to get though to 35 singers! They know what it means to be in this book and are used to shoots so it worked out well.

How do you get musicians to open up in front of the camera?

I always told them not to pose and ask them to sing and then shoot them. They end up looking beautiful, when they are not conscious. I took Sushila mam’s picture when she was casually talking and I caught it. People who know her well would recognize that smile of hers. Even ARR pictures were all candid(the ones I took from 2009). With him, it was always pictures where he looked good that were published. Any photo always needed his approval.

Where the singers from main-stream Bollywood (who appeared in the book) any different though? Were they more camera conscious?

I did shoots for South Scope.

I’ve even done shoot for Score. The Hariharan & Leslie Louis cover (December 2012 issue) is the one I took.

In Mumbai, Shreya and Sunidhi are were very good posers but as I’ve done for others, I asked them to sing and then took pictures. They were thrilled to see the final pictures. In fact, Shreya bought a new dress and came back for more pictures! Lot of singers in Bombay didn’t know me and didn’t know anything beyond the fact that I was close to ARR and KM. They just came to the shoot casually but were thrilled on seeing photos.

What do you think is the aim of such a book : what do you hope it to be?

Like ARR said in his press conference, play back singing itself is unique in India unlike abroad. It used to be here but after multi tracks started coming, media ppl knew they needed a voice behind the actors. Then playback singing came, then came dubbing. Lot of people know songs but not the face behind it. The idea of this book was to bring the face behind the voice into light. In the book, we have used the face, song, name.

What according to you is the most striking feature of this book?

In olden times, 60s-70s if I were to do a book there would have been very few singers(TM Soundarajan, SPB, PB srinivas, AM Raja etc). Hardly 10 male and 10 females! In contrast, in the 90s (when ARR came) lot of new talent was explored.

Originally, I had an idea to have a two way contribution- quotes on their experiences with ARR and vice versa. Half way, he slipped out saying he wouldn’t talk about singers. He said “who am I to talk about the legendary singers who came about much before me?” If he spoke about recent singers, it would have been weird so he didn’t talk at all. He just spoke about himself and how he selects his singers and kept in more general. He came out and said “it is a tribute that he is offering to the singers” which is a big thing in the current scene. It made a huge difference in the book when he thanked singers who have worked with him. Makes lot of sense for singers to be in the book.

Where do you plan to go from here?

I have worked close to him and that’s the main point of the name and the book. I thought there has to be one more to this book as I couldn’t shoot many musicians.

Like, I was not able to get a shoot with SPB sir even though I know him closely. It’s not like just taking a photo randomly. For that you need a great camera, lights and setting.

So, I suggested to ARR, for a part 2 to cover other singers. Since it’s a passion, I don’t mind documenting for ARR fans. It’s not about

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A million hits under a fortnight and counting: that’s the stats from Shweta Subram’s recent video with the Piano Guys for the cover of Swedish House Mafia’s “Don’t you worry child”. Bit overwhelmed?

Well, so are we with the gorgeously talented Shweta!

How was it working with the Piano Guys?

How did this happen? Give us the back story.

It was a laughter ride. I wouldn’t even call it work. It was a party throughout. We connected so well and that’s what made the whole process so simple and joyful. It was during a plane ride from Germany to Utah that Steven (Cello player) was talking to a lady on the flight about his interest to do something with Indian music. She recommended a wide range of artists. One of them being me. They did their research and came across my video ‘Mere Saajan Sun Sun’ with Shankar Tucker. Steven loved my voice, my ease with the nuances of Indian classical music and ability to be so expressive on screen. I think it’s serendipity that brought us together!

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Shweta Subram Why “Don’t You Worry Child”?

The Piano Guys selected Swedish House Mafia’s chartbuster ‘Don’t You Worry Child’. The cello player Steven said they selected the song because they loved the spiritual essence of the chorus – they believed that heaven has a plan for everyone and that it’s better than any plan they could come up on their own. I’m glad they put me up to the challenge of creating a melody and writing lyrics to an existing chartbuster. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Quite a few of your songs including ‘Ajooba’ and ‘Piya’ are blend of Western and Indian sounds.

What is your influence, your thoughts and your vision for fusion?

I was introduced to Carnatic music at the age of 5. Along with learning Carnatic music, I was exposed to Bollywood music at home and western music when I was with my peers. The thought of fusing different kinds of music always fascinated me. I started off the trend with ‘Ajooba’ and continued it with ‘Piya’ which incorporated smooth Indian classical singing with Western Drum and Bass grooves. My thoughts are to create music that will appeal to the younger and older generation alike.

The video was shot at many stunning destinations around the state of Utah, Sahara Dunes and Sri Sri Radha Krsna Temple. Tell us about that experience.

It was a surreal experience. Utah is a beautiful state with many different landscapes from deserts to mountain. The Sahara Dunes and Sri Sri Radha Krishna temple played a key role in bringing an Indian feel to the visuals.

I had never imagined that we would find such a beautiful Hindu temple in the land of Mormons. We feel blessed that we were able to share a bit of the Indian culture to the world through our video shot in Utah and not having to physically go to India.

top 5 songs almost always playing on my ipod

Abhi mujh me kahi Sonu Nigam (Agneepath) Khushnuma - My own song with the Piano Guys Naughty girl Beyonce We no speak Americano Yolando Be Cool & DCup Nenjakulle A.R.Rahman (Kadal)

Web 2.0 has created a whole new realm which is not limited to physical geographies making it much easier to be a desi in a pardesi land.

Abhay Jodhpurkar and you selected the Hindi lyrics for the arrangement. We heard a Hindi prayer among those words. Tell us more.

Abhay and I worked together on a project earlier called Dancing Petals, where his lyrical work was stellar. When working on Khushnuma, we did not want to stray from the theme of Don’t You Worry Child. I feel that Abhay has done a wonderful job in maintaining that essence while making the song lyrically beautiful. I started the song with a Sanskrit prayer to introduce a spiritual feel and gratitude to God. The rest of the lyrics of have a philosophical feel, which talks about the journey to happiness

If you had a chance to work with a yesteryear music director and singer, who would it be?

For director, it would have to be Madan Mohan. Such a legendary composer who touched our hearts with classics such as Lag ja Gale, Nainon me badraa chaaye, melodies from Heer Raanjha and Anpadh to name a few. I wasn’t even born then but glad I was introduced to it after my contact with music. Loved his style and immense If you could act or ability of blending Indian classical and participate in one Western classical music.

video, which one would it be?

For singers, there’s quite a few when I think of yesteryears.

Udit Narayan is one of them.

But if I get a chance to work with a current singer it’s got to be Sonu Nigam.

Music, by definition is an aural experience. Nowadays though, a lot of focus is give on the video. Do you think that maybe videos are taking up more effort and resources than the music itself?

Of course. In this day and age, the way people experience music is different from how one used to experience music in the past (radio, recorders, Walkman). We live in much more of a visual world now. Because of the Internet, we are widely exposed to social media (videos on youtube, Facebook). Now when we hear music we have a tendency to visualize it . This helps us to connect with the emotions and message 0f the song immediately. In that sense, music videos are extremely valuable. But one can argue that music videos also take away the imagination that one may conjure for a song. Also, the efforts and resources usually involved in creating a music video are more intensive than the actual song, and require a substantial time commitment.

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Welcome to Ziro Festival! Where the rice paddy stands high and the music never runs dry. Well, you get the picture, right?

If you start at Itanagar, and head up north by about a 100 miles towards the heart of a certain Subansiri district, you arrive at Ziro, a lush green, serene township, guarded by hills and forests and taken over literally by rice plants.

Pick a green pasture, erect a fence on three sides and a stage on the fourth, line up the boundaries with man-made tents and local handicraft stalls, throw in a couple of dozen of the most exciting musicians from across the country and you have a great outdoor music festival and a chance to witness diverse cultural groups celebrating music, food and dance together.

Ziro is back with its second edition, and it looks to be all the more promising, more eventful, with a host of other activities alongside music. We caught up with some of the confirmed acts for the festival to steal a share of their excitement as well.

HISTORY The three day fest, hosted cordially by the Apatani tribes of Ziro, became a runaway success in its first edition in 2012 with as many as 20 bands from across the country participating in it. Localites, non-localites and even foreigners got to see the likes of Lou Majaw, Peter Cat Recording Co. and Teddy Boy Kill along with some very fine local bands on the same stage.

Touted as a concept to create awareness of NorthEastern talent, the event proved more than successful and now finds a place in the annual calendar of Ministry of Tourism as an event that celebrates our rich diversity.

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Vishal Shah

Anup Kutty, founder member of Menwhopause 5 things about Ziro that make you head all the way up here.

Rohan Kulshreshtha, bassist of Peter Cat Anup Kutty, Recording Company founder member of 5 things about Ziro that make you head all the way up here. Menwhopause

1. Rice beer

The herbs.

2. Great weather

The weather (post the traumatic New Delhi summer)

3. Beautiful people

The women.

4. Lots of artists from everywhere 5. More rice beer

Rice, rice, wine, rice beer. (Editor’s note: Yes, apparently “Rice” is a thing twice)

How good is the North east with its music? Is this one of the most under-rated and exciting music corners in the country or what!

How good is the North east with its music? Is this one of the most under-rated and exciting music corners in the country or what!

I won’t say it is under-rated. They have their own scene happening. It’s just not an integral part of what’s happening in the rest of India. There are some brilliant musicians and bands working hard in Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh who should be playing more gigs in the metros. Similarly, their audience should be exposed to what’s happening around here.

Besides the music, I believe the NE is a place rich with tradition and it’s music and it’s dances! I’m super excited about the dance troops that would be part of the festival line-up this year.

3 unusual and fun things one can do at Ziro.

Get drunk on rice beer, eat fried rats, learn frog hunting.

What are your plans at Ziro when not on stage?

Since we are part of the organizing team, we will probably be running around setting up things. It feels like we are organizing a big fat wedding with lots of guests coming down.

Which is the one international artist you think would totally rock this set-up?

3 unusual and fun things one can do at Ziro.

If you’re there during the festival, maybe nothing else.

Get drunk and run into the rice paddies since they are everywhere and enjoy evenings around the home made fires in the most amazing of traditional houses.

What are your plans at Ziro when not on stage?

Pork chops, make friends with the bartender, avoid the stuffed dog bamboo shoots.

Which is the one international artist you think would totally rock this set-up?

Given the setting of the festival Indian Ocean would totally kill it up here. Otherwise, Coldplay would be awesome.

Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelly will no doubt kill it. Anyone who knows Sonic Youth knows what they are capable of.

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Finding the Charisma in life Calvin Dixon singer, composer and lyricist is from Charisma, a Christian Youth Gospel band. They endeavor to create worship through the composition of Youth Christian Gospel music that delivers the passion of spreading God’s word among all nations. Here’s more on Calvin: The first video LONELY SOUL WAS directed and filmed by you IN MELBOURNE. How was that experience?

I edited and released the video in August 2012. We ganied over 300,000 views on Youtube in 3 months for the song. We won an award for the best video by Goodness Tv. It also has been featured in Hindustan Times. While Mumbai may boast of many gospel ensembles and choirs, it is not every day that you find a group of young people popularising the genre through the same ways that have catapulted rock bands to success. The song has received over 1.48 lakh hits within a month. The video, which was shot in Australia, shows the us (my sister and I) walking down local lanes and markets, while jamming with street musicians. We’ve portrayed the band as a young setup, something that teenagers can relate to. We’re happy that everyone is viewing and sharing the video.

How about the second video? We heard you’ve directed that too?

The second music video Healing Rain was directed and edited by me and released in Dec 2012. Healing rain gained over 200,000 views in one month.

journey of gospel singing began in various 1 His churches in India and Australia. He later

composed masses and hymns for churches. Lead by religious activities, a group of young people went on a mission to compose and write for the youth to seek inspiration.

attempts were made till funds were gathered 2 Many to release the first Gospel album which is due to release late 2013. The band was founded by the first quarter of 2012.

group is named after his 15 year old sister 3 This Charisma Dixon the lead singer of the band.

Currently, they have released two music videos on YouTube: Lonely Soul and Healing Rain.

Lonely Soul has won the best video and song from Goodness TV among 35 directors and composers in Gospel. Both music videos have been broadcasted on Vh1. It also ranked number 1 on Reverbnation for the best Gospel artist/group in India. They been invited by TMG to sign a record deal in the United States of America.

band members are Charisma Dixon (Lead 4 The Vocals), Calvin Dixon (Lead/ Backing Vocals

and Keyboards), Gary Gracious (Rhythm/Lead Guitarist) & Cris Victor (Bass Guitar)

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Band of the Month

Junkyard Groove

Junkyard

Groove Gettin’ Into The Groove

Old school alternative rock band Junkyard Groove have been shredding their way through India’s rock scene, earning a royal position with the audience.

Score caught up with lead singer and creator of JYG, Ameeth Thomas for a few words.

Photo credits: Kaushik Jay 28

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Ajmal Zaheen Sirajudeen

JYG recently toured India promoting the latest album Accidental Heroes. Tell us about your experience.

Honestly, touring is a pain. Kinda like the s*** months. We prefer just playing gigs at random. It’s a more chilled out situation; we play better and louder.

Touring gets complicated. I remember once before the gig in Mumbai, we had an interviewer in our room for a whole 10 minutes and we didn’t realize who he was. We just assumed he was someone helping out with the gig and offered him a drink. But of course, we had our fun during the tour and gained a lot of insight.

Plus, we reached a wider audience. So, all’s well that ends well.

Let’s talk about the album. How is it different from your previous work?

With the new album, it was a whole new set up. The recording took place at home and I took up the production work myself. The songs were compiled over a couple of years and it’s random at most. We just went with whatever tunes that popped up in our head at the time. We actually had recordings at very random times because someone had a new tune. And the tunes would turn into some really amazing songs. Definitely a different style, but the music’s got the same vibe. We’re pretty satisfied with it.

“

In a way, performing is like having land. An empty land won’t make you rich.

You have to plant and grow food, clearing weeds and other unwanted stuff.

Since its inception, the band has had a lot of changes in the lineup.

Has this affected the music making process in general?

Not really. The band lives on coordination. Everyone brings something new to the table and each idea is considered valuable. Be it for the recording or for the live set, we mix the different views put forward and try to create a segment which is accepted by the whole band. We listen, we apply changes and we change the music every single session till we hit perfection. It’s a good mix, considering I’m the only oldie in the group (chuckles) But then again, I get the last say.

JYG’s been in the game since the early years. Any views on the ever changing rock scene of India?

The music scene has kind of flipped over the years. Back when I just started performing, bands only played covers and never had any original compositions.

It was a better paid set. But then again, I refused to play overs. I made my own songs, old school in a way. We even got pelted with water packets one time, just because I’d sang an own composition. Nowadays, it’s all about originality and talent. It’s definitely getting better.

Jam session in the studio or all out live?

Live. Any day. There’s no better feeling than rocking out to a loud crowd. You draw some kind of energy from them which drives you crazy. And the best part is, you know they’ve come to hear more from you. Wouldn’t give that up for any recording session.

Nowadays it’s all about sending a message. What’s JYG sending out?

We used to sing songs about love. A lot of them. Heartbreaks and passions. But of late, we’ve gotten into global politics. How it sucks and it’s just ruining the world. Well it’s funny, because I’ve gotten into it because of documentaries and stuff, and the others just don’t get it when I start talking about it. But I guess that’s the basic message.

If you could describe JYG’s music in one word, that would be...?

Ummm...melodic? Yeah, I won’t throw any big words, but definitely melodic.

Guess I can’t describe it as a genre because we do indie, alternative and other types. But we do make tunes that are good to hear. Melodic.

Any legends you draw inspiration from?

Pearl Jam. And many others! Thing is, I draw inspiration from any song I listen to. I just keep searching for new songs and it goes a long way. These songs inspire me to write better songs every day. You’ve got to keep changing and diversifying music to make it big. Keep searching for the next best song. That’s the way JYG works.

Quick Chops What does the band do for “time-pass”?

Party. More or less. Or sit joblessly at home. (Laughs) Some crazy times.

Any words for your adoring fans out there?

JYG will always be around and we will be playing for a very long time. It’s not gonna die out any time soon. As long as there are people that want to hear us, we will be rocking.

Where does the band get its motivation from?

Well, the others...money. I do it for the music. But seriously, we do it just for the love of good music. We just wanna play better every time.

Ok, last question. Lady Gaga or Beyonce?

Beyonce, duh. I mean look at that body.

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PAPON Star of the month

Angaraag Papon Mahanta is the manof-the-moment. Between Coke Studio, designing cool jackets for himself and being a musical wonder, he puts the up in coming.

On Ghazals I dealt with the Ghazal space for a long period in my life because my family had a lot of gazals and it would be on play in my house.

Coming from a family of musicians: It works both ways. It helps when you need some support.

You can call your father and be like “papa this is what…”. But it also works bad as there’s so much expectations.

I like to travel and meet people. I could be a travel guide. I can be like a porter and carry your baggage and take you up the hills, you know, I can do that easily. I have stories to tell! (Editor’s note: We love how he goes on a different tangent! Very fey indeed)

International artists that you may collaborate with?

Peter Gabriel

Photo credits: Om Prakash 30

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Apart from being a musician: I used to paint which I don’t any more. I actually started as a painter. That’s why I went to do architecture in Delhi.

Radha Mohan Rajan

People initially were a little skeptical about what I was doing because I tried different things out and suddenly now, different is good. Luckily and thankfully!

Could you tell us how that makes a difference; to have parents as musicians?

It would be like “yeah he sings, he will have to sing with such parents”. It was always difficult to figure out if the music was in me or from my parents. So, it works both ways.

In the past few months, you have had a lot of Bollywood projects and you are really getting into it. How would you define this experience?

I think it’s just destiny, man. It was meant to happen in 2013. I don’t know why, the process has been so long without any stress. I was just having fun all these years and maybe it’s that time when all this coming out. The stars aligned!

Right now you are the most popular Assamese musician/music related person. How does that make you feel: proud or different or what?

Well, I don’t if know I am the most popular Assamese. But it’s been an interesting journey for me because somewhere down the line, it’s a corner of the world. People have expectations and as I am showing the world Assam, the cultural side of Assam: it’s kind of an ambassador role you get without you wanting to do it.

People just look up to you, people have so much at stake. Sometimes, I feel the pressure. You are representing Assam but then I don’t want to Salim Merchant take the responsibility. I just want on Papon to have fun, and in the process He cooks really well! He I’m sure I am going to show case also designs homes. whatever I know from Assam.

That is where my roots are from so that will obviously branch out somewhere.

It’s interesting, actually. We have a lot of Assamese in the industry but all behind the scenes: Camera men, Audio Engineers and Editors. But very few in the lime light.

Yes. Somehow, it’s been very strange in the last 30-35 years in all these directions everywhere so many Assamese technicians and musicians are budding but somehow after

Bupen Hazarika got married there was no one who’s actually big outside Assam. I don’t know why.

Everyone has a personal musical style. How has being from such a rich musical background influenced your music?

Now that I look back, it was tough to create your own space, within that big space you have lived in. So to come out of (you know) generations of conditioning of certain styles of music, to come out of that and make your own sound, to make a style, could have been challenging. But I don’t know how, (again stars aligned) but I could find my own calling and I found my own style, which is totally different from my parents.

When you had this episode with Coke Studios at MTv, how did you plan for it?

I had to do a bit of figuring and choose which songs I want, because you can only have 6 songs in one episode. I was trying to figure out if I was representing native cultural stuff or folk with any new twist or new representation of today’s world contemporary sound or make my own new compositions. All that was going on so I picked up a few compositions, out of which we kind of left out few and came down to three traditional numbers which I wanted to showcase in terms of in today’s context. There was one which Being a producer on also wanted to fuse different Coke Studio India zones connecting It’s big to be sitting with such a big Rajesthan to Assam to Punjab. line up where as it’s not big to make a That’s what we did. Three of song. I have been making songs since them were new songs of mine childhood. You give me a guitar, or a so one totally fun number that tabla, it’s like jamming. It’s kind of you could dance to. One was widened things for me but I’m still a very introspective which is me. singer. I still jam, I’m the same. It’s Soulful stuff - close your-eyesnot like anything’s changed. and-open-yourself.

Coke studio has a really fine quality of production, audio, video in every possible way. Now coke studio is known for its camera work too. How do you think that compliments the music?

The difference is that there the song is made for the film and the here the video is made for the song. As Rahman also said, it’s kind of showing people who don’t do music as a profession, the process of how a song happens because everything goes live you know. You see actually how you know each and every sound you hear. I’m sure you know it but many people have no clue. Like my driver. He has no clue but he just hears and sings with the music. Here they get to see how music is made that is something exciting for the people.,

You are a producer and a musician. In your experience with all things audio, what is the difference between the audio engineers here and in the west.

Coke studio required to track a lot of live music, like the drums the bass guitar. To track them so well you need someone from the business of recording live. We didn’t ever have so many live concerts as DVDs in India. Drums have not been recorded in India since ages. It’s very new that we have kind of started recording new drums. Making it sound good need’s a little edge and they have that. If it’s a studio, sample play controlled set up is different. Here the mics are in one room and they are bleeding.

It’s just we don’t do it enough, that’s the difference.

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What’s happening at the Barefaced Liar camp?

Quite a bit infact! Besides taking the live show to different parts of the country and abroad, we are currently recording our 2nd full length album and are looking really forward to releasing it in November this year.

We see a bright new addition in your gear set up! How did you come across Orange amps?

Akshay Chowdhry, vocalist and guitarist of Barefaced Liar talks about being a part of the Orange family and special musical moments.

“

I had always been intrigued by the various ads/reviews for these great looking amps in the Guitar World magazine. I was introduced to them through Gracious Gomes at Bhargava’s Musik in Delhi and after playing through the TH 30 Combo, I was instantly hooked.

What do you love about your TH30 head / PPC 212 OB Cabinet the most?

What I love about this setup is its versatility- it allows for a broad range of styles that can cater to pretty much all genres.

Whether I need a great clean sound or more grinding distorted tones, the TH 30 / PPC 212 OB can easily deliver the goods!

There is a proud history to this legendary brand of amplifiers, How does it feel to be a part of the Orange family?

To be part of the Orange family is definitely a huge deal for me personally- Some of my favorite guitar players/artists such as Jimmy Page and Mastodon are part of the family and to be listed on the same website as them is a huge honor.

T he music I perform with my band Barefaced Liar has songs that include everything from mellow, acoustic compositions to more hard hitting material, I needed an amp that could provide that tonal versatility and the TH 30 delivers in spades.Louder than you would think,stunning looks and armed with the ability to craft your own unique sound,the TH 30 is my amp of choice

When I heard Abbey Road by The Beatles for the 1st time.

5 musical moments that has influenced me the most

Listening to my great grandmother, Naina Devi, who was a Hindustani classical singer, practice at her home in New Delhi as a young boy.

Some of my favorite PC games that i used to play as a teenager such as Quake 2/Doom had great guitar heavy soundtracks and definitely played a significant role in introducing me to a host of different genres and artists.

Orange Amps imported by Bhargava’s Musik.

Available in all leading stores across the country.

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/OrangeAmps /bhargavasmusikltd

Watching a live concert at the House of Blues in LA where guitar gods such as Steve Vai/ Paul Gilbert/Joe Satriani/ Johnny Hiland were all playing under one roofwhich they blew off collectively!

/barefacedliar When I learnt how to play my favorite songs/solos correctly through www.licklibrary.com.

Photo credit

Rishabh Sood

1988 Conferred the title of ‘Bharat Jyothi’ by Bharathi Vidya Bhavan of New York.

1977 Won government scholarship to study under the great vidushi, Sm. M.L. Vasantakumari

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Sudha Ragunathan Smt. Sudha Ragunathan to this day believes it was only God’s will that brought her to the steps of ML Vasanthakumari’s home one day in 1977. Little did she know that she was embarking upon a fantastic musical journey that has brought her to great heights in her field. She has earned numerous accolades from around the globe. Last month, the world-renowned vocalist received the highest award in Carnatic Music.

1993 Received the Kalaimamani award from the Government of Tamil Nadu.

2004

2012

Awarded the title of ‘Padma Sri’ by the Government of India for the field of Carnatic Music.

Received the Rasikas New Zealand Lifetime Acievement Award from Sri Aravamudhan Gopalan Iyyengar

1998 Awarded the title of ‘Sangita Choodamani’

by Sr Krishna Gana Sabha.

2004

She lends her voice for the soundtrack of the film “Morning Raga” starring Shabana Azmi

2013 Awarded Sangita Kalanidhi from the Madras Music Academy

Photo credit: Selva Kumar The

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You trained under Sangita Kalanidhi, Smt. M.L. Vasanthakumari for several years. Can you talk about your experiences learning from her?

My journey of learning music from MLV Amma began over 30 years ago. There was no teaching in a formal atmosphere and we had to learn while being with her in her kutcheries (concerts). We had to record her singing in our mind. It was a very challenging and a very different experience. As I began learning very early from her, my mind was like a sponge and I could absorb whatever I heard. Amma would say, “Never waste a sangati or a swara — try not to.” As learning was more by observing and she ensured that we gave her our undivided attention while she sang. She always had a large audience that would be mesmerized by her music. That in a way was advantageous to me as she had already created an audience for me. That was the legacy she passed on to me and I continue working hard to ensure I live up to the expectations my Guru has set. Hers was creative music, on the spot. Amma has been an inspiration in many ways. For her, what takes prime place is courteousness towards the audience.

A person of tremendous grit, she took on every challenge unflinchingly and simply rose above them. Meticulously planned kutcheris were her hallmark and stage presence was very much a part of the presentation. All these are the gems I gathered in her association and tutelage.

When you were growing up, who were your favorite musicians to listen to and why?

Can you share your views on some aspects you feel are unique of the GNB Bani? Do you make it a point to incorporate the style to your music, both kriti rendition and manodharmam. If so, how?

I always had a great admiration for my guru MLV Amma; I listened to MS Amma, the Alathur Brothers, Shri GNB brought in a wave of newness to the performing Palghat KV Narayanaswamyji style. It was a kind of a renaissance. He was much and the living legend Dr. ahead of his times and there was a freshness that Balamuralikrishnaji. he infused in his renderingsthat took his audience Each artiste has to heavenly heights. There was a vibrancy, an something unique, adventurous streak, a power, technical excellence different and special and a unique usage of voice, that it brought about in their deliveriesa vivaciousness and exuberance - the brigas, maybe it is the totality madhyamakala sangathis, kalpana swaras…It was in their music, their as though he was reaching out from the stage to raga delineation, or hold the hands of the audience! He gave creative their voice, or their freedom to his disciples like my guru M L Amma and ‘gnyaana’ in the others so that they could present his own compositions subject. in their style. That is what my Guru taught me as well – the creativity and spontaneity. I definitely follow this style. While it is his manodharma, I make my own patterns in renditions while singing his popularized kritis like ‘Darini telusu’, ‘Samaja vara gamana’, ‘MaRamanan’, ‘Radha samedha Krishna’, or a ‘Dikku theriyaadha kaatil’.

At what point in your life did you decide you wanted to take up music as a career?

I aspired to be a Doctor, a gynecologist to be specific! Having learnt music from my mother Choodamani, I was singing at all the music competitions in college. I then won the Central Government scholarship for young artistes for advanced training in Carnatic music. Here, one is given an opportunity to learn under a great guru. My parents suggested that we meet M.L.V Amma and request her to take me as her disciple. She was at the peak of her career at that time.

We visited her and during our interaction, she wanted me to sing. She then said, “Mine is not the traditional way of teaching. You will have to spend a lot of time, accompanying me, away from home, just watching me. You will have to work hard and be sharp.” She asked me if I was willing to do all this. And with my whole heart, I instantly said “Yes!” And that was the turning point in my life… there was no looking back after that!

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Ananya Ashok

In this interview, Mrs. Ragunathan talks to the Score magazine about her life, career, and her thoughts on her receiving the prestigious Sangita Kalanidhi award from the Music Academy of Madras.

In the span of your career, what do you feel has been your greatest strength?

The grit and determination to overcome any challenge that comes by, and there are dozens of them! Confidence in all my actions, with faith in the Almighty. A feeling of always being happy in whatever I do changes the entire canvas of feelings into a fresh and satisfying state. Whatever be the work, do it with happiness and you will see how it can lighten any burden and change the situation completely.

What is the most memorable project you have been a part of till date? Most memorable concert you have given?

My most memorable project was the one that I participated in France in 2004. The Le Rhythm de la Parole, where the rhythm of speech is infused with the cultural traditions of each of the ten musicians from across the world who collaborated in bringing together languages with parallel vocal and rhythmic patterns, which might either clash or harmonize. It was an unusual project where I had to put my voice at the disposal of a team and worked on Thiruppugazh in Shankarabharanam, for others to listen to and utilize. It was a bit nerve racking to start with because I wasn’t sure if my voice would marry with the rest of the project. I learned that the music you carry within yourself is that which we call ‘nada’ in relation to sound. I understood that sound has no barrier and even when you work with voices, you don’t know that you can still manage to integrate with them. It has been a big discovery for me to find that sound can be fused into one unity.

You have traveled extensively abroad. In all your experiences performing in front of different audiences, what has that kind of exposure taught and how have those experiences enriched your life?

Yes, I have travelled extensively. Some of it includes: A concert at the Theatre de la Ville in Paris, the International festival at Helsinki on ‘Influence of Indian food and music on the Finns’. (There was more music than food that caught the attention though!) In Germany at Rudolstadt was a first time festival called Magic Voices 2000, then the Global Vocal Meeting at Lorrach, Germany.

The organizers had got together singers from Madagascar, Lorrach, Hungary, Switzerland, Mali and the US, and I from India. This was part of Stimmen 2000 which has a wider canvas of theatre, dance etc. Cultural texture of a country projects its character. Listening and observing musicians from across the world and imbibing different aspects greatly helped to chisel and mould my character and add a lot of new dimensions. The audience is of myriad profiles and age groups but the love and adulation for good music is universal. The rapt attention with which they listen despite not knowing the language, the respect for the artists and the standing ovations that they give with so much of affection and appreciation are all principle motivators and certificates of recognition for any performing artist. I have been moved to tears many a times and thank the Almighty for the numerous opportunities that have been bestowed upon me to perform before a diverse audience. That my music can have such an impact truly humbles me and inspires me to work more on international projects that have reach in the remote corners of the globe. It has given me a large family of audience of diverse natures, yet unified by my music. Words cannot express my fulfillment and gratitude!

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Powered by

with

Priya Panchal

Aside from being a lyricist, our Q and Q star is one of modern Bollywood’s leading singers having sung prominent songs like Bezubaan, Khoon Choos Le, Karma is a Bitch amongst many others. Presenting to you: Priya Panchal.

3 words that best describe me – Simple, Confident & Musical

My first salary was Rs. 1000 for a song I’d sung for Nikhil (of Nikhil-Vinay fame). It was called Bachpan Ke Din. I gave the money to my parents.

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At the age of 9, I won the Gujarati Sa Re Ga Ma show. My family is very proud of that achievement of mine and still show off my trophy to everyone who comes over.

My musical influences are Ghulam Ali, Sunidhi Chauhan, Anand Bakshi & Whitney Houston

My first break as a lyricist & singer was in 2011 in the movie Faltu which was directed by Remo D’ Souza. I worked as an additional lyricist with him

Shresht Poddar I started my musical journey as a singer at the age of 6.

I did Visharad in Hindustani Classical music. I even got a chance to perform all over the world with KalyanjiAnandji’s music troupe for 15 years. I have done over 2000 live shows.

As a child, I was a brat. Once I hid in the bathroom for 5 hours because my mom did not allow me to eat pani puri. My parents were terrified and searched all over for me. My mom cried the whole day. Seeing her cry served as a point of realization for me and after that, I was a completely new person.

I did my schooling from J.B. Khot High School in Mumbai. My best memory of school involves the time I was appointed to sing the Morning Prayer and our national anthem for the entire school. I did this for 10 years. I did my B. Com. from Thakur College. I miss the masti that we used to do there. I have no such bad memories of school & college.

I started my career with Marathi albums. Being a Gujarati, I know around 200-300 Gujarati songs. I have trained in Western Vocal music from Trinity College Of Music, London. I have also learnt Urdu which helps me in both, singing & writing.

My most difficult assignment was a Telugu song I sung for the movie “D for Doppidi” since it was difficult to get the pronunciation correct.

I keep working with Sachin-Jigar because we have great tuning. I love their music & words flow

Biggest turnoff in a man – a bad sense of humour

I do not have a tattoo. If I do get one, I would dedicate it to my husband, Jigar Saraiya (of SachinJigar fame)

Spender or saver? I was a spender before marriage but my husband coaches me every day on how to save money

automatically when I attempt to write their songs. Of course, creative minds tend to have creative differences but we treat it in a healthy manner. Ultimately, all fights happen for the betterment of a song.

Jigar & I met through Facebook. He was looking for a lyricist to write dummy lyrics for his tunes. I started working with him in 2010. Initially, I did not like him since he used to always disapprove of my lyrics. It took me time to realize that whatever he said was for my betterment. We never thought we would get married.

Sachin played Cupid and made us understand our feelings. He spoke to both our families and arranged everything.

The songs included in the soundtrack of my life are – Kahin Door Jab from Anand, Tu Maane Ya Na Maane by the Wadali Brothers, Saibo from Shor In The City, Love Song by Adele, Hero by Enrique & Who Says by John Mayer.

How has music evolved? It is amazing to see the role of technology in the music industry. We are listening to World Music and we are ready to accept new sounds and new composers. At the same time, I feel that our music is still rooted.

3 things on my bucket list – Meet Gulzar sahib, provide music training to people who cannot afford coming to Mumbai by opening music institutes in the smaller towns of India & I wish to learn to play the Sitar and Violin.

I am a singer & a lyricist. If I wasn’t either of these, I would always choose two professions – a painter and a psychiatrist

The craziest thing I have ever done – I beat up a guy with my slippers and an umbrella because he tried to tease a friend & me

I do read a lot of music reviews and I believe in music critics. I generally follow Mr. Rajiv Vijaykar’s reviews religiously

Many people do not know this but I hate compliments

People I follow religiously on Twitter – Paulo Coelho & Amitabh Bachchan

My best friends in the music industry are Sachin-Jigar, Hard Kaur & Anushka Manchanda

My forthcoming projects are YRF’s Shuddh Desi Romance and TIPS’ It’s Entertainment

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Competition within & amongst the guitarists is the concrete of Furtados Ultimate Guitarist.

This intraspecific competition was to choose 2 guitarists throughout India. Here’s more about the same:

High-end guitars were put up as prize: PRS Dave Navarro, Gibson Les Paul ‘60 and ESP LTD Alexi 600which are desired by guitarists of their own style were on the tip of the crowd.

The winners could choose from the 3 guitars, whichever they’d like.

We are up with the first round, where we selected 16 guitarists from the 300 odd valid entries.

The finalists are all head to head on account of technique, feel, style, tone, understanding of the instrument.

The first round was judged by Sahil ‘Demonstealer’ Makhija and Daniel Kenneth Rego from Demonic Resurrection, Reinhardt Dias from Blakc and Bryden Lewis from The Raghu Dixit Project and Slain.

We’ve started the final judging round now, which will be judged by Mahesh Tinaikar from Indus Creed, Sonam Sherpa from Parikrama, Dhruv Ghanekar, Ravi Iyer and the ‘God of Small Strings’ – Baiju Dharmajan. This competition will be held again and again through years down the line, bringing up talent from the back end and appreciating it with the best we can.

This is one of our recreational ideas to do something for the love of music. We’re all in tune, so stay tuned. Because you love music…

Feel like getting in touch with us?

Call us at 080-41104304/05/06 or Drop a line at our website (www.furtadosonline.com)

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For me, my music is what I identify with and I let the definition of my music be redefined by every person who consumes my art.

How you define Bandish Projekt ?

Music of Future India.

How did the electronic virus catch you?

Which is your most memorable gig?

Definitely Glastonbury 2007

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I caught the virus when I was in college and the introduction to the internet changed it all.

Vijith Quadros

Bandish Projekt, the solo electronic project of DJ / producer Mayur Narvekar started in 1997 when we were still reeling under the suspended animation that was Pop. We talk to this pioneer about what’s in store for Bandish and his relationship with music.

What does Bandish Projekt mean?

Bandish is an Indian Classical Connotation and it means “composition”. Projekt reflects its innate extermination.

When was the inception of Bandish Projekt? How did it start?

Bandish Projekt was started in 1997 when I was in my college days with 2 other friends Udyan and Mehirr .There was a big gap between Indian classical music and electronic sounds at that point. In the year 2007, Bandish Projekt remained as an entity with me and Udyan started his journey with Nucleya.

Coming from an Indian classical background, what started off as an experimentation turned out to be something very unique.

The idea was to combine the known and unknown sounds to create a unique one on its own which was well excepted back in the days.

BP was one of the earliest electronica Indian trio set.

How did you get the people to like the music you did?

Nothing unconventional starts off by being easy and our journey was no different. At that time, everything was physical and verbal; all the communication we used was one on one. We use to do our own gigs and only play our own music. It found its connect with people eventually and they started asking about the music that was created. Also, since we were based in Ahmedabad, (where no clubs existed) this was the only way for people to discover something new and opened doors for us.

We use to give our music to all our friends, rickshaw walas and any form of audible medium we could think of which would spread our music.

Tell us about Alchemy and your “last mango in Paris”?

Alchemy was a collaboration that took place at South Bank Center, London in 2010 presented by the British Council, where Bandish Projekt collaborated with 3 different artists: Nathan Flute box, Last mango in Paris and Arun Gosh.

One of the collaborations with Last mango in Paris developed into my next upcoming single “Alchemy”.

What does winning an award really mean? Is that the way musicians earn “respect and shiit”?

Award is just a way of recognition and I am certain it has its

driving forces. For a musician or an artist, it is an impetus that pushes him/her to push the limits and break barriers.

Bandish Projekt is in the list of Indian’s top 10 electronica acts. How hard/otherwise is it to always stay on top?

I think when you try and do something which you’re not, you totally lose it. So, it’s always better to do what you are good at.

It’s not so much about where you are on the charts; it’s about what you do with the art in hand.

Bandish was 3 then, now has become fluid and dynamic with all the collaboration instead. Has it influenced the music as well?

I don’t know about 3 as I was always thinking about one 1: The Music that Bandish Projekt dealt out.

Yes, the different musical influences have changed the thinking of creating a new sound and it will keep innovating as we go on.

You have released 4 albums till date. How has the music varied in all 4 albums?

Correkt was released in 2009 as a full studio album. Then, I released 5 different EP’s with different producers from all over the globe to show case the variety of sound and their interpretation of Bandish Projekt sounds.

There is a lot of thought which goes into each release we do. From designing, producing the video and releasing it in different territories.

How did Bheja Fry Records come into being?

The idea was to put out the sounds which are fresh and underground. That’s when Pritesh Varia and I decided to bring to live a label: Bheja Fry.

To the number of growing electronica artistes, what would be one thing they should know from Bandish Projekt?

I think in today’s world, anybody who is making music should ask themselves the reason. Why are they making Music? Your work always resonates your vision.

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Monali Thakur Ever since her debut chartbuster, Zara Zara Touch Me, put her on Bollywood’s musical map, this Bengali beauty has refused to look back and has gone from stride to stride - the latest being Lootera’s Sawaar Loon. Her bubbly persona and her melodious voice have made her one of India’s leading playback artists.

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Shresht Poddar

Did you always plan to get into Playback singing?

I am from a hardcore musical family. My father is a Bengali singer and my maternal grandfather was a classical artiste. My first guru was Pt. Ajoy Chakrabarty and then my actual training started with Pt. Jagdish Prasad of the Patiala Gharana. My family always believed that my elder sister, Mehuli, would get into mainstream playback singing. Back then, I wasn’t even considered as a possibility. Ironically, she settled down and I got into Bollywood. I believe that my sister has one of the finest voices ever and I used to be in awe of her (and a bit jealous too) whenever she sang. I wanted to be her!

Tell us about your first recording offer.

I got my first from HMV when I was 6 years old. It did not work out because I did not get the remuneration that I asked for - a mango! I was stubborn (and stupid) enough to let go off that opportunity over one mango! In retrospect, I have no idea why I did that.

Ha! That’s something. Does your first song in Bollywood have a similar story?

My first song, Zara Zara Touch Me, has an embarrassing history. During its recording, Pritam and everyone else wanted me to be out-and-out sensuous since the song was such. If that wasn’t embarrassing enough, my mom decided to accompany me to the studio and she witnessed all the ooohs and aaahs that I was asked to make. Unable to look at her, I asked the studio boys to turn off the light in the recording room so I wouldn’t have to look at her.

All musicians have their quirks. What’s yours?

I have a tendency of zoning out and forgetting who all are around me. This is generally accompanied by an impromptu ‘live’ performance of the song that is playing in my mind at that particular moment in a high pitched, loud voice thus, surprising (and scaring) the people near me. Also, I cannot rest until ever recording take of mine is absolutely perfect. I have a tendency to drive the music director & the other technicians crazy since I NEED for my takes to be perfect.

How did getting into films happen?

By chance! Once, I was at a party at Abbas Tyrewala’s house where Nagesh Kukunoor was present too. He kept staring at me the entire evening to the point where I thought that something was wrong with my appearance. A month later, he called me and asked me to audition for his movie and that is how I became a part of his upcoming venture, Lakshmi. As for Mango, Abbas had initially written a character keeping me in mind but his wife, Pakhi believed that I was fit for the lead role. Eventually, I was selected to play the female protagonist. This is the craziest thing I think I have ever done; to be acting in my forthcoming films. The mere notion of enacting another character is a very daunting.

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I have a tendency to drive the music director and the other technicians crazy since I need for my takes to be perfect.

Monali Know your

I bought a Sony Hi-Fi music system with my first salary which I received for my acting stint in a Bengali television show, Aalokito ek Indu, in which I played the lead role of Indu.

Sadly, my voice has been mistaken for a lot of other singers like Sunidhi Chauhan & Shreya Ghoshal. The funny part is I know that my sound quality and texture is very different If not a singer, I don’t know what I would be. Maybe something to do with adventure sports since I love trying out different sports.

My forthcoming acting projects include Nagesh Kukunoor’s Lakshmi and Abbas Tyrewala’s Mango. I have also sung for these 2 movies, as well as, Rakesh Roshan’s Krrish 3 & Nasha - to name a few.

What was your major take away from Indian Idol?

Despite getting out in the earlier rounds, Indian Idol helped me to get a lot of gigs which in turn, helped me to pay the bills. At the time of my eviction, my family was going through a major financial crisis and my parents were finding it tough to sponsor my living in Mumbai. I shifted to Mumbai one year after Indian Idol. My focus was on getting into playback for films. My first film song was Zara Zara Touch Me from Race. Gradually, I started meeting a lot of musicians and started jamming with them.

All these gigs helped me to pay the bills.

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Sibarshis Dutta

Indie Reviews This month’s top picks are here! We take you through a tour with all genres considered.

Gutslit - Skewered in the sewer (Death/ Grind)

Go pick this up and scare your mama!

Not new for the people who listen and adore Grind! Their full length album is ‘Skewered in the sewer’. Get the lyrical contempt behind this? Musically, they pretty are much following the early work of Death/Grind masters ‘Dying Fetus’. This 9 track album is a must to add in your collection if you are tough enough to witness some fresh blood and gore. I find all of the musical content is near perfect except a few repeated break downs.

Top Picks: ‘Pustulated Phallic Enthrallment’ & ‘Circumcised with a chainsaw’

This album is not at all recommended for you if you have hippie and hipster qualities underneath your skin- it will rip you into two like a prehistoric gigantic carnivore.

Mad Orange Fireworks - Lifeline Cast (Alternative Rock/Funk)

Bangalore; a home for so many amazing musicians and here’s why: The band has recently released their full length –‘Lifeline Cast’. Musically, they are very original. The band has perfectly mixed 90’s alternative rock with funk elements. They are a happy bunch of musically grown up perfectionist. It’s nice to see they are not trying to sound like any other band. You will be able to hear a whole lot of musical influences all together, from blues to funk which is blending pretty well like a fresh mojito!

Top Picks: ‘One the ledge’ & ‘Break my fall’

This will give you the perfect company when you drive back home after a tiring day at office. Go buy it!

Bipul Chetri (Folk Rock)

Loads of happy vibes from this artist’s songs-take a bow.

I am glad that I am in Soundcloud.com- It’s an amazing way to discover some of the most amazingly talented musicians across the world. It was in this manner that I discovered this simple guitar waving Bipul Chettri who hails from West Bengal. Till now there are only two official releases by him- ‘Asaar’ and ‘Wildfire’. His music is simple but yet nostalgic, his lyrics are in Nepali but still it will give you a feel of monsoon and the purest essence of hills. I also came to know that he planning to release a full length debut album very soon and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!!

Top Picks: ‘Asaar’ & ‘Wildfire!’

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For reasons unknown, most of these countrymen feel extremely shy to come out in public and show their extraordinarily beautiful talents!

ScoreNight EVERY FRIDAY!

only at BAK BAK BAR (Bangalore) HAVAVA, the club (Chennai)

EVENTS Galore

For more bleh, blah, boo on gigs and all things sound bound: knock on skore.in.

We’re watching you.

What’s been buzzing you ask? Some here, some there. We pick up bits of this chatter in the hope of telling you an untold story. Or whatever sails your boat.

Divine Raaga 2 words for many multitudes of expression. This Hindi rock band showed off their compositions that had shades of Indian music all the way to some good ol’ rock. The band’s current line-up is Buddha on Vocals, Ashraf on Guitars, Mrinal on Drums, Kishore on Keys, Ashish on Bass and Jay on Flute.

Windoze Windoze, at first, a cover band, are now into producing originals. We saw some groovy guitar solos, thick bass lines and basically a good time. The band consists of Sylvester & Hemanth on Lead/Rhythym/Vocals and Arnold on Bass/Vocals with Abhilash on Percussion.

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LuminuM

Photo credits: Uday Shanker

Jimi Hendrix once said “When I die, I want people to play my music, go wild and freak out and do anything they want to do”- that sums up the show with LuminuM. The three piece band with Harish on Vocals/Lead and Victor on Drums with Aditya on Bass paid to tribute to Hendrix has a story in progress.

What with the rendition of Voodoo Child by Harish, the improvs and the electric blues vibe of the band.

Photo credits: Kaushik Jay

Junkyard Groove ScoreNight (Chennai) kicked off with Junkyard Groove.

This was the mother of all gigging gestaltism: what with the vocalist being in his own state. Junkyard Groove has been around since 2005 and has no plans of slowing down.

The band (currently – this again changes faster than the humidity that haunts the city) consists of longtime Vocalist Ameeth Thomas, Shashank Sagar on Drums, Sajit Satya on Bass and Marwin Christopher on Lead.

Aircel - Free the Music Aircel and Songdew, a music service provider with over 20,000 registered artists on its website, launched this campaign. The initiative entailed the launch of debut music albums of six selected artists and bands from across India - Tungzten, Pratigya, Badnaam, Chinmayi, Joel and North East Breeze.

Coke Studio@MTV Season 3 Salim Merchant talking about his experience on Coke Studio “We keep doing music for different things: whether it be film or commercial. But somewhere, you want to connect with your own tradition with your own music. Whether it is folk or Qawali or a Bhajan and present it with the now: that’s something that really turns me on. Back in’99, Sulaiman and I did a project called Bhumi which was a folk album.

T his is something which is really close to our hearts; it was really a fantastic experience and now in 2013 we are reliving.

T hat it’s really amazing, thank you!”

Photo credits: Radha Mohan Rajani

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