Audiby-India's First Ever Music and Technology Magazine

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Feel the Vibes Audiby is all about music! We bring the music industry, art and artists, craft and craftsman to the latest technical gears and technology, on a single platform. If music is your lifestyle, then we intend to be the perfect guide to design your rhythm. Our focus is to bring forth overlooked talents of sound technicians in our country, and their strategies, to the front end. Moreover, Audiby celebrate and document the happening trends of music industry, and provide a grooming arena for the unseen talents. Our mission is our soul, and we strive to make the plunge with honesty, passion and dedication. Audiby is a dream inspired by our culture and its reverence to art and artists. Thank you for being a part of it. AUDIBY- India’s First Ever Music and Technology Magazine

Arun Tom (Director)

C’Jo

(Director)



Muzik Lounge School of Audio Technology (mlsat) is situated at the entertainment hub of South India, Chennai. Mlsat started its journey almost a year back on september 16th 2010. We have signed an mou with centre for continuing education kerala (www.ccek.org) for conducting diploma courses in audio engineering & music technology. Ccek is an autonomous body set up by the government of kerala to promote continuing education programs in engineering colleges/arts & science colleges. The conduct of examinations, publication of results and issuance of certificates is done under the auspicious of ccek. Thus our students are given a government recognized diploma certificate.





Editor-in-Chief Chintu Kurian Joy Feature Editors Divya Jose Soorya MS Feature Writers Anjali Balachandran Anne Cherian Deeptha Sreedhar Naomi Nair Sai Prasanna Swaroopa Dhesmukh Technical Editor Robert Arman Tech Desk Job Jacob Nikhil Murali Sheheen Sameer Designer-in-Chief Sachin P Sreenivas Assistant Designer Ajith K Arjun Maliackal Photographers Alok Raju Appu Sebastian Binoy Keezhoor Kevin Varghese PRO Mathews Jacob Marketing Ann Saj Pulimoottil Bennet Kurian Roney Geevarghese Shrea Meriam Thomson Jose Contact info@audiby.com +91-9020323030, +91-9539911199, +91-9539922299, 0481-2300110 Offices Kerala- (HO) Vellappally Lane, Kottayam-1, South India, Kerala. Bengaluru- #72, Elshadai, Poornapura Main Road. Bangalore 54 Chennai- No.17, Circular Road, United India Colony, Kodambakkam Mumbai- 40D, Anand Sagar CNF, Sector 17, Vaasi Copyright © 2012 By Audiby entertainment Ltd. All rights reserved. All the data contained in the magazine is based on the information available to us. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. We make every effort to ensure that the magazine contents are correct. The name Audiby and the logo thereof are registered trade mark of Audiby entertainment Ltd. Printed by Sterling Print House (P) Ltd., Door No: 49/1849, PonekkaraCheranelloor Road, AIMS Ponekkara P.O., Cochin-682041 All rights reserved. Unsolicited manuscripts will not be returned. www.audiby.com

Chintu Kurian Joy (Editor-in-Chief)

Welcome to Audiby, India’s first Music and Technology Magazine. I’m thankful to each one of you for receiving our inaugural issue. Our magazine is designed to unveil the technological side of music, and the lives of those who ‘craft’ music. We are celebrating much more than the ‘technical sense’, drinking to the pinnacle of human achievements in the ‘sound’ realm. Our mission is to create a magazine that will be unique in vision, spotting a light on craftsmanship behind the sound of music - singers, lyricists, composers, sound engineers to the music production technology. Our magazine is dedicated to the Indian music industry, educating people about how the technology is incorporated with music. Indian music heritage is rich, diverse and unique. Thanks to the cultural and traditional influences of different locales! In future issues we are trying to bring the exact musical soul of India, flavoring it up with the advancing technologies of Indian music scenario. We are thankful to Rasool Pookutty, M Jayachandran, Stephen Devassy, Sam Devassy, Ranjith C Rajan, Kailas Menon, Brijith Madhavan, Kiran Lal among many others for their kind cooperation and guidance in our first step.

‘Hope You Enjoy Reading’


AVID

HD Native Thunderbolt www.avid.com

>> Avid HD Native Thunderbolt interface delivers the capabilities of Pro Tool|HD Native to the realm of laptop jockeys!

The new interface delivers HD Natives sound quality to Thunderbolt technology equipped CPUs, offering the Pro Tools

HD toolset along with the conversion of Pro Tools HD Series interfaces, bringing enormous bandwidth to small machines. Get the Pro Tools Expert HQ on your laptop and record up to 64 channels directly! All you need is HD Native Thunderbolt interface!

Nomad Factory

MAGMA

www.nomadfactory.com

>> MAGMA is a Virtual Studio Rack host with 65 high-quality

custom plug-ins, each with unique flavor that can be tested

in endless combinations. It has an appealing 1-rack-unitinterface that can be loaded and rearranged using four interchangeable racks. Magma is a VST, AU, and RTAS plug-in host with flexible routing matrix enabling serial, parallel or combined routings. The effects categories include Dynamics, Equalizers, Modulation and Reverbs among others, with more

currently

in

development. The

MAGMA

plug-in

enhances the quality and sonic possibilities and process audio in ways previously unimaginable. Magma Virtual Studio Rack provides a large number of effects at your disposal.

Solid State Logic

ScreenSound ADR >>

Solid State Logic ScreenSound ADR marked an end-

to-end solution that delivers faster and more efficient ADR workflow. It is designed to optimize and standardize Automatic Dialogue Replacement for film, foley recording and local language replacement. It comes with the benefits of SpotShot for session, SpotFire for session control, a Nucleus hardware control surface and many more. Get ScreenSound ADR and make your task easy! www.solid-state-logic.com

10 Nov-Dec 2012


Beyerdynamic

T 90P Tesla

www.north-america.beyerdynamic.com

>> Beyerdynamic T 90P Tesla bring across the feeling

of closeness and transparency. It offers the optimum

listening experience, featuring an open circumaural design, with 250Ohm impedance and Tesla technology, along with a microfiber-lined velvet headband and earpads for maximum comfort. Let nothing stand between you and your music! Get T 90P Tesla and immerse yourself in perfect sound experience!

Mackie

HR MK2 www.mackie.com

>>

Mackie has reinvented

for a crystal clear image of your

their HR Series to bring you

mix, and control sound waves

the

standard

so you get detailed lows, full,

through their latest HRmk2,

articulate mids, and shimmering

High

Active

highs-whether you’re on axis

Studio Reference Monitors.

or off. Wide, even dispersion

HRmk2 surpass the legendary

of all frequencies, as well as

performance of our classic

incredible depth of field, allow

HRs to deliver even better

you to accurately hear your

sound quality, in a stunning

mix, transforming your studio’s

new package. The precisely

sweet spot into a full-on sweet

engineered contours of the

zone. Visit your local Mackie

cast aluminum Zero Edge

dealer today to get the best

Baffle

sound ever.

new

studio

Resolution

minimize

diffraction

Nov-Dec 2012

11


MOTU

Track16 www.motu.com

>> Get ready to produce music on your

1, you can use the central button which

own. The desktop recording interface

lets you grab the level you need. MOTU

MOTU

packed

Track16 works perfectly when you add

with the tools you need to record and

onboard effects and DSP mixing. It also

mix music with virtually any DAW on

features elegant design, compact size,

any computer. Track16 connects via

simple one-touch operation, and studio-

FireWire or hi-speed USB 2.0 to a Mac

grade sound quality.

Track16

is

absolutely

or PC computer. For tweaking mic input

Jünger Audio

V*AP voice processor

>>

Make sound processing easy without compromising with sound quality! V*AP voice processor offers you the

flexibility you would expect from a Jünger Audio product. Featuring perfect control over microphone recordings with HP/LP filtering, dynamic section, full parametric EQ and de-essing, V*AP makes life easier for engineers operating in radio stations and TV production voice-over studios. The 2 channel V*AP toolset let you focus on the task on hand!

www.junger-audio.com

Fishman

Loudbox Artist The new Loudbox Artist, the award-winning design of the Loudbox 100, is an evolution in acoustic amplifiers which packs more power and enhanced features into an incredibly lightweight and portable package. This new innovation comes full-fledged with smart features such as 120watts of ultraclean, bi-amplified acoustic power, two versatile input channels featuring Fishman’s legendary tone and feedback-fighting controls, plus a new dual effects section. A seriously active musician can blindly trust this amazing newcomer as it can be the ultimate portable acoustic instrument amplifier which can efficiently cater to his needs. www.fishman.com

12 Nov-Dec 2012


Blue

TIKI www.bluemic.com

>> The new Tiki is the world’s first USB microphone that mimics

the intelligence of human hearing by focusing on desired sounds, minimizing background noise and knowing when to mute altogether. Tiki’s two modes give any Skype user, podcaster or musician the versatility to quickly choose the best option in any situation. First, Intelligent Speech Mode brings your voice to the forefront of a conference call or chat while noise-canceling technology simultaneously minimizes unwanted, competing background noise. Natural Recording Mode captures a wide range of sources from vocals to acoustic guitar, recording highfidelity audio with exceptional clarity. Tiki sets a new standard for crystal clear audio for wherever you go.

Blue

Spark Digital www.bluemic.com

>> The Spark Digital uses the same

to offer both USB and iPad

capsule and analog preamplifier

connectivity. Expanding on the

stage design as the original analog

professional and sound of Blue’s

Spark. Because the mic also

Spark XLR studio microphone,

performs the A-D conversion, it

Spark Digital features the same

provides complete control over the

studio-grade condenser capsule

sound quality before it goes into

and hand-tuned components

the iPad as digital data, making

for high-fidelity recording and

the sound quality consistent. Spark

consistence performance in any

Digital is the world’s first studio-

situation- vocals, drums, piano,

grade condenser microphone

speech, location recording and more.

>> Quartet- the new Mac-

addition Quartet comes with

only audio interface from

Apogee’s signature aluminum

Apogee! Based on a four-

controller knob for precise

input, eight-output desktop

level controlling. Like what

design, Quartet offers four

they say, “It’s what you have

mic pres and slots into the

been waiting for!”.

Apogee

Quartet

Apogee range between the Duet and Ensemble! It features total of nine touch pads that offers fast access to all recording and monitoring functions. In www.apogeedigital.com

Nov-Dec 2012

13


Audio Interface for iPhone 4 Fostex

AR-4i

www.fostexinternational.com

>> The new Fostex AR-4i is an audio

included with the AR-4i. Besides the multiple

interface for iPhone4 dock connector.

microphone inputs, it also uses a higher quality

AR-4i offers excellent quality stereo

external analog-to-digital converter to improve

audio recording, with LED input level

the overall quality of the sound capture. The

metering, gain control and headphone

audio quality and versatile operation of the

monitoring. Two

AR-4i make it ideal for use.

compact

cardioid

microphones and a pistol grip are

Allen & Heath

The XB-10

www.allen-heath.com

>> The XB-10 is an ultra compact broadcast mixer which is

packed with the number of specialised broadcast features. Radio-friendly tools include a telephone communication (telco) channel, mic channel ON switch sensing, stereo channel start/cue outputs for CD deck transport control and automatic muting of speaker outputs. You can also create

transistor circuitry. Each mic channel is equipped with

a separate monitor mix for the operator or presenter, and

innovative CompACT compressor to keep the dynamic range

he can also speak off-air to the studio or telephone callers

of a presenter microphone under control. There is a variable

using the ‘Talk’ feature. So as to achieve high gain and

limiter on the main output which ensures that the final mix

excellent linearity XB-10’s preamp uses low noise discrete

to air does not saturate expensive broadcast equipment.

Presonus

ADL 700

www.presonus.com

>> PreSonus ADL 700 is a channel strip that combines high-end Class A tube preamplifier with a fully variable, FET-based

compressor and a four-band semi-parametric equalizer. The new channel strip provides separate balanced XLR mic, balanced XLR line, and ¼” TS instrument inputs and a single balanced XLR output. The ADL 700 is incorporated with a single-channel version PreSonus ADL 600 two-channel tube preamplifier. Incorporated with one 12AT7 and two 6922 vacuum tubes per channel, operating with ±300V, it provides maximum headroom and super tone. There is a dual-transformer that ensures low-noise operation, with maximum common-mode rejection. With all these addition it gives an ultra-low-noise tube preamp with a big, warm, smooth, clear, distinctive sound.

14 Nov-Dec 2012


Studio Projects

VTB-1

www.studioprojectsusa.com

>>

Studio Projects VTB-1 is the ultimate in low cost

preamplifier technology. It is a totally discreet unit incorporating true class A/B switching. It’s like a ‘Swiss army knife’ of preamps, allowing for a wide variety of sounds, from transparent to bordering on tube intensity. It also delivers a killer direct box and an insert that acts as splitter box. The tube driver is a variable drive and offers most flexibility and tonal range than any other mic preamplifier in its class. VTB-1 is perfect for any microphone.

Fostex

HP-A8C 32 bit DAC www.fostexinternational.com

>> The new HP-A8C is Fostex’s flagship 32bit DAC Headphone

analogue input. Housed in a gorgeous enclosure featuring

Amplifier model. It features audiophile grade analogue and glass front panel and black side panel, the HP-A8C is set to digital circuitries as well as DSD audio playback function. make its mark in the Headphone world. While a single coaxial input and a single AES/EBU input makes the two optical inputs, gold plated RCA’s makes the single

Cakewalk

SONAR X1 www.cakewalk.com

>> Cakewalk’s new digital audio workstation SONAR X1 offers

a unique music creation tool from the very start of production process. It comes with a completely redesigned Skylight interface. It includes cutting edge tools like the Step Sequencer and The Matrix. It uses Active Controller Technology (ACT) and offers an unparallel collection of world class instruments. Finding the right sort of music is easier with SONAR X1 and it provides more tracks than DAW. SONAR X1 is the perfect way to begin crafting your music.

Nov-Dec 2012

15


Korg’s

Classic Polysix

as 32-voice polyphony

the spaciousness of the

>> Original Polysix, the

(max), up to 16-voice

effects. You can trust the

for Propellerhead’s new

unison (with detune/spread

Korg testimonial which

six-voice polyphonic analog

Rack Extension Plugin

function), flexible external

says, this new functionality

synthesizer which ruled

format. In addition to

modulation settings, MIDI

brings the classic Polysix up

the 1981 sound industry,

faithfully replicating

clock synchronization, and a

to date for use in modern

reincarnated in 21century

the original sounds, the

spread function that adjusts

music production.

as Polysix for Reason. A

Polysix for Reason also

software version developed

adds enhancements such

www.korg.co.uk

Zoom

R24

www.zoom.co.jp

>> Zooms new ultra portable 24-track recorder R24, an audio

interface with 8 ins and 2 outs. It is also a loop sequencer, sampler and drum machine that comes with a DAW control surface. The R24 is the perfect portable solution for multitracking live shows, band rehearsals, and song ideas-even on six AA batteries. It even has a pair of built-in mics of its own, so much functionality without compromising quality. R24 is

system that bridged the gap between ‘personal studio’

a complete, compact, powerful and portable music creation

hardware multi-tracker and computer-based recording.

Novation

Launchpad >> The compact Novation Launchpad gives you the most

interactive experience possible in Ableton Live. With its multicolor 64-button grid and scene launch buttons, Launchpad triggers and manipulates clips in Live and also provides a new way of controlling Ableton Live’s mixer. Launchpad’s

buttons can be used to sketch out beats with drum racks, and they can also be assigned to other functions in Live using Ableton’s Learn mode.The device is bus-powered from a single USB connection, and has a ten-inch square desktop www.novationmusic.com

16 Nov-Dec 2012

footprint


DUAL

DIAPHRAGM

TUBE

MICROPHONE

Roland

Mobile Ac www.roland.com

>> Get your new jam buddy and explore another dimension in sound using the new Mobile Ac acoustic guitar combo preamp from Roland! It comes with Onboard Effects, 3-channel Mixer, and Battery Power. The lush sounding onboard effects that include Chorus, Reverb and wide, takes your guitar into a glorious soundscape. Get Roland Mobile AC, get ready to rock!

Marshall

JCM1

>> It’s damn sure that Mashall amplifiers are all-time companions of the

rock guitarists around the world. To celebrate the five decades in which Marshall have been in existence, they are releasing five amplifier models, each inspired by a classic amp of each decade. The Marshall JCM1 the third guitar amp to be released as part of its 50th anniversary range, is based on the legendary JCM800. The ability to reproduce the old “Marshall sound“ without a 100-watt head and cabinet is going to amaze the rock guitarists across the world.

MXL

Genesis II www.mxlmics.com

>> MXL’s Genesis II is a visually imposing

tube microphone with a narrow cardioid pattern.

It

takes

the

first

generation

Genesis microphone to a new height of performance and versatility by adding dual diaphragm capsule. These microphones are tuned differently as well, to produce the radically different ‘warm’ and ‘bright’ timbres,

using

patented

warm/bright

switches. The Genesis II also includes the celebrated vintage, new old stock Mullard www.marshallamps.com

12AT7 vacuum tube, ensuring high quality.

Nov-Dec 2012

17


Sound has the greatest ability to manipulate you. It’s a subconscious art, an art of Evoking Emotions, Provoking Images, Stirring Feelings...

Immortalised by Sound

story of a Sound Legend


“It’s all about learning cinema as a medium of art and sound as a craft. You have to find a point where the technician inside you vanishes to an artist. We use technology as a tool, like a painter uses his colours and brushes to create his art.”

T

he boy could barely read those blurred letters of his textbook under the dim light of a kerosene lamp. But his ‘yellow face’ exhibited no traces of distress. He enjoyed all those ingrained aspects of his village, the gentle breeze, the fragrant meadows, the greenery, the innocence of his people… when the flashback fades out... there is ‘a man under the spotlight’, camera flashes engulfing him… lights illuminating his face... photographers straining for a glimpse... it’s him!!... the young boy in his grown up attire... his village is proud of him for what he is today, the whole country and the people salute him for his talent… he’s riding the waves of celebdom... the Oscar has bought him everything; fame, money, respect… almost everything which he could hardly think about as an ordinary human hailing from all those adverse living conditions. A man comes on earth as an insignificant creature, the enduring struggles in his life, establishes his entity. During this struggle he gathers a number of experiences and it is this experience, that engages him in various creative thoughts and activities which makes him great... it’s

apparent that the names of such persons are inscribed in golden letters in the annals of history, they are the ignited ones who come out successful in their constructive pursuits. Rasool Pookutty is one among those great personalities!! The name ’Rasool Pookutty’ has become synonymous with ‘sound direction’ in the Indian film scenario. With no build-ups in his persona, Rasool is not only a man of talent, but also a man of virtue. He is unconcealed; he speaks candidly, an air of positivity lingers around him. Above all, he is blessed with lots of talent; he is one of the best known sound engineers in the industry. A graduate of Pune’s FTII, Rasool has been in the industry for 17 years now, with a filmography that has an interesting mix of biggies like,

Three (tamil) , Nanban, Ra.One, Enthiran, Blue, Pazhassi Raja, Ghajini, Slum dog millionaire, Saawariya, Dus Kahaniyaan, Black, Gandhi My Father etc. Rasool’s life is not based on imaginary aspirations but on the solid ground of laborious achievements and experiences. He was born in a Muslim family in Vilakkupara, a small village in Kerala. He was the youngest of eight children born to an impoverished family. His father was a private ticket bus examiner. Cinema was far from mind, Rasool tried his hands at many things before straying into the world of celluloid. For a brief while, he dreamt of becoming a doctor, but gave it up when he failed the medical entrance. After graduation in Physics, he joined the Law College, Thiruvananthapuram. Even though he discontinued his studies during those days, he wrote the pending exams recently and was enrolled as a lawyer, making his father’s dream come true.

Nov-Dec 2012

19


Sabdatharapadam (The milky way of sound)

T

he autobiography of Rasool Pookutty, written in Malayalam, ’Sabdatharapadam’ is an oral narrative. It is an interesting mix of, cinema, sound, technology, philosophy and flavored by a bit of humor. The book encapsulates the Oscar winner’s journey almost from rags to riches, the struggles of Rasool who began his journey as a little village boy of Kerala who one day, placed India on the global sound map. According to Rasool, the book is a travelogue of an ordinary person who confronts extraordinary situations. He penned his inspiring autobiography with the assistance of his friend cum manager Mr. Natrajan. The first copy of the sound engineer’s autobiography was handed over to music composer A. R. Rahman and eminent lyricist Gulzar.

20 Nov-Dec 2012

It was only out of curiosity and peer pressure that he applied for the ‘sound engineering’ course at the FTII, Pune. He failed the first time, returned to Thiruvananthapuram, and read up all the books he could find on sound engineering. In the next entrance examination and group discussion, ‘Pookutty passed’... “ Joining FTII was a turning point in my life. FTII shaped me to what I am today, it gave me a new life, new ideas about people, life, culture almost everything. It was totally a different world for me...I was moulded into a completely different person there ”, he said. “It was very difficult for me to cope with the new atmosphere as I hailed from a completely different one” , he added. Rasool passed out from the Institute in 1995 and moved to Mumbai, the dreamland of Indian commercial filmmakers. “ Being a graduate of the institution, that was a natural immigration. Ninety-five per cent of the technicians of the Mumbai film industry are alumni of FTII, Pune ” points out Rasool. When he came out of FTII, he made two strong decisions, he wanted to do sound techniques for the movies and then he wanted to introduce a unique sound library for Indian movies, which was an alien thought in those days. He travelled all around India and approached several people for supporting him to implement his innovative ideas. He was depressed as his efforts failed. “My expertise was of


Actually, being a technician I am very lucky and blessed, no other technician in the world was rewarded to this extent. I thank the Almighty and all those Indians who encouraged me. And the recognition which I got gave hope to many, it gave hope to those unheard, unseen voices of Indian cinema. In that respect I achieved a lot. no value in the industry, and that was my realization. I think it took me more than 15 years to prove my caliber”. Rasool made his debut in 1997 with the film ‘Private Detective: Two plus Two plus One’ , directed by Rajat Kapoor. He got his big break with the critically acclaimed film Black (2005), directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. In his own words, ”sound designing and mixing were never a good production aspect in Bollywood until Black came. Kummati, Pokkuveyil and Thampu, where, the sublime use of sound, represents the cultural context...Devadas and Krishnanunny have done immensely truthful work in these films. My work is an extension of theirs. Their works taught me the art of blending technology with aesthetics” . After doing Black , he subsequently engineered sound for major productions like Musafir (2004), Zinda (2006), Traffic Signal (2007), Gandhi , My Father (2007), Saawariya (2007) and Dus

Kahaniyaan (2007) and lot more. ”Gandhi My Father was one of my most emotional films. I was emotionally troubled while mixing the film. I even wept. There is lot of me in the film”. Like most, Pookutty said he didn’t have much inkling that Slumdog Millionaire would become such a phenomenon, though he was a fan of Boyle. “I even had a poster of ‘Trainspotting’ in my room at FTII,” he said. Working with Danny Boyle, whom he describes as one of his favourite directors, for Slumdog Millionaire as a ‘completely new experience’. “It was a difficult project, Danny was very demanding. It put a lot of strain on me emotionally and physically”, Pookutty recalled. Since the film was shot in Mumbai, a ‘very noisy city’, in motion, the sound designer would be in trouble, recording the sound from the viewers’ perception. In keeping with the film’s flavour, Pookutty decided to record the soundscape of the city. The sequences shot at the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus were among the toughest. “Since I wanted to record the sound of city life, I positioned my assistants with mikes across the station”, he said. The Oscar nomination was a sort of inspiration to the Indian technicians whom the Hollywood and European cinema used to look down upon. Rasool bought the Oscar glory to India by winning the award for sound mixing in Slumdog Millionaire . British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for Best Sound Editing was bestowed on him for the same film. He has also won Cinema Audio Society (CAS) Award for best sound mixing. “The nomination itself is a privilege and the award, an honour given to the Sound Mixers

Nov-Dec 2012

21


CANARIES POST SOUND 507 Canaries Post Sound holds a creative as well a pivotal role in the Indian Audio Industry. Located in Andheri, it is a brainchild of Rasool Pookutty and Akhilesh Acharya. With Black , began a journey to bring live sound, thereby creating a space and expertise for infallible sound design in India. The stupendous worldwide hit Slumdog Millionaire needs no introduction; it bagged 8 straight Oscars in 2009. Critical and commercial successes like Gandhi My Father, Saawariya, Ghajini, Pazhassiraja, Blue, Enthiran, Ra.One, Nanban etc were the other projects from the Canaries Post Sound Stable that shot right into the Hall of Fame of Indian cinema. The award shelves as well as the wall mounted photo frames of Gandhi My Father, Black, Slumdog Millionaire etc, screams out the excellence of the studio. There were a lot of research and extensive study carried out before building the sound mixing rooms. There is a main mix room for dialogue edits, ambience edits, sound edits and for everything else that goes into sound design work. There is also a smaller room which has Pro Tools and stereo monitoring. Apart from sound design work, the studio is used to codify all sound effects and foleys that the musical two have recorded over the years. A lot of this is on DATs as digital files. for their career achievement in Motion Pictures. CAS is the big pappa of all awards for a technician” he said. In fact, after a career spanning 17 years in the industry, 41-year-old Pookutty applied fresh tactics for this film. “I had to constantly reinvent ways of getting the best possible sound” , he revealed. Until recently, ‘sound artistes’ were merely considered as ‘sound recorders’ without much significance in the industry, but Rasool’s generation totally changed it into sound direction. “As a sound director, my attempt is to bring the tone and pitch of every scene to the very compositional structure of the film. It is technical and artistic; a film is basically, a recreation of reality. And my effort is to make the sound of the film as much close to the reality”. Man can achieve anything even if it is next to impossible, if he is firm in his conviction. Success is not easily accessible, courage; hard work and determination are the parameters to overcome the hurdles... With these ideal parameters Rasool has proved the depth of his caliber in the industry and has established his reign in the sound industry. He is a great source of inspiration to the youngsters all over India who prefers the field of sound engineering. There is no wonder his name is inscribed in golden letters in the annals of history and it’s getting luminous day by day...

- Soorya MS -

22 Nov-Dec 2012


The channel strip that always works. Take any track, any bus or any mix- the Summit Audio Grand Channel always sounds right.

T

he Grand Channel includes the features of EQF-100 equalizer and TLA-100A compressor, combining the warm and smooth tone sculpting EQF-100 passive equalizer with the rich sounding and

easy to use TLA-100A compressor. As a modern addition to the classic TLA-100A, the plug-in also includes Parallel Compression, Saturation Control and Low Cut Filtering on input or detector. Grand Channel user interface has four controls- one equalizer unit, one compressor unit, an additional control unit with expanded features, and a single routing panel. The equalizer unit uses the flexible Summit Audio EQF-100 that provides features for band equalization, low and high cut filters, and modeled output distortion. The compression unit consists of Summit Audio TLA-100A leveling amplifier with expanded features of controls for side-chain filtering, saturation and parallel compression. Each of the every component is carefully modeled and offers the possibility to route the EQ before the compressor or the other way around.

Softube Summit Audio

Grand Channel Specifications

• Combines finest features of EQF-100 passive equalizer and TLA-100A compressor • Additional controls for compression, saturation and side-chain filtering

Each of the two units has individual bypasses that save CPU and Grand

• Huge sonic range

Channel comes with extremely analog behavior of frequencies, phase,

• Bypasses any unit to save CPU

distortion, attack and release.

• Possibility to change the order of the equalizer and compressor • Careful designing

Nov-Dec 2012

23


“Of course hard work is important, but to me it’s ‘the final satisfaction’ which is more significant. I keep doing my corrections again and again until I feel that aesthetic satisfaction. The only person, at the end of the day you have to satisfy is yourself.” What was the turning point in your sound career? Which movie took you to a totally different direction?

Black was the movie which took me to the limelight. Black was a songless movie but the sound got everyone talking. People looked at me differently after Black , people looked at sound differently, and people gave equal importance for sound after that. When the director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali came to me with the script, he told sounds are important for him in the movie, I realized this would be the best film in which I can do live sound. Do you think that Black was challenging? What were the other challenging movies you did? Yes of course! Black was a difficult film for me, it was difficult in terms of sensitivity, Gandhi My Father was also difficult. Slumdog is special because it allowed me to forget that I’m a technician, it allowed me to unlearn myself, it made me listen, to understand how human ears respond to each and every sound and how to arrive at it using technology. I think that was the strongest idea behind Slumdog , probably I received an Oscar only because of that... We would like to know more about your Oscar experience.. Elated I would say that... When I won my first award for

Rahman came here, he heard the tracks I gave him, and we

Black , I was like on the top of the world. I was definitely

had discussions on the sound design of each track. Slumdog

overjoyed, but Oscar was something beyond that... I just

created that context with him; we have admiration for each

can’t describe ‘the feeling‘ in words, competing with all

other’s work. Many nights were spent together working on

those experts. It was just unbelievable... it was almost

Ghajini . I respect his work and he respects mine too. He is

like a dream. Three months ago when I was riding down

a tremendous composer; I think he’s a genius.

Hollywood again...When I looked at Kodak I was thinking...

OMG! I just can’t believe that this happened in my life. I am

You have done excellent movies like Black, Gandhi My

really proud that I could do this for my country.

Father etc, and it was Passazhiraja which bought you the National Award, a movie in your mother tongue.

How was your experience working with A.R Rahman?

What were your feelings?

It’s a great high when a composer works with your

It was amazing! Being a malayali I’m proud of that honour.

sounds. What you do as a sound man and what the music

Pazhassiraja was my first Malayalam film. I think I expected

composer does should not clash. So I always wanted this

a National award for Gandhi My father , I think people failed

exchange to happen with the composers. For Ghajini when

to see my work in that, I was a bit disappointed...

24 Nov-Dec 2012


You are the youngest and first Indian Cinema Audio

What would be your message to the younger generation

Society (CAS) nominee. How important is the CAS

who are inspired by your talent?

nomination for you?

I would like to tell them that they need not try becoming

The Cinema Audio Society or CAS (USA) is a conglomerate

‘Rasool Pookutty’, it’s their uniqueness that matters. They

of 550 of the best audio professionals and associates

should build on their caliber through regular hard work

from around the world, which awards sound technicians

and they should create their need in the industry, and

for their outstanding contribution in the field of Sound

second thing I would like to say is that, when you work on

Mixing in Motion Pictures and Television Industry. The

something, do your corrections and continue it until you

nomination itself is a privilege and the award, an honour

get the final satisfaction. The only person, at the end of the

given to the Sound Mixers for their career achievement

day, you have to satisfy is yourself. I would like to say that,

in Motion Pictures. CAS is the big pappa of all awards for

its all about learning cinema as a medium of art and sound

a technician. The winner can add CAS after their names

as a craft, you have to find a point where the technician

in the film screen credit. The previous achievers include

inside you vanishes to an artist, we are people who use

multiple Oscar winners like Ray Dolby, Robert Altman, Jack

technology as a tool, like a painter uses his colours and

Solomon, and Walter Murch etc.

brushes to create his art.

Nov-Dec 2012

25


Ocean so deep! A

journey more than two decade long, innumerous

Indrajit Dutta and Anirban Roy on bass. Soon they recorded

live concerts, international recognition, thousands

the demo, 45 minutes and seven songs in a day! Susmit

of followers and aesthetic music; Indian Ocean ,

Sen sold his electric guitar to raise cash for the purpose.

the band. The band best known for their live concerts,

Rahul Ram replaced Anirab Roy on bass in 1991. Indian

Indian Ocean has played in every corner of the world

Ocean was a complete instrumental band initially.

and is widely known, the apex of Indian music. Unique

It took a year for the band to release their debut album.

sound, magnificent guitars, splendid bass, unconventional

In 1993 the album ‘ Indian Ocean ’ was out and sold over

percussion; Indian Ocean provided uniquely fresh Indian

40,000 copies. The band created a history, their album was

sound. The pioneer of fusion rock in India, the band is also

the highest selling album by any native band. 1994 gave

classified to as Indo-Rock/Folk with jazz spiced rhythms.

the band a new drummer- Amit Kilam, a teenage boy who

Way back in 1984 Susmit Sen (guitar) met Asheem

played Indian rhythms in his drumming with a unique style,

Chakravarty (tabla, percussions, vocals) who played for

moving in cycles of 8,10,12,14,16. Music influenced him

a Bengali band ‘ Niharika ’. Jamming on some of Susmit’s

since the age of 4 and he became to be a very dynamic

compositions they were soon a duo. They played their

drummer. The ever so epic line-up of Indian Ocean was

debut concert at Roorkee. For the next few years the duo

formed then with Rahul, Asheem, Susmit and Amit.

experimented with various musicians. In 1990 Indian Ocean

All the members low on finance then but high on music

was finally formed with Shaleen Sharma on drums, and

kept afloat. 1997 saw the release of the band’s second

26 Nov-Dec 2012


album ‘ Desert Rain ’, the first live album released by an Indian band. ‘ Independent music ’ a new label was formed to release this album as, back then, nobody wanted to release a live album. Desert Rain ended up being a landmark album. With this, media coverage and popularity of Indian

Ocean

started

flourishing. Another

album

‘ Kandisa ’,

second studio album was released in 2000. It was not just an album! Kandisa became a cult status of the band and a loved piece of contemporary Indian music. Kandisa opened the floodgates for Indian music globally, and Indian

Ocean played in the US, UK, New Zealand, Japan, Australia,

Music so deep like the blue vastness of an ocean itself, relaxing and aggressive, calm and destructive.. shlokas, sufism, environmentalism, mythology, revolution…there is nothing that they can’t integrate into their jazz spiced rhythms of Indorock fusion…INDIAN OCEAN…a unique Indian sound!

Germany and Singapore. The Indian roots were spreading! ‘ Jhini ’ was the third studio album released in 2003. The

in 2005. This album is the most successful one by the band

band had made their first music video with this and were

and song ‘ Bandeh ’, a cult song, wouldn’t bare a single soul

MTV Artists of the month. ‘ Black Friday ’ was their next

without goosebumps on his body or tears in his eye!

album, and it was originally soundtrack and score for a

2009 saw tragic demise of one of the band member

2004 movie ‘ Black Friday ’. The album version was released

Asheem. This was a huge loss for the band, both personally

Nov-Dec 2012

27


Karol Bagh, Delhi where the band jammed for years. Though

A journey more than two decade long… innumerous live concerts, international recognition and thousands of followers…aesthetic music, magnificent guitars, splendid bass, unconventional percussion…they are the pioneers of rock fusion in India!

the band never announced a replacement for Asheem, this

have been made on the band. ‘ Leaving Home-The Life and

and professionally. Asheem’s rhythm was a major part of

Indian Ocean ’s signature. Since then the band has had seasoned artists play with it. The band is trying to fill in for Asheem, but most probably the sound of the band may change. Post Asheem, Indian Ocean ’s next album was ‘ 16/330

Khajoor Road ’ in 2009. The album is named after a house in

album was recorded with Himanshu Joshi on vocals and

Music of Indian Ocean ’ was a biopic made on the band. This

Tuheen Chakravarty on tabla and other percussions, both

band being the oldest and the most successful band has

of them accompany the band on live shows. This album is

flourished in the country with their ever so inspirational

one of its kinds, and is available for free download on their

music. Susmit’s unique style of playing open string guitar,

website.

Rahul Ram’s bass lines and never ending gags on stage,

Indian Ocean grew to be the most loved band of the

Asheem’s powerful penetrating voice and wonderful

country. With making some music for movies like ‘ Peepli

melodies, and Amit’s dynamic drumming has created much

Live ’ and ‘ Black Friday ’, they reached every type of

more than just place in everybody’s heart. Indian Ocean

audience in the country and abroad. Many documentaries

has touched souls!

- Swaroopa Deshmukh -

28 Nov-Dec 2012


t s e b

e h s t p d e p r a a o l p d i n p r a E x re s yo u

d r ha

a w

fo r

ve ha we ved mo ms u d i n The an a r. llen usic i e h m rse m r we ou to c Fo t . g a h in he c! too en yw n t n usi i b il s t o ti of ay en ged oduc be nts e w chan r e n p m c so nm uctio ave musi in iro d h v o n c d s. e pr of usi g i Pa ic s n s m i n d u k s! o f o r ! Ye wo s o eth s, m m a i n e d h m l t p n s a o n e ty the usu nd sy yful d ent tr eam r d d e r a c an th s pla re cur usi -in m mo ore s the d m rdlug m d a Fr o p i e P ’ r , da ad y. i ‘ha spi Ws ’. che DA for n iP as in r to a o e e gic h sr sic oth nym nolo e u o y c ha ce n m h yn vi evi na tec as ake le de d a d h e M ‘ n by on yt litt com ger a cti sic vit e i e u u t b h d m T s or on rea pro ha str ate reen, c dc n i , e r n o r s e c a e! cti sc mu ett an vic du the de uc r, b ect f r pro o e g r t for e in ou !Y fas a p gy ice ble uch v n a o y i e r, l e t e i k n d eas r iD ava agi sha an u n r s o o g Im i o p y ad in p g ct ide f a du rok r iP s ltin t o i o u s t r ins ’ , y yo th cp ian ing s, sb eal usi pp sic slid ect he w a m a u f f s t ng d m ng in de ake to azi an i ad m v s y i m l sic t o a nk ha mu ic t are he s t e Tha ces t u e h t the W ith vi tm e. es ts z e i m iDe fun. W erfec i e n nd m io et p d lut rou sic he am a o an t s u v e y on m be the cti d r pla re a u e can it at P d i h d an pro re , w lk he na ic se too s e w o r u o a m rld t l d ion wo Ge . ate uct ! c tip d i h ist uc ger pro h o n i t p rf so ltiou mu the ty a h y wit log no h c te

M


TC- 11 SYNTH >> Turn your iPad

into an expressive motion controlled synth using the programmable modular

synthesis, TC-11. With TC-11, your touches and moves are the controllers. Sound is expressed by touch relationships and things like tilting or shaking your iPad have a unique effect on your music as well. With multi-touch control for every synthesis parameters, endless patch possibilities and fully programmable routing options, this app brings a madhouse of sonic possibilities at your

TC- 11 SYNTH

touch. Create music with the next evolution of synthesizer control!

VOCALIVE IOS APP

>>

Ik Multimedia’s Vocalive app offers you a powerful and

professional voice processing tool on your iPad. The app is the perfect portable solution for live performing and recording. The app offers vocalists more to play with, including 5 Vocal Effects (Pitch Fix , Choir, Morph, De-Esser, Double) and 7 Studio Effects (Reverb, Delay, Parametric EQ, Compressor,

VOCALIVE IOS APP

Chorus, Phazer, Envelope Filter).The dozens of presets helps you get up and running in seconds.

Midipad

Rebirth

Rebirth >> Rebirth, the Propellerhead Software’s legendary Techno Micro Composer has been resurrected and made available for your ipad. The fully featured iPhone music software can turn your computer into a techno studio with the Roland TB-303 Bass synth and the Roland

iElectribe

TR-808 and 909 drum machines. You can combine these devices with FX units, fully featured pattern sequencers and the iPad interface. ReBirth guarantees an extremely streamlined and very powerful music production environment.

Midipad >> Midipad

iElectribe >> iElectribe, is an exciting app for the iPad/

Korg’s first dedicated app for

Seline HD

bringing the fun of analog-synth style beat making

iPhone for music creation and live-performance.

to your iPad. Taking full advantage of iPad’s 9.7 inch

You need not install any communication-peer-

multi touch display, it delivers a new style of musical

software on the Mac, the midi pad directly

instrument. You can Simply choose a part (or sound)

communicate via network-MIDI-protocol. Control

and touch the 16-step sequencer to quickly build a groove.

all of your music-applications with just a few controller-application communicates with your

Seline HD >> Seline HD is a live performance and improvisation music instrument for your iPad.

Apple Mac your Windows-based PC and even

Crystal Clarity HD sound engine is capable of analyzing and predicting your melodies. The sound

standalone hardware-synths via Wifi.

is altered on the fly with a dozen of subtle algorhythms that add unbelievable expression,

finger-gestures; the multitouch-capable midi-

It’s advanced

character and life to your music. Seline features a completely new, ergonomically designed playing surface called ioGrid, suitable for players with all hand sizes.

30 Nov-Dec 2012


Touchable >> Touchable is

app but offers control over many more aspects of Ableton Live. It can handle the majority of

Figure >> Go and

performance or interactive elements within Live without requiring any manual controller design

your

or mapping, making it an easy-to-use. It allows live users to walk away from their computer and

Propellerhead’s new fun music-making

perform live from anywhere within Wi-Fi range while keeping latency at a minimum.

app FIGURE. You will be playing your

a multi-touch controller for Ableton Live. This app is similar to the popular Griid

figure how amazing you and

iPad/iPhone

can

sound

using

own beats and songs with drums, bass

iSyn Pol >> With Virsyn’s

Touchable

and lead parts within seconds. Figure iSyn Poly, your Apple iPad is an electronic music

offers a huge amount of control with

studio! It features three studio quality, fully programmable virtual

simple gestures on the touch interface.

analog synthesizers and a drum machine packed in three

With Figure you always stay in key and in

different screens on your iPad. Fully featured sequencer,

rhythm. With many ways to tweak sounds

arpeggiator, 3 oscillators, lowpass filters and many more

and parameters, Figure is the sound of

options are offered in the app. The unique gesture

reason on your iPhone.

oriented user interface makes it ideal for live editing and automations.

Omni TR Multi-touch Controller >> Spectrsonic app Omni TR is designed to

turn your iPad into

a performance oriented, remote control surface for their

iSyn Poly

Omnisphere software synthesizer plg-in. The app offers an innovative circular controller function called Orb. You can customize the sound in omnisphere with a single gesture. With Omni TR, Spectrasonic combined the advantages of an iPad with their powerful computer based virtual instruments.

Figure

Omni TR

GrooveMaker >> GrooveMaker for

the iPad with its large slider

controls for volume, pan and master level of eight

GrooveMaker

controllable loop tracks, offers a convenient mixerlike environment to its user. It renders exactly the same functionality as the iPhone/iPod Touch version. Immediate track controls such as tempo, solo and mute are all available on

Sunrizer >> Beepstreet’s

Sunrizer

the same screen. At the same time, the larger Sunrizer synth is the first truly

multi-touch surface, extends loop-based music

mature polyphonic synth for iPad. It features

to a whole new level. With this app, users can

the true SuperSaw sound emulation of legendary

switch “snapped” grooves with a single touch,

Roland JP-8000 and the quality of sound is absolutely

plus control the number of loops that are

uncompromised. Sunrizer works perfectly with any MIDI

automatically combined during a random mix.

keyboard or sequencer. Blurring the boundaries of iOS and hardware synthesizers, the app takes the definition of iOS synthesizes to the next level.

Nov-Dec 2012

31


Animoog >> Animoog brings

the vast sonic vocabulary of moog synthesizers to the touch screen of your iPad. The

app is the first professional synthesizer for iPad from Moog Music. Enjoy the power to create a visually vibrant and sonically rich universe with the ultimate tool for creative expression. Animoog, one of the best iOS app, takes iPad music production to the next level.

Animoog

Akai SynthStation 25 >> With Akai SynthStation 25, your iPhone is a portable music production studio for music creation. It’s a MIDI keyboard controller featuring two octaves of velocity-sensitive piano keys, synth-action keys, pitch and modulation wheels, octave up and down, sound-bank buttons, stereo pair of RCA line outputs and a headphone output. The 25-key synthesizer style keyboard offers a built-in dock for the iPhone or iPod touch and integrates perfectly with the Akai Pro SynthStation

Akai SynthStation 25

Studio app as well as any other MIDI software app on your iDevice. Connect your iPhone to the keyboard and bring your ideas into life!

AmpliTube

AC- 7 Core

AC- 7 Core DAW Controller >> AC-7 Core turns your iPad into a

wireless DAW

control surface, connecting host computer over a WiFi. Featuring a multi-touch interface with faders for each

PocketAmp

track, a jog wheel, a bank of DAW specific buttons and dedicated modes for controlling almost any DAW, the app is well worth trying. If you do a lot of recording with DAWs and own an iPad, AC-7 core DAW controller is a treasure.

Stompbox >> StompBox can turn your iPad into a digital

PocketAmp >> PocketAmp turns your iDevice into a guitar amplifier and effects processor. Jam along with your favorite iTune

Stompbox

music, with the ability to change speed and pitch. With

effects unit, offering a rack of professional

wide app support for iRiffPort and high quality sound, the

sounding stereo effects and a foot controller

app surely rocks. Easy and fun to use!

to access a tuner and all your patches. With 7 different distortion sounds combined with the song playback, phrase-training, tuner, metronome, four-track loop recorder, 17 unique effect modules, custom amplifier EQ’s, 12 banks of 6 patches and four banks of factory presets, StompBox is a useful app for iPad. Not a bad way to go with effect processors!

32 Nov-Dec 2012

AmpliTube >> With AmpliTube

for iPad or iPhone, you’ll have an entire guitar/bass rig at your fingertips.

Comprised of four recombinable simultaneous stompbox effects, an amp-head plus cabinet and a microphone, it gives you incredibly realistic tones and effects, plus full recording and processing capabilities in a powerful mobile app, all from the leaders in analog gear modeling software for professional recording studios.


Bleep BOX >> Bleep BOX ,the analog syth/drum machine allows you to tweak and make

ElectroBeats >> GMake crazy beats on your iPad using the ElectoBeats, developed

your own sounds. It’s comes housed with a sequencer, a synthesizer, and a

in collaboration with worldwide renowned music producer David

drum machine. The app allows you to arrange synthesizer melodies, program

Guetta. You are welcome to experience a realtime workflow

drum beats and edit dozens of parameters in real time. Since all the sounds

with 16 pads and 5 different modes. Powerful realtime approach

are generated live, it does not restrict the users with fixed sample sets

and impressive sound library makes you sound great. If you are

or pre-made loops. Bleep BOX provides creative license to its users, over

interested in iOS beat-making, then ElectroBeat is the app for you.

waveforms, filters, effects and modulation. It features 50+ parameters and

Its fast, fun and simple to play with!

can play up to 10 instruments simultaneously.

Brainwave Sequencer >> Get enhanced MIDI support Bleep BOX

on your iPad using clip based Brainwave MIDI sequencer. Bring your desired

sound into life using the MIDI clip editor that allows detailed control over the selection of notes. You can start with the 16 built-in audio samples or use your own samples for even more creative sounds. Then produce and export MIDI files to be imported to your favorite DAW. The flexibility of the app is to be commented as each of the 16 tracks is completely assignable. All this and more in an ergonomic and minimalist user interface!

iSequence >> iSequence for iPad is a music creation studio that takes advantage of a bigger screen and better performance compared to the iPhone

version. The app is an intuitive eight-track music sequencer Brainwave Sequencer

with a host of different instruments. It is a flexible mixer with DSP effects which allow you to easily program and record loops, beats and melodies. With iSequence, you can record tracks and controls movement in realtime, and edit them afterwards.

iSequence

ElectroBeats

Midi Studio >> Wiknet’s Midi Studio Midi Studio

is a killer app that turns your

iPad into a wireless midi controller. Using your iPad, you can play on a virtual keyboard, move faders, knobs or play with drums pad. The best feature of the app is that it plays the notes with velocity sensitivity. Hit the screen stronger or weaker to bring the desired effects. Midi Studio is a great midi

DM1 >> DM1

controller for your studio! is an advanced vintage Drum Machine for your ipad.

It turns your iPad into a fun and creative beat making machine.

DM1

Loaded with 64 superb electronic drum kits and beautiful hyperrealistic graphics. DM1was designed by musicians for musicians, with an intention of delivering the perfect mix between fun playability and powerful sonic capacities. The step sequencer of DM1 smartly features possibilities of the iPad’s multi-touch screen.

Nov-Dec 2012

33


Studio Mini XL >> Studio Mini XL is an

8 track recording studio for your iPad. The XL version comes with a number

of useful features like a ‘count in’ function for recording, the ability to import and export 16 bit/ 44.1 kHz WAVE files, a drum loop section with 70+ drum loops spanning a wide range of musical genres, the ability to monitor your input levels while recording, latency compensation, audio sync, iTunes file sharing, WIFI sync and more. The app’s Notes section also allows you to input, organize, and keep track of lyric ideas, which is great when you get that sudden inspiration for a new idea.

Aurora Sound Studio >> Aurora Sound Studio is a pattern based musical sequencing software for your iPad. You can simply choose a musical scale, every note you play is in perfect tune, resulting in a great sounding music. Switch Aurora to advanced mode to get full control over the built in instruments and effects. The Atomizer and XY Mode allows you to manipulate sound in real-time. Aurora Sound Studio is a user friendly, integrated mixer, combined with the ability to add audio effects and layer

Studio Mini XL

automation which can give you a highly sophisticated sound.

Auria Auria >> Convert

your iPad into a 48-track digital audio workstation using

Wavemachine’s Auria. Auria is not just a audio recording app! It offers all the tools required for recording, mixing and mastering, and can be used in the pro-level studio and live tracking application. Complete with extensive catalog of effects and processors ranging from Reverb to pitch correction, AAF export/import and incorporated 3rd party plugins from plugin gurus like PSPaudioware, Overloud, Fab Filter and Drumagog,

Aurora

Auria challenges people’s notion of what you can do with an iPad. What’s more, Auria features 64-bit Double Precision and recordings are done at a high quality 24-bit/44.1 kHz sample rate by default, with up to 96 kHz sample rates available. Auria sets a new standard for iPad multitracking, offering a full-featured recording studio on the go with your iPad.

StudioTrack >> StudioTrack is

a multitrack recorder and songwriting tool, for capturing the musical

ideas and recording songs on your iPad. StudioTrack works effectively with the iPad’s built-in microphone and headphones and most iPad audio interfaces. StudioTrack allows you to record and manage up to eight tracks at a time. A cool audio pasteboard makes this app compatible with over 70 other apps. Also, WIFI sync allows you to import any mix or individual track to a computer, which is definite add on to this app.

34 Nov-Dec 2012


GarageBand >> Make music anywhere. GarageBand is a full-fledged app, it is an 8-track recorder, virtual synth, GarageBand

drum machine, virtual guitar, complete virtual amp modeler, competent virtual sampler, and a fun, loop-based song-making app all in one. GarageBand’s music creation capabilities will certainly appeal to mobile music professionals as much as they might fascinate budding musicians, or even just those with the inclination to explore and experiment. Use the Multi-Touch gestures to play pianos, organs, guitars, drums, and basses. They sound and play like their counterparts, but are more versatile than the real instrument.

Music Studio 2.0 >> Convert your iDevice into

a complete music production environment with Xewton

Music Studio 2.0. It offers 85-key piano keyboard, 65 studio quality instruments with sustain, playing pads that automatically adapt to the selected instruments, a fully fledged 127-track sequencer, real time effects, note editing and much more on a user friendly interface. In addition the app comes with microphone recording, 100 drum loops and

Music Studio 2.0

the ability to purchase additional instruments in the app store. More over the sound selection on the app is extremely versatile and hip-hop friendly. The app also offers an extensive hardware support for CoreMIDI (in and out), Line 6 MIDI Mobilizer, Akai SynthStation 25, iRig, iRig Mic, iRig MIDI, Ampkit Link, Apogee Jam, Blue Mikey, Alesis IO Dock and iConnectMIDI. With all the components of major DAW, Music Studio is a well-rounded app for serious music making. A perfect music making package loaded to the brim!

FL Studio

FL Studio Mobile >> FL Studio Mobile enables creating complete multi-track projects on your iPad. You can even load the FL Studio Mobile projects into the ‘FL Studio Desktop PC’ version and take them to the next level. FL Studio Mobile comes with a wide range of studio recorded instru-

StudioTrack

ments, which you can play from its innovative on-screen keyboard and drum pads. It allows you to enhance your songs with a battery of real-time effects, and export your project as MIDI (note), WAV (audio) and FLM (project) to expand your productivity.

Nov-Dec 2012

35


Alesis iO Dock >> Transform your iPad

into an extremely functional musical production unit using the

universal docking station, Alesis iO Dock. It has two combo jack for line levels and XLR inputs, with its own gain control and switchable phantom power for condenser microphones. It is a hallow plastic box with elfin magic that connects the iPad to microphones, instruments, professional speaker and PA systems, MIDI controllers, sound modules and video projectors. Having iO Dock is like having a brilliantly compact desktop studio.

Apogee Jam >> Jam is a premium

digital device featuring PureDIGITAL technology that delivers your

guitar’s true tone to your iPad, iPhone, or Mac without any compromise. Now you can have a pocket-sized, plug in and play interface, at an unprecedented price, and experience ultimate tone with the guitar amps and effects in GarageBand or other compatible applications. JAM features an input gain control knob. This rotary style wheel is

Alesis iO Dock

conveniently located on the side of JAM for easy thumb access and allows you to dial in the level of your guitar without accessing software. This innovation can be useful for the beginners and advanced players who want a high quality guitar sound for practicing, recording, or just jamming. Besides the technical minutia, the style quotient of JAM is also high.

Apogee Jam

Digitech iPB-10 >> Digitech iPB-10 programmable pedalboard is an effective ipad tool when it comes to playing live. This pedalboard opens up to reveal an iPad dock, and with the free iPBNexus app you can control every function. Users can drag

Digitech iPB-10

and drop up to 10 different pedals, in any order, to each pedalboard, and can even add an amp and cabinet to complete each setup. With this ios app you can design a virtual rig- choose from dozens of amps and cabinets, and over 80 individual effects- and map individual settings and sounds to each of the 10 footswitches. With 87 different pedals, 54 amps, and 26 cabinets to choose from, you can create unlimted number of different guitar tones. The iPBProgrammable Pedalboard allows users to save 100 of your favorite pedalboards with the touch or your finger, and instantly recall them with the stomp of your foot. You can have a different pedalboard for each gig, set, song, or even switch pedal boards within a song.

36 Nov-Dec 2012

Tascam iXZ >> Pocket sized Tascam iXZ Mic & Instrument Interface turns your iOS device into a portable recording studio! You can plug in a guitar, bass or a miccrophone to the amps, effects, recording and DJ apps on your iPad. It even offers phantom power for condenser mics! The gain knob controls the level of inputs to your recording app in a quicker way. To have musical fun with your iDevice and to record your ideas anywhere as the inspiration strikes, Tascam iXZ is the perfect interface.


Tascam iM2 >> Turn your iOS

device into a high quality stereo recorder with the Tascam iM2. With a pair of

condenser mics with a built-in volume input dial, analog-to-digital converter for low noise and

Tascam iM2

a limiter switch to reduce distortion, iM2 offers great audio quality. The microphones are adjustable over 180 degrees for the best sound placement and the AB pattern arrangement of the uni-directional elements provide detailed stereo imaging. The iM2 can handle up to 125dB sound levels to capture varied noises without distortion. Capture your inspiration on an Apple iDevice without sacrificing recording quality.

Akai MPC Fly >> The Akai MPC Fly is an integrative beat controller for your iPad 2. MPC Fly merges unmatched Akai Professional technology with the power of second generation iPads, incorporating legendary capabilities like MPC Note Repeat and MPC Swing. Its laptop style case houses the iPad, compromising 16 pad controllers and gives you the flexibility to produce tracks anywhere. The hardware works hand in hand with the MPC app and provides a complete production experience. With MPC Fly, you can sequence up to four

Akai MPC Fly

tracks simultaneously. It comes with a lithium-ion battery, so using the Fly wouldn’t drain your iPad power. The MPC app offers a built in sound library of samples and drum kits. You can play each sample at 16 levels of attack, velocity, length, and tuning. Strap I the MPC Fly on to your iPad 2 and you have something like a beat creation laptop!

Blue Mikey

Blue Mikey Digital >> Turn your iOS device into

the coolest portable recording device with Blue Mikey Digital!

It’s a Stereo microphone for your iDevice, with 3-position Gain Switch, two custom-tuned Blue capsules for stereo recording, Auto-sensing 1/8” Input, USB pass through and a stylish updated

Tascam iXZ

230-degree rotating design. It plugs straight into the iPhone or iPad connector, usable with Blue’s Blue FiRe application and a number of other applications. It’s the perfect tool for recording loud concerts to soft whispers! Capture your inspiration on an Apple iDevice without sacrificing recording quality.

Nov-Dec 2012

37


iRig Mic Cast >> IK Multimedia iRig

Mic Cast is a tiny pocket-sized plug-in microphone for iOS devices

that promises to make recording podcasts anywhere a reality. It features a unidirectional pickup pattern that minimizes background noise and comes with a two-position gain switch. The mini-jack plugs directly into your iPhone and the earphone jack helps for monitoring recording sections. It comes with free voice recording apps and a tabletop stand. The sturdy iRig Mic Cast is perfect to enhance the audio quality of the recordings.

iRig Adaptor >> With AmpliTube iRig play your guitar through your iPhone! It’s a revolutionary product that transforms your iPad into the ultimate mobile Guitar and Bass Sound Studio. It features

iRig Mic Cast

a standard 1/4” instrument jack, a standard 1/8” (3.5mm) headphone out jack, and the iOS standard 1/8” TRRS jack for input on your iOS device. It comes with AmpliTube FREE iOS app, a full-featured guitar and bass tone powerhouse app. Amazing Guitar Tone, right there in your pocket! Make the connections, launch the app and get ready to jam the world!

iRig Adaptor

iConnect MIDI >> The iConnect is

a professional MIDI interface for iOS

devices. iConnectMIDI can be easily connected to Mac, Windows computers and iOS devices via USB, and can also accommodate 5-pin DIN MIDI components. Since it accepts

iConnect MIDI

MIDI signals via USB and DIN, it functions as a MIDI router without a computer or iThing connected. The iConnect can also connect to two computers or iOS devices at once, shared gear. With its flexible routing possibilities, generous

Line 6’s MIDI Mobilizer >> Line 6’s MIDI Mobilizer allows its

I/O, and easy-to-use iOS interface, iConnectMIDI becomes

iPod touch or iPad to a variety of standard musical instrument

a powerful MIDI router and live-performance enabler. It

digital interface (MIDI) devices, including piano-style keyboards,

not only enables MIDI playback through mobile devices,

synthesizers and drum machines. If you want to capture a quick musical

but provides complete and powerful control over all MIDI

idea or back up the settings of all your MIDI gear, MIDI Mobilizer is the

devices in the ensemble.

most simple and compact solution for everything MIDI. It is also compatible

opening up countless possibilities for collaboration using

users to connect an iPhone,

with all models of iPhone and iPod touch. MIDI Mobilizer is compatible with all models of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

38 Nov-Dec 2012


M-Audio Keystation Mini 32 >> The M-Audio Keystation Mini 32

is an ultra-portable keyboard that delivers unmatched

playability in its class. You can easily plug it into your computer or iPad and perform two-

Keystation Mini 32

hand parts with 32 great-feeling, low-profile mini-keys. Customize the keyboard sensitivity to your playing style with highly musical velocity curves- including one specifically for drum programming. Control your performance with four assignable controls, including a rotary knob. And easily play and write music using the included software. With USB bus power and plug-and-play functionality, Keystation Mini 32 is the easy way to create and perform on the go.

Korg NanoPad 2 USB MIDI controller >> The Korg NanoPad 2 USB MIDI controller has taken

the Korg nano-series to

the next level. In its new and improved design, the 16 percussion pads are more responsive and expressive than ever before. Four user-programmable Scenes give you access to 64 pad assignments for a ton of control in this ultra compact package. The X-Y pad is used to control multiple synthesizer parameters. The newly introduced “Touch Scale” function lets you intuitively play phrases on the X-Y touchpad, just as on the Kaossilator. You can also assign chords to any of the pads for ultimate control over

Korg nanoPad 2

any software instrument. And for recording and live performance alike, the new Gate-arp function lets you play tempo-sync’d phrases and rhythms just by holding a pad or touching the X-Y pad. In a nutshell, the Korg nanoPad 2 USB MIDI controller, with all its newly added features is the best controller for today’s mobile musicians.

Apogee MiC

Apogee MiC >> MiC by Apogee

is the super-compact and super convenient studio quality USB

microphone available for iPad, iPhone and Mac. About the size of an iPhone, MiC makes it easy to capture your best take with incredible quality, anywhere your music takes you. You can record any sound you can imagine, from vocals to vibraphones, acoustic to lap steel guitars, pianos to percussion and everything in between, and build a track right on

Line 6’s MIDI

your iPad with GarageBand. Perfect for everything from live recordings to podcasts to ultramobile studio work, the MiC gives you the perfect combination of portability and performance.

Nov-Dec 2012

39


S

tephen Devassy– The man of immense talent

himself lucky to have been surrounded by both in his early

and panache, a musical genius with an infectious

childhood days. He rides back to his past to recollect the

persona, has got almost all the ingredients to be

moment he fell in love with music. “I could not have helped

a perfect musician. Our very first edition is getting spicier

becoming a musician,” says Stephen, crediting his musical

with this gifted man of talent, who stood out for his inspired

inclinations to his hometown of Ottapalam. “Kathakali and

self, impeccable personality and musical forte. As a musician Stephen always displayed immense

Ottamthullal performances were part of the festivities at the temple behind our house. A piano was heard at the

dedication towards his music, his hearty laughs, his jovial

Seventh Day Adventist church in the front. Dapankuthu

nature and above all, the deep respect for his craft made our

and band music were also a regular feature of life”. As

admiration go up the awe ladder. Stephen, who hails from

a child from an orthodox Protestant family, Stephen had

Ottapalam in Palakkad district, is a record holder of Asia’s

an early exposure to Church hymns and western music .

highest scorer in Solo Piano Exams from Trinity College of

“As an 11-year-old, I accompanied my brother, Samuel

Music, London. He has been displaying his virtuosity with

Devassy, to his violin class with Leslie Peter, who also

the keys since his late teens and has received a number of

took guitar and keyboard classes. Later, I joined Leslie’s

opportunities to perform and work with the cream of the

keyboard class with a Casio MT 600. That’s how my initial

nation’s music fraternity..

training in music began. I was never academically inclined.

An Early Exposure to Music…

Since I was always into music, I thought, why not make a

Art and spirituality flows side by side, Stephen considers

40 Nov-Dec 2012

career of it” he added.


full support, ” says the music prodigy.

Gaining from Experiences… major break came when he was just

He played the role of a music director for the Malayalam

18, through Johnny Sagarika, for whom he did the music

film, Hariharan Pillai Happy Aanu . ”That was something as

orchestration of six songs for the album Ishtamannu .

risky as,’ to leap a horse over a hurdle’” , he recollects. Even

He then went as an

though the movie didn’t go well at the box-office the songs

accompanying

were outstanding and were nominated for some awards.

Stephen’s first

artist

to play the keyboard

Then came his album Romanza , which was a mix of world

for Hariharan on his

music sprinkled with the flavor of piano. Indian ragas have

European tour. ”That

been treated with the rich use of contemporary piano.

was a great experience“

Taking acclaim in his stride…

says Stephen. ”My mind

opened

up. I

Stephen’s solo stage shows have propelled him to the

began

top league of onstage performers, where he often juggles

seeing good musicians

with three or four keyboards. He values extemporaneity,

and it made me learn

and stage shows allow his imagination a free rein. “Reality

my western classical

TV made me into a household name,“ he said, expressing

music better. It was a

his gratitude to the television people who hired him for

fusion of ghazals and

their shows...

Western music. As they

Indian music industry is getting embellished with the

concentrating

scintillating works of Stephen. Some of the films he scored

mainly on ghazals, all the other artists were from Mumbai.

were Majaa, Thambi, Nammal, Azhagiya Thamizh Magan,

were

I was the only South Indian” , he says. “ Hariji has inspired

Swapnakoodu, Mozhi, Vinnai Thandi Varuvaya etc. But it was

me a lot. I could connect with him instantly. He has been

for Mozhi under music director Vidyasagar that Stephen

like a guardian, realizing my talent and guiding me through

soared on the wings of creativity. “In the film Prithiviraj,

this industry, his genius has rubbed off on me majorly” .

who plays a music director, enacts a scene where he

In his teens, instead of hanging out at hot spots, Stephen

conducts a piece of music. I had to create a piece of music

was busy working with the legends like L.Subramanian the

that synchronized with each and every minute flick and

violin maestro, Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, Colonial

dip of Prithiviraj’s hands and nod of his head. It was a

Cousins and then, with the musical wizard, A.R.Rahman. Above all there was a musical aura enveloping this gifted musician. He is one of the regular band members of the Rex Band, a Christian contemporary band singing gospel fusion. ”I got the

opportunity to sing before Pope John Paul II. It was at an event when, bands from all over the world were present and we were the only one from India. It’s all thanks to my family and friends who gave me their

Nov-Dec 2012

41


big challenge because his actions also had a lot of vague

success, Rahman wakes early in the morning at five and

movements. I remember crying my guts out because it was

engages in practicing his art, which polishes his art and

just not getting. In the end, it took me almost six hours to

adds to its luminosity. I would insist the youngsters to look

acoustically recreate a minute and a half on film. The sweat

upon” he said.

and tears paid off, because I won a lot of industry reviews”,

Is it the high resonance of the instrument or the nimble

Stephen beamed with pride about his contribution to the

fingers gliding over it weaves the symphony? NO, there

film that not only rocked the music charts in 2007 but the

is something more...it’s the goodness of the soul and the

Tamil box office too. Vinnai Thandi Varuvaya of Gautham

spirtual bliss above all the zest and hard work that counts.

Menon, also had an amazing collection of songs, and a lot

The 31-year-old pianist proves it all; today, he is widely

of hard work associated with it.

regarded as an enthralling stage performer, an innovative

Keeping Himself grounded…

arranger of film music and a brilliantly original composer.

According to Stephen, what does it take to reach out and

It was pleasure meeting him and we at Audiby hope that

stir the souls of the audience ... ”there are a lot of aspects

he continues to be a dominant force in the music scenario,

which go into creating an excellent musician . Apart from

with his versatility and experimental tactics, and enthralls

being naturally gifted, you have to be lucky and then the

all the audience across the world.

bulk of hard work you add to it matters and the continued practice is something which can boost your excellence”. To exemplify his statement he said something more about A R. Rahman, who he considers a great source of inspiration.

“The strength of his art and his insistence about practicing the art, speak volumes. Even when he is at the peak of his

42 Nov-Dec 2012

- Soorya MS -


Line 6

Stage Scape M20d L

ine 6 Stage Scape M20d is a digital mixer with touchscreen interface,

Specifications

Auto-sensing Inputs and Outputs, Built-in Processing, USB/SD Card Recording, and Remote Control via iPad, a powerful tool to mix and

• Unique mixing system with a touchscreen interface and intelligent setup features.

record live shows.

• Auto-sensing inputs that recognizes whats plugged in, and optimizes channel strips and FX settings.

route signals and setup monitor mixes. The large touchscreen display

• Mix from anywhere in the room with your Apple iPad, connected via Wi-Fi

are another attraction, 16 of the 20 inputs and all the 6 outputs are

• Multi-band feedback suppression on every out put for worry-free performance

it can automatically distinguish microphones and instruments, optimizing

• Built-in processing eliminates the need for a separate rack full of equipment • Connects to Line 6 StageSource-series speakers via Line 6 Link for convenience and superior sound

The digital mixer’s touchscreen interface provides visual clues to gives instant access to an array of mixing functions that are usually spread all over a typical mixing board. Autosensing inputs and outputs autosensing. The device will let you focus entirely on the performance and channel strip and effects settings for them. This makes setting it up easy. The powerful DSP built into the device efficiently replaces multiple racks of gears needed to get the best live audio. The built-in-multi-band feedback suppression on each microphone input gives a squeal-free performance. A host of EQ, dynamics and effects processors for every

• Record up to 16 channels plus your main mix, with or without a computer (SD card or USB drive)

channel polishes the entire mix.

• Scene Recall lets you access previous setups quickly

from different parts of the room as it can be controlled anywhere from

• Quick Capture sound check records up to 20 s seconds from all inputs, then loops playback for you to mix

channels and main mix in high resolution audio. Line 6 Stage Scape M20d

Remote mixing via iPad and sound check capability are other interesting features. M20d is the perfect way to make mix adjustments room using an iPad. It is a smarter system with the ability to record 16 provides all these and more with a groundbreaking design suitable for both professionals and beginners.

Nov-Dec 2012

43


The thriving hub of rock

O

n an unspectacular, yet bustling

the Abbey Road Studios which was

is now an important part of England’s

suburb of north London, lies

opened in 1931 is the first custom–built

musical heritage.

a gracious Georgian house,

studio complex of its kind and was

almost unnoticeable to the human eye.

the home of many great recordings,

Apart from a few cars parked along

especially those of Sir Edward Elgar,

the periphery of the property, what

who

makes this street buzzing with activity

composer, and the Beatles, the famous

is the horde of tourists, photographing

English rock band.

is

England’s

most

renowned

the whole escapade and adding their

This grand, imposing building is

names on the graffiti wall. Behold the

as antiquated as England’s ancient

famous Abbey Road , a studio made

monuments. In truth, where rock ’n’

legendary by the Beatles, Pink Floyd,

roll industry is concerned, Abbey Road

Badfinger, and others.

Studios is almost a fully functional,

Once in the Abbey Road , walking into the doors of No.3 is more like

archaic monument. Also, this studio has quite a remarkable history.

entering a place which has earned a

It is in this studio that Cliff Richard

well deserving spot in music history.

recorded his first single ‘Move It’ ,

Abbey Road rightly self–identifies as

which is also England’s first rock ‘n’

the most famous recording studio in

roll record. This is where Pink Floyd

the world.

reinvigorated their career with the

Transformed from a private Georgian

commercially successful ‘Dark Side

house to a multi studio facility that

of the Moon’, and the youth culture

entails various kinds of music such as

and

orchestra, string quartets, choral works

establishment. The sound of ‘Britpop ’

and instrumental soloists and singers,

was created in this very studio, which

44 Nov-Dec 2012

hippies

embraced

the

rock

History Originally built as a private home in 1830, the Gramophone Company Ltd (which has today become EMI) used it for their studio operations in 1931, recording the finest and top–notch orchestras of the day. The history of

Abbey Road Studios is never complete without the mention of England’s all time favorite band, the Beatles. The Beatles’ history at the studio


& roll

harangue on the significance of using

Since the studio was an integral

high quality amplifiers to stay a cut

part of the band’s successes ever

above the others. He ended his hard

since its inception, the studio is the

hitting lecture with a question to elicit

only remaining evidence of the band’s

an open–ended response, “Look, I’ve

existence and influence in the whole

laid into you for quite a time, and you

rock industry. In fact, the Beatle themed

haven’t responded. Is there anything

graffiti adorns the studio walls and

you don’t like?” A long awkward silence

even today scores of fans pay tribute

ensued before George Harrison looking

to their favorite band by writing on

at him steadily answered, “yeah, I don’t

the walls of the studio. When George

like your tie!” And so began the Beatles’

Harrison, the lead guitarist and song

journey to becoming England’s most

writer of the band passed away in

popular band and Abbey Road Studios

2001, a huge crowd of fans gathered

became the world’s most celebrated

there to remember Harrison’s life and

recording studio.

mourn his great loss.

All through Beatles’ active years,

A decade later, Abbey Road Studios

their greatest hits such as ‘She Loves

or EMI studios as it was formerly

You’, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and

known, acceded to the inexorable and

‘Help!’ were recorded here. Their widely

played host to many of the biggest

recognized rock masterpieces namely,

names in the music industry. The

‘Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club’

studio has maintained its reputation

and ‘ Abbey Road’ which made use

for using and developing state of the

of novel studio techniques, changed

art technology and equipment and also

people’s

band

for delivering high quality music in all

forever. Paul McCartney’s Victorian

genres since 1960s. Lately the studio

house, which was located a few blocks

has become the epicenter for the

away from the studio, was a meeting

recordings of background soundtracks

can be traced back to 6th June 1962.

place of sorts for the band members

of movies such as Raiders of the Lost

Having arrived at the studio in an old

before a recording session.

perception

of

the

van, wearing black leather jackets, they

The Beatles and the studio made

unloaded worn–out equipment which

news in 1967, when they performed

included unpainted wooden amplifiers,

a song live for a worldwide satellite

and jumped into a four song demo at

television network called Our World ,

the end of which the band’s producer,

which was heard by approximately 350

George Martin delivered a long, endless

million people.

Ark, Braveheart and Star Wars to name a few.

Blueprint The

building

encompasses

four

studios. Studio One is roughly 92 by 52 feet, boasting approximately 4,876 square feet of floor space with a high ceiling of 45 feet. It is gigantic enough to accommodate a 100 piece orchestra and a 120 piece vocal choir. Studio Two is smaller in size and can contain only about 55 musicians. Studio Three is moderately sized featuring a mirrored isolation room where unique acoustic sessions take place since the rooms lack parallel surfaces. Occupying the whole of the top floor is a stylish Penthouse studio with a magnificent view of the Abbey Road Studios’ garden. A fully licensed restaurant bar and two luxury apartments can be found on the same premises.

- Naomi Nair Nov-Dec 2012

45


Tunesmith of

South Indian L

ove- a short word with an inexpressible meaning! It is boundless and eternal, a feeling that only our heart can understand... an unnamable state of the

Fa n t a s i a

mind that evokes feelings of joys and pain; loss and gain; fear and courage; happiness and regrets; kindness and jealousy; pride and humility… name any emotion and it is rooted on love! No man can ever describe the feeling to its utmost. And for centuries humankind was in love with the concept of love. Love has always been a subject matter that lured artists to the conception of great art forms. May it be paintings, literature, movies, music or any other, love is an inspiration. Among those arts is the Malayalam movie by Blessy, Pranayam . The movie delineates the different

dimensions of love, and in conveying the fine emotions music has played a sizable role. The melodious song,

Paatil Ee Paatil underscored the sentiments of the movie

The melody of Pranayam has the beauty of never satisfied love! It soars, swoops and hops around, flaming even the ashes of love. By composing that beauty M Jayachandran has once again proved that he knows the rhythm and shape of true emotions…

and is reminiscence for all those who have experienced love. Composer of the song, M Jayachandran, excelled in adding emotions to the beautiful lyrics, and his craft got a standing ovation from the industry and music lovers. Following the waves of Pranayam , songs of Chattakari and

Trivandrum Lodge flowed from the composers mind, and its not needed to mention that both were well received. The tunesmith has bewitched Malayalam audience with soul searing melodies. Jayachandran’s devotion to music flared at an early age of his childhood and started learning Carnatic music. Thanks to his father’s interest in music! His family had an age old lineage of engineers and following the same path he became an electrical engineer. But his ‘karma’ was to learn the art of balancing popular music with traditional ‘ragas’. He began the odyssey into music by arranging tunes for some poems and snippets by Vayalar. Now even after five state awards and two filmfare awards along with a lot of other recognitions like the Radio Mirchi award, he keeps a low profile. He didn’t need any publicity to make his way through the industry; his songs have done that for

Turning Point Jayachandran has been in the industry for a long time, almost eight years, till his song for the movie Valkannadi gave the first break. Manikuyile was the turning point of his career. All those years he has been in the industry, struggling and waiting for his time, with an undeniable love for music. He believes that the struggle along with the pains inflicted by the hard experiences shaped the musician in him. His songs are inspired from life’s experience and carry a part of his soul. The song Ennale Ente Nenchile for Baletan is the perfect archetype. This song can be considered as the cornerstone of his career that established him as a music director in the top bracket. That music touched the listeners, awakening powerful emotions of loss. It was the agony of losing his son and memories left of him that sired such music. His success was definitely delayed, but not shallow!

Into The World of films

him. His compositions mesmerized Malayalam audiences

M Jayachandran continued to sing and make music.

to such an extent that there were times when, virtually all

It was his association with MBS and Deevarajan master

the film-chart-busters were his composition.

that paved the way into the industry. His first step as

46 Nov-Dec 2012


an independent music director was for Chantha (1995).

almost a hundred movies and most of them were huge

Almost twenty movies and a few album songs, most of

hits. The list of his music goes on and on, that includes

which went unnoticed, followed that project. With a

exceptional works for Gourisankaram, Kathavasheshan,

reverence to music and a determination to achieve the

Perumazhakalam, Nottam, Nivedyam, Madampi, Karayileku

dream, he waited for years and his austerity was paid well

Oru Kadal Dooram, Pranayam, Chattakari and Trivandrum

by 2002 as Manikuyile evoked a positive response. Though

lodge to name a few. With a lot more yet to come!!

he was basically a singer, the exposure to western genre gave him the idea of blending Carnatic and Western to make popular music. Besides, MB Sreenivasan, G Deevarajan and Shri. Madan Mohan, played a role in broadening his perspective in music. He found a delight in the creativity and freedom that lay in the hands of a composer and chose Music Direction. The satisfaction of creating music is more than enough! Though technology is nothing without a creative mind, it could certainly lift the ‘impression’ of any composition. Jayachandran is one of those composers who know how to use technology to enhance music. This is one of the reasons that make his music different, and for him technology is a faithful servant, composition is more significant. From Valkannadi onwards, he has worked for

Melodious Music For Jayachandran, music is melody!!! “You take any music

anywhere in the world, time-tested compositions are all melodious” , and he has always been in love with ‘Kalyani’ and ‘Dwijavanti’! If music of Akale, Perumazhakalam,

Baletan and Pranayam is not enough to showcase his melodies, then just recall the Eastcoast album Ormakkai . There won’t be any ‘malayale’ who haven’t hummed

Ormakkai eniyoru sneha geetham..! That song was one of the greatest hit in the non-film circuit that reared an identity for ‘albums’ in Kerala. Ninakkai, Swantham, and

Eniennum followed the same path evolving a new trend in the Malayalam music industry. Though he is in love with

Nov-Dec 2012

47


melodies, Jayachandran also likes to experiment with music, siring songs that come under the genre of ‘adipoli’. He is right at home with foot-tapping beats of Pineapple Penne and Kalla kalla , as he is comfortable with soulful compositions like Raakili Thann and Innale Ente Nenchile . Classic Carnatic and African rhythms have the power to allure him! As a music director he knows which music will be able to create right impact. Paatil Ee Paatil for Pranayam frames the composer in Jayachandran at his prime. The song, Paatil Ee Paatil , is a lullaby-ish melody with a touch of melancholy. The music is a lovely interplay of piano and strings that could stir overwhelming emotions, the crowning glory of the ‘melody man’ in M Jayachandran. Its music added untold dimensions to the lyrics, arousing an array of bittersweet memories. It’s a strong yet tender song that resonates a breathtaking sense of prayer and faith; hopes and dreams; along with a magnitude of love, companionship, togetherness, loss and regrets. Swapnasanchari, Mallu singh, Chattakaari,

Trivandrum Lodge and 916 followed the queue to his credit book, making him one of the busiest music composers of South India. Chattakari and

Trivandrum Lodge his latest works also points to his experimentalism, as the songs are melodies in a non-melodious way, especially the songs of Trivandrum Lodge . Kanninullil

nee Kanmani and Kilikal Paranatho are melodies, yet the instrumental sounds adds a pulsating rhythm to the melodious feel…tantalizing!!! With a hand full of contracts he is on his move. Like the saying, ‘heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter’, and lets

hope the melody lover will exceed his grasp! M Jayachandran is a familiar face for television audiences

presenting

Carnatic

classical

music

based shows and reality shows. Talent can be ignored for some time, but cannot be suppressed! And

Jayachandran’s

achievement

is

the

best

example. Rather than in the glories of the industry, his intension is to create music that will bring out what he wants. He is a well regarded musician and has secured a place of his own in the industry. Regardless of his accomplishments, he keeps his selfdom in check. “Each tune is alms from the

God. The moment the alms stop you are finished” . Jayachandran’s life emphasizes the belief that there are no shortcuts to success. It takes passion, determination, hard work and most importantly, God’s Grace to reach your goal. Always keep the burning desire alive and never ever give up.

- Divya Jose -

48 Nov-Dec 2012


Sound Devices USBPre 2 S

ound Devices has been known for years, as a manufacturer of

audio gear for the field recording engineer, with compact and rugged field mixers and solid-state recorders making up most of

its product line. Like all those Sound Devices products, the USBPre2 is designed to stand up to the most demanding environments. USB Pre2 is a high-resolution, portable hardware interface for Mac and Windows based digital audio. USBPre2 includes two discrete-transistor microphone preamps, with 24-bit converters and sampling rates up to 192 kHz. These preamplifiers provide the highest performance in any portable interface. Their topology is shared with Sound Devices award-winning 744T Digital Audio Recorder. There are Peak limiters, high-pass filters, and a 15 dB pad to add overload protection. Superoior audio performances can benefit a lot by using USBPre2, as it performs all the analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversions. To interconnect all the big and small sound systems, the USBPre2 includes numerous output connection types, including balanced mic or line-level on XLR, unbalanced consumer line-level on RCA, S/PDIF coaxial (RCA) and optical (Toslink). The outputs have their own, dedicated frontpanel level control. Sound engineers always demands accurate signal level metering. The USBPre2 includes a 23-segment, multicolor LED meter for precise level indication. The meter is switchable between input signal metering and playback signal metering. The meter indicates both VU and peak (PPM) ballistics. The USBPre2 can be used in Stand-Alone mode where it operates as a high-quality, portable microphone preamplifier and analog-to-digital converter. Digital signals connected to the USBPre2 are converted to

Specifications • Extended bandwidth, low-noise microphone preamplifiers with 48 V phantom, limiters, high-pass filters, and 15 dB pad. • Dynamic range greater than 114 dB (in 24-bit operation). • Flat 10 Hz to 40 kHz (@96 kHz SR) audio band width with very low distortion characteristics. • Precision, 23-segment, multicolor LED peak/ VU meter, selectable between input and output sources. • High-output headphone amplifier can drive a wide range of headphones. • Balanced outputs on XLR connectors with dedicated level control. • Mix control enables zero-delay monitoring of source audio, computer audio, or a mix of both source and computer audio for multitrack recording or computer telephony. • Bus powering via USB for convenient, singlecable connection to the computer. • In Stand-Alone mode the USBPre 2 operates as a microphone preamplifier and analog-to-digital converter.

Alone mode is a great option when an additional microphone preamplifer,

• Hardware loop-through for test & measurement to send computer audio directly back to an input.

A-D converter, or D-A converter is required.

• High-strength extruded aluminum chassis.

analog and available at the headphone, XLR, and RCA outputs. Stand-

Nov-Dec 2012

49


”Jugheads”

from 31/12,VOC Street… That’s the way they like it!! You may wonder what’s been talked about!!! Let’s make it straight… It’s all about 20dB studios.

I

t sits there at the end of world

right

at deep interiors of Saligramam,

common

from

behind

their

childhood.

This

best recording studios of South India

weaved

their

today. It is a superbly fashioned,

interest

rustic

destiny for a common cause and

visually appealing and well-equipped

building; ‘20dB’, 231/12, VOC Street,

that was ‘Music production’!! Both

recording studio. As you step into

Saligramam, Chennai. A space that

of them being good singers, has

the studio, the first thing that strikes

inspires creativity; where sound and

got an ‘incredible music sense’ and

you about the place, is ‘its ambience’.

light live together in a rare perfection.

they know how to pick the perfect

Vibrant shades of blue and red is all

Musically

Sethu

sound and blend it perfectly with

over and is enhanced by ambient

an

gifted

old

yellow

brothers,

Thankachan

the techniques. But their attitude

lightings. The play of light and colours

with their deep-rooted music passion,

made them remarkable!! They treated

adds a lot of drama to this interior.

dreamt to make it a reality!! 20dB is

music,

to

There is a big, acoustically-designed

not only a ‘Sound studio’, it is a place

them, ‘involvement of the technician

room, purpose-built for recording. It

of fun and leisure... a perfect music

matters’; they want music to come

is large enough to accommodate an

place for all the musicians to hang

from

from

eight piece orchestra. The ‘heart of

and jam!!!

alarm or distress. That’s what they

the studio’ is its ‘mix-room’, equipped

expect from 20dB and that’s what it

with

renders..!!

system, high-end ‘Apogee converters’,

Thankachan

and

Balu

Born with ‘a musically modified gene’, both Sethu and Balu were obsessed about ‘music and sound’

50 Nov-Dec 2012

aesthetically,

tranquility

according

rather

than

‘20dB’, built in 2008 is one of the

pristine

protool-HD quality

powered preamps,

MAC quality


out-board gears, microphones like

to limelight it was an awe-inspiring

‘20dB’

‘Neumann’, ‘AKG’ and

contribution to the world South Indian

workplace

Music-production!!!

South India. The studio has executed

the ‘Genelec’

8050 contributing to the best sound

has

become

for

a

musicians

favourite all

over

smooth

The venture started out with the

response,

movie, ‘Balle Pandia’, soon it was

Music

that enable perfect sound judgment.

followed by a number of other big

Production,

The whole credit of the acoustically

music projects. The majority of them

Education … all under a single roof of

perfect

ever. and

The

room

accurate

provides

frequency

a large number of projects including Production, Concept

Jingles,

Post

development,

Mr.Manoj,

were of Gopi Sunder, the famous

20db. Apart from song recordings, the

‘Soundtechmedia’ who has designed

Music director and childhood friend

studio provides internship for sound

the acoustics of ‘20dB’. Apart from

of Sethu & Balu. Gopi Sunder was

engineering

the perfect decors and acoustics

going up the ladder of success with

perfect ambiance for nourishing their

there are some unique additions,

his amazing compositions, which on

skills Their vision behind the program

that exudes the creative sensibilities

other hand complimented the studio’s

is praise-worthy as they wish to give

of Sethu & Balue. There is a wall

success. Music director Ouseppachan

well-trained sound engineers to the

-mounted

capturing,

was another supporting force that

industry.

the memory notes of all those artists

contributed to the success. Major

‘20dB’!! Today the name is heard

and musicians who has experienced

chart hits of 2011 came out from

often in the industry!!! The studio

the fun of recording at‘20dB’. Every

the recording arena of ‘20dB’ which

has met a number of changes in past

nook and corner of the studio is an

includes South Indian biggies like

few years, it has evolved and thrived.

‘ode’ to its ‘owners’ creativity’. The

Anwar, Cocktail, Seniors, Gaddama,

Today the studio is busier than ever,

high-quality equipments and software,

Manikyakallu, Beautiful, Ustad Hotel...

continuing to defy the odds, blazing

complimented by a perfect ambience,

the list is too big to mention!! The

its own trail…!!!

brings out the innermost creativity in

songs like Kizhakkupookum, Neeyam

the artist. Finally the work is executed

Thanlilnu, and Mazhaneerthullikal etc

through feel and experience!!! Four

were chart toppers!! .

studio

goes

to

‘white-board’

years ago when the studio came

students,

giving

them

No wonder, in less than 5 years

Nov-Dec 2012

51


“ 20dB

is essentially not only a ‘Sound studio’. Strictly from our ‘hear ts’ point of view, it is an absolute

thought, an acoustic space with sparkling LED lights & those rare white polar bear like Genelecs. An

Abstract of what we ‘believe’ we can do and an idea of what we can’t! An arrangement which has

eventually evolved to play, process, procure and produce dreams of all sor ts-Good, Bad and Smokey

ones. A platform where we can sit, blabber, sing, gossip & on a serious note record, design sound and

think of doing things better. A hazardous risk we have took in terms with bank loans & rate of interests, a par tnership of brotherhood we have striked to make a decent living from.

It sits here at the end of world at deep interiors of Saligramam, behind an old yellow rustic building; we are the jug heads from 31/12, VOC Street, Saligramam, Chennai.

It is tit-bits of everything what we have acquired ever since bumping into songs

from Maestro Ilayaraja

for the Movie ‘Chembaruthi’ OR say ‘Keladi Kanmani’, to

a ‘Chinna Chinna Asai’ from an Audio Cassette of Roja which dad thought was an interesting thing to listen, to those carnatic song records of S.Janaki which he

used to play after lunch hours, those Orange melancholic evenings at our laidback household with Jagjith singh’s Gazal Collections, Hazir & Urdu poetry or that

Ustad AllaRakha & Zakir Hussain Jugalbandhi sessions. Later acquaintances and Sethu

affiliations with friends who jammed with Dire Straits, Tom Petty, Eric Clapton and Pink Floyd to ‘Girlfriends - Would-be’s - Ex’s’ who loved Bryan Adams, Michael

Jackson, Scorpions & Eagles, then to our own experiments with BlackSabbath, Doors, Jethrotull, AC/DC, Tracy Chapman and many more. The way we see it, 20dB is a collage of everything what we’ve listened to!

20dB is Multi-dimensional. At this stage we dream of expanding arenas. We think

of double ducker burgers & double storied chocolate cakes. We think of Bigger & Sweeter things. Balu

52 Nov-Dec 2012

We dream of opening windows over placing mirrors!! We dream of

a better tomorrow. Ciao & Smiles…. ”

- Balu and Sethu-


Active Desktop Studio Monitor

Dynaudio DBM50 D

ynaudio’s expertise in building speaker drivers has been established for over 35 years and no doubt they know what goes into a great monitor speaker. With 20 plus years of experience in

producing professional monitors for top studios, Dynaudio’s proprietary driver technologies produce monitors that are neutral and uncolored. The monitors with its silky clarity in combination with amazing dynamic capabilities let you work marathon sessions without ear fatigue. Desktop production plays a pivotal role in today’s music industry. Much of today’s music starts out on a desktop, in the composer’s computer. Incorporated with a number of Dynaudio technologies, including a highly effective wave guide around the tweeter, an up-angled cabinet that focuses the sound on your ears, and a level control, the

Specifications • Front baffel tilt for perfect desktop placement • Smooth HF wave-guide that gives you an optimal near field sweet spot • Handcrafted drivers, legendary Dynaudio craftmanship • 117dB SPL Peak power • 1” high-resolution soft dome tweeter • 7.5” extended-excursion woofer • Amplification: Tweeter: 50W / Woofer: 50W

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Nov-Dec 2012

53




L

He acts as a Sonic Referee, controlling and manipulating musical temperaments, for the most trusted musicians of the South. Now shimmering in the limelight of Radio Mirchi South-Best Sound Technician Award, he is willing to share the secrets of how he etched emotions into the raw tracks of ‘ Pranayam’. ife has an interesting way of reminding us what we

in the game. When it comes to sound engineers especially

are capable of pursuing if we stay persistent. No

mix engineers, Ranjith is one of the best in the south Indian

matter how huge the hurdle is, your determination

music industry.

gives you strength to jump over and grab your dreams. The

Ranjith completed his 3 yrs diploma from Soundtech

story of Ranjith C Rajan is not so different from others,

Media, Chennai. As soon as he completed his course he

he too faced hardships, difficulties and anxieties popped

started looking for a career. Life is not easy, especially when

on his way as he desired to actualize his dream. And

you plan on achieving something worthwhile; Ranjith had to

finally impelled by strong determination, he succeeded.

face so many hardships until he got a chance to work with

Today, Ranjith is a true mix engineer in every sense of

Mr. Manoj at Soundtech. He embraced the opportunity with

the word, juggling with traditional as well as cutting edge

gratitude, as it taught him so many new things in the field

techniques of mixing he has turned out to be a virtuoso

of mixing. Soon he got a chance to work at Muzik Lounge,

56 Nov-Dec 2012


the experience polished his talent to a great extend and he

music directors like Ilayaraja, AR Rahman, H.Sridhar etc as

was evolving to a full-fledged sound mixer.

his source of inspiration. He treasures the memories of the

“Music industry is a specialized industry and anyone can

times spent with H.Sridhar, whom he worships for being an

get a degree in audio engineering, but there are very few

ardent audiophile, a man of incredible talent and for being

who can perform a final mix, the right way. Mixing is a craft

the one who embraced technology with extraordinary

that improves with regular practise. The mix engineer’s

ease. Ranjith has been working with eminent musicians

ears begin to make a mental audio map of certain sound

like Rajamani, Sivan, Selvaganesh, Chinna, M.Jayachandran

frequencies and attributes. There are sound mixing

Shahabas, Achurajamani etc for last few years, and in

engineers who prefer to stay attached to the tradition

course of time he has learned a lot from his experience

and

with each one of them.

there are some others who prefer implementing

new ideas to their mixing, each one has their own style ”

Even though Ranjith didn’t get a jumpstart in his career

Ranjith said, revealing his style. He prefers experimenting

his hard work paid off and his talent got recognition. He

with new sounds which makes his mixing exceptional and

was awarded ‘ Radio Mirchi Music Award-2011’ for Best

unique. “Whenever I play a song I try to relate myself to an

Mix engineer. It was for his unique mixing for the ‘heart-

ordinary listener and try to perceive each song accordingly.

warming musical extravaganza’ ’ Pranayam ’! ‘ Pranayam’ as

Victory of each album depends on the public who gives the

a whole is a musical treat, every track is catchy and infused

approval, especially the common man decides whether the

with the intoxicating essence of love. The soothing power

song becomes a hit or not” he said.

of music is well established in the movie. In ‘ Pranayam’ ,

Ranjith, as a human is very humble, he thinks that he

Ranjith has travelled beyond the mixing realm and has

has got a long way to go. “Whatever I have achieved is

improvised with his own music sense. The reward is worth

just a drop in the ocean, I am still going through a learning

his effort. Audiby‘s extremely proud of you Ranjith and we

process” he said. Ranjith considers, the most celebrated

wish u a continued success!!!

- Soorya MS Nov-Dec 2012

57


“Paattil ee Paattil” a Sound Track from Pranayam

L

ife is more beautiful than a dream..., and the south Indian movie director Blessy set out to prove this point with a beautiful movie- Pranayam . The movie

centers on love, trying to capture the magical feeling in the celluloid. Does the movie captured different dimensions of love is out of the question, and not our subject either. Lets take a closer look at its song, Paatil Ee Paatil , a song that

strummed the right chords, stirring oodles of emotions

sir are outstanding figures in their fields, and working for them demands perfection. It was a great challenge as this song is like soul of the movie! Of course, cream of the song is the crystal-clear voice of Shreya Ghosal… then, there are a lot of live sounds, like strings, saxophone, guitar… that added to the mesmerizing quality of the beautiful song”.

Vocals

in the listeners heart. Saying that the song defined the

“Though her vocal was awesome I used a little bit of

beauty of that movie won’t be too much! That song is a

compression and EQ to shape-up. The vocals were recorded

classic gem from the music director, M Jayachandram.

in Mumbai, a super clean track and it came out nice. I always

His magnum opus, beyond the shadow of a doubt! Ranjith

roll off some bottom end around 40Hz to avoid anything to

C Rajan, the sound engineer of Paatil Ee Paatil , set the

go below and disturb the mix. So there is a hi-pass filter

‘feel’ of the song with such devotion that the best sound

set for 40Hz. The vocals are the main part which driving

technician award of the year was bestowed upon him. In

the song so the dynamics are very crucial. So I applied

The Mix is truly dedicated to the ‘men behind the boards’,

Digidesign’s compressor and one of my favorite- the Avalon

unveiling their piece of art and crafts, and it’s a pleasure to

hardware compressor in the inserts, which gave me the

have Ranjith C Rajan, an award winning sound technician,

tone and color of the song. I usually listen to the whole song

on seat to celebrate our first issue.

at a listener’s perspective and balance according to that. When the vocals were almost fixed and the programming

“Paatil Ee Paatil is a light song that overwhelms you

part was so clean I felt like ‘yeah that was easy’, completed

with emotions… the beauty of the song is like, you can

the half. To me that’s where the mixing actually starts. For

feel it with your heart… both Blessy sir and Jayachandran

the EQs, I applied Digidesign’s 7-band EQ, SSL console

58 Nov-Dec 2012


Nov-Dec 2012

59


60 Nov-Dec 2012


External audio interface

Lexicon

I•ONIX FW810S

L

exicon I•ONIX FW810S is more than just a FireWire audio interface, with its amazing pool of features - including new dbx 63V highvoltage, ultra low noise mic preamps, dbx dynamics (comparator,

limiter, gate) and EQ, a hardware monitor reverb, and a software suite that includes the new Pantheon™ II VST/AU reverb plug-in, the IONIX FW810S represents a breakthrough in recording technology for the sophisticated home or project studio. It’s a pro recording studio in a single rack unit. Newly designed dbx mic preamps are included on every channel and run on a 63V supply so as to guarantee stability and provide superior recording across a wide dynamic range. The extremely transparent preamps with optimal head-room, deliver deeper lows, smoother highs, and an over all fuller sound. It out performs any other audio interface and many stand-alone mic preamps. Performance driven A/D – D/A converters ensure pristine 24-bit/96kHz audio. And with built-in dbx Type IV conversion, your digital recordings will preserve their dynamic range even when levels get too high. It gives you more head-room, capturing the subtle details in higher level signals instead of hard clipping them. In short, The I-ONIX FW810S is a complete hardware and software solution that turns your computer into a professional 24-bit/96 kHz recording studio.

Specifications • Zero latency Lexicon monitor reverb • Dbx high-voltage, ultra low noice mic pres on all eight channels • Dbx dynamics (compressor, limiter, gate, EQ) on all eight channels • Six analog combi-jack inputs on the rear panel for mic/line inputs • Two front panel combi-jacks accept mic, line, or instrument signals • Type IV conversion feature emulates tape saturation at high levels • Zero-latency mixer hardware UI with dbx dy namics and a hardware monitor reverb • 44.1-96kHz sample rates, 24-bit processing • Eight analog TRS outputs (7.1 surround capable) and stereo main outs • Stereo S/PDIF digital I/O • FireWire 400 connection to DAW • Software suite includes Steinberg’s Cubase LE 4, Toontrack EZ Drummer lite, and Lexi con Pan theon II reverb plug-in • Low-latency drivers include Windows WDM with ASIO support along with and Macintosh Core Audio with ASIO support

Nov-Dec 2012

61


There is a freshness about him... maybe because of his peerless voice or his versatility! Or is it because of his expressionism??

G

enetics proves that everything about an individual is written on their genes and passed onto generation after generation. But I believe that

certain things do not follow the rules of hereditary, rather they are encrypted on destiny. Sooraj Santhosh and his quest for music are among those exceptions. Otherwise how will you explain his rise to the mainstream music

Sweet? Husky?

Refreshingly Unique!

Sooraj Santhosh

62 Nov-Dec 2012

industry from a family without any musical background? Sooraj Santhosh! Does that name ring any bells? No wonder if it didn’t! With so many movies and reality shows around, it is painful to remember the name of any new talent. But the honest sounding voice that sang ‘inka edho ’ and ‘ee ramayana kootil’ is really hard to miss. Look around that voice and you can see a humble man with a lot of potential- SOORAJ SANTHOSH- none other than our hero. The two songs fastened his foothold in the industry, but he seemed not to be over enthusiastic about it or the fact of being numbered as one of the most promising male voices in South India. “Everything fell into place for me as if

someone planned it that way. He has been showering me


i n abundance. Then prayers and wishes of my parents and

teachers” . Destiny! Music director of Second Show, Nikhil Rajan, was in search of a fresh voice that could add emotions to his music and that search ended in Sooraj. “Nikhil Rajan

offered ‘ee Ramayana kootil’, after listening to ‘inka edho’, my song for a Telugu movie ‘Darling’. He was a newcomer, actually the entire movie was a newcomer’s venture and I was another new voice. And I enjoyed working with them immensely. That work provided a lot of freedom... letting me to be creative” . By the time he stepped onto his first Malayalam project, his name created an identity in South Indian Music Industry. Sooraj’s first song was ‘ Muddugaare ’, a traditional Carnatic composition by

Talented, humble, versatile these adjectives would aptly describe this young singer’s persona. With hits like Inkaetho, Uyirin suvaril, Ee Ramayanakootil, this crooner has made his presence felt in South Indian music industry.

Manikanth Kadri, for Villagelo Vinayakudu - a Telugu movie, but the film features the female version of that song. And it was G V Prakash who gave him the first break. “George

Peter sir introduced me to G V Prakash and after one year he offered me a chance in ‘Darling’, another Telugu movie. ‘Inka edho’ was my first mainstream exposure” . While his song was creating a sensation throughout Andhra Pradesh, he was at his flat in Thiruvananthapuram, unaware of the happenings. “My Guru, Kudamalur Janardhanan- he is one of the best flautist in India- was in Hyderabad for a concert.. he heard my song while travelling in a cab...that cab driver told him that it’s the current hit over there..my Guru was the first one who informed me about the huge success of my song”. His Guru’s affectionate words of appreciation, is more precious to him than his first award- Radio Mirchi Best Upcoming Singer in Telugu. Sooraj hit the tamil music industry with two songs for a dubbed movie Sridhar , ‘uyirin suvaril’ and ‘vegam vegam

vegam’ , in the direction of Rahul Raj. His career steam is set not just by these movie songs, he gained a strong foothold in the music industry by singing for numerous albums and jingles. He has also been a vocalist with an Indo-Australian Oriental Rock Band, Ashram. “Ashram is a rock band that

blends Indian music and jazz along with rock. It was through the thabalist of the band that they came to know about me. I have been to a one month European tour with the band. It was a great experience. There will be new projects” . That band was a different experience and he enjoyed the thrills and joys of a stage performance for a foreign crowd.

“They were not bothered about anything else but music.. they welcomed us with cheers and encouragement. It was nothing like what I imagined...” His father, Santhosh kumar, is a senior administrative assistant in the forest department and his mother, Jayakumari, is a teacher in Cotton Hills School Trivandrum. Besides he has got a younger brother, Dheeraj, an engineering student. Sooraj was born on September 19th,

1987 and is a post graduate in commerce. Though his actual birthplace is Kollam, he was brought up at Trivandrum as his parents worked there. It was in school where he developed an appetite for music. “At school I was surrounded by a

bunch of music loving friends. And my mother made me join music classes seeing my interest when I was in second standard” . He commenced pursuing his dreams at the age of seven with daily lessons in carnatic music and has participated in several youth festivals at school and college levels. It was the tutelage under Kudamalur Janardhanan that made him serious about music and Sooraj keeps him on a high pedestal. “For me he is like my God... I was lucky

to be among his pupils and it was his guidance that gave me the proper orientation...” he says. Sooraj is a B Grade artist with Akashvani and a winner of the national level light music competition conducted by them in 2006. Besides he has been the winner of ‘ Sangeetha Maha Yudham ’, a music competition hosted by Sun TV. Being an ardent devotee to music has made him shift his base from Trivandrum to Chennai. “Chennai is the

happening place... I always wanted to be out there, but never thought it will be for real... But living here is nothing like the feeling I got when I was here for the first time for an audition... That was real special...” he added. Four or five Tamil projects and a Telugu project are completed, with a few more in line. His choice is to be with the industry, but his vision is not for the celebdom. “I want to learn

more and more in music.. I’m still a student and want to dwell deeper..industry and film opportunities are bonuses I love during the treasure hunt” . Being a Virgo, he must be a perfectionist! Let’s hope that trait will prevail in his music, quenching his thirst and adding his own flavor to the art. Audiby wishes you the very best for your journey ahead.

- Divya Jose Nov-Dec 2012

63


64 Nov-Dec 2012


T

hese guys are all awesome!!! They are full of

and roses, Ac/Dc, and Queen, they have created a sound,

Their electrifying stage prescence and melodic riffs may catch your attention... but their unique sound and infectious energy keep you coming for more..

unique to their own. They are ‘Black Letters‘, the ones

succeeded, the band recorded five songs last year and

who screamed “The world doesn’t need no kamikaze

released three of them in July 2011.

wonder curiosity, energy and life! They are a bunch of ‘crazy four youngsters’ who doesn’t compromise

with the music they make! They stick to the music that comes straight from their heart. Having been inspired and influenced by all time greats like Led Zeppelin, Guns

Today, the BLACK LETTERS has an impressive number

anyway” ... Black Letters comprises of

Sharath Iyer on lead

of performances under their belt and has made a huge

vocals, Sarang Menon on lead guitar, Arjun Radhakrishnan

fan base across the nation. With a wide variety of shows

on bass, Akash Chacko on Drums/Percussion and Arun

ranging from pro-shows to music festivals and pubs to

Chacko, being their manager. All of them with their true

hotels as well as lots of high profile competitions in their

passion for music, are paving their way to the mainstream!

bag, they’ve proven over and again that they can captivate

Started four years ago by high school mates Akash Chacko,

and satisfy any audience. From winning ‘IIT Chennai’s

Tarun J.Martin and Sarang Menon, the band today is all set

Saarang’ (Powerchords), ‘IIM K’s Echoes’ and winning a

for an international leap.

number of other shows, Black Letters has come a long way

Black Letters, as the band members suggest, actually

since its inception. They continue to enthrall their listeners

took 4 years in their making. There were many barriers on

with their passion and deep understanding of each other

their direction, but nothing could end their passion for

as well as their music.

music. Making music was a tough task, as all the members

Taking into consideration, the bulk of live performances

were scattered in different states for most of the year. But

behind them, and a rich repertoire beneath their belt, it’s

finally with their strong determination and hard work they

bit puzzling that Black Letters hadn’t put out an album till the day. As an answer to the queries of their fans, the lads are planning something ‘big’, for 2012! They are coming up with their debut album, ‘Sounds in light bulb’… which would be a hair raising, spine tingling and bone chilling experience for their fans. No doubt they are heading out on the road to success to win over some new followers... They are in speed, touring the length and breadth of the country, casting spells with their infectious energy and variant songs writing. Playing at venues all over the nation, taking stylistic jumps from classic rock and roll to alternative rock, flirting with a variety of genres they are in their quest to perfection... in their quest to madness...!!

- Soorya MS -

Nov-Dec 2012

65



The Legacy Endures..

Achu Rajamani Embracing the musical legacy of his grandfather Chidambaranathan and his father Rajamani, Achu has scored an independent label in the Music industry. Its not all about the musical genes its about sheer hard work and determination .

A

chu Rajamani the grandson of legendary musician

A graduate in Journalism from Loyola College, Achu

B A Chidambaranathan, son of famous music

didn’t expect to become a music director at an early age. A

director, Rajamani, was born into a family with rich

technical life was never his choice, he was always attached

musical tradition. The backdrop of his childhood was filled

to his roots, and essence of music was something that he

with music; it was harmonium, mridangam, violin or any

wanted to imbibe in his life. Achu started his career as a

other instrument playing around him. The whole scenario

music director in 2008. He made his debut in the Telugu film

was enveloped in music. Bought up in ‘musical entourages’

‘ Nenu Meeku Telusa...? ’ The same film was remade in Tamil

and inheriting the ‘best genes’, there’s no wonder Achu

and titled as ‘ Ennai Theriyuma?’ He has experimented with

is here on the musical track, exploring the deeply-rooted

different types of music or both these movies. While one

musical instinct in him.

song is based on a Carnatic classical, the other one is hip-

Being extremely talented, Achu excelled in everything

hop. He collaborated with composer Dharan for the score

he did. But music was his passion and he always wanted

of these two films. Telugu remake of Tamil hit ‘ Polladhavan ’

to do something creative in his life. His base was strong,

was his next work which was an excellent endeavor.

and the ‘force of his desire’ paved him the way to be a

In 2012, Achu released his first full-fledged Tamil

music director. “ I grew up amidst music and had taken

soundtrack for the film ‘ Maalai Pozhudhin Mayakathilaey ’.

Carnatic lessons under music director ‘Keeravani’. I am

The album was well received by critics and music buffs.

also a pianist and have assisted my father in many of his

Each and every song is unique; the poetic melodies have

ventures ”, he says. He started studying keyboard at age of

raised the likeability of the album. There are nine songs

18 which benefited him in his debut in the film industry as

in the movie. Achu’s work in the orchestration is highly

a keyboard player for ‘ Keerthichakra ’. Later he was hired

imaginative ‘ Oh Baby Girl ’ is sung by Hemachandra, with the

by the same director, Major Ravi for doing background

rap portion rendered by Achu himself. ‘ Kadal Karayiley ’ is a

score for his film, ‘ Kurukshetra ’. “When Ravi uncle asked

good number sung by Shriram Parthasarathy. ‘ Yen Uyirey ’ is

me to do the background score, I couldn’t believe it was

definitely the highlight of the album, with its soulful melody,

happening. It was a challenge and I am happy that it was

the song was appreciated by a number of audiences.

well received”, Achu said.

Basically, a Hindustani classical number, ‘ Yen Uyirey ’ has

Nov-Dec 2012

67


a Carnatic feel. All the three versions of the song, sung by Karthik, Chitra and Bombay Jayasree are excellent. The pathos-filled, ‘ Yaen Indha Dhideer Thiruppam ,’ has been written by the Narayan (the director) and Achu who has also sung it, has a lengthy background score, something different from the other songs. ‘ Naerathin Neram ’ is a fine song sung by Achu, Chinmayi and Narayan (the director).

“Melodies are close to my heart, they are the toughest thing to compose. They should be new, trendy, and should over pour the feel. Finally it should be very soothing to the listener”

The Carnatic-Blues number ‘ Yaaro Ivalo ,’ sung by Haricharan and written by Rohini, has a different structure and rhythm

the song. “ Though I love doing remixes, I don’t like spoiling

which makes it a pleasure to listen to. The music definitely

the song by making it sound entirely different; I don’t want

increased the overall profile of this movie. Achu has made

the feel to vanish, which adds life to a song. ” He added.

sure that the songs are universally likeable, and not just for

Apart from being a talented musician Achu is also

listeners who love melody. Definitely, ‘ Maalai Pozhudhin

blessed with excellent singing skills. He has in his credit,

Mayakathilaey ’ was a wholesome treat.

the songs of ‘ Happy Husbands ’, ‘ Robin hood ’ and ‘ Elsamma

Though Achu likes to work with all genres of music,

enna aankutty ’.

he prefers melodies to others. “ Melodies are close to my

The multi-faceted musician has already established

heart, they are the toughest thing to compose. They should

his musical reign in the south Indian music industry.

be new, trendy, and should over pour the feel. Finally it

With his recent successful work in, ‘ Maalai Pozhudhin

should be very soothing to the listener “, says the young

Mayakathilaey ’, Achu Rajamani has reserved a position on

chap. Achu excels in composing melodies and he loves

the top strata of the music industry .This young talented

improvising with live instruments which adds the beauty

musician has got a long way to go. Audiby wishes you,

of each of his compositions. Achu says that he loves to do

success in all your future endeavors…!!!

remix as it gives an opportunity for the listeners to hear the songs in a new way, which can also retain the freshness of

68 Nov-Dec 2012

- Anjali Balachandran -


N

ew iTrack solo from Focusrite brings quality recording to your iPad. The dual-input recording interface for iPads is also fully compatible with your PC and Mac! iTrack solo features the same

Focusrite microphone preamps as in their Scarlett and Saffire interfaces, and a direct input for your guitar or bass. It is the best solution to expand the recording capabilities of your iOS device using GarageBand or any music–making app. With best audio technology and simple operation encased in a rugged aluminum unibody with an attractive silver finish, iTrack solo provides you pristine quality. The professional, low-distortion, low-noise Focusrite microphone preamp comes with a phantom power switch that allows the use of top quality condenser microphones. Another important feature of iTrack solo

Focusrite iTrack Solo

Specifications

is that recordings can be done with upto 24-bit/96KHz digital performance. The instrument input in addition to the mic preamp, let you to record a vocal performance and an instrumental performance at the same time. iTrack solo also features the Focusrite signature ‘halo indicators’ for level and clip indication! The two light signals, flashing green or red, around the

• Two-channel audio interface for iOS devices, Mac, and PC • Focusrite mic preamp with phantom power gives you open and detailed recordings

the output level of your recordings can be controlled by the large output

• Direct instrument input makes it easy to record your guitar or bass

knob.

• Up to 24-bit/96kHz resolution with your desktop

input knob ensure that you have got a good audio level for recording. And

A supplied cable connects iTrack solo to the iPad, and it is powered

computer

by the included USB cable that delivers the power necessary to run

• Record with many apps including GarageBand

the iTrack’s high-specification components. iTrack solo features of high

• Signal halos for level and clip indication.

quality audio outputs on the rear panel for connecting an audio system for playback. Take your sound to speaker system or headphones and enjoy

• Connect directly to a loudspeaker system via rear panel phono connectors.

the difference Focusrite can make. Get the legendary recording quality of

• Aluminum unibody design is rugged for depend

Focusrite on you iPad, Mac or Windows!

able portable use

Nov-Dec 2012

69


BEST 6 HOME RECORDING INTERFACE Focusrite

1

Scarlet2i2 Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB audio interface gives a great recording front-end in a portable interface. Two vibrant Focusrite mic/line/instrument preamps are right on the front panel where you need them, while the back panel hosts two line outputs. The Scarlett 2i2 is a perfect foundation for home or mobile studios that need high quality

2

M-Audio

Fast Track Pro Two phantom-powered microphone/line inputs, plus digital I/O makes Fast track pro an outstanding Audio Interface. It offers two front-panel microphone/line inputs, complete with phantom power for condenser microphones. The Fast Track Pro also provides balanced and unbalanced analog outputs - perfect for sending audio to any set of speakers or monitors - as well as inserts for outboard effects and S/PDIF digital I/O. Plus, with its built-in MIDI I/O, the Fast Track Pro eliminates the need for a separate MIDI interface. All in all, it’s a great value.

Line 6

UX2

3

POD Studio UX2 includes a 2-channel audio interface with two microphone inputs with phantom power, two guitar/bass inputs, and stereo line inputs for gear such as keyboards and drum machinesThe POD Farm plug-in, which offers up a dream collection of classic and modern amplifiers, stompboxes, studio effects, and even vocal preamplifiers, so you can achieve virtually any sound imaginable with Line 6’s POD Studio UX2. The POD Studio UX2 is a powerful software and hardware recording solution that’s designed with guitarists in mind.

1

2

3

Up to 24-bit/96kHz recording resolution

24-bit/96kHz recording Resolution

24-bit/96kHz recording resolution

Two award-winning Focusrite mic preamps with combi jacks

Two front-panel mic/instrument preamp

ASIO, WDM and Mac OS X Drivers

inputs (XLR)

1/4-inch guitar input (normal or pad)

Direct monitor control on front panel for zerolatency monitoring

Two baalanced outputs (1/4” TRS)

Two balanced XLR inputs with mic

Included Scarlett plug-in bundle gives you all the processors you need to create world-class mixes

4 unbalanced outputs (RCA)

preamplifiers and Phantom power

2x2 S/PDIF digital I/O

1/4-inch stereo monitor input

1x1 MIDI I/O with activity LEDs

Two 1/4-inch line inputs

1 x 1/4” stereo headphone output

1 Headphone output (1/4” TRS)

Two balanced 1/4-inch line out

2 x 1/4” instrument inputs

Dedicated monitor volume knob

S/PDIF digital out

2 x balanced 1/4” monitor outputs

Bus-powered USB connection

1/4-inch stereo headphone out with level control

Dedicated monitor volume knob Bus-powered USB connection

Assignable VU meters Dedicated Gain knobs, USB bus-powered with LED status indicator

70 Nov-Dec 2012


Avid

4

MBox 3 Mini The third-generation Avid Pro Tools Mbox Mini offers two simultaneous inputs and outputs, including a single pristine microphone preamp accompanied by incredible conversion . Avid built the ultra-portable Pro Tools Mbox Mini with the painstaking precision that allows it to be fully USB bus powered, so you can take advantage of its incredible recording quality anywhere. New drivers make the Pro Tools Mbox Mini fully compatible with most DAWs

PreSonus

AudioBox 22VSL

5

Featuring two acclaimed XMAX mic/instrument preamplifiers with phantom power as well as MIDI I/O, 24-bit/96kHz recording resolution, you get everything you need to make great recordings in a no-frills design. XMAX preamps run on 30V power rails, while most budget preamps run on 10V-18V. The higher voltage gives you more headroom and a richer overall sound .The AudioBox 22VSL comes with PreSonus Studio One Artist DAW software .

6

Motu

Micro book 2 The bus-powered MicroBook II builds upon the features of its popular predecessor with hands-on volume control, negligible latency, six simultaneous outputs, an XLR mic input, and 96kHz recording and playback support. Perfect for for live recording, laptop-based DJing, or laying down tracks in your home studio, the MicroBook II has the mojo to become the hub of your audio rig.

4

5

6

Up to 24-bit/48kHz sample rates

24-bit/96kHz recording resolution

24-bit/96kHz recording resolution

Includes all-new ASIO, Core Audio, WDM, MME, and multiclient drivers

Virtual StudioLive software for low-latency monitoring with effects

6 x 8 physical input/output channels (1 x XLR, 1 x 1/8” stereo TRS, 1 x 1/4” DI)

Professional-grade circuitry and converters deliver exceptional audio performance

AudioBox 1.a2 update adds USB 3.0 compatibility

8-bus digital mixer for routing and mixing live inputs with computer tracks

Mix control for zero-latency recording

PreSonus Studio One Artist DAW included 2 x 2 simultaneous channels of I/O with Phantom Power

XLR pre-amp input with 48V phantom power and 20dB pad

2 x 2 simultaneous channels of I/O 1 x XLR mic/line combo input with 48V phantom power

1/4-inch stereo monitor input

2 x 1/4” instrument inputs

Dedicated Gain Knob

2 x balanced 1/4” monitor outputs

Bus-powered USB connection

1 x 1/4” stereo headphone output Dedicated monitor volume knob Bus-powered USB connection for maximum mobility

Hi-Z guitar input with precision digital trim 1 x S/PDIF Out Stereo line-level analog input (balanced TRS or 1/4” stereo mini) CueMix FX no-latency mixing and monitor ing with EQ and dynamics processing 7-band parametric EQ and compression Test tone and white/pink noise generator

Nov-Dec 2012

71


Dream is a visual fantasy and sound brings life to it. What better example than INCEPTION!! The movie that takes you in a roller coaster ride into the surreal world of dreams, in the vehicle of sound.

D

reamscapes and subconscious mind are incredibly mysterious subject matter to dwell as its empire is wondrous. The visionary filmmaker Christopher

Nolan created a fantasy in mind, Inception , a boldly

constructed psychological sci-fi action film. It is a most uniquely told film from the ‘master builder’, a movie that ruled the technical category of 2011 Academy Awards and bagged four Oscars for sound editing, sound mixing, cinematography and visual effects. The movie is Nolan’s ‘fantastically detailed dream world’ or ‘a dream factory where people dream that they are dreaming’. Or to make that statement simple, a dream within a dream! Definitely a visual treat full of fantasy, but visions cannot create the deep emotions etched in the script and to enliven it we need sound that can spice up the movie telling us how to feel. And the sound design of Inception is the best example for sheer brilliance and ability to portray the unspoken words of emotions. A fact that made the movie worth of Oscar points to the immense quality and uncompromised hard work behind the screen! The sound of Inception guides us to understand the complex story and helps us progress along with it. Though the huge efforts put in the sound design of movies usually go unnoticed, the theme of this movie is intended to be memorized with the way it

72 Nov-Dec 2012


sound. Inception’s sound is like its clothing, as thick and

turning up unexpectedly in the dreams, creating her own

dense as the movie itself.

mayhem. In short, Inception is the sort of story that gets

The

movie

features

an

ensemble

cast

including

Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt,

you thinking and the plot almost demands unraveling, a coherent imaginative film.

Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy,

Inception has got great visual effects with lots of fight

Dileep Rao, Tom Berenger, and Michael Caine, along with

scenes, explosions and gadgetry, at the same time it is

enough globetrotting locations.

But important of all is

a psychological approach. The movie, from start to end,

that the movie takes place in the mind or several minds,

is a devastating bend of reality and dream, daring the

where a group of intellectual adventurers share a dream

viewers to define reality or dream. In the movie Nolan

space. In this film, Leonardo DiCaprio portrays Cobb,

never verifies ’what is dream’,’ what is reality’ or ‘what is

the skilled extractor and leader of a group of corporate

a lie in a dream’. In the case of Inception , the writer took

spies who ply their trade in the subconscious mind of the

an innovative style, taking the dream world and turning it

victims. And the plot advances as a businessman Satio

into a canvas upon which he penned the story of a man

hires Cobb to plant an idea in the mind of his competitor,

confronting his demons. But, visual effects alone is not

Robert Fisher- to perform inception instead of extraction.

enough, a movie needs sound to make the feel of it to be

Unfortunately the subject has been trained against such

real! And the search for the one to create the sound of

invasion making the inception far more dangerous. And to

dreams pointed to none other than Richard King, an Oscar

clog the whole plan further, Cobb’s dead wife, Mal keeps

winning sound designer. Along with Richard King who is the sound designer and supervising sound editor, Gary Rizzo and Lora Hirschberg also worked for Inception as rerecording mixer. According to Roy Finch of the Los Angeles Film School, sound designing is ‘ an invisible art ’ and he reasoned with the logic behind the title, sound designer, saying that “the title gets across the creative aspect of the

role” . Sound design is indeed an art, an art of sculpturing sound, evoking emotions and reflecting mood and it is the job of making the sounds ‘sound good’. It is a technical creative field that covers all the non-compositional elements of a film by recording, acquiring, manipulating or generating

“..even the tremulous hum surrenders to his excellance....”

Nov-Dec 2012

73


and the media for delivering the point is sound effect. Richard King performed such an art with the sounds which hooked the audience to the entire movie, to the psyche of the characters and to the levels of the dream. The extend Richard King went through to add to the film’s ultimate symphony of havoc is remarkable. Most of the scenes in the movie are illusions which have to be felt like audio elements. King’s life is a ‘ journey into sound ’ and he

real, and to make them real he used real acoustic sounds.

painted a unique sonic signature for Inception.

He recorded live sounds and later manipulated them in the

Richard King is a master sound designer who bagged

studio to enhance its quality, sounding them incredibly real.

Oscar three times, one of course for Inception, before that

For instance, King recorded isolated freight trains barreling

for Master and Commander. The Far Side of the World and

through the Mojave Desert and then amplified things by

The Dark Knight . King is a magician when it comes to sound

lowering the pitch, enhancing the metallic grinding of the

who could summon thunder, trigger gunshots, creating an

train and incorporating metallic crunch of car collisions

audio fantasy. Crafting the sound for Inception was more

to create a heavily scary, huge sound. He mixed several

of a challenge considering the thematic twist of an uncanny

unusual sounds to make the psychic fantasy real, like the

dream world beneath all the frenzies of an action movie.

sounds of oscillators in rural canyons and the sound of the

Creating sound for a multilevel dreamscape which will suit

sand groans that was captured using a microphone buried

the writer’s imagination demands sublime technical and

beneath the sand dunes. The other piece of art is the sound

creative expertise. Inception is much like a dream itself,

design at the level of the limbo where they end up in the end

scene after scene fades out creating a sheer sense of awe

as they walk down the street. To make the sequence heavy

and dizzying images, keeping the movie in the realm of

and leaden, Richard King manipulated the wind that blows

fantasy and reality. One scene maybe about a gunshot in

through the street and stylized it to sound like whisper, like

reality where as the next one maybe of an earthquake in

thoughts passing through the minds! Another fine example

mind! And sound is the only ally between the dream-reality

for the authenticity of the sound design is the architecture

bend that could explain the vast dimensions of the movie.

school in Paris which was originally shot at London. Since

Quoting Richard King, sound design is an accumulation

the people in the background weren’t Parisians, King

of thousands of little sounds that cumulatively make an

recorded the sound for that particular scene in Paris. He

approach to the sound. When it comes to Inception the

assembled a group of Parisians into a space thats similar

dreams have to be as real as the characters could be,

to the movie scene and recorded their ‘French babbling’.

with a subtle difference between the reality and dream,

He was keen on using as much genuine sound as possible

74 Nov-Dec 2012


His life is a ‘journey into sound’..., exploring the rhythm of life..., perceiving the perfect sound..., and sound of Inception is his unique sonic signature. Capturing the oral texture- sound engineering team of Inception on work for each of the minutest details in the frame like kids in

sound, which helped the audience to travel along with the

the playground, emergency vehicles and so on, to create

characters of the movie. King constructed a good mixture

a real feel of it. Then there is the matter of dialogues...

of contemporary and classic tunes in such a way that the

saying that about 98% of the dialogue in the movie is from

subject got highlighted, letting the viewers to concentrate

the production will be modest! And every brainstorming

completely on the character and thus the less important

scenes have been carefully designed which provided a

things in the background faded. Throughout Inception

thorough experience of listening to one’s mind.

there are a lot of beautiful sound moments that glued

Though the highlight of the movie is action sequences

everyone to the screen. One among them is the sequence

as Cobb tries to perform inception, the writer expertly

that happened in Paris Street when all of a sudden things

weaved a stubplot of Cobb’s relationship with his wife,

started to explode without fire. If you could concentrate

Mal and two young children. The simple emotions that grip

enough on the frame, nothing was left out of the sound,

us tenaciously during these sequences are grief, regret,

not even that of the papers being blown from the paper

hankering for home etc which in a way fuel the deadly paced

stand. The entire sequence is spectacular mainly due to

action. At the same time the movie is a psychic thriller too,

the added sound effect. Then there is the one in which

creating a feeling of doubt, uncertainty, paranoia, causing

a van throws into reverse before crashing over a bridge,

a chill down the spine! There are even moments when soft

in super slow motion. The scene is completely silent for

spoken Mal turns to be spooky!! In King’s opinion even

a low rumbling sound- Super Cool!! Another notable part

emotions have sound which tells the audience ‘how to

is the background score for dialogues, where the BGM

feel’ and sound should be a cue for what happens next.

usually tends to shadow the dialogue, but in Inception

And he is divinely skilled to take the level of that ‘feel’ to

the sound and dialogues are in sync. Richard King paused,

extreme which is evident

pitched it down or played it to the peak as the situation

in Inception - a string

demands, giving a ‘sound’ interpretation to the psychic

of dreamland travel to

action thriller.

unravel

mysteries

of

subconscious.

Christopher Nolan (Director)

Inception is filled with surrealism and metaphors, and the psychic espionage comes to an end as the team of

Creating background

extractors perform inception successfully. King is a master

music for Inception is

craftsman and he beautifully crafted each sound track of the

an

process

film. Inception is an intentionally thrilling and disorienting

as it involves scoring

movie in which sound has a sublime narrative role, helping

music for an imaginary

the audience to interpret things that the eyes cannot.

object like dream. And

When Nolan’s visual fantasy merged with King’s artfully

for Inception, the sound

created sound along with the contributions of other artists,

designer paid attention

the movie became a technical virtuosity. And the Oscars

to the minute details

reinforce the fact that Inception is the best example for

in the background to

audio narration, a very rare combination of creativity and

create

technology, displaying the ability to understand and work

intricate

a

structured

with the needs of the director.

Nov-Dec 2012

75


76 Nov-Dec 2012


M

astering is the final, crucial and creative step

phenomenal role in prompting the engineers and producers

in the audio post-production process, preparing

in producing technically precise music.

and transferring recorded audio from a source

Digital technology which was introduced to the world

containing the final mix to a data storage device, the source

in the 80’s revolutionized the entire music post production

from which all copies will be produced via methods such

process. Multi track analog tapes were replaced by

as pressing, duplication etc.

digital recording medium, DAT, optical and off late by

It is the last opportunity to enhance sound or repair

HDD. Consequently, recording and editing tracks have

problems within in an acoustically designed room. Although

become much easier. On the contrary, when a continuous

considered by many to be a somewhat mysterious art, the

electrical signal is converted to a discretesignal and the

truth is that audio mastering is a process that relies on

vice versa(ADC & DAC) and the usage of other digital

a combination of real world experience and knowledge.

equipment’s, it started losing its characteristics. It lacks

A process were precision and attention to detail are the

non-linear

norm, not the exception.

primary participants in that mysterious sound character

behavior, tape

saturation, harmonics

etc,

During pre-40’s, all phases of the recording and

we refer to as ‘analogue warmth’.Thus musicians started

mastering process were entirely achieved by mechanical

feeling the digital medium deprives the music of its soul.

processes. Performers sang/played into a large acoustic

This prompted the engineers to consider the prospect of

horn and the master recording was created by the direct

bringing back the natural fun of listening to analog medium.

transfer of acoustic energy from the diaphragm of the

Mastering opened up a new horizon, thus becoming an

recording horn to the mastering lathe. These masters were

inevitable part of music production restoring its feel and

usually made from either a soft metal alloy or from wax;

beauty. New methods were implemented to improvise the

this gave rise to the colloquial term waxing, referring to

sound, the entire production chain is altered in various

the cutting of a record.

aspects like digital recording, analog mixing and digital

After the introduction of the microphone and electronic

mastering (DAD), other methods like ADA, DDA, ADD, AAD

amplification in the mid-1920s, the mastering process

were also experimented with. As a part of this evolution

became

new analog equipment’s were introduced, tube equalizer

electro-mechanical,

and

electrically

driven

mastering lathes came into use for cutting master discs.

and compressors started regaining its lost glory. Dedicated

Until late 40’s mastering was of not much relevance

mastering software plugins like linear phase eq, multiband

even to the music production industry. Mixing was the

compressors, peak limiters etc. were also developed

most significant process that gave the recording a perfect

which aided the mastering engineer in producing a refined

finishing touch. Mastering never had prominent role in

output.With modern audio interfaces, the old arguments

sound enhancement at all.During the mastering process

of keeping the number of A-D and D-A conversions to a

not much was changed in the original mix, this can be

minimum don’t really apply, there’s no perceptible quality

attributed partially to the characteristics of the equipment’s

loss during the conversion process, so it makes sense

widely used in the early years. Mastering engineers were

to go analogue to achieve the character we associate

originally curbed of any creativity, considered to be people

with analogue equipment in the mastering stage. These

who simply cut the records as a part of the transfer

technical evolutions (in both analog and digital medium)

process.

would surely prove a boon to the music industry in the

However, the introduction of magnetic tape in early 50’s improved the audio quality dramatically. Now with

forthcoming years. A brilliant combination of these two would infallibly work wonders!!!

more dynamic range to work with and with other technical advancement, the quest for perfection to bring some sort of uniqueness to the track began, engineers started improvising with the original mix, and this was done by making fine adjustments to the amplitude of sound at different frequency bands (equalization) prior to the cutting of the master disc. Devices like fully parametric mastering equalizers, dynamic processors, expanders etc

Brijith Madhavan is an expert, with a career spanning more than 8 years, in studio acoustic designs, mastering, mixing, system installation etc. Currently he is serving as the Manger of Audio engineering at OnMobile Global Ltd. Featuring an article series of his ‘Mastering’ skills, this issue onwards.

to a greater extend boosted the confidence of the engineer, giving mastering a whole new prospective. Evolution in the field of ‘high end consumer audio systems’ also played a

Nov-Dec 2012

77


Eddie Kramer His sonic excellence seeks no queries! For over five decades, he has been painting the rock musicscape working with legendary artists of the music world, from Led Zeppelin to Jimi Hendrin... Eddie Karmer is a sound icon in the music domain and his recordings continue to define the soundtracks of the new generation.

I

f you ever thought that music was all about a singer

in charge of their new four track studio. However, Eddie

and the musical instruments at the background, then

Kramer’s passion drove him to move to the Olympic studio

you have definitely got it all wrong. Music needs its

where he earned a reputation amongst rock legends

own twists and turns to sound at its best and the role of

such as Led Zepppelin, Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. It was

the sound engineer in this pursuit is inevitable. Sound

during this period that he formed a strong relationship

engineers of today might not find sound engineering a

with Jimi Hendrix and went on to engineer almost every

herculean task as it used to be back in the 60’s and 70’s

Hendrix album. However, it is the Woodstock festival that

where accessing a studio was a dream come true for

established Kramer as the world renowned sound engineer.

millions. In this scenario, imagine creating music that

Soon after Woodstock , Hendrix appointed Kramer to build

evoked mass hysteria. Imagine working with legends

the art of the state studio which they named Electric Lady

which made people cry and have fainting spells whenever

Studio (conceptualized after Jimi Hendrix’s album Electric

they heard them. The forte of the individuals who formed

Lady Land). It took 13 months and a million dollars for the

this phenomenon among people is simply mind boggling

dream to materialize upon which Kramer was appointed the

and for this very reason Eddie Kramer was and is one of

Director of Engineering from 1970-1974. Kramer produced

the best sound engineer known on this planet.

records with the best of those times such as Carly Simon,

Born in South Africa in the 1942, Eddie was passionate

Sha Na Na and Peter Frampton, and engineered albums

about music from a very young age. He took up classes in

for a number of artists such as Dionne Warwick and Lena

classical piano, cello and violin at the prestigious South

Horne. He also produced the posthumous Jimi Hendrix

African College of Music . However, at a later stage his

records. In 1975, Kramer left the studios to work with No.1

interest changed to jazz. At the age of 19, fumbling with

band of the time ‘ Kiss Alive ’. In the 80’s Kramer produced

the energy and passion for music he moved to England

bands such as Fastway and worked with Anthrax which

where he recorded local jazz groups in a home studio and

helped him reach a wider audience which and an extensive

installed hi-fi equipment as a hobby. Eddie’s career got a

acceptance with the sale of over seven million records.

kick start at the Advision Sound Studios. In 1962, he joined

The 90’s brought in recognition for the magician where in

the Pye studios where he recorded a variety of artists

95 he won the Grammy for ‘Album of the Year’ and the 96

including Sammy Davis Jr., Petula Clark, The Kinks and The

for ‘ Best Contemporary Blues Record’.

Searchers. Known for his versatility, he moved on to work with the best in the rock history.

In a joint effort by Kramer and John Storky of the Walters/Storky design group, the AR Studio was tested and

This gifted mastermind went on to establish the KPS

impltemented in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. In March of 1996,

studios which was later bought by Regent Studios due to

Kramer did a promotional tour at South Africa and for the

its popularity even though it only had the rudimentary two

first time in 35 years, his homeland gave him a nation wide

track recording capability. Eddie Kramer artistic ability

media coverage on his works and albums. Kramer also co-

was well appreciated by Regent studios when he was put

authored the biography of Jimi Hendrix with the Hendrix

78 Nov-Dec 2012


The Living Legend of Recording

historian John Mcdermott. Kramer still plays a dynamic role in the music industry with his creation of Artists Signature

Collection in association with Waves Audio. Through this project Kramer was able to furnish his talents and spread his magic to millions. Kramer’s flair lies in the fact that he could transform the people’s taste for music. Kramer entered the music industry in the era where people looked forward to a change and wanted to set them free of the shackles of hatred. This was the era where hippie movement took its form and where the society created flower children. Kramer was able to understand this need of the society and helped in creating music that led to freedom. The very notes of the guitar, the echoes and the reverbs created a musical trance in these people that let them reach their state of self actualization. This is the very reason why Eddie Kramer is known as the legend in sound engineering.

The incomparable talent and the astounding humility of

Kramer is always on the drive to create and add more

Eddie Kramer makes him one of the best and highly sought

to the taste and life of people through music. He keeps

out sound engineer in the music industry. His drive for

bringing back the enchanting experiences such as those of

music made him thrive to work for the best and he proved

Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Kramer is not just an exceptional

his miraculous ability through impulsivity and spontaneity.

sound engineer but also a gifted photographer. In 2002,

He not only transformed the

he formed a new company named Kramer Archives, Inc.,

hands with great bands to help nations fly towards

which features the photos he had taken during the years

freedom. Eddie Kramer is not just the number one in the

of 1967-1972 where he worked with the leading bands

music industry but a true legend.

music industry but joined

such as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Small Faces etc. When Kramer was asked about his bent in photography, Kramer

- Anne Cherian -

humbly responds “I never thought once when I was taking

these casual pictures, that they would be anything more than personal remembrances”.

Nov-Dec 2012

79


A

pollo is the ultimate combination of analog and

have these SHARC processors built-in and are available

digital technology, presented by the Universal

in two versions- DUO and QUAD.

Studio. It delivers the sound, feel, and flow

Another main feature of Apollo is that it offers

of analog recording with the benefits of a DAW. It is

compatibility with Intel’s new Thunderbolt technology,

a high resolution professional audio interface with a

as found on iMacs, MacBook Pros, and MacBook Airs.

combination of world-class analog end, class-leading

Thunderbolt connectivity is via a separately sold

digital conversion technology and the addition of UAD2

Thunderbolt I/O option card and offers lower latency,

Satellite DSP unit processing for UAD powered plug-ins.

reduced audio buffer size, improved performance, and

Apollo has computer connectivity through the FireWire

greater UAD plug-in instances versus FireWire. The

800 connection and to Thunderbolt connectivity via

next generation of connectivity, Thunderbolt gives you

Thunderbolt Option Card. Apollo is a classic analog

the speed and ultra-fast performance of a PCI Express

onboard rack with 4 mic preamps, 2 Hi-Z Instrument

system- but with the convenience of a single cable.

inputs, 8 line inputs, 8 line outputs, S/PDIF and ADAT

Apollo’s connectivity includes 8 total analog inputs- 4

IO, Word Clock and more. It is sturdy and well built. The

digitally controlled analog mic preamps, 8 balanced line

dials on the front which are taken from their famous

inputs, and 2 front-panel JFET DIs. It has 14 total analog

1176 compressor, adds to the professional aura. In

outputs- 8 balanced line outs, 2 digitally-controlled

addition it has two headphone outputs and a large

analog monitor outs, and 2 dedicated stereo headphone

LED meter display. With Apollo, music producers and

outs. In terms of digital I/O, Apollo has 8 channels of

performers can finally track audio directly through a

ADAT S/MUX, 2 channels of S/PDIF, and Word Clock I/O

range of classic UAD analog emulation plug-ins with a

with an input termination switch.

sleek, elegant workflow.

Apollo features premium mic preamps and top-end

Apollo differentiates itself from other audio interfaces

converters for the lowest THD and highest dynamic

using UAD2-DSP acceleration in the monitoring and

range in its class. It’s Core Audio and ASIO drivers ensure

recording paths with very low latency. A bespoke

compatibility with all major DAWs. It provides 24-bit/192

‘Console Application’ allows UAD plug-ins to process

kHz Sound Quality for Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase and

the signals for each Input of the interface gives more in-

More. When it comes to level controller, Apollo has only

depth control of mixing and monitoring. Apollo’s sonic

one dial to control all the inputs and the active channel

character and tonal options are virtually limitless as

is highlighted using an LED on the level meter display.

this onboard processing allows producers to recording,

Every components of Apollo was carefully selected to

mixing and mastering audio using a wide range of

provide both fidelity and transparency. As the first audio

authentic emulation vintage gear. The UAD2 have super

interface to carry the Universal Audio name, Apollo was

powerful Analog SHARC processors, offloading the

designed for uncompromising sonic excellence.

processing from the host computer. Ap ollo interface

80 Nov-Dec 2012


Key Features • DUO Core processor • 18 x 24 FireWire/Thunderbolt- ready audio interface for Mac and PC • Realtime UAD Processing for low-latency (sub-2ms) tracking and mixing w/ UAD Powered Plug-Ins (Neve, Studer, Lexicon, Roland, SSL & more– each sold separately) • Class-leading sonic performance via premium mic preamps, top-end converters, and uncompromising analog design • Front-panel controls for Preamp and Monitor levels, channel selection, mic settings, dual headphone outs, and other commonly used features • Instant recall of interface and UAD plug-in settings within DAW sessions via Console application and Console Recall plugin (VST/RTAS/AU) • 8 analog inputs: 4 digitally controlled analog mic preamps; 8 balanced line inputs; 2 front-panel JFET DIs • 14 analog outputs: 8 balanced line outs; 2 digitally-controlled analog monitor outs; 2 dedicated stereo headphone outs • 10 channels of digital I/O: 8 channels of ADAT; 2 channels S/PDIF; Wordclock I/O • Dual FireWire 800 ports (standard) for host connectivity and daisy chaining • Thunderbolt I/O Option Card for fast, high-performance connectivity to new Macs and PCs (card sold separately) • Includes “Analog Classics” plug-in bundle w/ LA-2A Classic Audio Leveler, 1176LN Limiting Amplifier, and Pultec EQP-1A Program Equalizer

Nov-Dec 2012

81


Golden Tradition of Making of the

Filmmakers

The FTII has heralded the new waves of change. Today, majority of technical film professionals in the entertainment industry are from FTII. Annual national awards also reflect similar picture.

A

n existence of half a century is more than sufficient

used for film production, mainly the problems suffered by

for any institution to prove its establishment and

the film industry. After the in-depth study, the Committee

growth in particular direction. The 50-year old

rendered its report with recommendations in 1951. This

Film and Television Institute of India has not only proved

included finance for different kinds of films, a museum for

its significance but won multifaceted development and

preservation of Indian and International film classics and

achievements in the field of film training.

above all, an institution to impart training in various crafts

The Nation turned independent and it started overall

of filmmaking.

developments. Culture field was not behind. Thanks to

As per the recommendation of the Committee, Central

liberal and ambitious cultural policy of Pandit Nehru,

Government appointed K. L. Khandpur as the officer-on-

a number of organizations like Akademies for Sahitya,

special duty to form a training institute. He looked closely

Sangeet and Natak were established. At the same time, an

at various film studios in Mumbai. However, Pune, being the

important happening took place. It was commissioning of

seat of learning, he decided to establish such an institute

Film Inquiry Committee (1949) under the chairmanship of

in this city. During this period, the famous Prabhat Film

S. K. Patil. The Committee travelled throughout the country

Company was liquidated and the premise was having rare

to understand the nature of film production, distribution,

film production activities with rose gardens for essence

exhibition, machinery and equipment as well as raw stock

manufacturing. Another studio in Pune was converted into

82 Nov-Dec 2012


learning. With the availability of latest cameras and other apparatuses, the students are able to make their diploma with Arri-V, Dolby Digital and Cinemascope, a format on par with any other Bollywood film. Another important aspect is the. The teachers like Roshan Taneja, Late Prof. Satish Bahadur, Suresh Chabria, Satish Kumar, Samar Nakhate and others have offered the best vent for the creativity of students. Apart from aesthetic and technical inputs in the respective classroom, the students are exposed to Indian and world cinema with daily screening schedules and discussions. This helps to build their understanding and maturity of the medium. The academics in the FTII are heavily influenced by the films and filmmakers from Europe. Masters like Tarkovesky, Kieslowski, Eisenstein, Bergman, De Sica, Godard, Truffaut and many others are no less than gods to the students of the Institute. As a result of such outstanding characteristics of training, not only freshly graduates but many of the professionals from medicine, law, architecture, information technology and even engineering fields aspire to become students here. Interestingly, there is no higher age limit for FTII admission and this specific relaxation enables many to get training in the Institute for their lucrative career. In the 1970s, in-service training for the personnel was added to the Institute which later was re-designated as Film

and Television Institute of India and became autonomous body on 1st October, 1974.

- Chandrashekhar Joshi (Film Research Officer at FTII)

Initially, the Institute grads were rejected by the pseudo pundits as they opined that the craft of film medium could

oil mill. Everybody wished that no such thing should happen

not be ‘taught’ and had to be developed. However, it was K.

to Prabhat . Therefore, the Government decided to form

K. Mahajan, graduated with cinematography in 1966, who

Film Institute of India in Pune and regular classes began on

earned assignments and later fame subsequently useful to

20th March, 1961. Interestingly, in the same place where

many of his successors. The low and high budgeted films he

the Prabhat classics were made and with majority of the

cinematographed during the period, Bhuvan Shome (1969)

same equipment, the FII started film training. Initially, the

for Mrinal Sen, Sara Aakash (1969), Piya Ka Ghar (1972) and

courses in film direction, acting, editing and sound were

Chhoti Si Baat (1976) for Basu Chatterjee and Kalicharan

launched. The first batch of students included today’s

(1976) for Subhash Ghai, brought him and others the

showman Subhash Ghai who turned to film production

importance of formal training. Since it resulted in cutting

and direction from acting, Kuldeep Sood who is known for

down the cost and time of production, gradually, the film

imaginative sound recording for Sholay and many other

industry realized the significance of trained artistes and

classics as well as comedy artiste Asarani.

technicians.

As it is well known, the Prabhat was an institution in itself.

The 1970’s witnessed an upsurge of art or parallel

The masters like V. Shantaram, Damle and Fatehlal were

cinema and the fresh talent like Naseeruddin Shah,

training their artistes and techniques informally. In other

Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Sadhu Meher and others were

words, the Film Institute of India was born to continue the

the quintessential ingredients of this new wave of

tradition of film education, formally. The Institute replaced

Indian Cinema. Many of these artistes have also acted

informal learning with formal and systematic training in

in international films and reflected the best finesse of

the art and craft of filmmaking and television program

their histrionics. Amusingly, these also got their share of

production. The most important aspect of the training at

popularity later in Bollywood films.

this Institute is the facilities made available to students for

On the commercial front, Jaya Bhaduri (Bachchan),

Nov-Dec 2012

83


Shatrughan Sinha, Danny Dengzoppa, Navin Nischol, Tom

The black humor created by Kundan Shah ( Jaane Bhi

Altar, Mithun Chakravarty, Anil Dhavan, Shakti Kapoor,

Do Yaron ) and Arun Khopkar (K atha Don Ganapatravanchi ,

Raza Murad, Suresh Oberai, Paintal, Radha Saluja preferred

1996) as well as noir style developed by Sriram Raghavan

to entertain the home audience with their specific

( Ek Hasina Thi, Johney Gaddar ) can be assessed as the rare

characteristics. Portraying roles that ranged from simple

contribution to the Indian cinema. Saeed Mirza attacked

man to attractive hero and comedians, dancers to strong

heavily on hypocrisy in our society and presented some of

villains these remained popular names in the Indian

the best satires like Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyo Ata Hai and

households. In fact, reputation of these artistes brought in

Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho . Vidhu Vinod Chopra is better known

much glamour to the Institute.

for his outstanding crime film Parinda (1989) and block

It is probably for this reason that many of the artistes outside FTII got attracted to participate in different

buster 1942- A Love Story that introduced Dolby sound in India.

student projects. These feature superfine performances

A few film-direction graduates attempted experiments

by Suhasini Mulay, Dr.Sriram Lagoo, Surekha Sikri, Amol

on narratives, even endeavored unusual film language.

Gupte, Dipti Naval, Sonali Kulkarni, Nedimudi Venu, Mohan

The film theories of Many Kaul and Kumar Shahani are well

Josi, Uttara Baokar, Lalan Sarang, M.K. Raina, Deepa Sahi,

received amongst the serious connoisseurs of film art in

Neena Gupta and others. Of course, it is beyond doubt that

India and abroad.

their enthusiastic contributions have enriched the FTII

Although many of the directors from FTII have earned

student film by many folds. The magic FTII films has been

fame, it is worth mentioning that students from other

so fascinating that a number of today’s well known artistes

disciplines have also emerged as fairly good film directors.

such as (young) Aamir Khan, Vidya Balan, Irphan Khan and

For instance, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Raj Kumar Hirani and

(late) Smita Patil have faced camera first time at the FTII!

David Dhavan were trained as editors while Santosh Sivan,

A whole new breed of film directors such as Adoor

Anil Mehta are originally the ace cinematographers.

Gopalakrishnan, Ketan Mehta, Girish Kasarvalli, Jahnu

On technical front, editor (late) Renu Saluja ( Ardh Satya ,

Barua and others attempted stories from regional soils and

Bandit Queen, Pardes ), cinematographer Kiran Deohans

reflected many unknown or lesser known characteristics

( Aks, Jodha Akbar ) and Rasool Pookutty ( Black, Gajjani and

of rural India, its people, their psyche, joys and sorrows

went on the win the Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire ) are on

and even mischief. These films have also made their

the top of talented iceberg of technical craftsmanship.

impressions on international scene. Interestingly, Adoor

Attempts to find out new ways of expression, strong

Gopalakrishnan rose to get the coveted Dadasaheb Phalke

narration, crucial visuals and all other supporting elements

Award , the highest honour for Indian film personality.

began fairly early at the Institute. And it is, therefore,

84 Nov-Dec 2012


no wonder that the tradition of winning recognition to student films at festivals began right from the first batch. The diploma film, Rendezvous (1964) directed by Rajendra Nath Shukla got diploma of merit in Montevideo Festival in Uruguay. Kranti Kanade’s diploma Chaitrya (2000), a wonderful screen adaptation of G. A. Kulkarni’s celebrated short story that went on to win four national awards. Umesh Kulkarni, now a known filmmaker, has shown his craftsmanship from his student days. His diploma Girni (2004) was an account of a childhood lost to livelihood. A sensitive portrayal of the family in turmoil and the child’s struggle to win over elevated the film to maturity and won Grand Jury at Fresh Film Fest, Czechoslovakia besides a

working conditions of the rickshaw pullers, meager income,

number of awards in India. Siddharth Sinha’s account of

insecurity, unhygienic living and even lighter moments of

an adolescent boy in Udhed Bun (2007) brought him Silver

their life. In-depth research and good presentation have

Bear at 58th Berlin International Film Festival.

contributed a lot to this living documentary. It won Grand

Narmeen (2008, Dipti Gogna) about the loss of identity

Prix at Obehausen. Uma Sehegal hard hit the administration

in the times of Partition and winning Jury Award of HBO

in her stark documentary Shelter (1983) that bagged three

Short Film Competition, Dhadyalancha Dawakahana (2010,

awards at the Oberhausen. C. J. Paulose captured the grim

Vikrant Pawar) offered value addition to the youngsters,

struggle for existence of a family on unskilled laborers

Ekti Kaktaliyad Renu Savant’s second year exercise Airawat

working on a construction site in a rhythmic manner in A

(2011) winning Special Jury Mention at Kerala Short Film

Day With The Builders (1973). It bagged awards at Leipzig,

Festival are some of the recent FTII productions with

Tampere and interestingly a Filmfare award for Best

honour.

Documentary. Other important student documentaries

Conventional ways of story-telling alone hardly attracted

include Bhimsen Joshi (1970, Vikas Desai) and Kaifi Azmi

the students. Awashesh (1976), a diploma by Girish

(1973, Raman Kumar) that portray life and times of these

Kasarvalli, again a story of lost childhood and decaying

personalities with poise.

old age, bagged national award for Best Experimental

In India, the FTII student films have made their impact

Film. Winner of such other honor is Sunny Joseph’s The

on all the film festivals including IFFI, PIFF, MAMI, Kerala,

Clown and The Dog (1983). The real mettle of experiments

MIFF, Third Eye, Kalpanirzar, Kolkata and others. A set of

was tested at the king of experimental film festival at

five fresh films screened in the student cinema package

Oberhausen, Germany. Rajan Khosa’s diploma Bodhivriksha

of 42 nd IFFI were well appreciated.

(1985) is a powerful meditation on decay and redemption

More than two hundred FTII students films and

from physical suffering. It bagged one of the five main

their makers have achieved accolades in all the major

awards at Oberhausen. Subsequently, Amit Dutta became

international film festivals and similar events in the world,

almost a star director at Oberhausen consecutively winning

practically, almost all the honours. What they aspire for

distinctions for Ksha Trya Ghya (2004), Kramasha (2006)

now is Student’s Oscar!

and his other works. Incidentally, Amit Dutta’s Aadami Ku

As against four diploma courses in cinema launched

Aurat Aur Anya Kahaniya (2009) made for the re-launched

in 1960s, FTII is now running twelve courses in various

Acting Course students won him Jury Award for the Best

aspects of film, television, acting, art direction and

Film at Venice International Film Festival.

production design, scriptwriting and animation.

Apart from fiction, students have tested experiments

Today, majority of technical film professionals in the

with truth. Many of the documentaries are well made and

entertainment industry are from FTII. Annual national

find the uttermost voices of different strata of people and

awards also reflect similar picture. The FTII has heralded

the issue concerning them. For instance, Man Vs Man (1981,

the new waves of change. Courses in film studies,

Shashi Anand), on hand-pulled rickshaws in Kolkata is one

research avenues and the status as Centre of Excellence

of the most outstanding documentaries. Anand made this

by Parliament Act are in the pipeline.

film when the government of West Bengal decided to ban this mode of transport serving the city for more than a century. Mostly shot on the roads, the film depicts hard

Nov-Dec 2012

85


Godfather of Indian Audiography

If Roja become a wonder in the Indian silverscreen, If Lagaan is an ideal specimen of audiography, If ‘Jai Ho’ scooped two Golden Gramophones… You cannot forget the man behind the

P

uthu vellai mazhai…. a song that resonated through the minds of millions creating a new era for the Indian film music and sound engineering!

The sound and music of the movie Roja had everything

new written about it, marking the beginning of a change that struck the entire Indian film industry like a storm. One was the rising of a new music legend, A R Rahman and the other a redefined face of audiography, Sridhar Hariharan Padmanabh, popularly known as H Sridhar. The men behind the mixers are easy to miss the glories of music directors, but anyone who loves Rahman music will have to remember the reason behind its crisp and crystal soundscapes, acknowledging the fact that Sridhar

boards- H Sridhar. The one who

is an artist par excellence, who could make anyone sound

taught India to love ‘Sound’!!

musician, a sound engineer trained in music, which made

extraordinary. He was a rare combination of technician and him the favorite of India’s top directors for both music and movie. Behind him, the wall is decorated with several mementos of recognition and the prominent ones include

86 Nov-Dec 2012


a Golden Gramophone, four Gold Medals from the Indian

movies that includes I ndian, Iruvar, My Dear Kuttichathan,

President, A Black Lady and so on. The National Academy

Jeans and Dil Se . He even engineered and mixed sound for

of Recording Arts and Science honored his outstanding

international albums of artists like George Harrison of The

effort in the soul lifting song of Slumdog Millionaire, Jai Ho,

Beatles, John Neptune Kaizan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Zakir

and awarded him with Grammy Award for Best Compilation

Hussai and L.Shankar.

Soundtrack Album for Visual Media in 2010. He received

it comes to sound mixing!

H Sridhar is a towering icon when

The National Film Awards for Best Audiography for his work

The master of sound engineering, the man who

in the movies Mahanadi (1994), Dil Se (1999), Lagaan (2002)

showcased sound engineering on a global platform was

and Kannathil Muthamittal (2003), and Filmfare Award for

completely self-taught! Shocked? Well, he was! And a

Satya (1998).

self-taught guitarist too!! Sridhar was a graduate in

H Sridhar was one of the best sound engineers in India

mathematical science with a keen interest in electronics,

who entered the industry in 1988. When there was not any

but his ear was for music and passion was for audio

sophisticated technology he worked hard with a sense to

engineering, and that passion drove him to an area where he

achieve ‘higher things’. He was the chief sound engineer of

become a legend. He was a great student with an intellect

Media Artists , a well regarded recording studio, Panchathan

of a scientist. A childlike enthusiasm always ruled him to

Record Inn and AM studios. He

crack technologies by devouring

engineered

manuals

the

background

and

he

created

an

music score and songs for the

identity for sound engineers in

national award winning movies,

India. With his infectious passion,

Kaala Paani for music director

Sridhar found beauty in all the

Minasaara

sounds and merged with even

Kanavu for A R Rahman. Roja,

beautiful ones. He was trusted

Ilaiyaraaja

and

Gentleman, Kadhalan, Thiruda

blindly by all the movie directors

Thiruda, Bombay and Rangeela

as they believed that he could

are some of the ground breaking

see the invisible things in the

movies in his book. Among

visuals, pulling out the creation

his other personal credits, the

in those visuals.

most striking fact was that he engineered all songs and

The elite technician passed away on first of December 2008,

background scores for the renowned A R Rahman. In fact

when he had so much more to give. Sridhar was working

Sridhar was his favorite sound engineer who could come

hard into the night on his new project, Gajani , when he

out with the actual tone and feel of Rahman music. He

died of cardiac arrest and we could say that he died doing

has worked with the great musician for over ten years,

what he loved. Apart from being a talented sound designer,

right from the onset, and that collaboration brought out

he was a good human being who never erected a wall

superlative excellence.

around him and was respected by all his colleagues. He

Sridhar engineered over 200 movies in different

had a way of making others feel like they are special and

languages including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi,

due to this warm nature he collaborated with upcoming

and worked closely with directors like Mani Ratnam, K

talents and world’s best with ease. An extremely humble

Balachandar, Bharathiraaja, Shankar, Kamal Hassan, P C

and a very friendly person with a genuine smile! Like a final

Sreeram, Priyadarsan, Sibi Malayil and Ramgopal Varma. He

tribute to his fine talent, the head of Fox music mentioned

pioneered the use of digital sound for Indian films in DTS

to A R Rahman that he liked the sound of strings in the

format and used six-track surround sound for most of his

Bombay theme which was set by Sridhar and to top it off,

A true genius , an awe inspiring

The Grammy Award for best soundtrack compilation for visual media was given to him in 2010. His loss is without

trendsetter, a tireless professional… the

any doubt a loss of the industry and the people close

mortal frame has faded away in silence

dead soldier’s wrist…’ , his work will live beyond him and

,but his timeless craft resonates aloud...

possibilities of audio engineering.

to him. But like the saying ‘the watch that tickles on a he will be remembered as a visionary who explored the

- Divya Jose Nov-Dec 2012

87


A TRIBUTE TO THE

GOLDEN VOICE

Flown into eternity..

M S Subbulakshmi M

adurai Shanmukhavadivu

it is sublime, serene, aesthetic,

music reflected a myriad of moods-

Subbulakshmi popularly

harmonious, mellifluous, impressive

joy,

known as ‘MS’ is the

and a lot more... It was not just

acquiescence, above all it was a

most popular legendary Carnatic

attractive

total surrender to the Almighty.

musician of india. The two letters

from any standpoint,

be it the

When we take a sneak peek

itself

but

also

acceptable

contemplation,

anguish,

mere

grammar of the ‘raga’, accuracy

at her repertoire, we can find

mention of her name makes every

of ‘tala’, ‘pronunciation’ and more

that it is prodigious, packed with

music lover burst with pride for,

importantly, the ‘accent’. M.S. was

songs of every genre, classical,

she has elevated Carnatic music to

an artiste extraordinaire, her music

light

the peak of honour at national and

had a powerful impact on one’s

music, bhajans in Hindi, abhangs

international levels.

consciousness, it had the quality

in Marathi, patriotic verses etc.

music

to transform the ambience from

Ragas like Sankarabaranam, Todi,

special? Quite hard to describe,

the mundane to the divine. Her

Khambodi,

speak

What

volumes!! A

made

88 Nov-Dec 2012

her

classical,

devotional,

Sriranjini,

folk

Kirwani,


Kalyani, Bhairavi, and others were

also bagged honours like, ‘Padma

has cast a shadow of darkness

explored in such detail and colour,

Vibhushan’,

Samman’,

on the world Carnatic music. Yet,

that they resembled the aesthetics

‘Sangita Kalanidhi’ title, ‘Chennai

she is ever present in the lives of

of an eternal painting, that renders

and the Magsaysay Award’ etc.

the carnatic music lovers, present

a ‘perfect ecstasy’.

‘Kalidas

No other musician in India has her

among

There is no wonder, with such

halo, with such a string of honours

whom the day starts with her ‘Sri

intensity of talent, she was the

and awards that adorn her musical

Venkatesa Suprabhatam’. Her glory

first musician ever to be awarded

crown.

never ends... it transcends to the

the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian

honor.

Although

Bharat

number

of

families,

for

Bringing the curtain down on

future in a magnified spectrum... The

a glorious chapter in the history

memories of the true nightingale are

her

of Carnatic music, the nightingale

still fresh, her beauty, her divine aura,

musical crown, there were other

became silent forever in the night

the resonant timber of her voice…

gems too, adding glitter to it. She

of December 11, 2004. Her death

everything endures forever…!

Ratna

is

the

Kohinoor

on

Nov-Dec 2012

89


“...Wo Mera Rasta Bhi Hai Aur Wo Hi Manzil Wo Mera Sagar Bhi Hai Aur Wo Hi Sahil...”


Javed Akthar T

he perfectly blended virtues of discipline, talent, love, humour and versatility portrays the picture of the living legend, Javed Akthar. Poet, author, lyricist,

scriptwriter, playwright, Javed is a perfectionist in every role. Being the man of romance, intellect and aesthetics, he makes you fall in love with his heart stirring poetry, soul touching lyrics and his audacious dialogues. The Maestro has a bunch of awards in his bag, ‘ Padma Shri’ in 1999,

‘ Padma Bhushan’ in 2007 and a good number of National and Filmfare awards. Always draped in his signature style kurta pyjama and jutis, Javed has a unique personality of his own.. Philosophical yet simple…every word that slips out from his mouth, induces a long lasting impact on human thought process! Being a prolific lyricist, he’s one of the strongest pillars of the Indian Music industry.

His early days. This songwriter always harboured a dream of being a

Ever wondered who penned the most evergreen dialogues of sholay?? who invented Amitab’s angry young man in Zanjeer? The man who breathes soul into the melody, expressing the inexpressible feelings... Meet Javed the passionate poet laurete, scriptwriter, the legend lyricist who mastered the language of emotions.

part of Indian film industry. When he arrived in Mumbai on 4 October 1964, there were a number of hurdles on his path. Fighting back with, strongest weapon of determination,

His lyrical journey Javed’s recognition as a lyricist was through movie

he managed to get settled as a script writer. Javed got

Saaz , which gave him instant fame and the much-awaited

collaborated with the famous scriptwriter Salim Khan and

appreciation for his writing talent. He won a National Award

they both penned down some unforgettable hits as the duo

for ‘Best Lyricist’ for the same movie in the year 1996. This

of Salim-Javed. Zanjeer, Deewar, Sholay, Hathi Mere Sathi,

trend carried on for two more years as he won National

Seeta Aur Geeta, Don and Trishul were the films which

Awards for the movies Border and Godmother in 1997

had the script written by Javed after which he shifted his

and 1998 respectively. The essence of innocent romance

attention towards becoming a lyricist.

was embedded in his lyrics .He continued to explore new

Nov-Dec 2012

91


grounds with his imaginative writings and with each and

contemporaneous in it. His songs are spell bound and can

every compositions, he immortalized ‘romance’, in his own

even take the breath of the listener for a while; that’s the

individual way.

power of ‘his mighty pen’… His words reflected the vibrant shades of emotions and had

His poetry Javed Akhtar started writing Urdu poetry in 1980. His

an enduring effect on the

listeners... May he live to complete a century and enrich the lives of his fans with his lyrical wizardry...

first collection of Nazms and Ghazals entitled, ‘ Tarkash ’ was successfully released in 1995. It received rave reviews

“Dilon mein tum apni betabiyan leke chal rahe ho.

both as a book and especially as India’s first ‘Audio Book’.

Toh zinda ho tum!

The ‘Audio Book’ has sold more than a hundred thousand

Nazar mein khwaabon ki bijliyan leke chal rahe ho

copies. Javed Akhtar has also written a large number of

Toh zinda ho tum!

poems against communalism, social injustice, National Integration and for Women’s Rights. He has compiled two

Hawa ke jhonkon ke jaise aazad rehna seekho

books in English- Quiver and Talking Songs . The poems

Tum ek dariya ke jaise, leharon mein behna seekho

of Quiver is about Javed’s childhood memories, and the

Har ek lamhe se tum milo khole apni baahein

loss of its innocence with the passage of time. A few in

Har ek pal ek naya samaa dekhiye

this collection are about love, its complications, pains and joys. In his other book, Talking Songs , Javed Akhtar is in

Conversation with Nasreen Munni Kabir , and includes a selection of 60 of his most memorable songs. The magic of Javed lies in the fact that he has continued to evolve himself with the changing times, and the lyrics that he continues to pen has an element of

92 Nov-Dec 2012

Jo apni aankhon mein hairaniyan leke chal rahe ho Toh zinda ho tum! Dilon mein tum apni betabiyan leke chal rahe ho Toh zinda ho tum!” - Anne Cherian -


E

Pro Tools

A Professional Tool xperiences are something that sharpens and shape up knowledge, being in the industry for sometime has definitely given its share of

experience. In my career I have used a number of audio production software like Logic, Cubase, Pro Tools etc. In our industry each engineers have their work style and preferences, and for me Pro Tools is more comfortable. It offers you great flexibility whether you are working for music or a movie. Some knowledge can only be acquired by experience! And in this technical note, I aim to share some tips that experiences have taught me and hope that Pro Tools beginners could make benefit of it. Pro Tools has always been there from the beginning, that maybe the reason why it’s the industry standard. And it really is the best DAW on the market. Creating audio, for music or movie, is also an art. There are many who will ignore the need to be systematic in their work. The first and prime rule is to be well organized. Otherwise the whole project will be complicated, especially large ones where many people work together.

Starting Up Your Project

represented in 16 bit or 24 bit depth. Obviously 24 bit depth provides better quality as the dynamics of the

To begin with, the first thing to do on starting a new

wave is better distinguishable. In India, audio projects

project is to select the sample resolution as CDs and

are usually done in a dynamic range of 24/48 bit/KHz.

DVDs uses different dynamic range (16/44.1 bit/KHz

Using this range has many benefits like we can produce

and 24/48 bit/KHz respectively). Resolution can be

a DVD directly, or CDs can be produced by applying

simply said as representation of analog signal in a

dither and thereby downsampling. Besides this sample

digital medium. An analog signal is a continuous flow of

rate will provide you a good quality without being too

current, and in digital medium its a sample or sampling.

heavy on the memory.

In the case of 44100 samples, we will be getting 44100 samples in a second and these sample dots are Nov-Dec 2012

93


Backup Your Project

option will place your imported track at the same time

Audio production involves time and efforts of several

location as the source section, while the third option

peoples, and a lot of financial investments. Hence its

will let you to choose a new start time for the imported

better advised to have a proper backup for your project.

file (you can set the start time in the Time Value field).

While mentioning hard-disks, let me add a tip. Keeping

Opting ‘maintain relative time code value’ will place

audios and videos on separate hard-disks will be more

your imported file at the same time from the start of

convenient. Even in separate hard-disks, keep everything

your session as their source session (meaning that if you

in organized manner. For example, save album songs,

have a track that starts 30 seconds from the beginning

film songs, dubbing session, etc in separate folders,

of a session, it will remain 30 seconds from the start of

(and remember backup is to be provided in the same

the section into which it was imported regardless of the

manner). All of these simple steps will simplify matters

actual start time of both the sessions).

to a good extend especially when recording and mixing

Consider a mix session of a song where drums, bass

engineers are different.

etc are recorded separately. You can import these files

One of the special features of Pro Tools is that it offers

together into a fresh project session. Session data can

a separate option, ‘save a copy in’, for backing up your

be imported to your template using the ‘import’ option,

project. By using the option you will be copying the disk

either as a new track or to an existing one. Note that

allocation of Pro Tools to a new folder. This will wipe

the option to replace existing tracks is enabled only

out the chances of ‘missing files and links’ from your

with audio files and aux-tracks, masters etc are to

work file.

be added as new tracks. And while importing, linking files and importing as a consolidated file is the better

Multiple Sessions To Reduce Workload

choice. While linking it will point to the original file,

A very convenient feature of Pro Tools is that it allows

so both session will be sharing a common file, which

you to open and work on multi-sessions. Option to interconnect different projects is a major advantage while under taking larger works. A group of tracks can be recorded, edited and processed as separate projects by keeping the same tempo and meter, and later each of these final tracks can be imported to a fresh session to carry out mixing. This will surely makes handling much easier and free your memory, making your workstation more stable. You can do ‘pre-mix’ if you want, and can import it to your final mix session as ‘stems’.

Importing Different Files Pro Tools has an ‘import’ option on the file menu.

CTRL+SHIFT+I will make your step easy for audio files, and COMMAND+OPTION+SHIFT+I for video files. OPTION+SHIFT+I will import the session data file, and don’t forget to sync the time

code

values

while

importing the session data file if its necessary. Pro Tools offer three ways to

place an imported data in your session, viz, maintain absolute time code values, maintain relative time code values, and map start time code to. Using the first

94 Nov-Dec 2012

reduce the storage. But this benefit has a downside, as deleting that file will cause losing it from the other sessions. Pro Tools offers you to remove files from the session without deleting it from the hard disk, simply remove it from the REGION of your session. The REGION window is one of the powerful features of Pro Tools that shows the audio file allocations. In here it shows all the audio files used in your session. Removing unwanted files from the REGION will reduce the work-load and be sure to keep a backup. Always name your tracks, it will help you to identify the contents in the track. You can group similar tracks, color coding them which will help you to identify and edit them easily. Pro Tools have the option to add notes to each track, and doing so is also advisable. With Pro Tools , tempo, playlists, markers, memory allocation, plug-in settings, automation, I/O routing, window configuration etc can be imported to a new work file. This is an advantage while working on different sections of the same project. i.e. Pro Tools let you to use saved tempo and markers to begin a new session. In short, Pro Tools offers a complete professional workflow.

Exporting Your Files ‘Bounce to Disk’ is the option for exporting your work file. Press COMMAND+OPTION+B, and there you go.


All you have to do is

of need you can simply access the locations by pressing

select the section you

dot(.)+(memory location number)+dot(.) in the number

need, and your file will

pad section (eg. .1.).

be exported as ‘mixedon’ mono, stereo, splitmono, multi-mono or as any other desired output. Another admirable option with the ‘export’ feature is that, you can configure sample rate, conversion quality, conversion time, bit depth etc. sample rate conversion can be set along with bouncing or after bouncing. Conversion after bouncing is more advisable as it will avoid chances of system hanging. You can use a ‘print track’ concept instead of bouncing. You can route all of your tracks to an auxiliary track which will be processed there, and then will be recorded on an audio channel. Printing is safer than bouncing. In certain cases the project may

Folder Hierarchy A characteristic feature of Pro Tools is that it keeps a folder structure, offering a set of preset folders. Pro Tools folder hierarchy is like, there will be a folder with

the name of the session file. In this folder, there will be a Pro Tools session file, then audio file folder, plugin settings folder, fade file folder and backup folder. Your fade settings will be in the fade folder. The backup folder is one of the most attractive features. The session you are working on will get auto-saved in this folder after a customizable time interval. Even if your work file accidently got crashed, you can restore the session directly from the backup folder.

Wrapping It Up

get heavy that it will

Shortcuts of Pro Tools are a major advantage as it saves

be difficult to ‘bounce’

the time by 1/3rd. There are shortcuts for almost all

the track. In the case

the features and learning to use them will let you have

of ‘printing’, if it gets

a better workflow. Pro Tools uses prefixed short-cuts

stopped, you can start

which are ‘global’ in the sense, and hence wherever

from there onwards. It

you go in the world, your workflow will be the same. So

is an advantage to do

try to learn as much shortcuts as possible, it will make

a ‘pre-count’ at 2-bars

a great difference during your work.

to get the flow of the mix, and later can be consolidated to get the final out. OPTION+SHIFT+3 will make the shortcut to consolidate your tracks. And you can use the ‘export region to file’ option by pressing COMMAND+SHIFT+K, which is an alternative option for ‘bounce to disk’. You can apply conversions, bit depth and other set of parameters with this option too.

Pro Tools is designed for engineers, and has remained

the tool of choice for high-end professionals. I would

Markers and Memory Allocations Always use markers and

say, it was the first full-featured recording platform I ever learned. It is complex, yet with the simplistic and professional layout. Besides, Pro Tools is super stable

memory locations. It will

and its audio editing option is second to none. Its

let you access various

few drawbacks are negligible compared to the many

parts

project

advantages and maybe that’s the reason why it is

very easily. You can add

preferred on most of the studios around the world. So

markers by pressing the

learning Pro Tools is definitely an advantage.

of

the

ENTER button (number pad),

and

name

it

accordingly with numbers (eg.

1.start,

2.verse,

3.BG1, 4.BG2 etc). In time

Kiran Lal , with more than 10 years of experience, is one of the best recording and mixing engineer from Chennai. His expertise, featuring as an article series from this issue onwards, will help you to tame the unmatched powers of Pro Tools.

Nov-Dec 2012

95


The

Champions Who Rocked

“We will we will rock you We will we will rock you...”

A

n energizing song, as the lyrics promises, that rocked the hearts of millions of music lovers from 1977 onwards. Between the lyrics and the drums, you are sure to be pumped up and the song is a classic stadium chant. But the irony of it is that, most of the people who stamp their feet to the beats of this song now-a-days have no idea

about the original band that played it– QUEEN . Queen is a British rock band formed in 1971 in London, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor.

Queen originated as a blue rock band called Smile in 1968 with Brian May and Tim Staffel, soon after Roger Taylor was added as the drummer. Later on Freddie Mercury whose former name was Farrokh Bulsara also joined the group. In late 1970, after Tim Staffel left the band, its name was changed to Queen , which they thought held a lot of visual potential. By February 1971, John Deacon also joined the group and thus the famous rock band Queen became complete. And finally in 1973, Queen released their eponymous debut album, which was well received by the critics, but drew little mainstream attention. In 2008, ‘Keep yourself alive’ , the single lead of the album, was ranked 31st among the ‘100 Greatest Guitar Songs Of All Time’, by Rolling Stone . Followed by the debut, they released their second album Queen II in 1974 and the album reached number five on the British album chart. In addition to this, the lead single of the album ‘Seven seas of rhye’ become the first hit of the band, reaching number ten in UK. Or in other words it can be said that by the release of Queen II , Queen became a very promising rock band. The band Queen has released a total of 18 number one albums, 18 number one singles and 10 number one DVDs, generating a sales of 150-300 million album sales, making them one of the world’s best-selling music artists. Following the first two albums, the original band members performed for 13 more studio albums besides the live performances throughout UK, US, Canada, Japan etc. Live-aid , a live performance by Queen in 1985 at Wembley in front of about 1.9 billion TV audience is one of the best live acts in history. The studio albums of the Queen include Sheer Heart Attack (1974), A

Night at the Opera (1975), A Day at the Races (1976), News of The World (1977), Jazz (1978), The Game (1980), Flash Gordon (1980), Hot Space (1982), The Works (1984), A Kind of Magic (1986), The miracle (1989), Innuendo (1991) and Made in Heaven (1995). The songs of all the albums expressed diverse musical styles and experimentation with stereo sound, and most of them were huge hits around the world. The fame of Queen can be better expressed in their own words, like the lyrics of

96 Nov-Dec 2012


the song ‘Don’t stop me now’ , they were like ‘a shooting star leaping through the skies’ and there wasn’t anything to stop them as they burned through the skies, igniting the hearts of all who loved rock music. After the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991, the rest of the band members worked with vocals previously recorded by Mercury, along with a few newly recorded lyrics. And finally in 1995, the last studio album titled ‘Made in Heaven’ , featuring all the four original band members was released worldwide. Though it was the end of an era in rock music, the phenomenon of Queen remained with continuing sales for their recorded outputs on CDs and videos. In addition to the death of their lead vocal Freddie Mercury, John Deacon retired in 1997, but May and Taylor infrequently performed together and later in 2004 they introduced a collaboration with Paul Rodger under the name ‘ Queen + Paul Rodger’ which ended in 2008. Still the

Queen is very much in the world of music through records and never ending tribute tours, keeping the band’s music alive with performances by lookalikes. Music composed by Queen was inspired by different genres of rock music which include progressive rock, heavy metal, glam rock, hard rock, pop rock, dance-disco, blues rock and psychedelic rock. They even drew inspiration from genres that are not typically associated with rock, like ragtime, opera, gospel, folk and vaudeville. The distinctive characteristics of Queen’s music is sonic experimentations and vocal harmonies composed of the voices of May, Taylor and Mercury. Besides voice harmony, a multi-tracking voice to imitate the sound of a large choir through overdubs was another distinguished character. In earlier days they concentrated on progressive rock and gradually incorporated more diverse and innovative styles into their works. Bohemian Rhapsody which is considered as a perfect Queen song is the best example to quote for the experimental qualities of the band, a three in one song which delivers different levels of understanding the music. It

starts off all slow and dramatic like a ballad followed by a solo guitar portion then rocks out towards the middle then ends with a simple “Nothing really matters, anyone can see... Nothing really matters to me” , definitely a great composition. Nov-Dec 2012

97


Music by the Queen was like ‘Something Made in Heaven...’, and the Queen and their music have become a legacy in the music world. In 2002, Guinness World Records British Hits Singles Book conducted a poll which voted Bohemian Rhapsody as the UK’s favorite hit of all time and in 2004. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame followed by We will we will rock you and We are the Champions in 2009. Besides the band have also been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 and the members were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003. They also joined on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003 and have been honored with seven Ivor Novello awards. According to Rolling Stone , Queen is at number 52 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, Mercury is the 18 th greatest singer and May 26 th greatest guitarist. Besides three of the albums by Queen is featured in the book 1001 You Must Hear Before You Die , Queen II,

A Night at the Opera and Sheer Heart Attack . The greatest honor of all is that the music by Queen is still in the hearts of all music lovers.

The beauty of Queen music is that they tell a story which conveys a beautiful message, and this is the reason why many of the songs are still on the lips of every fan, even after years. Even though the Queen band is still here through tributes and recordings, anyone who loved their music will agree those were the days of music. Because they are the champions my friends and they kept fighting till the end, indeed they are the champions of the world of music. And they sure rocked the world!!! - Sai Prasanna -

98 Nov-Dec 2012


F

ocustrite brings their signature into Pro|Tools using Forte, a breed of USB audio interface for your Mac or Windows. It is a channel strip plug-in for Pro Tools based on the now-legendary

Focusrite’s flagship RedNet range. In Forte, a large push-button control knob, four touch-sensitive icon buttons and a color OLED display are built into a solid aluminum case. With a sample rate of 24-bit/192kHz and two RedNet preamps, Forte captures crystal clear audio. It features two remote-controlled mic preamps and, ISA 110 EQ and ISA 130 dynamics processors. Forte offers a flexible I/O, featuring premium two-input, fouroutput USB 2.0 audio interface. It comes with two microphone inputs (XLR) and two line/instrument (TRS) inputs. A pair of TRS output let you transfer captured audio to with the monitor setup for mixing and mastering. An included external power supply gives phantom power capability. The Forte control software allows you to take complete command over Forte’s features, like selecting and setting low-latency monitoring, mic pre levels etc. In fact Forte is the absolute portable audio interface. Forte let you to enjoy Focusrite’s obsession with sound quality!

Focusrite Forte

Specifications • Premium Focusrite preamps in an ultracompact USB interface • Rugged aluminum case is perfect for musicians on the go • 2 in, 4 out interface with digital up to 24bit/192kHz resolution • Color OLED display and touch controls • Mac and PC compatible • Includes Focusrite Midnight plug-in suite

Nov-Dec 2012

99


T

he British manufacturer, Soundcraft has always made the best mixing consoles and other professional audio equipments. Soundcraft first made its mark with the launch of the truly classic Series 1, the first mixing console built into a flight-case. It now boasts a range of mixers which are designed for use in live sound,

recording, post-production, TV and radio production and disco applications. The newest offering from Soundcraft is Si compact series. The Si compact has been designed to maintain Sound craft’s long-standing reputation of excellent audio and build quality. True to its name, it’s a very small digital console which is available in 16, 24 and 32-channel versions. In Si Compact, the faders are arranged in six ‘layers’, with the default setting in this instance being Layer A: featuring mic inputs 1-22. Layer B presents the two ‘missing’ mic inputs 23 & 24 as a linked pair alongside all the stereo inputs and FX returns. Then there’s a layer for bus outputs, MTX (matrix) outputs, and Graphic EQ- Low and High. You may feel it’s slightly odd, having the last two mic inputs on the second layer, but there’s a technical reason for it. According to the manufacturer the fader layer system is designed around the mechanical requirements of the smallest console and the Vi I/O system. To make the console easy to navigate, Soundcraft has implemented a great function called Fader Glow, where each ‘type’ of fader is illuminated in a different colour. It significantly reduces the confusion associated with layers of this nature and prevents you from getting lost and accidentally adjusting something you’ve mistaken for something else. Each channel on the Compact features, a rotary encoder, although the use of this control is reasonably limited. The encoder can be assigned to gain, high-pass filter frequency, or pan, and act as the ‘channel to bus pan’ function when mixing to a stereo bus. You can use the rotary encoder to gain up a channel, press the select button on the channel you want to alter, all of its controls are available on the ‘ACS’. This control strip is broken up into five logical sections: input, a fully featured gate, a comprehensive compressor, a quality four-band EQ, and an output section incorporating delay and pan.

100 Nov-Dec 2012


It’s great to see phase and phantom power easily accessible here-on far too many other digital consoles these functions are buried several layers down. This is one of the primary selling points of the Si Compact; even though it’s a small format console, there’s a dedicated control for every function. This is why the touch screen at the top-left of the board is relatively small, it only comes into play when performing utility functions like naming and storing mixes, since every other control has a dedicated encoder. The console is also remarkably quick to set up due to the presence of its feature called ‘Interrogate’. It offers a quick way of changing the status of any switch function in the ‘Assignable Channel Strip’ across many channels. Having the ability to perform simple tasks like assigning phantom, turning on HPFs and compressors with such a no-fuss approach means you can be up and running very quickly on the Compact without having to flick through endless pages. In addition to the usual mixing console functions, there are several digital console extras on the Si Compact that many of us have grown accustomed to. The standout principle here though is the quality of those extras. There are four FX engines provided by Lexicon, which have dedicated aux buses in addition to the 14 auxes and four matrixes already available. There are, however, some routing limitations. The Si Compact also features a 28-band graphic EQ from BSS on every bus, each and every aux, matrix, and master bus. This means there’s no need to ‘patch’ the GEQ, just enable it whenever it’s required, with no risk of running out of DSP and no audible interruption. These graphics are controlled by changing the fader layer to either Graphic Low or Hi so that the console fade0rs become representative of the Graphic EQ faders. It is interesting to know that these EQs are already in place and don’t need to be manually assigned or patched. There are some other extra features on the Si Compact that really illustrate how Soundcraft have listened to digital console users. The console offers four analogue insert send/returns. Lots of engineers still carry a must-have vocal chain for instance and this feature makes it easy for those engineers. As you would expect from any Soundcraft digital mixer the facilities that are extensive and include legendary audio quality which has propelled the Si Series to industry standard status; this is united with all the reliability, show management, naming of channels, storing & naming cues and other features that you would expect and rely on. Nov-Dec 2012

101


A membership in the club costs more than life...


S

ince the very recent death of

died at the age of 27, which triggered

birth and death dates of all artists who

Amy Winehouse, the popular

the media attention devoted to the

had number one albums between 1956

English songstress, you can

club once again.

and 2007. They took a sample of 1046

see that dozens of mysterious stories

The 27 Club, a pop-culture enigma,

musicians, with 71 deaths. They found

are surfacing on the internet and other

has gained popularity and looked upon

no statistical peak in deaths at age

media, regarding her induction to

as a curse, there’s no scientifically

27.

the infamous 27club. Now what is 27

proven evidences found. But there

27 Club is an example of confirmation

club??? Well it is not some club or a

can be no conclusion made regarding

bias, where

place, but it is a list of those renowned

its existance. The looming question is,

results that fit the pattern they’re

musicians who died at the age of 27,

what was common about all these less

looking for. However, the researchers

and that’s how the name originated.

fortunate musicians?? Did all of them

haven’t completely invalidated the 27

This may sound weird, but there are

possess a fatal genetic seed within

Club. These conclusions only hold for

many associated with it, wrapped in

them just waiting to sprout? or did

musicians famous in the UK. they also

coincidence, conspiracy, speculation,

the excesses of the sex, money, drugs

found that, famous musicians in their

mystery, tragedy and fate; all associated

and lifestyle

dragged them to their

20’s and 30’s are twice at risk from

with this strange ‘club’.

Finally they concluded that, the people

focus

on

the

graveyard?? Digging for these details

death than the general population and

The history of the 27 club dates

is a morbid, yet a fascinating affair

the reason behind it was simple.’It’s all

back to 1938. Robert Johnson, the

that makes you question the cosmic

about their lifestyles’!!

pioneering bluesman who died under

powers of the universe!

Even

though

there

are

proofs

mysterious circumstances in 1938, is

As we know it’s a human instinct

gathered against ‘the club’, musicians

sometimes referenced as the founding

to go behind the negative thoughts

are not alone with the fear and

member

and beliefs, we tend to derive a sort

fascination about the club, there are

Alan

of inexplicable pleasure from all these

teenagers, collage kids, bloggers and

Wilson, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and

kinds of mystic ideas. But instead of

other

Jim Morrison died between 1969 and

being misguided, it would be better to

this ‘totally messed-up’ phenomenon.

1971, and the surprising factor was

take a peek through the blindfold and

Regardless the idea is seeping into our

their age. They were all 27!!! Although

think realistically. There were number of

pop cultural consciousness, it is being

they had same death-age there were

researches conducted so as to find the

addressed in films, literature and on

no news reported regarding this, it

credibility of the club. Let’s go through

theatre stages, thereby raising the

did not happen until the death of Kurt

some researchs and find a way out of

popularity of this supernatural club.

Cobain. Kurt’s death coupled with his

this vicious mystic circle. Researchers

The ‘Big Two-SevenThing’ stills haunts

mother’s comment instantly defied him

at

the pop world. It still remains as an

and propelled him to the helm of the so

Freiburg and the Queensland University

called club. In 2011, seventeen years

of Technology trawled through the UK

after Cobain’s death, Amy Winehouse

albums chart history, noting down the

musicians

of

the

like

club.

Brian

Legendary

Jones,

the

University

Medical

Center

youngsters

discussing

about

unanswered question!!

- Deeptha Sreedhar Nov-Dec 2012

103


A

ltiverb7

is

an

improvised

addition to the Audio Ease’s convolution reverb series. It is

said to be an unparalleled convolution solution with an industry standard! The sound quality and flexibility it affords, along with the revamped interface, makes it a real winner. With often used controls all line up on the front

Bringing the

and more exotic ones in the drawers beneath, Altiverb7 looks and feels wonderful.

‘World’ into your sound

What’s immediately apparent, in the sleek update of a classic software reverb, is that there has been a major rethink in respect to Altiverb’s interface and the way you interact with the plug-in. The plug-in’s visual browser, a resizable pop-out window that boasts functionality, allows navigation through the IRs and presets. Select the impulse response by clicking photos of rooms! Instant

gapless

by-size,

single

loading, organizing click

favorites

and

keyword searching are just a few of the browser features, along with single click downloading and installing of new (free) impulse responses. It’s not just the picture browser that makes Altiverb7 the best convolution reverb, but many more! One of the outstanding features of Altiverb7 is the 3.4GB IR library that comprises massive collection of spaces and devices. Just like any other reverb from Audio Ease, Altiverb7 lives upto the user expectations and comes with an ever more powerful and versatile IR library. The library includes a wide collection of samples ranging from classic and not-so-classic hardware to World’s most acoustically 104 Nov-Dec 2012

Audio Ease

Altiverb7

impressive spaces like Sydney Opera

correct sound placement, and a bit

House, London’s Wembley stadium,

of chaotic modulation will cover up

the ancient caves of the island of

the out of tune notes in the reverb

Malta, major concert halls and rock

tail adding a warmth to the output.

studios, and many more. If all this is

All these with an interactive EQ curve,

not enough for you, then you can

allows you to make amazing textures

create your own IR and drag it into the

by using any sound as an impulse. It

Altiverb interface!

has a new reverb gate, straightforward

Most

interestingly, Altiverb

now

pre-delay

and

attack

parameters,

includes a fully synthesised algorithmic

and times can be set in note values

‘secondary’ reverb for adding top-

locked to your song’s tempo! Even

end sheen. The synthetic algorithmic

with all these features your selected

reverb provides a type of brightness

space

that an EQ could never boost from

‘ Similar ’ and Altiverb7 will suggest you

a real world room. There is more for

alternatives to the currently chosen

music, modulation, stage positioning,

impulse responses!

and tempo locked gated and reverse

doesn’t

sound

perfect?

Hit

Total recall automation is another

reverbs! The Altiverb Stage Positioner

headline

can create stunningly realistic audio

makes switching between IRs more

panorama

easier. While there are still single-

by

providing

physically

feature

of Altiverb7

that


Knufinke SIR1 >> SIR1 is a freeware convolution reverb, using impulse response (IR) files to achieve a great variety of excellent sounds. It is available for the VST plug-in format. It comes with a basic but effective interface, and gorgeous sounding reverb tails from ‘real’ effects, rooms, cabinets and many more. The sound choice can be enhance using dozens of free impulses available

an emulator for compressors or micro-

online. Though it does not have so many

phones, it loads top quality impulse re-

features, the EQ is powerful and allows

sponses, works well and is outstanding

to produce some great sounds can be

for a free product!

easily produced. SIR1 can be used as

Lexicon PCM Native Reverb >> The PCM Native Reverb Plug-In Bundle, from Lexicon, is the ultimate reverb plug-in for creating professional and

click snapshots, you do not have to automate Altiverb7 100% accurately. Something else notable about it is that the XL version includes surround sound reverb and a TDM version for pro-tools. The TDM chip management

inspirational mixes. The finest reverb plug-in collection includes hundreds of the most versatile and finely-crafted studio presets, and 7 legendary Lexicon reverbs like Vintage Plate, Plate, Hall, Room, Random Hall, Concert Hall, and Chamber. It also features recognizable

VST, Audio Unit, or RTAS compatible

classics from Lexicon’s immense library

platform. PCM native brings the highest

one handy pop-up menu. What more,

of sounds and is compatible with popular

level of sonic quality and function to all

the plug-in is CPU efficient, offers

DAWs like Pro Tools, Logic, and any other

your audio applications.

can be done from within Altiverb, using

multiple parameters for tweaking the reverb, has automatable total recall, and features 64-bit support. You can update your IR library by searching the ‘ news ’

tab

and

every

month

Altiverb7 users receive new impulse responses for free. Altiverb7 is the treasure trove of sounds and the best

112dB Redline Reverb >> 112dB Redline Reverb features awesome sound, comprehensive control set, MIDI learn, user-friendly and intuitive interface. While many reverbs opt for convolutioncharged ultra-realism or offer separate plate, hall and room algorithms, Redline Reverb offers a single core algorithm

with the sonic enhancing character. It’s

thanks

with plenty of editing options that let

actually extremely versatile, providing a

to the improved browser and sonic

you to create any reverb characteristics.

warmth and transparency at extremely

refinements! Altiverb7 is packed with

Plus, this plug-in comes with a very cool

low CPU usage. If you want something

full of reverberated delights, original

looking faceplate to control it. What

a little special that can spice up and

and professional convolution reverb!

really set it apart is its musicality- an

enhance sound, make sure you get your

indescribably

hands on this one.

convolution

reverb

plug-in,

warm

and

lush

sound

Waves IR1 >> Waves released IR1, a convolution

that recreate the sonic environment of

reverb that let you to record in the world’s

over 60 carefully sampled real acoustic

famous venues and spaces like Wembley

spaces and over 60 classic hardware

Arena, Grand Ole Opry, Sydney Opera

devices. It is unique in offering the flexible

House, CBGB’s, Birdland or at legendary

classic controls of key reverb parameter

NY punk rock club CBGBs. It is praised for

that let you to shape the reverbs with

its cunning blend of sonic excellence and

pinpoint precision. Every possible quality

deep editing power. IR1 comes with an

of the sound can be managed to create

at low CPU usage. Waves IR1 gives an

extensive library of samples and presets

the exact reverb needed for a recording

engineer full control over reverb.

Nov-Dec 2012

105


Avid

HDX

New generation of Pro Tools|HD, providing more power, higher audio quality, and easier ways to record, edit, and mix the most demanding productions. Get more tracks, more headroom, and up to 5x more dedicated DSP power to tackle even the most massive music and post-production projects with the confidence that comes with guaranteed performance.

Mix Bigger • More complex mixes with 4x more tracks (up to 768 voices) • Double ins and outs with up to 64 channels of I/O per card (up to 256 total) • 4x more Automatic Delay Compensation

More Headroom • Record and mix in higher resolution (up to 32-bit, 192 kHz audio) and significantly greater dynamic range

Features at a Glance

• Increased headroom, eliminate clipping and obsessive gain staging

• Incredible DSP power for Avid’s AAX plug-in format

• Improve workflow and sonic parity between DSP-accelerated and native-

• 3-7 times the power of an HD Accel system on a single

based Pro Tools systems with the new AAX plug-in platform • Better audio clarity and detail

PCIe card • 256 voices per card (4 x the voices HD Accel) • Connect up to four HD series interfaces per card • 64-bit floating-point summing sounds amazing • 32-bit floating-point processing between plug-ins

Versatility

preserves quality and dramatically increases headroom

• Gain more tracks and power by simply adding another Pro Tools|HDX card to your

• Expand your system by adding more HDX cards • 64-bit-ready architecture is ready for the future of Pro

system • Pro Tools HD Series interfaces to meet your needs, or use Pro Tools HD software

Tools HD

stand-alone for on-the-go mixing • Collaborate with Media Composer editors through AAF sharing or Satellite technology options

Fastest Workflow • Get a highly responsive feel- even in your most complex projects- with RAM-cached record/playback and real-time fades • Keep the channel routing in complex sessions in check easily with bus interrogation • Work faster with pro-level tools, including Clip Gain, advanced audio editing and automation, surround sound, and more • Over 75 high-quality virtual instruments, effects, and sound processing plug-ins • Accelerate your recording, editing, and mixing with Avid Pro Mixing consoles, which offer unprecedented hands-on control • Share even more with Media Composer and other AAF-compatible software with support for multichannel tracks, Clip Gain, and a 24-hour timeline

106 Nov-Dec 2012


It takes more th an logic to approach this industry, it takes a dream, a sense of purpose, and the fire of desire, much of the decision- making process in recording involves confrontation between logic and emotion, when these two works in h armony, great things can h appen… Sound as a way of life Invent…Capture…Engineer…Design… And even play with it. To provide hands on skills required for today’s technically demanding media entertainment industry, Our specially designed curriculum will surely provide knowledge and skills essential to develop a career in the diverse and ever growing field of media and music technology.

DIPLOMA IN AUDIO TECHNOLOGY AND RECORDING ARTS: This Diploma is designed to introduce, support, and expand upon Sound Engineering Principles and traditional recording arts as course of study. It offers a comprehensive program taught by industry professionals in which students learn about basics of production, recording, mixing ,mastering, career management and industry skills.

Further insight to our Diploma Program:

Students study the process of studio engineering and production. Topics include signal flow, microphone placement, mixing, postproduction, mastering, studio acoustics and session management. This Diploma also includes theory of music for sound engineering and aural awareness. Through Theory the fundamentals of scales, chords, rhythms, and musical forms and learnt. In the aural awareness listening skills are developed through the study of sound as it relates to human hearing, with an emphasis on practical application in studio situations. A practical creative approach to digital audio work stations, recording , editing , processing and mixing is offered. Students will explore the concepts and techniques through participation in projects, workshops and special presentations by industry professionals and Artists. Telephone: +91 44 - 2813 1113 +91 44 - 4351 0707 Mobile: +91 988 46 13285 +91 984 05 49471 E-mail: info@soundtechmedia.com www.soundtechmedia.com



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