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FLO RIDA

How He Came To Digital Ages Biggest Week Ever

THE UNDERGROUND LATIN SOUND Cosmica Recordin finds the secret path to popularity

THE MAD GENIUS BEHIND

WEEKENDER

live baiju Upfront the new in India

Fender music turns 20 ` 150 APRIL 2012 www.billboard.com

Let’s get on with the show. . .

Anthem Publishisng, Station House, Station Approach, 32 North Street, Carshalton, SMS 2HW Tel 020 87733865 Email omlhouse@anthem-publishing.com www.oml.com Editorial Team Editor John Callaghan (07788267246) John.Callaghan@anthem-publishing.com Deputy Editor Steve Bailey Steve.Bailey@anthem-publishing.com Contrubuting Editor Rick Batey Rick.Batey@anthem-publishing.com Review Team Guitar Reviewer Huw Price AMP REVIEWER Dave Petersen Acoustic Reviewer Jerry Uwins Bass Reviewer Gareth Morgan Tablature Editor Douglas J Noblle Instrument Photography Mike Prioir Contributors Sid Bishop, Naserly, Alan Clayson,Roger Copper, Micheal Heat ley, Dave Hefford, Phill Harris, Pete Langman, Matt Lamy, Will Nicholas, Lars Mullen, Lulian Piper, Richard Purvis, Adi Vines

There are some people who have little curiosity about the world around them. They drive to work without asking why their airbag light is on. They work all day, never once wondering why their computer goes through periods where it’s slow as a snail. (It was because their IT department was pushing new virus definitions down to their machine.) Then they get home and settle in for a night of television—again, never wondering about the workings of the miracle that beams Hollywood’s hottest stars onto a 35-inch screen in their living room.But developers need to take an interest in how things work under the hood.

That’s not to say that only programmers care about things at the micro level—far from it. But the core of any development project is breaking a problem up into parts. Sometimes the parts can be reasonably large—concatenating two strings is a complex operation made simple by any decent string library.

Senior Sales Executive Gemma Bown (07788266847) Gemma.Bown@anthem-publishing.com AD Production Dan Short dan.shhort@anthem.publishing.com Directors Editorial Director Paul Pettengale Pettengale@anthem-publishing.com Art Director Jenny Cook Jenny.Cook@anthem-publishing.com Senior Subscriptions Executive Alex Clohosey Alex.Clohosey@anthem-publishing.com

All content copyright Anthem Publishing Ltd 2010, all rights reserved. While we make every effort to ensure the factual content of the magazine is correct we cannot take any responsibity nor be held accountable for any factual errors printed. Please make every effort to check quoted prices and product specifications with the manufacturers prior to pruchase. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system orresold without prior consent of the Anthem Publishing Ltd. OML magazine recognises all copyrights contained within the isse.

Where possible we acknowledge the copyright holdler.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

UPFRONT

17 Baiju Dharman

Scars on 45 on its debut album.

But now interest for 25 catch him staight in.

22 Sound

Tripping

A journey from sound to song. Meet Sneha Khan Music Director and breaking steroetypes. She has hearts rollling all over in India.

19 Defining Moment

This year the music industry has got some of the most crucuial turns. Get yourself updated with all the stuff in thes special bubbling under block.

07 NH7 WEEKENDER

Thirteen years ago, NH7 Weekender took a bath when Paul Taulett turned an empty field in Goa into the site of three

As its said make hay while the sun shines.

28 6 Questions

Ask 6 questions to your favourite celebrity.

The latest hardcore change in the music industry.

21 Right out of the Alley

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COVER STORY

15 Make Sunshine

20 Season of the Synch

Mumbai’s spud in the box should play status-built in the appeal to fans and bands alike.

Check

FEATURES

23 The Golden Voice

Mumbai’s spud in the box should play status-built in the appeal to fans and bands alike.

Check

HOME FRONT

MUSIC

31 Lets Rock and Roll

42 Fender Turns 20

Scars on 45 on its debut album.

But now interest for 25 catch him staight in.

32 Indian Music Scene

This year the music industry has got some of the most crucuial turns. Get yourself updated with all the stuff in thes special bubbling under block.

34 Digital Age

The latest hardcore change in the music industry .

37 The Bollywood Mix

Mumbai’s spud in the box should play status-built in the appeal to fans and bands alike.

Check

Scars on 45 on its debut album.

But now interest for 25 catch him staight in. Unreveal the journey of the great man behind.

51 The Latest 20

Scars on 45 on its debut album.

But now interest for 25 catch him staight in.

55

Lets Race

This year the music industry has got some of the most crucuial turns. Get yourself updated with all the stuff in thes special bubbling under block.

60 You can not Beat Me The latest hardcore change in the music industry grab the hot coffee and lay back.

IN EVERY ISSUE

26 Laugh Out Louder 45 Reviews 49 Concert Diaries 77 Over the counter 87 Backbeat APRIL 2012 OM L

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08 OML APRIL 2012

5 stages over 50 bands 10,000 people COME TOGETHER FOR 3 DAYS OF AWESOME

nh7 k e e w r e d n e Thirteen years ago, NH7 Weekender took a bath when Paul Taulett turned an empty field in Goa into the site of threestage music festival that nearly drove the concert promotion firm out of busineess. Today, the NH7 Weekender is the highest-grossing music festival in the world, a hot ticket for bands and fans, awaited them eagerly.

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T

he Bacardi NH7 Weekender hosted this past weekend at the Laxmi Lawns in Magarpatta City, Pune promised attendees one of the best festival experiences in India. With over 50 bands playing 7 stages and an anticipated crowd of 10,000 people per day, it was certainly going to be both an experience and a logistical nightmare. This is the story of how one of those stages came into being and how it evolved over the course of 3 days to be one of the most unique and inviting destinations for festival goers.What was a farm storage warehouse would become India’s first Dub Station, obligatory aluminum roof and all.

“

When we opened our doors and people started streaming in, we knew we had created something special

As part of the Dubsquad production team, I arrived at the venue 3 days before the festival was set to open its gates. I remember seeing the space for the first time and just being blown away by how much potential it had. We could do so much with the space I remember thinking to myself. We however were constrained to a time limit. 3 days to turn this barren concrete and metal structure into something festival goers had never seen before. Somewhere people would walk into and say “wow”.

Of course, we had some help. Graffiti writers Samita Chatterjee, ZINE and Roy Sanjib had flown down to Pune with us from Delhi and were greeted with 200 cans of spray paint from one of our sponsors Sabotaz. There were smiles all around, like kids in a candy store. We white washed the walls, allocated spaces and let them get the bombing underway. Over the next 2 days they were joined by writers Hanif (Delhi), Artez (Serbia), Bandits (Germany) and Zebster (Germany) to create some of the most eye popping graffiti anyone in India has ever seen.As the stage manager, speaking purely from an organisational standpoint, one of my favorite things about the Dub Station was the presence of two separate stages. The rear stage was of.

“

It was always obvious that the Pepsi Dub Station was going to be different.

Conceptualised by Delhi’s DJ MoCity, the vision was to offer a place where underground art, music, dance and culture could align into a heady multi-sensory experience for festival attendees.

We wanted the bass to make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end while your pupils soaked in pieces from some of the best graffiti artists India and the world have to offer was to offer a place where underground art, music,dance .

W EEKEN DE R TIME LINE

NOVEMBER 2010 Planning for the great NH7 weekender starts as a project among friends.

No one was serious.

FEBRUARY 2011 Paul Toilett was gettin so bored he started working on Weekender and searching resources.

Mark of NH7.

JUNE[MAKING OF TEAM] Paul gets serious about the project and starts making a team of music lovers, entertainment houses and the action begins

FEBRUARY 2011

APRIL 2011

Tolett goes to work for Gary Lovat and passing out concert fliers at the Goldenvoice. Tolett works with Kevin Lyman and Manager Jim.

This is the story of how one of those stages came into being and how it evolved over the course of 3 days.

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JULY 2011 Artists are contacted and the line up for the festival is all set up. The promotion of the event begins and passes are sent out.

The urban cities are hit with Weekender fever.

SEPTEMBER 2011

NOVEMBER 2011

Weekender headliners are Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Beastie Boys and the Reunited Iggy and the Stooges

Just months before the main festival the foreign sponsors back off but BACARDI saves the day

perfomance. For sheer size, consistency and being in that sunshine state called Goa, Sunburn is championed as Asia’s best electronic music festival by its promoters.Not in its fifth year, 2011 is expected to be the biggest yet. More than 100,000 people are expected at the three-day beach dance party.Locals have been complaining about the frustrating traffic because of the festival.

perfomance. For sheer size, consistency and being in that sunshine state called Goa, Sunburn is championed as Asia’s best electronic music festival by its promoters.Not in its fifth year, 2011 is expected to be the biggest yet. More than 100,000 people are expected at the three-day beach dance party.Locals have been complaining about the frustrating traffic because of the festival.

While initially it seemed that there were fewer international acts than in 2010, there were actually more foreign artists this year. We managed to convince a number of first-timers to come along for at least one day. But the organisers publicised the appearances of only two of them, Basement Jaxx’s Felix Buxton (who played a DJ set) and Imogen Heap But it’s hard to worry about the world outside when there’s a neoncolored stage, sand under your feet, the ocean behind you and EDM in your ears.

Produced by celebrity DJ Nikhil Chinappa and event management company Percept, the festival hasn’t always been easy to put together. While initially it seemed that there were fewer international acts than in 2010, there were actually more feign artists this year.

While initially it actually more

But it’s hard to worry about the world outside when there’s a neon-colored stage, sand under your feet, the ocean behind you and EDM in your ears.Produced by celebrity DJ Nikhil Chinappa and event management company Percept, the festival hasn’t always been easy to put together.

19 DAYS

DECEMBER 2011 The crew starts deciding the venue and preparation is started in full vigour and it started with mayhem.

After the stage set up the main important thing to deal with was to make sure about the sound systems. After almost 3 days of vigorous sound checks and lightning check. The crew got excited

8 DAYS Accomodation for the Artists, their conditions for the sound systems and managing everythin turned into mayhem. Their were artists who wanted different settings on equaliser and they did not turn up for sound check.

THE OPENING NIGHT Finally the night the day arrived and all the Artists were introduced with their music and a great revolution for the Indian Music Fans was about to start.

27 DAYS TO GO

15 DAYS

3 DAYS

FINAL EVENT

7 different types of stages were to be made.

Just few days before, almost stage set up and all the hard core work. People were remaining with the signanges inside.

Foreign artists were called to set up and pimp the whole Pepsi Dub Station and it was the best.

The event started of with all the passes sold out and crowd in huge number. The logisticts had to work thier asses of.to manage the crowd.

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THE WORK LOAD

A groundbreaking collective of London based multimedia artists, The Light Surgeons operate first and foremost as a multimedia production company with work spanning: film, motion graphics, print, photography, installations, exhibitions and live performance.Over the past 15 years they have helped pioneer many new forms of cross disciplinary practice, from spectacular live cinema performances to bespoke installations and large scale exhibitions in museums.

The Light Surgeons will be bringing their SuperEverything and LDN-REDUX shows to Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore as part of the UnBox Festival over the next couple of weeks. Their live performances blend the latest production technology with screen images providing an instant result out come to the given problem is the key to perfomance.

For sheer size, consistency and being in that sunshine state called Goa, Sunburn is championed as Asia’s best electronic

IN T ER N ATIONAL SQUAD

IMOGEN HEAP Stage : Deewarists Genre : Fusion Country : Argentina Imogen Heap is a regular singer for the bollywood and sufi songs. She is from Argentina but her love to Indian Music and Culture has kept her.

I.G. OX7GEN. Stage : Dub Station Genre : Drum & Bass Country : U.S OX7GEN is the solo drum and bass project of Adik Conark (Rosemary, The Colour Compound) from Nevada, started in 2011. Adik is a selftaught producer and has been majorly influenced by the likes of Netsky and Danny

Stage : Dub Station Genre : Electronic Country : Spain Dj I.G is known as Infected Ganja in his own town. He always wanted to play in India and on our first request he came in with no objections. He conquered the people on the opening night and people could not stop dancing to his tunes.

He has a great sense of continuity and people’s.

music festival by its promoters.Not in its fifth year, 2011 is expected to be the biggest yet. More than 100,000 people are expected at the three-day beach dance party.Locals have been complaining about the frustrating traffic because of the festival.

But it’s hard to worry about the world outside when there’s a neon-colored stage, sand under your feet, the ocean behind

WORLD TOUR International Artists were an extra edge to the festival. As the tools around VJ culture have evolved, we’ve moved from film reels and slides to videotapes, DVD’s and various bits of both hardware and software. More recently we’ve began to develop more custom software for projects by collaboration with programmers. The artists added a whole new perspective to the festival. They were shocked to see the response of the Indian Crowd and loved it. They felt the energy like never before and were waiting The International Artists provide a nice p romotion as it is. On public demand he had to come again and his generosity proved the simplicity his nature had. We aim to bring in more singers.

you and EDM in your ears.Produced by celebrity DJ Nikhil Chinappa and event management company Percept, the festival hasn’t always been easy to put together.Goa laws, erratic sound deadlines, traffic snarls, terrorist attacks in Mumbai and poor planning in initial years have all threatened the festival.Bookmyshow.com’s CEO Ashish Hemrajani, official ticketing partner, says that this year the fest has registered more international card swipes of -the-seat to the

KING CREST Stage : Deewarists Genre : Country Music Country : U.S King Crest is the the supreme most artist known in the U.S. His country music enthralled the audience and people felt it like never before. The crowd got switched to the Deewarist stage and were surprised to see this extra ordinary talent.

SKY RABBIT Stage : Dub Station Genre : Psychedelic Country : England Sky Rabbit is an electro-rock act from England. The guywas formerly called Medusa, and originally started out as a progressive metal outfit. They self-released a debut album Survival Of The Fittest in 2005. Soon after, the band went through several lineup changes and settled on a sound that infused elements of electronica in alternative rock. In 2008, the band was selected as one of four acts to record with label.

Stage : Dub Station Genre : House Country : Japan Gamma Ray has been comin to India frequently and he has own club.

kai lo Contents

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mannce and shattering drum and bass.

This main console was actually a massive hydraulic lift that was too heavy to move out of the venue so we just made it work for our needs. Luckily, it was already in the right place! Having these two stages meant we could keep the audience engaged watching one performance while we set up the next one on the alternate stage. We were therefore able to ensure that the music kept bumping and we had practically seamless transitions between performers. Over the weekend, the rear stage played host to a secret set by old-school rockers Zero as well as packed performances from Ill Billy HiTech and The Ska Vengers.

THE TEAM EFFORT In a cartoon included in the guidebook to the Bacardi NH7 Weekender festival, one-line descriptions accompany stick figures representing various types of attendees. At the end of three days of gig hopping, we knew exactly whom we identified with in the cartoon—the two stick figures referred to as “NH7 2010 purists who say, ‘The Weekender was better in my day’.” The two stick figures of the hundred shown in the cartoon are obviously a minority because Weekender 2011 was indisputably bigger, in terms of both production and attendance, than its previous edition.

Over 25,000 people attended the threeday event in Pune this past weekend, as compared to 10,000 attendees last year.

We managed to convince a number of first-timers to come along for at least one day, including many who barely go to gigs and the majority of whom had never been to a music festival before.

The consensus: they’ll be back next year, for all three days.

As for us, we returned to Mumbai on a high, similar to the one we experienced last year but different in some way as well. As a group of us who were there last year repeatedly said, the chilledout, homely feel of the festival had been replaced by a crowded, slightly chaotic ambience that is the natural outcome of such a large increase in attendance numbers. We had to wait longer to get our food and booze; we had to make sure we watched the penultimate act if we wanted to be up front for the headliner; in short, we had to act like 12 OML APRIL 2012

T E A M W E E K E N D E R Paul Toil says executives at the concert promotion firm don’t have titles per se, but rather job descriptions. Here are these descriptions in his words Pretty much runs the NH7 Weekender

Skip Paige:

Books our clubs and gives me tips on talent

Donna Busch:

Handles credentials and announcements,our equivalent of marketing

Bonnie Marques:

Day-to-day operations for Weekender

Bill Fold:

Stacy Ves: ent buying

Works with me on tal-

Kevan Wilkings:

Production Manager

we would at any festival abroad. The Weekender was not just ours any more; it was everyone’s. Indian indie, it seemed, had finally arrived. When we opened our doors on the first day and people started streaming in, we knew we had created something special.The Dub Station had a vibe and people actually wanted to spend time there. The music was unlike anything else being offered at the festival and the art on the walls almost gave it the feel of a gallery space. I saw so many people around, check out a performance and then return with a gang of their friends in tow. look They wanted to share the vibe with their friends and we were more than glad to accommodate them.v For me, personally, the highlight of the entire weekend at the Dub Station was the soundclash between the Reggae Rajahs and BASSFoundation on Sunday evening. Every available space to graffiti had been used up, the visuals were projecting in full effect and the warehouse environment just fit the “clash” vibe perfectly. After a week of practically no sleep, seeing the entire place packed front to back was all the reward we needed. I nodded my head to the Rajahs and just thought to myself, “man, we did it!”

Nostalgia makes you remember everything as being perfect at the time.

So if we cribbed—and it was us “old-

Talent Buyers Rafel Eholi: Indian

Music across World

Eilliot Lefko: ROck

and

David Conan: Urban

Metal

City clubs

Rebecca Leon: International Brian Murphy: Arenas,

Stadiums

Stacy Gill: Merchandising Susan Oberoi: Nokia

Artists

and stalls.

Theatre

Paul Toil: Festivals

timers” doing the cribbing as opposed to the awe-struck newbies—it was because things weren’t the way they used to be (even if used-to-be was just a year ago). Why didn’t they have gaddas at The Dewarists Stage? (Answer: They had them initially but it made sense to remove them in order to accommodate more people). Why was there no bar at the after-party venue? (Answer: It would have required another set of licences, which in a city with a 11.30pm deadline would have been, needless to say, a logistical nightmare. Besides, there was a bar just outside.) .

Our report lastOWNER year included a list of FROM THE things we would like to see at Weekender 2011 and we were very pleased to find that there was much more and better food this time around. There were stalls from such popular Mumbai eateries as Gostana and Yogurtbay, as well as a few from Pune, including roll and shawarma specialists Marrakesh, which proved to the busiest, and best, of them all.

There were plenty of shopping stalls as well, and though they mainly comprised such usual flea-market suspects as No Nasties and The Root, they added to the Goa-in-Pune aura of things.

While initially it seemed that there

of only two of them, Basement Jaxx’s Felix Buxton (who played a DJ set) and Imogen Heap Then again, there was every effort to make things easier for the audience, from carpools to shuttle buses and directions to the venue (signs all the way from Koregaon Park with messages that seemed to voice all our thoughts, from “YAYYYY!” to “Wheeee!” to “Are We There Yet?”).

There was a near compulsive attention to detail, be it the freebies given out at stages (shaggy black wigs for the Black Rock Arena, neon blue Afros for the Eristoff Wolves Den) to a new special stage for more experimental forms of music, called the Pepsi Dub Station.

For me, personally, the highlight of the entire weekend at the Dub Station was the soundclash between the Reggae Rajahs and BASSFoundation.

DUB STATION

Weekender’s 5th year charges in with a new music

I

remember when I first heard jungle music. I was ten years old and had wandered into my local high street record store looking to buy any old pop music cassette. They had Prizna - Fire (Feat.

Demolition ManUrban Shakedown Remix) playing over the speakers. I bought it home and loved the fast paced drums, rinsing basslines and “motor-mouth” MCing so much that I had it on repeat for days, driving my mother mad.

She couldn’t understand it at all, which made me like it even moreIn 1994 jungle was in its heyday; Shy FX, Brockie, and Stevie Hyper D were already household names. New kids on the block Andy C and MC Skibadee were rising fast and helping to create new styles, which

were changing the popular sound of what was to be known as drum and bass. Back in my bedroom, I literally played this tape so much so, that it eventually broke. This is where I left the scene. Fast forward to 2002, and my first drum and bass rave, one of the infamous before, the experience of hearing that music churn out its lower frequencies on a major soundsystem, with hyper MCs drilling through the flow and the buzz of ravers, made it sound right in its natural environment, and much better because of it. The music was also faster, more influenced by electronic production and less based around reggae and ragga samples. It wasn’t even called jungle anymore, it was called drum and bass.

From the performances we caught by homegrown acts, there were many standouts (Advaita, SkyHarbor, Shaa’ir + Func, and our personal find of the fest: the protest songs of one-man-act Imphal Talkies) and we observed how artists approach festival audiences differently. .. Every available space to graffiti had been used up, the visuals were projecting in full effect and the warehouse environment just fit the “clash” vibe perfectly. After a week of practically no sleep, seeing the entire place packed front to back was all the reward we needed. I nodded my head to the Rajahs and just thought to myself, “man, we did it!”

Having been to festivals all over the US, UK and France the Bacardi NH7 Weekender brought a real moment of clarity. I saw just how far the musical landscape in India has developed and how a festival of this scale can actually go off without a hitch, bringing people closer together and generating energy centered around a shared love of music.

For a festival that is only in its second year, I tip my hat to the crew at OML for having the vision and letting us be a part of it.

TEAM NH7 - “Cheers”

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UPFRONT

BAIJU DHARMA

by LEELA KOBO

Baiju Dharmajan to release sol album. After his follow up from his Debut album.

E

ver since guitar player Baiju Dharmajan parted ways with legendary southern rock act Motherjane, he’s involved himself in a variety of projects as he readies his solo album for release later this year.

For a short while he reunited with his old band Wrenz United, he’s part of Kashmir with Sanjeev Thomas, he collaborated with Karsh Kale on a track for the Dewarists TV show and has produced the debut album for labelmates Kaav.

During this time he’s also been involved with the Blue Fire Trio, with violinist Harikumar Sivan and drummer Sanjay Maroo, which is heading to Mumbai and Pune for a series of gigs.According to a post on Dharmajan’s Facebook page, the band’s music is an “eclectic combination of jazz, rock, Carnatic and Indian styles.

The music is predominantly pure improvisation as the central focus is on the spot creation around the framework of riffs and the

structures of the compositions”.

Experiencing the man who invented “Carnatic shredding” is a rare sight outside Kerala these days, so fans of Dharmajan and his sound will certainly want to show up for these shows.The Crossover in the third week of May. The guitar shredder from Kochi has been prepping for his debut since he went solo last year, a renz United and working on collaborative projects..

Yeah, life is good man. Now, I am

engaged with band practice and planning promotions but I do have some other collaborations with different artists and I am very much in to my production work for Cochym..

What we can expect from Dharmajan in the future.Presently the most important thing is promoting my album and my new band.

At the same time I would love to share my experience and music with the upcoming guitarists and musicians as that’s the idea behind the guitar APRIL 2012 OM L

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upfront parted ways with legendary southern rock act Motherjane, he’s involved himself in a variety of projects as he readies his solo album for release later this year. For a short while he reunited with his old band Wrenz United, he’s part of Kashmir with Sanjeev Thomas, he collaborated with Karsh Kale on a track for the Dewarists TV show and has produced the debut album for labelmates Kaav. During this time he’s also been involved with the Blue Fire Trio, with violinist Harikumar Sivan and drummer Sanjay Maroo, which is heading to Mumbai and Pune for a series of gigs.According to a post on Dharmajan’s Facebook page, the band’s music is an “eclectic combination of jazz, rock, Carnatic and Indian styles.

Minting Money The music is predominantly pure improvisation as the central focus is on the spot creation around the framework of riffs and the structures of the compositions”.

Experiencing the man who invented “Carnatic shredding” is a rare sight outside Kerala these days, so fans of Dharmajan and his sound will certainly want to show up for these shows.The Crossover in the third week of May. The guitar shredder from Kochi has been prepping for his debut s ar Sivan and his brainchild BlueFire. Dharmajan is also in the process of setting up an initiative called Guitar Guru, where he aims

18 OML APRIL 2012

to support budding guitarists and enthusiasts with regular national level guitar clinics and tutorial videos. Post the Motherjane era, Baiju Dharmajan is more focused on his solo album which is due to release later this year.

Baiju is also part of multiple musical projects with different musicians as well as concentrating on music production for upcoming bands.

Currently he is part of ‘Kashmir’ Cofounded with Sanjeev Thomas and other initiatives with prolific musicians such as John Antony of the jazz fusion experimental band ‘Karnatrix’ and ‘Bluefire’ and the contamination The Light Surgeons is a media and arts production company founded by myself and others way back in 1995. It started out as a loose collective of designers and visual artists who enjoyed experimenting with analogue projections. Quickly we became established in London through our work with the music industry.

At the time we were making visual installations in clubs as well as concert visuals for a vast array of different UK independent labels such as Mo Wax, Ninja Tune and Wall Of Sound.

It slowly evolved into a more audiovisual collective as new creatives joined forces. We began to make our own films and live AV performances around 1997 through events such as Onedotzero, held in London.

Uneven legs Since then we have gone on to develop these audio-visual live cinema performances, combining a journalistic approach to different subjects. We’ve evolved a sort of exploded, expansionistic, poetic, documentary style which blends animation, programming and live and electronic music to create feature length performances which have moved our work outside of the club spaces that we began in. Our most recent project of this nature is called Super Everything*, which was completed in September last year through a commission from the British

Council.

We are very excited to be bringing it to the UnBox festival in New Delhi.

It will be the first time we will have shared this project with an audience outside Malaysia, where it was created. he 9 track album is beautifully woven each song distinctly different from the next, it is also magnificently produced with no gaps or “fillers” of any kind.

The sampling is spare and intelligently done, which gives rise to a thoughtful and intense layering of sound that ties the songs together instead of complicating them; the seamless synthesis of electronica and postpunk is achieved with panache simply because of this.

Even on first listen, it is easy to identify the intricacies of texture and the internal ebb and flow of each song. The little things that make you smile to yourself and make you love a song are crawlting all over this album. However, is the sheer power of lead vocalist Raxit Tiwari’s voice that gives the album its inimitable swagger. He is singing of many things, from existential meanderings (I Become I) to

upfront

Defining Moment Iinitiative called Guitar Guru, where he aims to support budding guitarists and enthusiasts with regular national level guitar clinics and tutorial videos. Post the Motherjane era, Baiju Dharmajan is more focused on his solo album which is due to release later this year.

In an album that continually plunges and rises, one of the best and most delightful moments comes toward the end of “Contentment”.

As the synths build up, rising like shadows falling on the bedside walls that are lit up by the slumbering streets, they form a head-bopping glitchy march-dance of a tune, punctuated by the resounding bass, perfect for those whisky soaked nights spent stoned, pacified into halted languid movements, dancing in reverse as the night leaves everything behind and in its place is just music and the ache. it happen.

The guitarist also featured in the ninth episode of The Dewarists alongside multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer Karsh Kale, and traditional Kerala percussionist Njeralathu Harigovindan in the sleepy town of Angadipurram, Kerala (watch here). Currently, he is part of a collective known as Kashmir which he cofounded with Sanjeev Thomas. He has also collaborated

Baiju is also part of multiple musical projects with different musicians as well as concentrating on music production for upcoming bands.

Currently he is part of ‘Kashmir’ Cofounded with Sanjeev Thomas and other initivatives with prolific musicians such as John Antony of the jazz fusion experimental band ‘Karnatrix’ and ‘Bluefire’ and the contaminationany cities and regions have produced collections of bands large enough to be classified as a scene within Indian rock.

Shillong, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore has long been one of the principal founts of Indian rock and continues to produce bands regularly. Some of the most notable contemporary rock bands from Mumbai are Pentagram, Tough on Tobacco, Bhayanak Maut, Demonic Resurrection, Split, Sridhar/Thayil, Scribe, and Goddess Gagged. The recent reunion of Indian rock pioneers Indus Creed was received with great enthusiasm,[9] especially with regard to their plans to produce a new album in 2011.

Delhi’s music circuit has seen its share of ups and downs, but has held on largely due to the local presence of Rock Street Journal.

MARKET SHARE Delhi being the operational home of the Allahabadbased magazine, local bands have benefited by the proximity to India’s first dedicated to stories and features based around rock and metal. The Great Indian Rock festival was mostly held in Delhi, now foraying into Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore, North-East India and Pune has exposed the upcoming musicians of India to a wider variety of musicians.[10] Notable bands from Delhi include Parikrama, Hundred Octane, Indian Ocean.

by Major Owned distributors

by Major Owned Retailers

APRIL 2012 OM L

19

upfront BUBBLING UNDER

SEASON OF THE SYNCH Mumbai’s spud in the box should play status-built in the appeal to fans and bands alike

S

wimmer” is almost surely my personal favourite. It begins with a lovely undulating rhythm that flows past you till that voice emerges from the depths to add the warm glow of sunlight to the rush of the flowing river. It steps away from the meticulous production of the other tracks, it breaks out of the mould, if only momentarily, to induce uncertain heart-thumping emotion that lies somewhere ambiguously between deep despair and mad delight, as the lyrics form a rising refrain (today/today/today is all like yesterday/ dreams yesterday/dreams are of yesterday/so dream yesterday/ still won’t make you call/oh yesterday/ can’t be far...). Somewhere between the dreams and the yesterdays, there erupts a discordant sample that cries out almost as a sentient being and out of a volition

20 OML APRIL 2012

of its own it strangles a dying roar that reaches past the thick foliage of sound and trembles right through the extraneous to settle into a sweet, dull throb of plenary feeling.

“I Become I” begins with a simple but energetic riff that waxes until it sidles into the background whilst the vocals kick in bellowing “West will be east/East will be west…”. The song is another great example of how the proper and intelligent use of electronica can complement and accentuate the individual instrumentation. The song stands out if not for its catchy tune then for the lyrical turn exhibited, edging into the existential, the line “Right on around/down in the shallow/each one finds his grave/one at a time” comes seemingly out of nowhere and still manages to please shows the high.

In an album that continually plunges and rises, one of the best and most delightful moments comes toward the end of “Contentment”. As the synths build up, rising like shadows falling on the bedside walls that are lit up by the slumbering streets, they form a head-bopping glitchy march-dance of a tune, punctuated by the resounding bass, perfect for those whisky soaked nights spent stoned, pacified into halted languid movements, dancing in reverse as the night leaves everything behind and in its place is just music and the ache. it happen. The guitarist also featured in the ninth episode of The Dewarists alongside multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer Karsh Kale, and traditional Keralapercussionist Njeralathu Harigovindan in the sleepy town of Angadipurram, Kerala (watch here).

Currently, he is part of a collective known as Kashmir which he co-founded with Sanjeev Thomas and Rak Kumar Shastri it is surely going to win people’s heart.

upfront

RIGHT UP ALLEY

Mumbai’s spud in the box should play status-built in the appeal to fans and bands alike

I

n an album that continually plunges and rises, one of the best and most delightful moments comes toward the end of “Contentment”. As the synths build up, rising like shadows falling on the bedside walls that are lit up by the slumbering streets, they form a head-bopping glitchy march-dance of a tune, punctuated by the resounding bass, perfect for those whisky soaked nights spent stoned, pacified into halted languid movements, dancing in reverse as the night leaves everything behind and in its place is just music and the ache. it happen.

The guitarist also featured in the ninth episode of The Dewarists alongside multiinstrumentalist, producer and composer Karsh Kale, and traditional Kerala percussionist Njeralathu Harigovindan in the sleepy town of Angadipurram, Kerala (watch here). Currently, he is part of a collective known as Kashmir which he co-founded with Sanjeev Thomas. He has also collaborated with John

Antony of jazz fusion experimental band Karnatriix and with classical violinist Harikumar Sivan and his brainchild BlueFire. Dharmajan is also in the process of setting up an initiative called Guitar Guru, where he aims to support budding guitarists and enthusiasts with regular national level guitar clinics and tutorial videos.

Post the Motherjane era, Baiju Dharmajan is more focused on his solo album which is due to release later this year. Baiju is also part of multiple musical projects with different musicians as well as concentrating on music production for upcoming bands. Currently he is part of ‘Kashmir’ Cofounded with Sanjeev Thomas and other initiatives with prolific musicians such as John Antony of the jazz fusion experimental band ‘Karnatrix’ and ‘Bluefire’ and the contamination.

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upfront

SOUND TRIPPIN

A journey from sound to song. Meet Sneha Khan Music Director and breaking steroe types.

M

TV Sound Trippin is a unique way to acquaint with the quintessential India, its quaint locations, interesting stories, beautiful art forms and quirky but endearing characters.The show an original format home grown, conceptualized and owned by MTV, is about Sneha venturing boldly into the lesser-known India, backpack and recorder in tow, in relentless pursuit of authentic sound. Why sound? Because nothing captures the essence of a location of a community better than its local sounds.

A show that will engage and take you trippin on the sights and sounds of India.

Intel MTV Sound Trippin partnered by Woodland is about Sneha venturing boldly into the lesserknown India, backpack and recorder in tow, in relentless pursuit of authentic sound.

Why Sound? Coz nothing captures the essence of a location or a community better than its local sounds.

The sound of local trains in Mumbai or the tractors in Punjab, are an authentic slice of life as it exists there. And these sounds give us a pure, untainted

KEN DORL

The magical flute player from the far east. He has been acclaimed of the best awards.

P

P

andit Hariprasad Chaurasia, the internationally renowned exponent of the bansuri or bamboo flute, surprisingly does not come from a long lineage of flautists.

His father was a famous wrestler who had aspirations of his son following in his footsteps.The younger Chaurasia had an early love of music, however, and by the age of 15 was taking his first steps toward a lifetime as a performer by studying classical vocal with Pandit Raja Ram of Benares22 OML APRIL 2012

Soon after, he heard a flute recital by Pandit Bholanath and was so impressed he changed his focus to studying the flute. When he was just 19, he got a job playing for All India Radio, Cuttack, Orissa, and within five years he was transferred to their headquarters in Bombay.

There he got the additional exposure of performing

glimpse into that community & their lives.While most of us can only hear the noise in these sounds, Sneha can hear the music! Every episode will be Sneha’s dogged pursuit of authentic sound. Finding that gushing stream, a mother’s lullaby, the persistent thumping of a tractor, the tinkling bells on a bullock, even the rhythmic swishing of a broom

will form the first layer of her journey. Once home to classic rock copycats and cover bands galore, India’s musical creativity is finally shining through. Here are 5 incredible (and local) indie bands, who write their own songs, book their own gigs and are breaking down musical barriers with every performance made the whole impact out there.

in one of India’s cultural centers and also studied with Shrimati Annapurna Devi, daughter of Ustaad Allauddin Khan of the Maihar School of Music.

There he established the creative peak of his career, developing a style that was respectful of tradition, yet full of innovation. Over a lifetime of performances, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia has become one of India’s most-respected classical musicians, earning several awards, including the National Award of the Sangeet Natak Academy, which he won in 1984.In 1992, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan and the Konarak Samman.

In 1994, he was bestowed the Yash Bharati Sanman and in 2000, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan.

In the year 2000, he also received the Hafiz Ali Khan Award and the Dinanath Mangeshkar Award. He has collaborated with several western musicians, including John McLaughlin and Jan Gabarek, and has also composed music for a number of Indian films. He has performed throughout the world winning. Rock music is not something that is limited only to the west. In India also, there are a number of rock bands that have attained heights of popularity amongst the masses. In fact, many of these rock bands have received international recognition, apart from entering into the mainstream Indian music. Indian rock basically comprises of the elements of both Indian music and mainstream rock.

upfront

Synched Up

A journey from sound to song. Meet Sneha Khan Music Director and breaking steroe types.

M

any cities and regions have produced collections of bands large enough to be classified as a scene within Indian rock.Shillong, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore has long been one of the principal founts of Indian rock and continues to produce bands regularly.

Some of the most notable contemporary rock bands from Mumbai are Pentagram, Tough on Tobacco, Bhayanak Maut, Demonic Resurrection, Split, Sridhar/ Thayil, Scribe, and Goddess Gagged. The recent reunion of Indian rock pioneers Indus Creed was received with great enthusiasm,[9] especially with regard to their plans to produce a new album in 2011.

Delhi’s music circuit has seen its share of ups

and downs, but has held on largely due to the local presence of Rock Street Journal. Delhi being the operational home of the Allahabad-based magazine, local bands have benefited by the proximity to India’s first dedicated to stories and features based around rock and metal. The Great Indian Rock festival was mostly held in Delhi, now foraying into Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore, North-East India and Pune has exposed the upcoming musicians of India to a wider variety of musicians.[10] Notable bands from Delhi include Parikrama, Hundred Octane, Indian Ocean, Them Clones, Menwhopause, Guillotine.

Instant Classic

A journey from sound to song. Meet Sneha Khan Music Director and breaking steroe types.

K

ryptos, Inner Sanctum, Eccentric Pendulum, Swarathma, Eastern Fare, Divine Raaga, Ek and Galeej Gurus.

Bands from Kolkata include Cassini’s Division, Skinny Alley, Underground Authority, Pseudonym, Hobos and Rikterskale. There is also a massive regional rock scene in Kolkata that includes bands like Fossils, Cactus, Chandrabindoo, Krosswindz and Bhoomi, having huge international popularity. A relatively recent entry into the Indian Rock circuit is the city of Pune has been the home of bands over the years and off late there has been a new surge with notable genre defining underground acts like Abraxas, Ashwamedh, Noiseware and more. The live music scene of the twin cities Mumbai

and Pune has been on a steep rise since 2005 with major International acts like Meshuggah, Tesseract, Satyricon, Freak Kitchen, Sahg. Pune plays host to an annual musical festival, The NH7 Weekender, which takes place in the month of November and showcases international (mostly British) acts like Imogen Heap, The Magic Numbers, Asian Dub Foundation and Reverend Soundsystem to name a few. The Usual Suspects, Crash TV, Eccentric Pendulum, Hungry(band), Ek, Swaratma, Eastern Fare and Galeej Gurus. Rock ‘N India, Great Indian Rock and more recently Deccan Rock are the primitive rock festivals in India. Bangalore was also the first city in India where internationally popular rock groups.

APRIL 2012 OM L

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music

Fender Black Machine Protoype 2 Mumbai’s spud in the box should play statusbuilt in the appeal to fans and bands alike 42 OML APRIL 2012

I

n an album that continually plunges and rises, one of the best and most delightful moments comes toward the end of “Contentment”. As the synths build up, rising like shadows falling on the bedside walls that are lit up by the slumbering streets, they form a head-bopping glitchy march-dance of a tune, punctuated by the resounding bass, perfect for those whisky soaked nights spent stoned, pacified into halted languid movements, dancing in reverse as the night leaves everything behind and in its place is just music and the ache. it happen. The guitarist also featured in the ninth episode of The Dewarists alongside multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer Karsh Kale, and traditional Kerala percussionist Njeralathu Harigovindan in the sleepy town of Angadipurram, Kerala (watch here). Currently, he is part of a collective known as Kashmir which he co-founded with Sanjeev Thomas. He has also collaborated with John Antony of jazz fusion experimental band

Karnatriix and with classical violinist Harikumar Sivan and his brainchild BlueFire. Dharmajan is also in the process of setting up an initiative called Guitar Guru, where he aims to support budding guitarists and enthusiasts with regular national level guitar clinics and tutorial videos. Post the Motherjane era, Baiju Dharmajan is more focused on his solo album which is due to release later this year. Baiju is also part of multiple musical projects with different musicians as well as concentrating on music production for upcoming bands. Currently he is part of ‘Kashmir’ Cofounded with Sanjeev Thomas and other initiatives with prolific musicians such as John Antony of the jazz fusion experimental band ‘Karnatrix’ and ‘Bluefire’ and the contamination

ALBUMS

BUBBLING UNDER Retronome

INDIE-ROCK

METAL

FUSION

PENTAGRAM

FINGER ELEVEN

BLOODYWOOD The band’s newfound confidence and selfawareness extends to the lyrics as well. Vishal Dadlani eschews the strident advocacy of earlier albums and looks inwards for inspiration. A lot of the songs deal with intensely personal themes. ‘Human Failings’ is about accepting and understanding your faults, featuring one of the most memorable lines in Indian indie – “Experience is just a bunch of, bunch of, bunch of mistakes.” A personal favourite is ‘Technology (I Get You)’ which features a simple, almost hypnotizing sample looped over and over, with Dadlani softly crooning the words, “I see the darkness, I see the light, I know your troubles, I think I get you.”

On the arena sized rocker ‘Mental Zero’, Vishal rails against the dumbing down of popular culture, but at the same time recognizes the futility of it all with the lines, “I can take you through the process but I can’t make you think.” ‘Paper Toys’ is an ode to both the Bombay

THEM VS YOU VS ME Musically, FINGER ELEVEN touches on the same reference points (guitar rock mixed with bassheavy electronica) as the earlier albums, but what has changed is the way it all comes together. While their earlier stuff could often degenerate into a game of ‘spot the influence’, Bloodywood is greater than the sum of its parts. The foundation of this new sound is a crunchy, meaty guitar tone with a distinct ’90s vibe. Tracks such as ‘No 2 Ways’ and the instant classic ‘Love Drug Climbdown’ are essentially hard-hitting ’90s rock songs, enhanced by Randolph Correia’s carefully chosen electronica samples.

The band is also open to exploring new territory, such as the cathartic ‘This Could Get Ugly’, a downtempo fusion of trip-hop vocals and sub-bass electronica complemented by a simple, spaced out guitar lick. The sounds of Bombay seep through on tracks like ‘Tomorrow’s Decided’, ‘Mental Zero’ and ‘In My Head’ where

SAMAYA Dark Helm definitely talk the talk. They’ve snagged a deal with Los Angeles indie label Itchy Metal Entertainment, their debut is an ambitious concept album about Prince of Persia Cyrus the Great, and they even have the quintessential indecipherable band logo. But ambition can be a double-edged sword.

A concept album is a tricky beast, and even the most experienced musicians can find it hard to make one work (Neil Young’s Greendale anyone?). ‘Period piece’ albums in particular are prone to failure (Kiss’s (Music From) The Elder), apart from being a tired genre trope.

Persepolis is a good stab at one, but the band doesn’t have the songwriting chops to really pull it off. However, the one area you can’t fault the band is musicianship. There are some sweet solos and riffs on the album, and some very epic breakdowns.

OUT : NOW

OUT : NOW

OUT : JUNE

CHEB I SABBAH

THE ROOM WITH SPACE

GRAB of the month

44 OML APRIL 2012

This Death metal Band has peoples screaming all over the world, members have been playing with other bands and projects for well over 10 years now.

A typical Retronome

gig will include pop-rock and rock hits the 70s, 80s, 90s and today. will include pop-rock and rock hits from the 70s, 80s, 90s and today. You sure miss the shit.... ! !

is a fun cover band that believes in churning out hits... and nothing but the hits! Although relatively new, they have become one of Bangalore’s most sought-after bands. If you want your party to rock, you call Retronome!

Indian Lennon Songs like ‘Jaffar’ and ‘Persepolis’ are well composed and solid tracks that showcase the band’s true potential, and the latter is one of the more exciting ideas on display here. But they can’t save the album from sounding like a well executed and bombastic – but still boring – collection of genre tropes. This isn’t such a problem if all you’re looking for.

Bieber Bucks Justin Bieber’s New Album BOYFRIEND clocks the Fourth Bestselling Album in digital sales grossing 521,000 sales in one day. Overtaking Bruno Mars Album Grenade.

Loose Me And while the band is new-ish, the band members have been playing with other bands and projects for well over 10 years now. A typical Retronome gig will include pop-rock hits.

singles CLUB

videos to

RIHANA WE FOUND LOVE IN A HPELESS PLACE (5 : 43) Writer: K. Hutch, R. Kelly Publisher: Jobett Music Behind the boards we found love in a hopeless place continues to astound. They may not be much for spelling but R. Kelly are certainly literate, as the evidenced by the clever title track of their thrid Tenacious D album. With ebb-and-flow dynamics that refernce the classic-rock-stylings of the Whoa and the more metallic born wake of the “Pick of Destiny” film bomb. For me, personally, the highlight of the entire weekend at the between the Reggae

check out

SKRILLEX Cinema (3 : 10)

Rajahs and BASSFoundation on Sunday evening. Every available space to graffiti had been used up, the visuals were projecting in full effect and the warehouse environment just fit the “clash” vibe perfectly. Its been soaring the clubs and making people dance all over the world

Bhayanak Maut Snake Rape (3 : 46)

The Indian Tribe Swaramaya (4 : 44)

INDIAN SUFI

KAILESH KHER DUMA DUM HUM (4 : 27) Writer : Kailesh Kher Publisher : SONY Music It’s only been in the last few years that North Americans have begun to learn about the mysterious world of Bollywood.

Unlike Hollywood in the United States, which is an actual place and where more than one type of movie is made, the name Bollywood refers to a very specific type of movie made in India.

Ornate, lush, opulent, and flamboyant, a Bollywood movie is first and foremost a musical. Filled with singing and dancing, they are popular all across South East Asia, one of the few things able to

in mind. Kailash Kher is probably one of the most popular singers in India right now, his unique voice quality and his bass coice and aside from his film work, effortlessly bridge the divide between the multitude of languages, cultures and religions that are concentrated in this one region of the world.

While elements of Bollywood have been making their presence felt in some movies released in the West, Bend It Like Beckman, The Guru, and My Bollywood Bride (released in North America on DVD as My Faraway Bride), the majority of people in North America would probably still look at you funny if you said the word Bollywood to them. I have a feeling that those who do know about Bollywood, tend to think of it as quaint because the movies eschew sex and violence and aren’t very realistic and mesmerising all over the crowd in Indian Kailaasa is on a roll.

BLOCKHEAD The Music Scene (5 : 29)

AVICII Levels (2 : 45)

www.oml\videos.com LEGENDS AND CREDITS Editted by : Ram Kumar (Albums) and Shiv Tandel (Singles) All albums commercially available in the India are elligble.

Send album review copies to Ram Kumar at OML, 12/b Earnest House, Andher (W) Mumbai, India and singles review copies to Shiv Tandel at OML, 15/B Earnest House, Andheri (W), Mumbai, India or the appropriate writers in the appropriate bureaus.

APRIL 2012 OM L

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38 OML APRIL 2012

CONCERT DIARIES A PAGE DEDICATED JUST FOR YOU, BY YOU

Concert : ASYLUM Date : 18/12/2011 Venue: Palace ktm (BANGLORE) By : Gargi Singh A day after heavy metal giant Metallica’s debut gig in Gurgaon was called off, the band rocked Bangalore today, amid tight security. Thousands of fans were seen screaming, cheering and head-banging as one of the world’s bestknown rock band sang some of their most iconic songs.

The group performed at the Palace Grounds in the city.

Tthe performance, which was to be the second for Metallica in India, turned out to be its maiden show following the

abrupt cancellation of its concert at the Leisure Valley in Gurgaon on Friday over “security issues”.But there were no glitches in the band’s performance in Bangalore today, as guitarist Kirk Hammett, drummer Lars Ulrich, lead vocalist James Hetfield and bassist Robert Trujillo regaled the packed audience. To keep the large gathering engaged, two bands - Inner Spectrum from Bangalore and Guillotine from New Delhi - did an opening act and glued the fans to their music for over 90 minutes.The crowd erupted in joy when Metallica finally took the stage to play some of their hits, much to the delight of their fans.On Friday, Metallica cancelled their concert in Gurgaon near Delhi due to “technical difficulties leading to chaos and confusion.” Over 25,000 people had gathered at the Leisure Valley Park in Gurgaon. This was the most exciting concnert i have visited thanx to billlboard magazine I can still attend such concerts and i am a proud read er of billboard.

Concert : SUBNURN Date : 27/12/2011 Venue: Condolim beach By: Daniel Richards Sunburn Goa 2010, took place on 27–29 December at Candolim Beach. The festival was sponsored by Tuborg. The headliners of the 2010 festival were Paul Van Dyk, Ferry Corsten and Axwell along with Sultan & Ned Shepard with Nadia Ali(Live), Richard Durand, GMS, Pete Gooding, Aly & Fila and DJs Pearl, Ma Faiza and Sanjay Dutta.

For the 2010 festival, Percept ran a “Sunburn Anthem Contest”[2] for potential audio and visual producers, with participants in the visual category allowed to make a

Concert: ROCK fest Date: 12/2/2012 Venue: HRC By : Zubin Oberoi “When I left for India, I didn’t know what to expect.

Whether to expect a crowd of 600 or 6,000. It’s so wonderful to see that it’s a crowd of 6,000-plus,” Guetta said in the midst of his show Friday night.“I hope my friends are filming this because I want to remember this as one of my best memories this year,”drawing a loud applause.

I needed to take a piece of wood and make it sound like the railroad track, but I also had to make it beautiful and lovable so that a person playing it would think of it in terms of his mistress, a bartender, his wife, a good psychiatrist - whatever.

To keep the large gathering engaged, two bands - Inner Spectrum from Bangalore and Guillotine from New Delhi did an opening act and glued the fans to their music for over 90 minutes took to the stage in Gurgaon on Friday.

The Grammy award-winning French DJ was in for a pleasant surprise when he got to spin music to a packed audience of over 6,000 people, cheering and dancing to his powerpacked tunes.potential audio.

The crowd erupted in joy when Metallica finally took the stage

to play some of their hits, much to the delight of their fans. He said holding both the events at the same time would have created a rush around Palace Grounds. Besides getting timing of the concert changed, the police would be deploying extra policemen around both the venues to manage the crowd.

Organisers of the concert were miffed that now the fun-filled event would be over before 9 pm. They said the gates would be open at 4.30 pm and people could start collecting their tickets from 2 pm. Those coming for David Guetta’s concert will have to use the Gayatri Vihar entrance and exit from the Gemini Circus gate .It was a life changing perfomance for me. Thankx to OML i could do well . ;) You have e-mail, we have an inbox.

What are you waiting for ? Span myconcertdiaries@oml.com and share in your experience. You may find your way into these hallowed pages.

gig update

visual for a B.R.E.E.D track which is then submitted to a panel of judges. Participants in the audio category are asked to make a fresh remix of Nadia Ali’s ‘Love Story’ which is the Anthem of the festival. I just loved being there it was fantsastic. I could not ask for

ESCAPE FESTIVAL Dates: 18,19,20 May Venue: Last Resort (Uttarakhand)

Fat Boy Slim Dates: 4th of May Venue: Palace Grounds (Gurgaon)

www.escapefestival.in

www.fbs.in

Contents

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BACKBEAT The Latest Action, from all the active spots..

The Opening of Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of theme restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett in London. Hard Rock Cafe Mumbai promises to keep fans rockin’ with live music on two stage areas that can be simultaneously used for performances. Our 6,000-square-foot, 169-seat cafe features an outstanding American menu, collectible merchandise and world-famous memorabilia representing contemporary stars such as Madonna, U2, and Bruce Springsteen along with side items from rock legends Elvis Presley.

Pentagram launches their debut album.

The band’s newfound confidence and selfawareness extends to the lyrics as well. Vishal Dadlani eschews the strident advocacy of earlier albums and looks inwards for inspiration. A lot of the songs deal with intensely personal themes. ‘Human Failings’ is about accepting and understanding your faults, featuring one of the most memorable lines in Indian indie – “Experience is just a bunch of, bunch of, bunch of mistakes.” A personal favourite is ‘Technology (I Get You)’ which features a simple, almost hypnotizing sample looped over and over.

Cine star music awards The band’s newfound confidence and selfawareness extends to the lyrics as well. Vishal Dadlani eschews the strident advocacy of earlier albums and looks inwards for inspiration. A lot of the songs deal with intensely personal themes. ‘Human Failings’ is about accepting and understanding your faults, featuring one of the most memorable lines in Indian indie – “Experience is just a bunch of, bunch of, bunch of mistakes.” A personal favourite is ‘Technology (I Get You)’ which features a simple, almost hypnotizing sample looped over.

APRIL 2012 OM L

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BACKBEAT DID U KNOW, IN MONTH OF APRIL... ??

1975...Leo Fender is made the president

of bold new guitars manufactures Music Man. When Leo’s contract with Fender - which he sold to CBS in 1965 - finally expired, he immediately got together with exFender employees Forrest White and Tom Walker to take his original designs further. Music Man’s first intstruments were the StingRay guitar and bass. The six sting(pictured right) featured twin humbuckers and a bolt on neck, and the bass is generally considered to be the first production model to boast active pickups. Leo, restless as ever, let Muscic Man a few short years later in 1979 to form G&L.

1961...John

1927...Ron

Wood replaces Mick Taylor in Rolling Stones Wood revials in his biography Rock On Wood that he missed out on the job back in ‘69 after Brian Jones left. When jagger rang and asked him if he’d like to join he thought it was prank and told Mick.

Dopyera flies the patent for the National Tri-cone resonator.

Three cones supplied the extra punch that meant the Hawaiian-style players of the era. Dopyera(below) quickly fell out with his employers at National and left to build a rival type of resonator, the Dobro, a year later.

1953...Buddy Holly

has Stratocaster stolen.

Buddy an The Crickets were on the Alan Freed’s Big Beat Tour at the time and luckily he had a backup although that was also stolen from the band’s station wagon a week later in St Louis, Missouri.

Fortunately Fender play his songs properly and even placing Clapton’s finers in the ‘correct’ place on the fret boa did the the decent thing, and an endorsement deal followed. This is considered to be one of the most crucial stages of Musc Industry

88 OML APRIL 2012

1959...Jimi

Hendrix, 16, gets his first electric guitar..

Jime had owned a beaten up old acousitc since he was 13 but his efforts to learn were hampered by its inability to stay in tune.

The new white Supro ozark imrpoved matters greatly.

Jimi would carry it around in a sack learning riffs from anyone he could find.

Friends recall that the first song he learned to play from start to finish was Tall Cool One.

1995...Jonny Ramone’s fierce

riffage on his Ventures II Morsite. bought for $50 from Manny’s in New York - along with his band’s tales of teenage boredom and mental illness were the driving force behind the punk rock explosion.The first LP feature 14 songs - including Blitzkrieg Bop and I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend - and ran for less than haf an hour. At an estimated 10 million copies sold it’s still the band’s best selling album. The title sparked outrage from the public, mostly in US, who alleged the band were Stanists, but it was in fact inspired by bassist Steve Harrs’ nightmare after watchin Damien: The Omen 2.

1957...Eric Clapton

plays on the Howlin’ Wolf London Sessions album.

Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts and Steve Winwood made up the resot of the band. A giant and imposing figure, the cantankerous bluesman was aggressive towards the young musicians, insisting they couldn’ttrd during the recording of Little Red Rooster. Already ill during the recording, the World succumber to kidney problems five years later, aged 65.

1989...Musical

Merchandise announces the arrival of Guild Guitars.

A magazine ad stated that the company had been “formed to manufacture high-quality guitars, including Spanish and Hawaaiian electric solidbody electrics, amplifiers, cases and strings. The brainchild of Gearoge Mann and his friend Al Dronge, Guild described itself as the “the Str adivari of Guitars” and build a limited run on flattop acoustics and archtop electrics. By 1995, Mann had left and Dronge had taken the helm.Guilds have since graced the collections of John Lee Hooker, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and Ry Cooder amongst many others.

1979...Blackmore

quits Deep Purple.

Angered at the funk influence brought in by Glen Hughes and David Coverdale. Blackmore denounced Purple’s Stormbringer as “crap” and left. He took control of recent support act Elf and renamed them Rainbow, eveuntually sacking all but singer Ronnie James Dio. Tommy Bolin.