April 2020 issue featuring Kaushiki Chakraborty on the cover

ISSN 0974 – 9128

Vol 13 Issue 04 April 2020

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INDIA'S NATIONAL PAN-GENRE MUSIC MAGAZINE

Pro tips to

Quirks & Queries

ADITI RAMESH Talks about her initial years of learning music, her gurus and their lessons and more.

HELPFUL TOOLS FOR YOU TO MIX AT HOME Pro tips to

MAKE YOUR DRUM KIT QUIETER

On the Cover

KAUSHIKI CHAKRABORTY Elegance and Musings: Conversations with Kaushiki Chakraborty

Also Inside: Indie Reviews, Beautiful folk songs now in mainstream Cinema, How to sync your MIDI devices and more

Point Source Excellence From Nearfield to Main Monitoring Genelec The Ones monitors are revered every day in thousands of studios around the globe for their perceptual qualities, technical brilliance and spectacular design.

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W W W.G E N E LEC.C O M / T H EO N ES

INDEX 10 18 30 34 35 36

ON THE COVER

KAUSHIKI CHAKRABORTY

READ ON

INDIE REVIEWS

QUIRKS AND QUERIES

ADITI RAMESH

READ ABOUT

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF LIVE SOUND

READ ON

PRO TIPS TO MAKE YOUR DRUM KIT QUIETER

HOW TO

REIGNITE YOUR MUSICAL MOTIVATION AND CREATIVITY

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Elegance and Musical Musings Conversations with

KAUSHIKI CHAKRABORTY A classical performing artist not only needs thorough understanding of the music form, but should also carry a divine aura with their presence and elegance. The combination of musical expertise along with spiritual aura is something quite rare at a scenario when classical music is fading away in the currently paced up lifestyles. Another important aspect of a brilliant classical performer is the constant innovation of performing, and also displaying tremendous control over the rendition. By being so strong in the musical foundations and techniques, along with adding one’s own interpretation of the music form (? ?) One such magical performer is the ever smiling Kaushiki Chakraborty , the daughter of legendary Hindustani exponent Pt. Ajay Chakraborty.

Her tremendous balance of singing, experimentation, and understanding of Hindustani classical music is quite exemplary for years to come. She has got admirers all over the for not just her flawless classical renditions but also for her unfaltering smile and presentation skills during the live performances. We bring you an exclusive conversation with the magical performing artist: Hello Kaushiki.. it’s a pleasure meeting you!

Hi.. Thank you so much.

Who are your earliest influences in music in vocal or instrumental, apart from your father?

Well, I started learning music from my mother when I was a child because my Dad was very busy with his own career development. I had my mom around me spending lot of time. She was a huge admirer of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. As a child, I remember listening to the radio along with my mom.

Till date, it is musically perfection personified. I don’t know whether I can call it influence of admiration

which I had for their timbre of voices, or their versatility. I haven’t heard any other singer like Asha Bhosle who could own any genre of song. Lataji and Ashaji’s names were regularly heard in my house in childhood. I used to listen to Lata ji’s Bhagavad Gita on cassette, and memorized it like a piece of music.

What are the raags that are yet to be explored by you?

There are many such raags which I am yet to explore.

There were certain raags which I haven’t learnt or performed. The other side to it is, I want to revisit the raags which I haven’t focused much on. For example, I have been performing Multani for many years but when I revisit it after long time, a new dimension comes out.

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When we revisit a raag which is already known, a new space emerges with such revisiting. If I am asked to sing Multani now, I would never sing it the way I sang fifteen years ago because of the evolution of space. I am finding newer possibilities in the known framework and new way of looking the existing space.

Another way of exploring a raag is to learn a new one which I am not familiar with. Jayjawanti was another raag which I learnt many years ago and performed it at my younger days. Recently, I sang it in a show in Gwalior and before it, I was literally living the raag for many months and listening to various artists of the same raag. Understanding a raag from holistic perspective is something which I do. I also intentionally try to practice such raags which my father or Khan Saab haven’t performed. One such raag was Nand, which I didn’t have any perspective or reference.

Do you prefer singing raag of Full scale or pentatonic scale raags are your forte?

I don’t think I look at raags at this perspective- the number of notes in a scale. A raag comes to my mind with a unique personality. On a given day if I feel to interact with that personality, I would approach. Before a performance, a lot of factors come in before I choose a raag- based on the time of the performance. I have been singing for long years and I should also make sure the raags are not repeated in regular festivals. Purely by musical inspiration I go by choosing a raag. A Bhupali or Kalavati might inspire me one day, but some other day Yaman or Bagreshree might be interesting. A raag is a personality to me, like a human. I would not choose interacting with a person based on the physical attributes but it is the personality which influences the decision!

Do you think certain raags are emotionally classified – like sad, devotional or happy?

I feel every raag is quite devotional and it comes from a pure space. The devotion happens for the mood, pitch, texture and the bonding which the performer has with the raag. The inward journey towards a raag is quite spiritual. Happiness and sadness are personalities. My Dad is a serious person by nature but that doesn’t mean he never cracks a joke. In the same way, my son is an upbeat child but that doesn’t mean he is never sad. Every raag has an own ratio of sadness, and various graphs or emotions. It also depends on certain sections of the raag. The komal Ni of Raag Kalawati is quite sad and presents longing. The pancham part of is quite upbeat in contrast. If you explore the komal ni, there is deep sadness.

However, this interpretation can be subjective as well.

Who is the contemporary artist who make you think deeply in music?

There are many new artists of that sort. By musicians I don’t mean just the voice but also the combination of mind and voice. Mind is where music originates and execution depends on the voice and technical brilliance. Shankar Mahadevan ji is one of such singers whom I am in awe with. His compositions, execution, ease and spontaneity are something I greatly admire. The way he approaches music in an unbound manner is something amazing. He can sing any genre and embraces every genre with equal surrender. As a person , he is a blessed soul and a great personality as well.

What do you think of modern technology and its influence on the sanctity of classical music?

I feel the sanctity is mind-centric but not in the piece of music.

The cabaret songs of Asha Bhosle ji are no less pure compared to a classical song. Her devotion towards the genre is something I define as purity. The belief of an artist to a genre itself is pure.

Whether you are singing a khayal, fun song, dhrupad, thumri or any composition- the degree of purity and commitment which

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the singer gives to the composition is what I think makes the music pure. I don’t think technology has the power to take away the power of Indian Classical Music that easily. Using an electronic Tabla will definitely not take away the purity of music. For a student with no tabla or tanpura access can conveniently use an electronic assistant like iTabla or Tanpura droid. When I was learning from my Father in earlier days, we were not allowed to use a recording device but we used to write the notation. Then we used to Riyaz. But when somebody wants to record a class and keep it like a reference, it can greatly help to correct the way of singing. The sanctity goes only when the faith in music goes and technology is not the reason for it.

What do you think Hindustani classical musicians can do so that more youngsters venture into it? How do you think the gap can be filled?

I personally don’t think there is a gap as such. If one is following the trajectory of youngsters coming to Hindustani concerts , I have seen a great improvement in the past few years. I have been in the live concert scene since 35 years and saw my father perform as well. The numbers have gone up tremendously now. Coming the ones who are performing, I don’t think fusion or collaboration is required to attract younger audiences. If you do classical concerts along with some collaborations with different streams of music , it makes the performer’s journey more interesting. You tend to respond to different kinds of music.

It also tests your own skill and spontaneity and presence of mind. The youngsters are anyway showing interests in classical music. Witnessing younger performers might inspire more youngsters to pursue and appreciate the Classical music.

What is your daily Riyaz routine?

My son goes to school at 7AM and comes back by 2:30PM and hence my morning time is the Riyaz time. I am more at peace and focused when he is at school. With him at home, I spend more time with him. I personally love to Riyaz during the mornings and late nights. When I am traveling, things go haywire and I try to practice whenever I find the time.

When I don’t have the ample time, I listen to lot of music and I have two phones. While one phone is only for calls, but the other one has the personal archive of music.

How importance do you think is sound for a performing artist?

It is quite important and fair amount of knowledge and controlling of it is necessary. I am kind of halfway in understanding and I carry my own microphone of the purpose and I recently changed it for the tone I looked for. It takes time to understand sound because each auditorium is different in terms of acoustics, feel, and construction. There are many challenges which audience do not understand but with the monitoring person and sound guy is quite crucial.

In Indian Music, women are expected to sing quite in high pitch. Your take on it?

I don’t think it is in classical music but in playback singing this is happening. It particularly happens when the female singer is singing a duet with a male singer and the male singer has a natural higher octave singing. I think even in playback singing many singers are coming forward to sing in their own pitch- which is necessarily not high pitch. They are being admired quite equally. If somebody doesn’t have a natural high pitch, one shouldn’t judge the musical caliber

based on it. As a classical musician, I don’t think this stands high. Carnatic musicians sing in G and G sharp and Hindustani singers sing in little higher pitch- but that is totally fine.

What are the other genres of music you like to listen?

I absolutely love listening to Ghazals of Mehdi Hassan, Begum Akhtar, Subha Gurtu , Ghulam Ali Saab, Madhurani and Jagjit Singh ji. I don’t know why I love it so much – whether it is emotional graph, poetry and the imaginary world it takes me. For people who are in creative space, we are allowed to be in such spaces (laughs). It is my own space to be crazy and ghazals to that to me.

What is your take on self-made classical singers?

I feel self-made classical singers are an impossible thing. You need to give 15 years of closed room practice and learning from a dedicated guru(s) who follow a same ideology. It is not an instant transformation. The culture takes time and it is a deeply personal journey that doesn’t happen overnight. It needs guidance and sharing of divine spiritual thought between

guru-shishya. It is not just learning a song but a musical ideology that doesn’t happen without a journey. The self-made artist might sing a composition greatly but to make it a way of life- a classical musician has to undergo this journey.

How was experience when you sang for playback singing?

The texture and presentation skills for playback singing was completely different compared to classical performance. I learnt a lot during the playback singing and I had great friends who could help me about the requirements. As a classical singer, the approach and mindset for playback singing is quite different. The challenging aspect of it made me explore it with conviction. I am personally very happy with my Indian classical space though!

You have been singing the Raga Chaya Thillana quite often in the live concerts and credited Dr.M.Balamurali Krishna for teaching it. How was the experience learning it from him?

I have actually learnt music from the legend Balamurali ji for nearly three years. I took a gap between Bachelors and Masters and stayed in Chennait to go for his classes. I used to go in the afternoon for the class till evening and learnt music from him.

I also had the privilege to hear about his life experiences, feed me with sumptuous food and teach me fantastic compositions.

I used to come back home, stay till late night and practice those compositions. The next day’s afternoon, I used to sing all of them and he used to correct the mistakes. Every day I had to go and sing the new compositions and it was quite challenging.

The idiom of Carnatic and Hindustani music is quite different.

The notes might be the same but the rendition style is quite different. Balamurali ji was kind enough to explain me about the 72 Melakartha raga scheme , tala structure, and the compositions of the musical trinity. He also taught me his own compositions such as Thillanas and Kritis. I was very young at that time, but was really interested to learn. Balamurali ji took so much time out of his busy schedule to give me and make me understand the discipline of Carnatic music.

What was the one advice your father has given you from the formative years?

I started learning music when I was a very young child.

At such age, people don’t give advice as such. To get such an advice, a person is expected to receive it with maturity. The child usually knows just to do something which is said. To be honest, it was my mother who was giving me guidance.

Mothers have a unique way of getting the job done by the kids. They have a unique sequence of emotional actions to get the child do what they want! Later on in my teens when I was 11-12, my father took the responsibility as my parents realized I was showing seriousness in music. It was when my musical journey started with my father. It was quite strict and rigid for the coming 10-15 years actually, I never had a conversation with my Dad. It was only his direction which I followed.

How do you attain such tremendous control over voice during your renditions in performances?

Is it Riyaz or something more as well?

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To some extent Riyaz matters a lot. But at the same time, the bonding with the music form also matters. Our unfaltering bonding without any blockage towards something actually brings the purity out. My friendship with the music is the purest form of relationship which I ever had. The comfort with the old friend called music which brings me such comfort.

What is the secret behind your never faltering smile behind your renditions of even such toughest compositions?

It is not at all pre-planned. I am completely honest towards the renditions and that is my happiest moment. As I am really happy from within, I express the purest emotions through my music and smile.

Rapid Fire Favorite Composition in Hindustani: EkTaal Dhrut Tarana in Nat Bhairav, composed by my guru Gyan Prakash Ghosh.

Live performances or studio: Anytime Live performances Your favourite food: Home made food, Thai food, biryani Best compliment you ever got for your singing: The best compliment is the smiling faces of my audience Best off-stage moment in your life: Some green room experiences are wonderful and cozy.

Biggest strength in music: Silence Dearest night time raag: Kaushi Kaanada at the moment (as I am learning) Favorite ghazal singer: Ghulam Ali ji One artist you would want to collaborate on stage: At the moment, Shankar Mahadevan Classical santoor, or sarangi : Anyday sarangi Passtimes apart from music: Reading books, chatting with my son, cooking All-Time favourite color to wear for concert: Maroon, red or anything bright.

Favorite time of the day based on the raaga division: I love to practice during the morning.

ADITI SARAWAGI

Styles and Types of Music in India Part 2 Music is an essential part of the socio-religious life in India. It is made up of countless cultures from every region of the country with its own traditions, languages and also music. Continuing last month’s series, here are different styles and types of music in India.

Hindu Devotional Music or bhajans are religious songs popular all across the country chanted by pilgrims at festivals and religious ceremonies and even in the comfort of their homes. Devotional songs are in place from as far back as the first millennium. In South India, Kriti is the most important form of devotional song or thirupugazh.

Sufi Devotional Music is often described as entering into a trance and lies at the heart of Sufism and is played extensively at mosques in honour of Sufi saints.

Talking about music in India, one cannot not mention the myriad Folk Music and its rich tradition from various states like Baul music from Bengal, Dogri love songs and Chakri music from Jammu and Kashmir. Sufiyana Mosiqi is a traditional form of Kashmiri choral music performed using traditional Kashmiri musical instruments such as the saze kashmore (a violin-like instrument), the santoor, sarangi, the Kashmiri sitar, dhol, and the dhorkas.

Kerala is famous for its ceremonial drumming with chenda drums, played along with the Kuzhai oboe, bronze cymbals and kombu horns. Chenda drums are extensively played during Kathakali performances. Rajasthan has an active folk music scene as well with members of the manganiyar community performing at various events with instruments like kamayacha, ravanahatha and drums. Jogis or wandering mystics are also perpetuators of folk music. Rajasthani music is synonymous with a wide range of instruments such as the sarangi, morsing, nagara, dhol and ektara.

Kalbelia Folk Songs and Dances of Rajasthan are on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This form of music is transferred from one generation to the other orally and no texts or training is available. Music is part of the identity of being part of the Kalbelia community. Another music form of India is on the UNESCO list-Sankirtana or the ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur. This form of music centres around Lord Krishna and is typically performed in religious places with two drummers.

Jhumair and Domkach are Nagpuri society music and a number of instruments are used to create this beautiful sound-dhol, mandar, bansi, nagara, dhak, shehnai, khartal, and narsinga amongst others. Uttarakhandi Music has its root in nature and its wonders and their music defines the grandeur of different seasons, social practices, celebrations, and even religious ceremonies. Instruments used include the dhol, damoun, hudak, dholki and masakbhaja. One cannot forget the Bauls and Bengali Folk Music when talking about the music in India. Baul music is popular all over and is very active in West Bengal. They are known as ‘travelling minstrels’ and they perform joyful songs with instruments like the harmonium, cymbals, and of course the ektara.

Music in India is synonymous with Bollywood Music or film music which has its own set of followers and the soundtracks of films cover a wide range of genres from sufi to hip hop to rock to ghazal to even fusion music. Indi-pop music is another popular genre in India wherein individual artists or bands release their albums which have been popular from the time of cassettes to today’s digital age.

Music has innumerable forms and genres and each form has its own unique style. Every corner of the country speaks a different language and is defined by its own culture.

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SHREYA BOSE

INDIE

REVIEWS

Across The River (Eashwar Subramanian): Subramanian has a way with sounds. His new album is a musical exercise in serenity. It is calmness made alive through every note, but is blooming with variety and wonder. It soothes the listener, while stimulating them at every turn.

This perfect harmony of contradictions is Subramanian’s signature. His convergence of sounds end up creating a happy place, a half hour interlude from everyday cacophony.

Much like his earlier work Polar Drift, the album coaxes the listener into the present moment. A liturgy of dulcet rhythms invites the listener to do nothing but listen. Cease the mind chatter and dive into the shimmering braid of ambient soundplay.

The album leans into experimental impulses, with Indian and Western classical components planted in sinuous layers of lush synth. The Tibetan bell and the Middle Eastern duduk become perfectly at home with low electronic hums. There is plenty to explore, and to return to in multiple replays. Restraint and spontaneity work together in unexpected harmony to offer quiet respite in a world suffocated with complication.

Kho Jaun (Vicky & Tejas): When was the last time you listened to some good, uncomplicated music? If it’s been a while, then Vicky & Tejas are your boys.

Their album has 5 songs. Each song can be defined in a single word: charm. The duo are unutterably charming, almost verging on adorable. They sing about the most familiar thing in the world: old love. But they do so with simple, easily lovable lyrics that play around in equally simple and lovable chords. It’s easy to imagine them as popular college seniors, strumming guitars and singing these gentle melodies while being surrounded by adoring juniors and friends since first year.

The music is disarming. It hits close to home, singing of things that everyone feels. It’s about losing love, remembering lost love and beckoning for love to brighten one’s life. It’s that familiarity that makes the songs worthy of replay. They ask the listener to do nothing but listen and perhaps crack a nostalgic smile.

In Kho Jaun, sentiment trumps skill. The music is well-done, but it’s nothing to write home about. However, combined with the lyrics, they are ripe for evoking personal memory. Since almost everyone has a story of having loved and lost, almost everyone will find their stories echoed on this album. That is more than enough to get us through these dismal days.

Bored as Fuck (Hanita Bhambri): Hanita’s 2019 EP was lauded for all the right reasons. She brought forth music that played with exciting new possibilities. Her vocal perambulations never ceased to delight her listeners, and neither did the lush, almost cinematic elaborations of melody.

Bored as Fuck does none of the above. It pares down the richness of sound, choosing to favour a more unassuming, intimate sound. The narrative slows down, gut-wrenching words seasoned with gentle synths. It matches the mindset of someone “bored as fuck” which, as song reveals, is code for depression, repressed anger and numb despair.

The song signals Hanita’s rediscovery of the self; a dive into her personal darkness.

Hanita wrote the song after being burned by a toxic, self-sabotaging friendship. She describes her plight that those of broken hearts will recognize too well: “I pour myself/in a cup for all/They drink all night/And they go on/They go on.”

The track feels especially relevant in these times of forced isolation. To be trapped inside without nothing but our thoughts seems is now a vexing reality for the world. Amidst such strife, one should not be surprised to find their own soul echoed when Hanita sings “Thoughts flood my head/I’m in a black hole/Anger aches my bones/I want a safe house”.

Izhaar (Alchemy): day, another Hindi band. This one, themselves Alchemy and from the glistening lanes of Mumbai also their music as Hindi experimental rock.

Another rock calling hailing deem

Does the label do them justice?

Well, they are certainly not playing anything you haven’t heard before. But they offer clean riffs, earworm-inducing choruses and lyrics exploring everything from past heartbreak, new romance and even some social relevance.

It’s a mixed bag, and done with more than adequate expertise.

Alchemy started as a college band. Guitarist Yash Rajput, guitarist-vocalist Aniruddha Deshpande, bassist Nilesh Dalwani and drummer Ankit Gangwani met in college, and created a band that went on to do fairly well as collegelevel band competition.

Their debut album certainly retains the open-handed charm of college-day naivete. Izhaar, for example, is a song of unashamed adoration for a nameless beloved. Gunaah is a somewhat amateurish and over-the-top visualising of violently unfulfilled love. Tum Aao is more adult in it's longing. It voices that wordless yearning humans universally feel for the as-of-yet-unmet soulmate. Chodo Bhi Yeh has the simplest message: let go and be happy because being miserable never helped anyone. Manzil, though a bit preachy, still waxes eloquent about what it takes to live a good, morally upheld life.

Fundamentally, it’s a good album. Whether it works well for individual listeners will depend on whether they find their experiences echoed in the sound. The soundscape is classic rock, though they do temper it with gentler alt-rock sensibilities. The music is thoughtfully made, and deserves to be given it's due listen.

Aamad (Sameer Rahat): The words in Aamad are carefully chosen.

Every syllable is picked out of it's bower, examined with the eye of a professional appraiser and set in place as rubies in a tsarina's crown.

Sameer Rahat hails from a family of poems.

Needless to say, he knows the power of a well-placed word. His debut album is a demonstration of that power, done quietly, without fuss.

Each song is framed by the gentlest melodies, ones that trigger grief, craving and the numb pain for a loss that occurred in the distant past.

The album opens with a spoken word piece Jo bhi hain.

It is a conversation with the self, an assertion that one is enough even when life offers them close to nothing.

Every subsequent track burrows in the deepest and

yet most commonly felt facets of the human experience - solitude, loneliness, solace, hope, despair, fury, acceptance and the like. Khat is less about an actual letter( though, there is one, written to him by an ex), and more about the messages Rahat wishes to leave in the midst of emotional turbulence.

All the songs go this way, dwelling in an unassuming balance of profundity and peace. While Tasalli goes deep within the artist and brings forth demons and revelations, it never becomes angry or bitter. Perhaps it is by virtue of his lifelong love of poetry and music, but Rahat seems to exude an honest confidence. He does not gloss over failure or anguish; infact, he brings them into light through the lens of good art. To quote hRahat himself, “We’ve always been where we want to be, just that we don’t realise it.”

The album is made in tandem with incredible musicians, Mir Kashif Iqbal of Parvaaz among them.

It’s a collaboration destined by whichever gods bless the arts, and the result is a gift to us all.

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KADAMBARI SRIVASTAVA

NOSTALGIC NOTES Mere Khwabon Mein - Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

Young love and its dreams. To drench oneself in a fantasy yet unexplored and then sing along the unspoken lyrics, looking forward to an unseen dream. Add a melodious touch to it and you have a Bollywood track that can be remembered for ages to come. Probably that’s the reason why ‘Metre Khwabon Mein’ from DDLJ is still the most loved song when it comes to describing the fantasy that love is. A coy yet carefree Kajol dancing to the tunes of Jatin-Lalit, with Shah Rukh Khan in the foreshadowing sequences, and the eternal Yashraj stamp — ‘Mere Khwabon Mein’ has been the stuff of dreams. But did you know that it took immense efforts to pen this song which is the ultimate anthem of love dreams?

Yes, according to the trivia, lyricist Anand Bakshi wrote not one, not two, but 24 drafts of the song before director Aditya Chopra finally liked the one that went to the recording studio.

The song was the first one to be recorded from the album, and was ultimately sung by the nightingale of Bollywood, Lata Mangeshkar. Surreal, isn’t it? After all, who would expect that a seasoned lyricist such as Anand Bakshi would have to revisit his own words 24 times at the behest of a young director.

However, he did that and his humble talent paid off. Anand Bakshi went on to win a National Award for his memorable words from the album, for the song ‘Tujhe Dekha To’, another memorable track from the chartbuster album. Not only that he also bagged the popular Screen Awards and the coveted Filmfare trophy for the best lyricist.

DDLJ’s soundtrack went on to become the bestselling one of the year, with officially 12 million units sold. Not only this, in the year 2005, the album was chosen to be the best Hindi album of all time by the voters, for BBC Asian Network.

History is created when the efforts are persistent. The 24 drafts

by Anand Bakshi surely were the tip of the lyrical iceberg that he created, one that is unmatched even now. DDLJ is considered one of the best Bollywood musical marvels of all time, and a big chunk of the credit goes to the man who created the words behind the music that rocked the charts and ruled our hearts. His words will be known for beats to come, and they will be infinite, much more than 24.

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MUSKAN GOSWAMI

7 beautiful folk songs that came to mainstream cinema Music lies at the core of Indian cinema. Over the years, many movies have captured the sound and mood of various traditional songs quite impeccably. With the course of this article, you will get to know about various amazing songs from Bollywood movies which are actually folk songs. Have a look:

1. Dilbaro in Raazi Raazi, a movie which came out in 2018 and gained immense popularity. Among the many heart-touching aspects of the movie, Dilbaro surely leaves you spellbound.

The song is about a daughter bidding farewell to her father after her wedding. The opening lyrics of the song are taken from a traditional Kashmiri wedding song. This award-winning song was sung by the talented Harshdeep Kaur and Shankar Mahadevan.

4. Engine ki Seeti in Khoobsurat A peppy dance song from the movie Khoobsurat which got released in 2014.

The song is inspired from a Rajasthani folk song whose original lyrics are Anjan ki seeti mai mhro mann dol.

The original song is a dance song as well. The Bollywood version of the song has been sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Resmi Sateesh.

5. Genda Phool in Delhi-6 This fun and quirky song from Delhi-6 came in 2009. This light-hearted song is based on a witty Chattisgarhi folk song named Dadariya. Dadariya includes various humarous songs including Genda Phool. This song is about a wife who talks about her mother and sister-inlaw while waiting for her husband to come home from work. Rekha Bhardwaj and Shraddha Pandit are the ones who have voiced this song beautifully.

2. Navrai Manjhi in English Vinglish A one-of-a-kind Indian movie, English Vinglish got released in 2012. One of the most popular songs from the movie remains to be Navrai Manjhi. This is a traditional Marathi wedding song which praises the beauty of a bride and also talks about the bride’s hopes and dreams. This gracious song is sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Swanand Kirkire.

3. Ambarsariya in Fukrey The song was sung by the supremely talented Sona Mohapatra and got released in 2013. Ambarsariya carries a unique fun vibe, both in terms of its music as well as its lyrics. The tune of the song is inspired the Punjabi sacred song, Rakki Charna De Kol while the lyrics of the song are inspired from another Punjabi folk song.

6.Jugni in Cocktail Cocktail movie got released in 2012 and along with it came the sensational song Jugni. Jugni is inspired by a famous Punjabi folk song. This folk song has been recreated in different versions many-a-times with Chambe Di Booti by Coke Studio being the most popular one. In Cocktail, we saw a sufi version of the folk song being depicted. Jugni refers to the singer wherein she acts as an observer and sings about the various situations she is put in while being on her path to love. This song is breathtakingly sung by Harshdeep Kaur and Asif Lohar.

7. Kesariya Balam in Dor This is one of the most famous Rajasthani folk songs ever created. The song was composed to welcome Rajput warriors to their homes after war. The folk song has been incredibly recreated in Kesariya Balam in this 2006 movie. Karsan Sagathia is the voice behind this Bollywood version of the song.

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NAVYA C

Raagas of the The beauty of living in the planet Earth is the presence of different climates on different times of the year. Every season has a beauty, texture and individuality of its own and brings a lovely shade to every time of the year. With the ongoing season of springwe witness the sounds of songbirds, bloom of trees, leaves and flowers on every street-especially in India. Perhaps this is the reason why many local calendars of India start off with new year during this season. Spring means new, sprouting and coming back to the life with sunny days, after a long spree of winter , cold and despair.

Spring also is a favorite time for animals which come out of their cozy hibernation during the winter and relish us with their presence.

Indian Classical Music has the credit of not just raagas for specific times of the day, but also for each season of the year. There are raagas for monsoon, raagas for summer, raagas for autumn and of course raagas for spring. The scales of spring ragas are placed in such a way that one can feel the novelty, bloom and freshness in their combination. For example, Carnatic Raaga Madhyamavati is one of such beautiful spring raagas and its close Hindustani counterpart Brundavana Saaranga is another such example. The Hindustani raagas such as Bahar also are amazingly performed during the spring

times which have utter positivity, and magical fervor to it. One can actually visualize blue skies, bright pathways with flowers, greenery and lush magic while we listen to an aalap in this raaga.

SPRING

The sublime raag Alhaiya Bilawal is another amazing spring raaga which brings out freshness in deeper meanings.

However, to get a multiple shade of the freshness of spring, Raaga Hindol has peculiar combination of notes which unleashes the tinge in a different manner. For all those who love melancholy very deeply, Raag Sohini (Hamsanandi in Carnatic Music) is another wonderful option to explore. These raagas are perfect to listen during the breezy spring nights where the skies are empty, with less clouds and look like a star studded painting.

The nights of spring are usually quite full of longing, the wait for rains and all these poetic feelings are greatly expressed by such raags.

With everyone of us locked down this year’s spring because of ongoing COVID-19 crisis, we all are blessed with lot of personal space and time which gives us the ample time to explore such deep features of music.

The raagas of spring would surely bring a bright smile on our faces and a yearning of hope for better and healthier tomorrow!

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KARISHMA D'MELLO

PLAGIARISM THROUGH THE AGES THROUGH THE AGES PLAGIARISM Music’s Most Notorious Copyright Cases There’s a fine line between plagiarism and inspiration, and it’s a line courts have found themselves drawing for years now, in one copyright battle after the other. As artists sub consciously and intentionally continue borrow elements from each other, their jobs are only going to get harder.

In light of this prolonged predicament, let’s have a look at the precedent set by some of music’s most notorious copyright cases.

1. The year: 1972 The artists: Led Zeppelin vs Willie Dixon The songs: Bring it On Home vs Bring it On Home; Whole Lotta Love vs You Need Love Claiming that Whole Lotta Love blatantly borrowed lyrics from You Need Love, and Bring it On Home was heavily inspired by Sonny Boy Wiliamson’s original track, William Dixon sued the band twice for copyright infringement in 1972 and later on in 1985.

Both of these suits were settled out of court by the artists themselves, and both of Led Zeppelin’s tracks now feature William Dixon in the songwriter credits.

2. The year: 1985 The artists: John Fogerty vs Creedence Clearwater Revival The songs: The Old Man Down the Road vs Run Through the Jungle After Fogerty split from CCR and Fantasy Records (the record label) in 1972, he released his own album in 1985, where he faced the curious accusation of plagiarising his own work from Run Through the Jungle, a song CCR had recorded back in 1970.

from the two artists. Funnily enough, Vanilla Ice did attempt to defend his melody on the grounds of having added an extra beat. He later passed it off as a joke, but either way it didn’t hold up in court.

4. The year: 1997 The artists: The Verve vs The Rolling Stones The songs: Bittersweet Symphony vs The Last Time The backing track for Bittersweet Symphony had been partially sampled from The Last Time, through a mutual agreement between both bands. However, on the claim that The Verve had sampled more than agreed upon in their contract, they had to forfeit all royalties they had earned on the song.

They were sued for a second time in 1999 for “mechanical royalties” by another manager for The Rolling Stones.

Perhaps, the most tragic part of this tale was when Bittersweet Symphony was nominated for a Grammy with the names “Mick Jagger” and “Keith Richards”. It is also interesting (and heart-breaking) to note that David Whitaker, the man who arranged the orchestra for the symphony was not credited on either of the records.

After a demonstration on his guitar, Fogerty managed to prove that the two songs had completely different compositions, and even went on to win a countersuit against Fantasy Records for legal costs.

5. The year: 2014

3. The year: 1990

In March 2015, both Thicke and Williams were ordered to pay $5.3 million dollars and 50% of all future royalties to Marvin Gaye’s family. In particular, the bass, the chatter, the cowbell and other factors involved in the studio arrangement for the song were considered far too similar to Gaye’s Got to Give it Up, earning the family one of the largest monetary victories in music copyright’s history.

The artists: Vanilla Ice vs Queen & David Bowie The songs: Ice Ice Baby vs Under Pressure The iconic bass hook won both Queen and David Bowie songwriter credits on Vanilla Ice’s hit song. While copyright disputes usually fall into a somewhat grey area, there were no doubts regarding whether or not Vanilla Ice had borrowed

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The artists: Robin Thicke & Pharrell Williams vs Marvin Gaye The songs: Blurred Lines vs Got to Give it Up

SHAURYA SINGH THAPA

Nav

Jay Sean

Canadian rapper and songwriter Navraj Singh Goraya aka Nav is of Punjabi origin. One of his earliest influences was his uncle who was a Punjabi singer and used to take him to his studio. Nav grew up to be inclined towards hiphop and is currently signed to The Weeknd’s XO record label and Republic Records.

Raised in Southall, the hub of British Sikhs, Jay Sean earned a lot of acclaim as a pop/R&B singer in the Asian underground scene with singles like Dance With You and Tonight. Then from 2009 onwards, he joined Cash Money Records (that had artists like Niki Minaj and Lil Wayne on its roster) and his American debut single Down became an instant hit. He’s expected to have a song with Guru Randhawa this year.

Anoushka Shankar Pandit Ravi Shankar’s prodigal daughter Anoushka Shankar is one of the leading sitar maestros of the world.

She has played for various benefit concerts and charity campaigns apart from recording studio albums. She has been nominated for six Grammys till now; she even competed against her father in 2013 for the category of Best World Music Album!

DJ Rekha Born in London, DJ Rekha (Rekha Malhotra) is a pioneer in the bhangra pop genre. Using a turntable and a Roland 808 Sampler, she has performed at various underground venues and dance parties to popularize the fusion of Punjabi music and hip-hop beats.

Kshmr Hollowel-Dhar is the son of a Kashmiri Hindu father and an American mother.

He began producing electronic music first as a part of the production duo The Cataracts, producing several pop hits like Like A G6 (by Far East Movement).

From 2014 onwards, he began producing singles under his current moniker Kshmr. Some of his popular EDM songs are Shiva, Jammu, and Secrets.

Kohinoorgasm Josephine Shetty aka Kohinoorgasm is an Indian-origin, LA-based "queer desi artist" who blends multilingual vocals with synthesizers to create a unique dance pop vibe. If one is new to her discography, one should check out Azadi and Chalo.

name Heems. He started out as a part of the rap group Das Racist and gained further acclaim as a member of the group Swet Shop Boys which also includes Pakistani-British rapper/actor Riz Ahmed.

Heems Himanshu Suri is a man of many skills. He's an activist, a writer, an art advocate and most importantly a rapper who goes under the stage

Norah Jones Anoushka Shankar’s halfsister Norah transitioned far away from classical music and instead ventured into the territory of jazz-pop. Having won nine Grammy awards, Norah Jones launched her career in 2002 with her debut album Come Away With Me. This was a jazz record which combined it with other genres like blues, folk, pop, and country. Apart from her vocal skills, she’s also known as a pianist.

Top 8 Indianorigin Artists Trending In The West Various artists from various genres have been making a name for themselves in the US and the UK since the past few decades. Owing to their roots in immigrant families, some of these artists are of Indianorigin representing brown culture abroad, directly or indirectly. Here are 8 such Indian-origin artists who are trending in the West.

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Uplifting MUSICALS

Whether it is art imitating life or the reverse, it does not matter. Until you keep finding the resources for inspiring and stimulating yourself on your way to attaining the goals set by your passion. Your books and movies could turn into veritable muses for your time of introspection. The best part is many of these musicals are actually an autobiographical journey of your favourite band, artist or a totally unknown and independent band. So that means that many of the trials, tribulations or the jubilations of your journey as a musician could also reflect on their journey. So, nourish your inner dreams with some fresh rains from the past summers!

The Wrecking Crew!

A one of a kind documentary, this thing over here shows you the process of creating music. Necessarily the process of creating pop music. This is the story of a group of Los Angeles based musicians who played on a heavy load of soundtracks without mostly getting the due credits for it. It shows, how obscure artists can still get so much satisfaction, through their daily routine of creation!

Amy Being a documentary, this movie promises to be ripped off the shams of the conventional portrayals of an artist. Amy Winehouse is not just a junkie, failing in life for the love of his life-music. Rather, she emerges as a definite touchstone for anybody who is regarded as a prodigal talent and has too much to do at too early an age. The narrative is fresh and the story speaks of conviction.

Amadeus You will definitely fall in love with the charisma of Mozart if you did not know him before this movie. Though that is highly unlikely, even for the non-classical buffs, this movie is a great study of an eccentric and broadly colourful character whose creation knew no bounds. A talented artist who became the fountain of inspiration for many generations to come.

This film is one bundle of energy. It arcs the character of a musician who is ensnared into the thrills of his own passion. His overpowering teacher becomes his muse, and their relationship becomes the stream of consciousness for the entire film. What unfolds is drama at its best and music at its rawest form.

Walk The Line This one is a little unconventional, considering that this film shows the unseen side of a musician. What happens when musicians are out on tours. Their lifestyles, choices and the stories behind the unmatchable focus. There is so much to learn, from an upcoming artist through this film.

Ray The story about the godfather of blues, Ray Charles is a definite watch for understanding how the fluidity of music can be an abundant source of life for an artist. This story may not be completely inspiring for many but is certainly overwhelming for any kind of musician. Through the jubilations of creation and the pangs of the earthly vices, all that survives is art!

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Whiplash

8 Mile I bet this movie has changed many lives, be it the musicians or otherwise. The invigorating force of Eminem's life and poetry had had reverberations worldwide for ages. This movie should not just be watched by rappers, but by all passionate musicians of all genres. Life is indeed like an underground rap battle, where your words can be the bullets of revolution.

The Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star Is Born are sort of the usual suspects in the list. Posed as rivals, the films had been closely scrutinized for its depiction of authenticity and realism.

Nevertheless, the journey of the musicians in both these films, have their audacious characteristics.

Bonus: Go watch Across the Universe, if you are a Beetles fan!

One can only be too blessed to have such musical ingenuity of these artists. Or, it is otherwise almost a fiction.

AKARSH SHEKHAR

How to Write Songs like

Bruce Springsteen?

Bruce Springsteen sold millions of albums over his 4-plus-decade career.

Combining wonderful imagery with lyrical commentary on blue-collar life has earned him a spot on the Mt. Rushmore of American songwriters.

Study Your Emotions The appeal of Springsteen’s songs is his connection with his audience on an intensely personal level.

“You’re always writing about yourself,” Springsteen said in a 2005 interview, “…you hide it in a variety of ways, and you meld your voice with other lives.”

When he was a child, Springsteen’s parents struggled to make ends meet, his mother worked as a legal secretary and his father employed sporadically in a succession of blue-collar jobs.

This experience fuels songs like “Factory,” “Youngstown,” and “Jack of All Trades.” “The River” is a song written explicitly about his sister, who married in her teens and dealt with adult issues at a young age.

Springsteen’s difficult relationship (with his father) is explored in “Adam Raised a Cain,” “Independence Day,” and “My Father’s House” and his marriage in the “Tunnel of Love” album.

Inspiration is in literature and poetry.

Springsteen is extremely well read, and that level of intellect fuels his songwriting. Some references are obvious, such as “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” (ripped directly from Flannery O’Connor’s short story of the same name) and “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (referring to the character in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath).

Give your audience a place to escape to when they listen to your music: Springstein provides the listener with compelling narratives that extend between songs. There are countless stories contained within his massive body of work, but a back-to-back listening of “Thunder Road,” “Racing in the Street,” “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” and “The Promise” is a great entry point for the uninitiated.

When played sequentially, these songs follow a man who escapes a dead-end town with his girlfriend to chase his dreams. When they reach their destination, they’re crushed by the bleakness of the real world, and the man seeks redemption in street racing. His girlfriend eventually tires of their dreary working-class existence and leaves him. In the end, the man recognizes that his dreams aren’t going to come true, and his heart breaks.

Look at your body of work as a whole Springsteen is known to jot down ideas into a notebook then refer to them later when he’s piecing his songs together.

All songwriters should follow this.

That idea that you’ve buried inside of a mediocre song might be what takes one of your better songs over the top!

In a review of Springsteen’s 2010 collection of unreleased songs, The Promise, Pitchfork remarked that he’s “a brilliant editor of his own material.”

The 1977 Darkness on the Edge of Town outtake “Spanish Eyes” contains lyrics that popped up later in his 1985 Top 10 hit “I’m on Fire.” Lines from the unreleased song “Santa Ana” appeared on his 1975 breakthrough Born to Run album in the song “She’s the One.” And the 1979 The River outtake, “Living on the Edge of the World,” appeared almost word for word on Nebraska’s “Open All Night” in 1982.

Confidently Embrace What You’ve Got When artists are self-conscious about their abilities, it’s an absolute creativity killer. It’s not vocal or instrumental prowess that sets a songwriter apart from everyone else; it’s their unique story.

In his autobiography Springsteen writes, “My voice was never going to win any prizes. My guitar accompaniment on acoustic was rudimentary, so that left the songs.

The songs would have to be fireworks, the world was filled with plenty of good guitar players, many of them my match or better, but how many good songwriters were there?”

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Quirks & Queries

ADITI

RAMESH

Tell us about your formal music training and how it helped you I learnt Carnatic music and western classical piano as a child. Piano from age 5 to 15 and Carnatic was in high school and spilled over to college as well.

My Carnatic music training was from R.K Srikantan who is from the Rudrapatnam family. He was in his 90s when I learnt from him. He was one of the last remaining musicians from that golden era in Carnatic music who was still alive. It was an honour to learn from him.

What I take most from Srikantan sir is to give importance to music and I am lucky to be doing that now because my career revolves around music. When I was in school, he used to scold me for giving studies more importance than music which wasn’t even the case, I wasn’t even studious

Kiranavali Vidyasankar was my first serious carnatic music teacher. From Kiranavali I learned everything I know about Carnatic music; theory, compositions and how to improvise.

I learned to love this music from her. She had this way of getting through to me when I didn’t appreciate carnatic music and she really helped to understand and relate to it.

Could you take us through your song writing process and what inspires you to write music?

I do not have one particular process. Every song has it’s own journey. I think, what inspires me the most to write songs is generally that I think about things, inner contemplations, thinking about society, things that affect all of us will be the basis of the song.

Some songs begin with a chord pattern on the piano, some with a vocal melody, some with the topic or the lyrics and all of the other elements fall into place.

I usually make a scratch of the vocal and the keys and then take it to my band. My guitarist is a great jazz musicians and he will give me ideas on how to change the chords and then the rhythm sections comes in and makes the song complete.

What does vocal health mean to you and how do you take care of your voice?

I am not probably the best singer to address that question. I don’t actually do anything special. I drink a lot of hot water, kashayams and things like that are what I take. So generally, before a gig, or during the gig, I take hot water, ginger and honey and that sort of keeps away from the throat getting dry. Keeping yourself hydrated is the most important thing.

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What are some voice techniques that you have acquired recently?

I am also a part of Voctronica, which is an all vocal a’capella and beatbox band. So, through that project I have learnt a lot about different ways to use the voice.

It is about trying to push boundaries with voice. We do a lot of instrument sounds like violin, guitar and trumpet vocally. Recently, we just discovered a new way of doing trumpet. Its all about using the air, your mouth pocket, shape of your mouth, it’s very interesting.

Can you tell us about your upcoming projects?

There is a couple of parallel projects so I am not sure which one is going to be out first. But I am presently doing music for an Indie Hindi film and one of the songs I have written as part of the sequences is going to be released soon.

Separately, U am working on a new EP as well.

It is very different from my earlier work.

Being a part of the digital era, how have you leveraged your platforms to reach out to your target audiences?

Nowadays, musicians have to also be an entrepreneur and it is very important to use your platforms because that is how we get work, and connect with our audience.

Instagram has been very useful in many different ways.

One is that fans can directly write to you and it’s nice to read how your music has helped or touched someone.

The other is also marketing any of our gigs and releases just to get the word out.

Lot of opportunities have come be use people can write to you directly.

If there was one thing you would like to change about the Indie music scene in India, what would it be and why?

I think the most important one is that Indie musicians are not paid enough. Their value isn’t seen. The money is mainly for ones with star power like Bollywood.

In my opinion, Indie musicians are also putting in the same time and effort. Of course, it cannot be on the same level.

People should pay better, pay on time and not treat musicians like commodities that can be replaced. I think that exists a lot in values and spaces and I think that should change.

RAPID FIRE

Your best performance till date

Last year, we played in Sri Lanka in April and it was on a big stage by the sea and you could hear the ocean between songs and silences. Big crowd!

I had also quit my day job and it was my first gig outside India. It was a special one.

Artist you would love to collaborate with Sandunes If not music, what would you be doing Maybe something involving writing or film making Favourite food item I am a big foodie! I’d say curd rice and rasam.

The most difficult song you’ve written The ones that are coming up are slightly more difficult that what I have previously written.

When do your song ideas usually come to you?

When I am in the train or on the road Dream venue to perform at Red rocks in the US The

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GAJENDRA PURI GOSWAMI

Epidemy Melody: Music & Gigs In The Time Of Coronavirus "The root cause of the sickness that plagues us is humanity's greed.... when I look outside there is peace....while the voices create chaos in my head.

Humanity's hubris has come to an end."

These opening lines from New Delhi rapper Prabhdeep's latest single - Pandemic - accurately resonates the voices of many who think that the havoc caused by Covid-19 is a dreary revolt by nature against humanity's widespread exploitation. The theory, of course, is an exaggeration of puritan environmentalist ideologies, but the song itself is a deeply reflective reaction to the danger that looms large. This reflective outcry has been consistent with desi musicians across the board who despite suffering major financial losses due to cancellation of gigs have displayed immense humour, intellect and ingenuity amid the ongoing crisis.

The boredom of sitting at home and ridiculousness of administrative response became the first inspiration of inventiveness. Gigs got cancelled and there was an absence of clarity as to when things may get back on track, and, amid the chaos came a viral video - Go Corona, Corona Go - which sparked a host of producers to create a whirlwind of humorous music flips featuring audio from the video. The wheel was first turned by producer Sanaya Ardeshir aka Sandunes using her MIDI Controller who also nominated other producers like Mumbai based DJ-producer Nathan Thomas for the challenge via instagram. Soon after around 10 producers including Yung.Raj, Brij Dalvi, and OceanTied posted similar flips of the clip in a variety of genres from their home studios.

But of course it would take a lot more than instagram flips in the longer run and it was time for not just artists but producers to display a zealous response to in order to keep the audiences engaged. What followed was a torrent of live streams, workshops, online festivals, and bedroom gigs that put on display the vibrancy and spontaneity of the homegrown music industry with a cascading flow. On March 21, The

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Alipore Post hosted a unique day long festival hosted via Instagram Live featuring music performances from Raunak Maiti, singer-songwriter Ditty, Shantanu Pandit, Jeevan and Mathew Antony among others. Madness Jams also launched a new talent hunt contest - Curfew Jams - to give budding artists a new platform to showcase their creativity by sharing videos of their original content. A few hand picked selections from these were promised a spot at one of their next gigs and performed live on their instagram channel. Vetaran band Indian Ocean hosted a live gig via Bigbadwolfdotin's Facebook channel on March 26 and indulged fans in an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on their Instagram handle the previous day. NH7 Weekender took everyone by a grand surprise when they decided to host an impromptu 3-day festival via their Instagram handle from 26th - 29th March featuring heavyweight NH7 alumni like Marty Friedman and FKJ including a host of homegrown heroes including Nucleya, Parekh & Singh, and Raja Kumari amongst others. Reggae artist Delhi Sultanate will also play a two-hour strictly vinyl audio session, live on Boxout.FM, from March 30 to April 1.

A wave of benevolence and philanthropism also rushed through the music industry in this humanitarian crisis. A lot of it was of course targeted to aid small musicians who were at a loss of livelihood due to the ongoing lockdown.

Firstly analog synthesisers developer Moog and Japanese manufacturer Korg decided to release their digital apps - Mini Moog Model ID and Kossilator - for free to help musicians keep busy. Similarly Spotify has decided to launch a $10 million relief fund via music charities like PRS Foundation aimed to aid musicians and communities in need of financial relief. The crisis at large is a deadly one and the battle to overcome it is long. The music community's response to that is not just heartwarming but gives us fortitude and resilience that is imperative in overcoming it.

How To Sync Your MIDI Devices?

AKARSH SHEKHAR

Here are the basic steps for syncing a device to a DAW through a MIDI clock What Is MIDI Clock?

MIDI clock is a signal that is sent over MIDI. The signal allows the user to sync several devices together so they stay in synchronization. In lay man’s terms it’s a way to set two or more MIDI devices to one tempo.

This can be done with devices like MIDI controllers, drum machines, synthesizers, software/apps, or sequencers (a.k.a.

DAWs). It runs at a rate of 24 ppqn (pulses per quarter note). The actual speed of the MIDI clock varies with the tempo of the clock generator (as contrasted with SMPTE time code, which runs at a constant rate).

Syncing a device to a DAW via clock is achieved the same way, across the board, but various combinations of DAWs and devices will inevitably have slight differences in procedure. Listed below, the goal is to get a DAW to send clock through its MIDI output and for a MIDI device to receive that clock. For instance, a synthesizer with an arpeggiator would have its arpeggiator rate or tempo synced with the DAW project tempo. Here’s how: 1. Connect your MIDI device via MIDI cable/USB. For USB, make sure your device can send/receive MIDI data over USB (MIDI over USB method).

2. You may need to install a USB driver from the manufacturer’s website to get your DAW’s permission to recognize your MIDI instrument.

3. Find your DAW’s MIDI setting in the preferences or settings menu.

4. Set the DAW’s output settings to send the clock to your MIDI instrument. In Ableton, for instance, you do this by finding the output port for your instrument in the MIDI Ports list and switching Sync to On. 5. After that, set your MIDI device to receive the MIDI clock.

Be sure to check your device’s manual or tutorial videos for specific instructions on how to navigate the clock settings.

6. Many MIDI devices and DAWs have some type of indicator that shows the clock being sent and/ or received. On the Nord Electro 6D 61, for example, there is an LED indicator simply called MIDI.

7. Now when you start playback in your DAW, your device should start simultaneously and be synced to your DAW’s clock.

Moreover, you can also sync your DAW to another device. What you want to do in this case is see if your device sends the clock and your DAW receives that clock. If you have a MIDI controller with master clock/ tempo, every change you make to your keyboard’s clock setting will also bring a change in your DAW. For this case, the setup is similar to the previous step-bystep process, but the clock is sent the opposite way.

Note that many devices and DAWs can both send and receive MIDI simultaneously. This could be useful if you wanted to receive MIDI clock from your DAW to your digital piano while sending MIDI back to your DAW to record your performance. In other words, the DAW is sending clock and receiving MIDI note data, whereas the keyboard is receiving clock and sending MIDI note data.

Want to sync multiple devices to a DAW? Use a MIDI interface with enough I/O to handle all your devices, USB connectivity, and the speed to provide extremely low latency. An interface also changes your signal path without switching cables, as you would have to do with daisy chaining. If you have a hardware synth, drum machine, and MIDI controller all synced with your DAW, easily arrange your synth to send clock to your DAW and other devices, or the DAW to send clock to all three devices.

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AKARSH SHEKHAR

The Fundamentals of Live Sound

Getting into live sound? Here are the fundamentals that you should build upon.

Types of PA Systems Let’s take a look at some of the basic kinds of systems out there.

• Personal PAs: A PA is built for one or two performers as a personal PA. It is a single powered speaker with a modest onboard mixer and maybe an effect or two, or they can be as sophisticated as mini line-array systems with advanced processing, subwoofers, and more. Personal PAs are great for solo performers and coffee shop gigs.

• All-in-one Systems: These rigs are a lot like personal PAs in their simplicity, only they tend to be higher in power than personal PAs and can cover a larger room or area. They’re great for small mobile rigs.

• Standard PAs: Build a standard PA system seen in small clubs, large arenas.

Signal Flow & Signal Paths Signal flow is the path that audio follows in a system. Every source (mics, instruments) has its own unique signal path.

The Mixing Console Whether analog or digital mixing desk, mixing consoles will take multiple inputs, combine them, and send the combined signal somewhere else (or to multiple places).

Channel: The entire path that an input takes to reach outputs and buses such as the master/mix bus (the signal that is sent on to the amp and speakers).

Preamplifier: Used for microphone signals and the level of the incoming signal that will be processed, routed, and combined elsewhere in the mixer.

Inserts: Put outboard gear directly in line with your input channels. Sometimes you can switch the order of the insert to pre- or post-EQ. EQ: Most mixers have at least a simple EQ in line with each channel, typically right after the preamp.

Auxiliary (Aux) Sends: In live sound, aux sends act just like faders, only they split off signal to a separate bus (mix) and are sent to dedicated outputs.

Also used for outboard processing and effects.

Channel Faders: They’re technically volume controls followed by buffer amplifiers and are generally used to reduce volume, not boost it.

Master Fader: Controls the overall volume of your board, just an output volume knob but on a slider.

Group Faders: Control drum kits, multi-miked guitar cabinets, groups of similar instruments (strings, brass, vocals), and more.

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Master Section: Controls everything else your board can do like effects processing, master bus processing (e.g., adding compression to the whole mix), setting return volumes for your aux sends.

PA Speakers The biggest distinction between powered (also called active) and unpowered (also called passive) speakers is that powered speakers have their own internal amplifiers, whereas unpowered ones don’t.

Monitoring Performers need to be able to hear themselves onstage; so monitors come in.

• Stage Monitors: Sit at the front of the stage and point back and up at the performers.

• Personal Monitors: Cut down stage volume and hear themselves better, personal monitoring systems are alternative to traditional stage monitors.

Feedback and How to Avoid It Feedback is easy to avoid: • Get a graphic EQ: the more bands, the better.

• Hook up your EQ as the last thing before your speakers.

• With your mics on the stage, slowly turn up your mixer’s volume until you hear feedback.

• Find the offensive, ringing frequency band on your EQ and cut it until the feedback stops.

• Turn up the volume until it rings again. Find the next ringing frequency and cut that. Repeat until you either run out of frequency bands or require a lot of gain to instigate feedback. With no set volume, rely on a bit of trial and error. Once you have that EQ set, stick it in a locking equipment rack.

• Or get Feedback Suppressors

AKARSH SHEKHAR

Pro Tips to Make your Drum Kit Quieter Drums are the type of instrument that you love for being loud (although your neighbors might not share the view). Fortunately, there are several ways to reduce the output of your acoustic drums.

Onstage/On the Platform:

At Home:

1. Drum shield

1. Mesh drumheads

The drum shield, or “fish tank” is a common solution venues and houses employ to reduce ambient drum volume. They do a commendable job of deflecting the crack of a snare or the clatter of a crash cymbal away from listeners and vocal microphones, effectively reducing both ambient volume and stage bleed. However, many players can feel downright uncomfortable (even insulted) playing behind one, especially if they aren’t used to it.

Replacing your stock skins with breathable mesh heads can reduce the output of your shells by up to 90 percent. You still hear the tone of your toms, feel the woof of your kick drum, and sense the snap of your snare and it just makes the ambient volume much more manageable for your neighbors and loved ones.

Drum shields only deflect sound away from listeners positioned on the other side of the shield. All that ambient sound stays in the room, just gets redirected backward and upward. It’s also less effective at tempering bass frequencies, such as those produced by the bass drum and floor toms.

2. Gels and dampeners These two options are all you need to control overtones and give the illusion of a quieter stage kit. Blanketing your drum heads with wallets, t-shirts, bandanas, etc. usually works well. This tip will provide a reduction in output as well as sustain, which leaves you with enough output to be heard but also better balanced for blending with unmiked instruments.

3. Lighter sticks Nick D’Virgilio often preaches about this, but it bears repeating, at the end of the day as the drummer you are responsible for blending with the band. No matter how soft they play or how lively the venue is, it doesn’t matter. A great tip is to practice swapping out your “tree trunk” stage sticks with something slimmer and more controlled in the hand. For example, Vater Sugar’s maple 7As or Thunder Rods will give you greater dynamics control without affecting your playing style too dramatically.

Now, be advised that this is a practice-only option; it’s not the sort of thing you’d want to perform or record with. To keep things simple, mesh drumheads install just like any standard head. Another added benefit for getting mesh drum heads is the soft attack and fast rebound that these heads are capable of, which many drummers consider to be more comfortable on the wrists.

There is a variety of specialty shell and cymbal mutes available today but as we’ve mentioned above, these are practice-only options. They do a great job of giving you an acoustic-like performance at a much-reduced listening level. Unlike mesh heads, these mutes can be installed and removed in seconds for quick transitions from the practice room to the performance stage.

2. Low-volume cymbals Certain drummers prefer to hear the full decay of a crash or the earthy ping of a ride cymbal unencumbered by traditional mutes which is perfectly fine. Outfitting your practice kit with low-volume cymbals will give you that inimitable wood-on-metal cymbal response and high dynamic range without blowing your balance. Note that these specialty cymbals are best paired with muted drums; trying to use them on a traditional kit could cause you to overplay and damage the cymbals.

So if you are a noise conscious drummer, whether you are at home or performing onstage, you have a ton of options to make your drum kit quieter.

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AKARSH SHEKHAR

How to Reignite Your Musical Motivation and Creativity Sometimes we forgive ourselves for having a complex schedule making it okay to stop playing music, singing, or composing. But how can you revive your motivation to keep your projects moving?

Yes, creative people often face this issue so let’s look at how they snap out of a funk.

They clean their instruments A great way to take the stress of restarting is to get reacquainted with your instrumentwhether it’s a guitar, a DJ mixer and decks, or even the desk you sit at while writing lyrics or composing. Spend just 5 mins in quiet contemplation while changing strings, removing dust and grime from hardware, and organizing. This incubation period offers thinkers the mental space you needed to feel creative, and a clean station definitely looks so inviting to perform.

They ask a friend for a musical goal When it comes to your own personal music projects, the lack of outside pressure to create can be as much a challenge as being under too much pressure. So friends challenging each other is a great idea. Record an impromptu musical performance once a week and play anything that comes to mind, whether it is a song played often, or something completely new. Share the first take, no editing — mistakes and all, at the end of the week.

After a few months, you grow and more importantly become great at creating on demand — the process of sitting down, hitting record, and playing something enjoyably musical becomes easier every time.

They revisit ideas Everyone has a folder of short audio recordings, a board on the wall, or a notepad with snippets of lyrics and poetry. Unfinished projects can be a gold mine of inspiration.

They check their current skill set If you want to be creative but aren’t feeling particularly inspired, now is a good time to polish it or take something you’re proficient

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with and give yourself some time to simply play with that skill and have some fun with it.

Then you remind yourself why you even played music or created art in the first place.

But if you find some weaknesses, don’t be hard on yourself. For example, very successful musicians, even the ones who live and breathe music day in and day out, write dozens of “bad” songs for every good one. The same can be said about playing dozens of bad scales practice sessions to one good practice.

They don’t give up on their process no matter what Most professional musicians write more songs that are discarded and will never be heard by anyone than amateurs will write in their lives.

But their process of finishing a song is so well exercised that when an inspiring riff or chord progression comes along, they’re able to turn it into a finished song out of habit.

So, if you struggle with getting songs started, challenge yourself to write or sing something for just 10 minutes. Now do it five more times.

Now you have six new song intros written in an hour — they may not be “good,” but that’s not the point. The point is to sharpen your capacity to make music and finish a song.

You’re exercising the optimizing of the process of creation itself without getting caught up in the contents of the actual music.

They take action There’s no such thing as “writer’s block,” only a lack of action. The thing that is holding you back isn’t an inability to write music — it’s something in your subconscious mind that makes you hesitate. So today, don’t ask questions, and don’t doubt yourself — simply start playing notes, or putting words on the page and keep doing it every single day.

AKARSH SHEKHAR

TIPS TO BREATHE LIFE INTO YOUR MIX Is your mix uninspiring, and boring? The solution may be to use an effect or some ear candy that doesn’t necessarily “need” to be part of the mix but one that adds a bit of spice!

Dynamic EQ With this trick, listeners probably won’t be surprised when a lead vocal, a drum track, or even the whole mix sounds like it’s playing through a telephone, since that trick has been done so often. Here’s a less overused way to have fun with EQ. Equalization plug-ins have some variant of an AM radio or telephone sound, but you can create your own version: • Set a high pass filter around 400Hz–500Hz, and a low pass filter in the neighborhood of 4kHz. • Add the EQ plug-in after all of the other processing on a given track.

• And rather than going for the obvious lead vocal, drums, or whole mix route, try using the telephone effect in other places, the background vocal bus, a piano, or even an acoustic guitar (or some combination of all).

• Experiment with the filters and the output level of the plug-in to find your sound, then bypass the plug-in.

• Using the automation function on the plug-in, makes the plug-in active for the section of the song where the effect will work best. Then bypass it again.

Dynamic Delay While many delay plug-ins have a ducking delay preset, where the repeats only happen when the original dry signal is not present. Make this effect work by sending the dry signal through an aux to the delay plug-in, then automate the aux send by keeping it muted and then turning it on at the precise time (a word, a note, a drum hit) that the delay should start.

As soon as the sound fed into the delay ends, mute the send to prevent extraneous noise from muddying the

echo. You should try having the delays in time — a quarter note, a triplet, or whatever works best for the song (most plug-ins can lock into the tempo of the session), or you can simply have a fast slapback echo.

How long should the echo last? Depends on your needs.

Perhaps you’ll only want a single echo, or you might want a cascade that fades away over a few seconds.

Backward Reverb Get an unexpected texture that can draw the listener into the production. Choosing the right source for the initial impulse of the reverb (a snare hit, a guitar chord, or a sung word on the lead vocal track) affects the sound of the effect.

Print the reverb and then reverse it and manipulate it with Pro Tools: • Find the sound for the backward reverb (perhaps the first word of a vocal line or the guitar chord that stars the phrase that follows the backward reverb effect) and copy that sound to its own track. Choosing a specific word or instrument to reverse means the backward reverb will have a tone (based on that original sound), and it’s nice to have the reversed sound be in tune with the music that starts at the end of the reversed reverb.

• Next, choose a reverb time that fits the tempo of the song; you might want it to start a whole measure early, or you might want just a beat or two. Send your chosen sound to the reverb, and print that reverb return to a separate track.

• Then use an AudioSuite plug-in to reverse the printed reverb sound. You can get rid of the track that was used to send audio to the reverb.

• Finally, move the reversed reverb sound so that it ends exactly where the sound you chose to manipulate begins.

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AKARSH SHEKHAR

How To Organize a Messy Studio Space?

Everyone wants a studio that oozes creativity and learning. A dirty, cluttered studio space isn’t conducive to creativity. If you’re falling down over cables, staring in disgust at a pile of dirty dishes, or wasting time looking for a file, you’re not creating music.

1: Keep Your Space Clean Let’s start with the most obvious: vacuum the carpet, dust off the furniture, wipe down your computer’s peripherals and use compressed air to blast dust off delicate items. Lastly do not eat inside your studio. You don’t want to look at dirty dishes and get stressed. You’re here to savour your music, not a smelly studio.

2: Get Rid of the Clutter It’s difficult to concentrate if your studio looks like a place scattered with endless piles of stuff. A clean space equals a clean mind. So remove unrelated clutter like papers, books, magazines, and miscellaneous items from your work space.

It is less stressful and more relaxing to come to a place that is neat and clutter free. So, designate a place for everything: Keep instruments and microphones in their cases when you’re not using them. Fold your mic and music stands and put them away. Put your redundant or rarely used pieces of gear into storage (or better yet, sell them or else they’re basically expensive paperweights).

3: Keep Your Computer Organized With any modern studio’s workflow, it’s important to keep your physical space organized. So it’s also imperative that you keep your virtual space organized. Keep your computer’s desktop clear — if you’re not actively working on it, put it somewhere else. Archive old files, folders, and documents. Use a consistent filing system with logical folders and uninstall unnecessary software. Audit your plug-ins — nobody needs 71

different equalizers. Lastly, close non-music applications — email, web surfing, social media, etc. they’re creativity killers.

4: Make Your Gear Accessible If you have to walk across the room every time you want to increase your preamp’s gain a couple of dB, you’re losing creative vigor with each unnecessary move. To resolve this, keep the gear you use the most within direct reach of your chair. Rack up the most popularly used processors like your monitor controller, audio interface, preamps, and keep them close to you. Ensure that everything is at a comfortable height too because having to bend over or crane your body to reach your gear is not efficient. Your mixer or control surface, as well as your computer keyboard and mouse, should be arranged so you can use them with your wrists in a neutral and relaxed position. And while you’re at it, get a comfortable, ergonomic chair, it’s cheaper than a chiropractor.

5: Organize Your Cables Recording studios use a lot of cables. And it doesn’t take long for them to get out of hand, creating a confusing, messy bowl of spaghetti. That’s why organization is vital — it will keep you from yanking on wires, wasting time trying to set things up, and potentially plugging something in wrong, and damaging your equipment. So what should you do? For starters, clean house — sort through your oversized assortment of cables and dispose of any that are damaged or don’t work.

Create a logistical storage system so you can find what you’re looking for in an instant and store them on pegs or in drawers for easy access. Label or color-code them so it’s easy to distinguish one from the other. Run them along walls and furniture to avoid walking (or tripping) over them. Bundle them with hookand-loop fasteners or zip ties. Moreover, if it takes you over a couple of minutes to hook something up, just get a patchbay.

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KAUSTHUB RAVI & SIVANESH NATARAJAN

HELPFUL TOOLS FOR YOU TO MIX AT HOME

Just before this lockdown period, I was looking at options that would let me mix from places that weren't a fully-fledged studio. This led me to a few options that I would like to share Audeze LCD -1!

OPEN-BACK FOLDABLE HEADPHONES

FUTURE FAVOURITES Perfect monitoring solutions for home setups have always been a case of chasing the dragon for most of us. Recently, I came upon the idea to invest in a great set of headphones to aid in mixing. As someone who is used to mixing in a studio with acoustic treatment and a great pair of monitors, it seemed impossible to be able to mix on headphones. The imaging, the fatigue of wearing a pair, bass judgement all seemed to be plaguing issues with a lot of the pairs I tried. I also looked for a pair that wasn't too flat and boring. I always believe in my monitoring having a slight bit of character so that I can enjoy the music I am working with.

The Audeze LCD-X is a headphone that recently caught my eye as it was being used by some top mastering houses across the world. Engineers like Tchad Blake swear by it. But in addition to being huge and heavy, this is an insanely expensive pair of headphones and I was looking for something a bit more attainable. The LCD-1 is the newest addition the LCD line from Audeze. It essentially got similar drivers to the LCD-X but in a smaller form factor. It uses the same planar magnetic drivers with Audeze’s patented FluxorTM magnet structure.

The plastic construction makes it extremely light but they feel

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quite durable with the great build quality. The leather earpads are extremely com-fortable and since they’re extremely light along with being open-back headphones, you can wear them for a long time without sweating into the cups or feeling the fatigue. It also comes with a fan-tastic carrying case that it folds into. Oh, and the impedance is low enough that they sound pretty good plugged into a laptop output without needing much external amplification!

The sound of these headphones are fantastic. It is quite a neutral sound. First impressions might seem a bit sharp on the mids but with a little bit of burn it, it settles in quite nicely.

The quick re-sponse of the planar magnetic drivers makes for an insanely detailed representation of your audio. The imaging is extremely precise and accurate. While the soundstage might not be expansive and huge, it is quite adequate for mixing/ mastering. The LCD-1’s frequency response is quite conducive to mixing. The detail in the midrange is amazing. Some people might find the mid-range/highs a tad recessed but its something that you can get used it and once you do, you find out that it makes the headphone a little less fatiguing to work on for extended periods. The bass is super tight, accurate and controlled, it never sounds loose or rumbly at the same time they don't sound too boosted so if you're looking for hardhitting bass these aren't for you.

In addition to all of this, Audeze offers a plugin called the Reveal. It is quite similar to Sonarworks in the sense that it flattens out the response even further to help be a better mix tool. Slap an instance at the end of your stereo out chain and it makes a decent bit of a difference. I found that mixes translate quite well through this monitoring chain. The LCD-1 has been one of my favourite pur-chases to date and I highly recommend it to engineers looking for a trustworthy pair of headphones as a mix tool.

Audient EVO 4: 2-IN 2-OUT USB AUDIO INTERFACE CAPTURE IDEAS ON THE GO! Audient interfaces have been around for a while now and the ID4, in particular, has been a great starter interface.

Now, however, Audient has a new sub-brand called the EVO and they have 2 new interfaces called the EVO 4 and the EVO 8. Let's talk about the EVO 4.

Its a cheap, tiny interface. The form factor is a black box with a dial on top that does everything with the help of a few buttons to assign different things to it. Setting it up is hassle-free, with a single USB-C cable, the EVO 4 makes for a highly portable solution and it offers 24bit/96kHz at a price that's a little cheaper than the Scarlett 2i2.

STACKTUNE: WEB APPLICATION’ SECURE FILE SHARING FOR AUDIO PROFESSIONALS This is a little service I stumbled upon while looking for a better and more secure way of sharing tracks with clients and collaborators. Usually, when working with a client, you send them a mix via google drive, wetransfer or dropbox.

They listen to it, its usually not level matched and not neces-sarily secure. Half the time we end up having to send low res mp3’s at varying levels and names. Stack tune is a service that changes all of this. Its an online sharing

Another very interesting feature of this EVO 4 is Smartgain technology. Just select which channel you’re using, enable Smartgain mode, make some noise and the input gain will adjust itself. It is quick and lovely for gain staging.

Although it takes away the learning process of making gain stag-ing errors as an amateur, it almost guarantees recordings that aren't clipped. The preamps are clean and have a decent bit of gain to them. There's a loopback function that podcasters and streamers might find extremely useful as well as it lets you get your computer audio routed through alongside your microphones.

The headphone amp is surprisingly good and this is important to me so that it functions as a good piece of the portable mix setup. Just something inexpensive, light and portable so that you have some conversion solution that is better than the laptop’s inbuilt audio.

It's also great as a beginner interface and for people who like to have an interface to capture ideas on the go. All of the features that are crammed into it are aimed for it to be a very easy and quick to use tool for musicians to get to making music without worrying about the barriers of technology in-between.

platform that allows you to up-load mixes to send to clients.

It has a host of clever features that make it an amazing service. Firstly, my favourite - you can upload a bunch of mixes including the client’s demo mix and every-thing gets played back at the same level and alignment! The site automatically matched the loud-ness of all the tracks.

Next, the files are automatically labelled and named in order of upload, so all your mix versions are easily tracked.

Lastly, it's secure and allows the clients to add positionwise comments to mix version and allows them to add very precise and specific feedback. This service changes the way clients interact with mix engineers and is especially great if you work re-motely. It might not be as exciting as a new compressor or a plugin but it is certainly just as useful!

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Tonal regularity in a scale and its relation to temporal processing centers of the brain

Key Words : Music and the mind, Music, tonal regularity, subdominant and dominant tones, temporal accuracy, temporal processing, neural synchrony Written by Prof B.Sai Kiran Kumar Consultant neurofeedback trainer BCIA USA, Sharath Manjunath Psychologist and certified Neurofeedback trainer Presidency college, Bangalore Musical expressions are derived out of combinations that arise from a definitive scale relevant to a respective emotion as a precursor. The root note becomes an identifying factor for the entire expression of the emotion played in a sequence. The temporal lobe in our brain is activated and also adheres to notes that are relevant to the root, subdominant and dominant portions of the scale which is the first, fourth and fifth notes. The reason associated with this kind of response is the tonal regularity and resolving nature of the musical expression when these three notes are used in a melody. It also creates a network of memory related neuronal pathways associated with recall value and rhythm. These tones played at regular intervals can activate cognitive responses pertaining to perceptual neural mechanisms.

Temporal accuracy is an important factor to understand melodic phrases and also cues associated with rhythm and subsequent intervals associated with the root note. This enables a listener to discriminate between identical and non-identical sequences when a piece of music is played which accounts for sensorimotor synchronization. Any alterations in the regular syncopated sequence can cause variability in the judgment and affinity towards a respective piece of music. This

is where the concept of genre selection comes in to place wherein the listener make a cognitive choice based upon the sequence of melody played with the feedback received from his temporal cues of accuracy.

Musical frequencies are carried by the auditory nerve to the brain. If the chord is harmonic, or "consonant," the notes are spaced neatly enough so that the individual fibers of the auditory nerve carry specific frequencies to the brain.

This principle is what scientists call harmonicity and it is linked to temporal lobe of the brain. In the context of Western Music, it has been noted that that two tones whose frequencies were related by a simple ratio like an octave produce the most pleasing, or consonant, musical intervals. Researchers indicates that sensory neurons react differently to different tones. Each sends an electrical signal to a third neuron, called an interneuron, which sends a final signal to the brain. The model’s interneuron fires when it receives input from the sensory neurons. The signals from the sensory neurons arrive at the same time if the tone is consonant, and so the interneuron still fires just once, then waits until it “recharges” before it fires again. The result is a regular train of pulses that reacts according to the harmony played or heard.

Reference: Arnheim R. (1984). Perceptual dynamics in musical expression. Music. Q. 70, 295–309. 10.1093/mq/LXX.3.295 Barker A. (1978). Music and perception: a study in Aristoxenus. J. Hellen. Stud. 98, 9–16. 10.2307/630189 Arnal L. H., Giraud A. L. (2012). Cortical oscillations and sensory predictions. Trends Cogn. Sci. 16 390–398. 10.1016/j.tics.2012.05.003

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HOW MUSIC INDUSTRY EMPOWER COMMUNITIES IN UNPRECEDENTED TIMES The unfortunate outbreak of COVID-19 is affecting 204 countries and territories around the world and 2 international conveyances . India alone has 2,301 confirmed coronavirus cases until Friday 03 April 2020 and multiple deaths have been registered. Governments around the world have asked citizens to show their collective resolve in fighting the disease by imposing lockdowns which is a step in the right direction in order to curb the spread.

The rapid outbreak of the coronavirus presents an alarming health crisis that the world is currently dealing with.

In addition to this, there is also a significant impact on businesses that are felt globally. As per a report by Deloitte, 94% of the Fortune 1000 are already seeing COVID-19 disruptions. The Music industry in India is also getting impacted. As per a report by Events and Entertainment Management Association, COVID-19 has hit 60 million livelihoods and the losses for the first two months are already over 3000 crores.

The Indian Media and Entertainment industry is poised to grow at a CAGR of 11.28% over the next 5 years and reach Rs 4.51 trillion by 2023. The high uptake of internet has led to a rising consumption of OTT channels and music streaming apps. With streaming services germinating, total music revenue is forecast to hit Rs 10,858 crore in 2023, rising at a 13.5% CAGR. However, various artists are facing challenges as they rely heavily on live music concerts, and releases of feature films which are getting postponed.

To motivate and push artists, people affected as well as others that are taking precautions, music industry is building strategies to move forward. The Indian music community and Instagram presented a virtual music festival - ‘Live In Your Living Room where multiple artists performed live on Instagram. Even music streaming apps are supporting independent artists in this challenging time. Players like Jio Saavan, Spotify are working to offer financial relief to find ways to support the community. The Spotify COVID-19

Music Relief project has been created to amplify the efforts of organisations that focus on helping those in need.

Sennheiser has initiated a campaign #DontStopTheMusic which is a virtual concert series broadcast via Sennheiser's Instagram featuring live artist performances from diverse genres and locations. There are a wide variety of music videos to watch and listen to ranging from immersive jazz club recordings, to living room electro sets, to live takes from recording studios. With this initiative, Sennheiser is encouraging people to donate to the WHO in the fight against the coronavirus. Another campaign by Sennheiser, #DontStopTheEducation has announced an online webinar series for Audio Professionals. Sennheiser strongly believes that as a brand, we should never stop educating ourselves even in the current social distancing and working from home situation.

Given the current scenario, people are locked within the four walls of their home and with this, they have started pursuing their hobbies and passion such as cooking, sketching, making DIYs, composing music, and learning new skills at home.

They are making vlogs of the same and posting it on their social media channels. In such adverse times, the positivity in people gives us the strength to look beyond the disease and do something meaningful and worthwhile.

Music has always found to provide strength and hope during crisis times. Music has known to heal people in times of crisis- especially during this unprecedented time. People are making YouTube parodies, singing songs out loud to boost morale of each other across the globe. Music has the ability to increase social cohesion and direct human attention which could play a pivotal role in times of distress. With such initiatives taken up by brands and music streaming apps to support each other in times of difficulties, we are sure that the Music Industry and the artists will continue to thrive and grow. It will also be interesting to see the consumer behaviour pattern when live streaming meets social distancing at this time.

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MUKESH AMARAN

ALBUM ARTicle

PRADYUMNA PANNIKER Hello, a little bit about yourself and your background in arts and music?

Hi, my name is Pradyumna Panikker. I'm a designer and illustrator currently working as a 3D-Environment Artist in Bangalore. I come from a family of artists and musicians so I've been scribbling ever since I noticed how clean the walls of my living room were. My taste in music is something that has evolved over the years, having started with listening to the greats such as Floyd, the Stones, the Cure, Bob Dylan etc., moving on to discovering metal for the first time and finally Jazz, which is something that's now part of my everyday life.

At this point in your career, what role did music have to play in you getting to where you are?

Personally, even when I was young(er), music has been part of my everyday life. It's something that's always in the backdrop even when I'm working. Jazz in particular has been a genre of music that has shaped the kind of art I do which takes a lot of inspiration from the psychedelia of Jazz.

Tell us about your collaboration with Trash Talk from conception to creation and the end product.

I've known Malik for about 2 years now and ever since I heard "Revenge of Meenakshi", I've been meaning to collaborate with him and the band. So when I heard that the guys were working on a new EP, I jumped at the opportunity. The brief was that the songs of the EP were going to be named after 4 species of birds, so my first idea was to make a grotesque, gory piece of a bird (well, a rooster to be more specific). But during one of our many discussions, it was suggested by the band that they were looking for something more minimalistic and subtler.

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After a little research, looking at the work of various artists for inspiration, I stumbled on the plague doctors i.e medical physicians who treated the sick during the Bubonic plague and was greatly inspired by the design of their masks which resembled bird beaks. I was blown away by how sinister they looked and designed the 4 entities (the 4th one is hidden) based on their aesthetics. Also, the entire piece is a 3D composition which is the most comfortable platform for me to create art.

As for the colour palette, I took a lot of inspiration from the palettes of the Suprematist movement, adding a sense of intensity and tension to the piece. Personally, my goal was to create something sinister and ominous.

Tell us a little bit about the process that is involved in making a piece by yourself.

So, the first thing I do is collect references. I spend a couple of mins to hours (depending on the complexity of the project) browsing the net, studying art, artists or real-life examples depending on the subject. I then make a mood board of all these selected references as a foundation and something to fall back on should I lose my way during the design process. Once I have my references for the mood, the colour palette etc., I begin making mockups which are usually rough line drawings on my sketch book, that solidify the ideas in my head. I spend a little more time reiterating the design and once that's done, I migrate the sketch on to a 2D or 3D platform on which I start production. The production phase usually takes the most amount of time and work as I often go back and forth with the design, experimenting with various components such as the colour, the lighting etc.