The Score Magazine July 2018 issue

ISSN 0974 – 9128

Vol 11 Issue 7 July 2018

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India's National Pan-Genre Music MagazinE

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BAND OF THE MONTH

NON VIOLINIST PROJECT QUIRKS & QUERIES

ANUSHKA MANCHANDA ON THE COVER

ARVIND PARIKH ALSO INSIDE: INDIE REVIEWS, INTERVIEW WITH DJ SHAAN, MEET THE REFORMISTS OF CARNATIC MUSIC AND MORE.

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ON THE COVER

ARVIND PARIKH ARTIST OF THE MONTH

DJ SHAAN

LOOK OUT FOR

INDIE REVIEWS

BAND OF THE MONTH

NON-VIOLINIST PROJECT

QUIRKS AND QUERIES

ANUSHKA MANCHANDA KNOW ABOUT

INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS OF INDIAN ORIGIN NOT TO MISS

THE PIANISTS’ GUIDE TO IMPROVISATION EVENT COVERAGE

PALM EXPO 2018

THE TEAM Director, Business Development Pragash VM Director, Marketing & Operations Sneha Ramesh Director, Strategy and Planning Ajay Prabhakar Editorial Advisor Nikila Srinivasan Creative Director George Vedamanickam Creative Designer Manasi Doshi Content Contributors Shreya Bose Sriram Ravishankar Malik Arshaq Aditi Sarawagi Vyoma Shah Souvik Chakraborty

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SNEHA RAMESH

Arvind Parikh Arvind Parikh is a renowned Sitar player, a man with immense knowledge in Hindustani Music, a staunch businessman and much more. We had absolute pleasure in meeting this amazing human being and a great artist who spoke to us about his journey as a classical musician, his taleem from his guru, his advice to younger generation and more.

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Could you elaborate on your musical journey since your childhood and your initial days when you started out?

of power and has to believe that everyone else also is a centre of power.

My musical journey began when I was very young at the age of ten. Our family belongs to Ahemdabad. Essentially, our family is into business, my father was into textiles.

My mother was a painter and father was a businessman.

Hence, one stream came from my mother and other from father. You cannot become a musician in one life. You carry a lot of musical baggage from the previous life/lives and I suppose I carried that. Right from childhood, I was inclined towards music.

On the other hand, Bhakti Margi believes that he is a nobody and is playing for the almighty. I was taught to always play for the almighty and to think that he is playing through me. So, my approach was different from Khan Saab but his father’s and my approach coincided.

He allowed me the freedom to develop my own approach.

I started Dilruba, a bowing instrument taught by one Shri Gopal Rao Joshi who was the Principal of Gandharva Maha Vidyalaya. My sister used to play Sitar and when she left it, I started on the instrument when I was about twelve years old.

I registered myself in a unique school, where they were making poor children ready for life. They taught various forms of art there like music, painting, cane work, carpentry, farming, engineering and so on. We could select what we liked and I learnt music from there too.

My biggest guru was Radio. I used to listen to great sitar masters from all over the country.

On the radio, I ultimately heard Vilayat Khan saab and decided that he is the one for me. Fortunately for me, he settled down in Mumbai in 1943-44. I met him by chance and curiously we were both of the same age so to say.

When we met, we were seventeen years old and literally grew up together.

I moved to Mumbai and stayed in my uncle’s flat and that was second phase in my journey.

What aspect of his music made you realize that you wanted to learn from Vilayat Saab?

When I started, there was an urge and passion which was there and like I said earlier, music has been brought forward from the previous life. It was an in-born passion for music without being conscious about it.

You shared a lot of closeness with your Guru. How was he as a teacher? What was the best thing you liked about him?

He was not only my age but he had not even initiated his career back then and wasn’t financially stable. We had three kinds of relationship. First was the GuruSishya relationship, second where I was his secretary and undertook his PR work etc. Lastly, we were friends – watched films together and so on. We had a very close relationship and he was very kind to me and gave all his Taleem to me without any reservation. We literally grew up together from 1944 upto 1964 (20 years).

Whenever he visited Mumbai even after 1964, he used to stay with us and I used to get Taleem.

Could you highlight on the specialities of your guru that you incorporated in your style?

To start with, it might sound surprising, that at the age seventeen, I told him that he was a ‘Gyan Margi’ and I was a ‘Bhakti Margi’. Gyan Margi believes that he is the centre

Could you tell us some of your personal favourite Ragas?

When I was very young, I used to play Violin also. At that time, I casually told my teacher my favourite raga was Jaijaiwanti when he asked me. He said ‘You must be playing that the best’. So what you play best you like, and you like that because you play it the best. According to me, one’s favourite Raag is the one you get involved in at a given time. You become friends with that particular Raaga. It is not a lifelong favourite. Every Raag, you need to get deeply involved in. But, by and large, Ragas which are amenable to introspective approach are the ones I generally like.

Tell us about your most memorable concert you’ve played throughout your journey.

This is a tough one to answer. Memorable concerts can have two different approaches to it. One is the worst concert you have had and that is the one you will never forget (Laughs).

Begum Akhtar, the famous Ghazal singer, was my student for two years. She arranged my concert in Birla Hall earlier and when I sat on the stage, I couldn’t believe I was in Mumbai with a different section of society in the audience and so much smoke. I played three or four notes and was hooted out. Then, Begum Sahiba came on to the stage and said ‘He is my Guru, I’ve been learning Sitar from him and you have insulted him. You have insulted me’. That was a truly memorable concert for me (Laughs).

How did being a businessman help in shaping your musical career?

There are many common attributes between business and any art form. You have to be focussed, disciplined and passionate. You can’t do anything without these qualities.

I inherited being a business acumen from my father and my artistic streak was from my mother. Fortunately for me, my maternal uncle belonged to affluent family, so I got support from them. And then, above all, luck plays an important role.

Elaborate on your major influences in playing classical music My family was the most important, significant and powerful influence in my life. When you are brought up in a family, the culture of the family, the atmosphere, matters. My grandfather was highly spiritual minded and great swamijis and fakirs used to come at home. In fact, every evening, intellectuals of Ahemdabad used to get together and discuss various intellectual subjects. I believe that the level of civilization that a country has reached, depends on the cultural institutions that it has established!

There is this beautiful saying that ‘If a nation spends less

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money on Shakespeare, they would have to spend more money on the police force’.

My second biggest influence was my Wife, who passed away in 2006. She was also a musician, a vocalist and originally a dancer. She is one person who nobody had anything against. She was known to ‘Forgive and Forget’.

I did not completely adopt that sadly. She was also spiritually inclined.

Do you think it is possible to bring back the disciplined pursuit of art?

The third influence was my business. The kind that we are in, we deal with a lot of corruption since we deal with customs, port etc. But my father was known for his honesty and integrity. We adopted a principle which was that we were neither a saint nor a thief but only a shopkeeper.

In life, you can’t be successful in any area without discipline. It is important to succeed in any walk of life.

I do believe that an effective, organized effort is a result of discipline. I’m a very organized person and extremely meticulous about timings. You can perform better and do much more work with discipline.

I also got a lot of lessons in my life through my students.

There are so many different shades of students. We’ve got housewives, professionals, khandani, music professionals and so on. To deal with each, I had to understand their requirements to help them, thus I learnt a lot from them.

For a short stint, you were the Vice President of the International Music Council (UNESCO). What were your biggest learnings?

What is your take on the future Hindustani Music scene?

We have been talking about this for quite some time.

On one side, there is a strong feeling that our music is becoming entertainment oriented, thrill and excitement oriented. Young people are drawn towards that area of music and fusion is a part of it. On the other hand, great and talented musicians are coming up and that is why I am not in favour of focusing too much on teaching of Indian music, as there are many young musicians coming up, but they don’t get opportunities or concerts and that is where the trouble lies. We are at crossroads! Here, I’d like to mention the formation of a group called All India Musicians Group in which we have six top North Indian musicians and six South Indian musicians like Zakir Hussain, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ajoy Chakravorty, Rajan Sajon from North and Sudha Ragunathan, Ravi Kiran, Balamurali Krishna and T.M Krishna etc from South.

This group could be a powerful instrument to ensure that the prejudicial trends are controlled.

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I was very happy to receive the award. Everyone has an ego centric approach and mine was definitely satisfied.

I also felt that my contribution so far has been recognized.

However, had I not received the award, I would’ve been happy at home (laughs). For a professional musician, this was definitely very valuable.

Dr. Narayan Menon was the Executive Director of NCPA. He was very deeply involved in the Council; headquartered in Paris. He told me to get involved.

There was a meeting in Canada, I went for it. I felt that Indian music was not given the importance that it should have been given, unlike Indonesian and African music which were given a lot of importance. That is how I started. At the IMC, I had three advantages. My vision was broadened by interacting with various musicians, problems faced in their countries, government support, not getting concerts etc. There were lot of east European countries, with different structures. It gave me a good vision of the world music.

What is your advice to the young generation perusing music?

Firstly, I’d start by saying I have great sympathy for the young generation as I know they are struggling. One word of advice to them, is not to depend only on earnings through music. In today’s world it is not possible to fully depend on music for livelihood. You need to have other source of income as well.

The biggest support today, is Corporate Sector. An organiser can’t get the money through ticket sales and are dependent on companies. Corporates want value for money as they are answerable to their shareholders and they in-turn expect musicians to be entertainers, though one can’t blame them.

Secondly, in today’s world, worthy gurus are no longer available.

How did you feel on recently receiving the Padma Bhushan award?

Vigyan- Analytical ability to scientifically analyse the knowledge.

I must give credit to my students. To start with, I did not know that they had started this project and I think they did a great job. They approached five icons like Zakir bhai, Shiv ji, Hari ji etc, for recommendation letters, (which I saw later on). I was deeply touched at what they wrote. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra also wrote a recommendation letter. After I got the Padma Bhushan, the Chief Minister wrote to me congratulating me and even mentioned that my getting this award was a pride for Maharashtra. There were also some ministers like Praful Patel, Dinesh Trivedi, who wrote recommendation letters.

Varchan- Must be articulate enough to explain.

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What are the qualities of a guru whether it is Carnatic music or Hindustani music?

Gyan- Knowledge.

Prayoksidhi- Should be able to demonstrate what you are doing.

Shishya Nishvadhan- Should have the ability to make a student.

Lastly, I would say take your time to select a guru! But once selected, one must be his devoted student at least for five years.

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ARTIST OF THE MONTH

dj Shaan How does it feel to be the first Indian to perform at Tomorrowland? What got you to achieve that?

It is all a great feeling, the most important thing at the moment for me was the represent my country perfectly and prove that we have it in ourselves to take our talents to the world. It still feels great knowing that I was the first but the better feeling is knowing I was repressing India on a global scale!

Tomorrowland always was a goal of mine and I worked hard towards getting there, releasing new music and signing my first record deal was a great first step.

You've performed with some big names in the world electronic music scene. Which has been your best experience till date and what makes it special?

I think the show with Marshmellow and DVLM was incredible the proud was the best ever I have experienced and till date is my most remembered show. It was a pretty energy filled 45 minutes and I packed in my 90 minutes set into just that time which was a challenge but felt good to pull off.

What's your take on the current electronic music scene in India? How do you think it can be better or what do you think is lacking?

The current electronic scene in India is slowed down a little from my

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perspective compared to the boom over the last few years. I think there needs to be a big influx of love and one community vibe in the whole industry. We are segregated by genre right now and whether if one is a competitor or not.

It can be a lot better!

What's your tech set up like, plug-ins you rely on?

Omnisphere is right now my go to, discovered it a few months back and it has just been game changing for me!

Tell us about your new song, remix of 'Personal'.

What have you done to make it sound great?

(Laughs) I wish I could share my production secrets, but what I tried to do is capture the happy element and jumpiness of this song and transform it into something peppier but in a different manner.

I played around with the kick pattern, bpm, including my ever loved Omnishpere to add some energetic elements into the song.

If you could give one piece of advice to an up-andcoming artist, DJ, producer, what would it be?

Give love and you will get love back. Go Whole heart with all you do and we are always there to support you, it might take some time to get our attention but when you do we are here. Work hard on your goal and your vision of yourself and your music, be unique!

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SHEYA BOSE

INDIE reviews Two Lost Souls (Taniya Nambiar):

The charts have long moved away from rock n’ roll. Perhaps just as well, as its origins were the twisted rhythms of the downtrodden.

Blues, jazz, and AfricanAmerican gospel music did not figure on Billboard. Rather, they served to externalise the inner lives of men and women who spent much of their existence under the boot of the powerful and brutal.

Still, recalling the authenticities of the genre is always a source of joy. Take Taniya Nambiar. Her debut single is firmly invested in the history of its sound. You can imagine the hours she put in listening to Chuck Berry, Elvis and maybe some Bee Gees? She creates extremely danceable music, combining her clear loyalties to rock with brushes of electronic tones. She does not bother to depend on machine-generated blips to keep her beat intact. Rather, she focuses on the kind of addictive ambience produced by actively played strings and effectively struck cymbals.

Take a moment to listen to Two Lost Souls. If nothing else, you will find assurance in the fact that rock n’ roll, as those of us knew it when MTV was more music and less Jersey Shore, is not dead. It’s just wearing a disguise.

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Thoughts (Big Bang Blues):

The men of Big Bang Blues have spent enormous amounts of time listening to BB King, Marvin Gaye and Muddy Waters. They admit as much in their interviews, but you wouldn’t have to hear them say it to know it. Their love for the swinging melancholy of field hollers and work songs that African slaves chanted to keep themselves afloat while being worked to the bone in cotton fields, is more than obvious.

I wouldn’t be surprised if these guys mused over making a deal with the devil, much like Robert Johnson allegedly did.

Thoughts is a song of despair and hapless questioning, so anyone familiar with the blues should find it in recognisable territory. It asks pertinent questions: “Why are the children’s bags being checked?” and states uncomfortable facts: “People deciding which god is the best/ While the trees are being cut to build their nest”. Essentially, the track outlines the private ruminations self-aware and increasingly disillusioned human beings.

The sound is classic backwater blues interspersed with its close cousin (maybe once removed), rock n’ roll. While Diyatom Deb’s voice and accent certainly does not hail from Mississippi, they possess the grating lilt needed for songs of lost worlds. The last one minute delves into some clutter in order to promote a bombastic climax, but it quickly resolves itself. I couldn’t say I am overwhelmed with wonder, but Thoughts deserves to be heard. It invokes images of arid landscapes and failing lives, but does it within an arousing acoustic framework.

Storm the Studio (Arshaq Malik):

Garnet Eye (Calico):

Calico is a band that I believe can make us fall in love with them. Their debut single is unceasingly delightful.

Vocalist Ivan Imkong sounds like he would fit right into lantern-lit festivals on starlist beaches, the kind of place you go to with the intention of meeting poetic strangers sipping drinks whose names you have never heard of. His voice is half-mystique, half-tease.

The instrumental arrangement is unutterably smooth; the musical equivalent of a glass of Glenmorangie (aged 15 years). Not a breath out of synchronicity, each note and syllable know their place and do their part to form a slick, roll-off-your-tongue sensibility. You are immediately drawn in, and I can promise you, if this song started playing just as you were about to leave, you’d stay and say “One more song”.

Words like “We turned ourselves to rust/Saw flowers turn to dust” leave you plenty to wonder about. I won’t try telling you what they are singing about, because I believe that the listener should be spinning their own stories.

The band’s admission of what they have in mind mid-composition is open-ended, they also insist on keeping the open vulnerable to wide interpretation.

Garnet Eye combines the vague romplike quality of a less mature Portishead with generous doses of luxurious R&B and funk. It exudes exceptional pleasantness, and you would be well influenced to do some swaying yourself.

I’ve always felt that concept albums or EPs are challenging for artists and reviewers alike. The artist might have exceptionally clear narratives in mind, and they might communicate it just fine. But given the predilections of individual listeners, it is possible for the story to be modified, disrupted or entirely disregarded. And while the diversity of interpretation is what gives humanity any colour, the idea that the stories carved into Rush’s 2112 or Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago might not be reaching us in their pristine originality is depressing.

I’m not sure what Arshaq Malik’s Storm the Studio attempts to speak of. It meanders with an ominous rhythm. Guttural tones mingle with an electronically bound march beat of sorts. The image of dystopia is clear, but you aren’t sure how it pans out. Are we talking street fights over a scrap of dry bread, or shadowed overlords keeping citizens drowsy and emotionally decrepit by dosing their beer with Haldol? Either way, the track builds significant anticipation for the upcoming four song EP ‘Andromeda 2050’ that it is part of. Apparently, it carries tales of good vs evil: rage, disdain and devastation are clear markers, if the single is anything to go by.

Storm the Studio deliciously embraces a gritty aftertone and turns in into neotribal half beats awash in cymbals and futuristic dread. Think the oppression of Dhalgren, but with streets lit up like Blade Runner.

Stand Still (Saltwater) :

Clichés ring true more often than not. Musicians seeking stability in their sound when life sees fit to throw turbulence is a tiresome, common trope. But we are left with little to complain about if the resultant sound is good. In this case, it is sheer, soft, unimposing beauty.

Keyboardist Vyoma Shah and vocalist Medha Sahi met while teaching at Mumbai’s True School of Music.

They realised that their musical tastes aligned, and turned their love of Norah Jones, John Mayer and Esperanza Spalding into collaborative composition. Their debut single reminds you of the joys of balmy winds and whispering leaves. Medha celebrates the desire to be still as the playful pleasantries of Vyoma’s keyboard materialise the theme in sound. The lightest percussive touch is sufficient to establish their disdain for the “rush” and the metaphorical “earthquake”.

“I’ve been running for a long time/Trying to leave the truth behind”. The lyrics are overtly straightforward without reliance on aimless poetics. It serves the purpose well, as the song is structured to peek into exhausted souls and offer them a gospel of endurance.

As they say “Don’t move, don’t/ Don’t break, Don’t break.”

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BAND OF THE MONTH

Non Violinist Project Why the band is called Non Violinist Project?

Is there a story behind it?

A friend of ours after seeing Shravan's very peaceful demeanour compared it to Gandhi's, in the context of a rather rather silly joke, where Shravan was a violinist and Gandhiji being a non-violinist! (Feel free to not use this answer haha!)

How would you describe your band's sound?

All of us bring in each of our sounds and inspirations and that's why its a little hard to pigeon-hole the sound/genre of the band. But if we had to use a term it'd be Neo-Indian Classical-Fusion.

Tell us a little bit about your tech set up while recording music Our guitarist Naveen Samson, has an extremely well equipped home studio setup where we lay down the initial ideas.

From there we go to bigger studios and execute them!

What's your take on social media and YouTube taking over how music is shared and received by audience?

Social media may be the biggest boon and bane of the current musical landscape.

The obvious advantage being that, anyone has the power to compose/record/

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release any song/piece of music from the comfort of their own bedrooms, while the disadvantage is EXACTLY the same thing.

With literally anyone being able to do this, you obviously have a massive dilution of quality content taking place and thereby it becomes much more of a challenge to cut through the noise. We believe at the end of the day that good music speaks for itself!

What are the challenges you face as a band while putting music together?

Right from the outset, to get 5 individuals who are already musicians in high demand playing for various different bands/projects was definitely a challenge.

But the commitment towards pushing the boundaries of what was possible is what is driving us everyday.

Tell us about your best performance and why do you choose it?

We've been fortunate to play at some astounding venues in the last year since the inception of the band. We've played some great concerts to thousands of people at different colleges around India, but in a way the most special concert is still the VERY first one, where we performed at Kamaraj Arangam Auditorium for Isaignani Ilayaraja Sir's birthday, in front of the genius himself! To actually watch

him sit in the front row and appreciate our interpretations of his musical masterpieces was a blessing indeed!

Your influences from the music space Like we mentioned before, all of us have drastically different musical inspirations and thats what we feel makes the band unique. Right from Raja & Rahman to Snarky Puppy & Bruno Mars to Ganesh & Kumaresh, its quite a journey of sounds!

An artist you would love to collaborate with and why?

We would love to work with someone like Karsh Kale, who's in fact a pioneer in taking Indian Classical music and putting a super-modern spin on it. There are thousands of artists who play "fusion" music but very few do justice to the roots of each respective genre like Karsh.

Upcoming projects We recently concluded a tour of various cities, playing some of the biggest college festivals in South India. We plan to release a series of concert videos from those shows in the coming months. Aside from that we're also working on a ton of original material, an album may on the horizon very soon!

MALIK ARSHAQ

MEGHAN KHARSYNRAP

PI CH

PERFECT: THE PREQUEL It's the semi-finals of a group music competition and the keyboardist is absent without notice. There are 5 minutes to go and the teacher has to prep 20 kids to start without any signal. What's worse? The harmonies! Altos, Sopranos, Bass and the Tenor boys and girls are struggling to find a note that fits the song let alone have hum together. The audience falls silent as they watch with tepid gasps.

Someone is snickering to the other saying "how hard can it be? They just have to sing right."

But "singing right" is actually very hard to do. The situation could have been diffused if all the singers could identify the note they had to sing without the reference of an instrument. But then they'd have to have 'Absolute pitch' and that's a skill that cannot be taught.

Absolute pitch or perfect pitch is the auditory anomaly wherein you can reproduce a sound you've heard without needing to use an instrument or a hint. Most people don't realize how hard this is. If someone asked you to sing a middle C, we're unable to. We're stuck asking ourselves if we can remember what the Middle C even sounds like, even if we've been playing an instrument for years. Adding to this even if we did get a note as a reference it would be impossible not to sing up or down to find other notes, as opposed to someone who is pitch perfect who JUST KNOWS what an F sounds like at different frequencies. Think of it this way, some pitch perfect people can identify the note of whales humming, a car honking, the chimes of a shop, or even metal dishes clanging together. Imagine having a friend who would casually mention that he/she doesn't like cars that honk in D at a particular frequency. 1 in 10,000 people are

pitch perfect. These people can tell you the key of music they've heard for the first time or reproduce the tune of the song days later.

They can name tones or chords, identify the key of a piece, name frequency of a pitch or identify the pitches of an everyday sound.

You could try to test if you're pitch perfect too.

Record yourself singing your favourite songs and compare your version to the original.

Maybe the sound you've recreated and the actual song are not on the same key, you could even be way off. But If you're getting accurate results and singing on the right key without any help or hints you could possibly have perfect pitch. I tried to test myself using songs from Disney movies. I hadn't listened to any Disney songs for a couple of days which made them the perfect choice for the test. However when I compared my version with the actual piece I always sang a little lower than the actual song.

But we should note that those with perfect pitch aren't physically different from us, our systems and auditory abilities are the same.

The only difference is that their analysis of sound is different, they analyze frequency better. Perfect Pitch is an act of cognition.

It's a mundane function for them, and often goes unnoticed. It's as cool for them as it is for people to see colours: Not. That. Cool.

Can it be acquired? No. But the good news is you can achieve something similar to some extent, via Relative pitch. A skill wherein you identify tones by using the distance between them, singers happen to use this skill a lot. All in all there’s no denying perfect pitch is quite extraordinary but if you’re happy belting out a tune like nobody’s business it shouldn’t matter anyway.

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SHREYA BOSE

Q

uirks & ueries

Anushka MANCHANDA The video for Don't Be Afraid is exceptionally symbolic. With all the metaphors, do you think it could be overwhelming for the viewer?

With this video we have been true to our expression, without thinking about what kind of viewer we were catering to. We did not tailor make this video for anyone.

However, we were clear that we wanted to produce a certain kind of quality, and we wanted to create an emotional connection and impact. As artists we want you to feel something. As viewers we have access to so much visual information, being constantly bombarded with content, we have become desensitised. Something has to shake you out of that to make you sit up and take notice.

Tell us a bit about the ethos you have created with the music and the visuals.

Sonically I started layering the track quite a bit at a later stage. I wanted it to be dark and moody, and then fill with life when it arrives at the chorus. I worked on it more after I started editing the video, doing a kind of musical foley work,

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because I wanted this to be an audio visual experience. Once the visuals started coming together on the edit table, the opening had started to look eerie. It was then that we decided to push it all the way in that direction, picking shots and treating them to be freakier than they actually were, speeding up and reversing bits, jumping them, etc. Even the grade of the video has a story to tell. Going from dark and moody in the opening, to dreamy in the underwater section, and finally quite saturated and full of colour in the end section.

Amidst the overarching elegance, there is an undercurrent of darkness. Things ending, people in pain. How often do you see the world through this lens of suffering?

Art is a reflection of the times. Look around you. What do you see? We are in a state of destruction. I could create art that helps you to escape it, but we are distracted and apathetic enough as it is. What I see in the world around me, is what you see through my art. The photo story I did called Mute, the first project I did via Nuka, is also in the same line of thought. I never really thought about this though, that this is the way I view the world, and this question evokes

not encompass my sound scape or my agenda with visual expression. Wait till I show you what’s coming next!

What is the one thing that everyone should remember about the song/video?

It is our connection with nature. Nature has always nurtured us, given us everything we need. Now it’s our turn to look after her. Remember the moment in the video I come to life again, growing from the earth, my energy evolving into and becoming once with Mother Nature. Remember that when you use paper, one time use plastic, non bio degradable sanitary pads. It’s all polluting this earth and we will go back to this earth too. And also, that everybody has some shit going on. Things are not always what they seem.

So don’t be afraid because we are in this together.

What are the feelings you wish to inspire with your art?

A connection with nature, an emotional reaction that may change your perception of a few things.

Say hi to our readers, won't you? They'd love to know anything you have to say about the song or otherwise.

I am looking for you, if you are looking for me. So reach out and connect. I want to know what you feel. How you feel. You have something to say? To exchange with me?

Please find me. And do it. If you see me somewhere, come and have a conversation. Let’s connect.

a deep sense of hurt in my chest. I’m struggling to answer as I type this. I don’t want to talk about pain. I don’t want to chronicle suffering. But I can only express what I truly feel. And even then, when I am in the lap of nature. None of this matters. Then everything is beautiful. I feel whole.

How long have you spent conceptualising this piece of art?

The track has been produced over a year and a half, simply because I didn’t have what I considered the right outlet to release it, the video took 6 months from the time we started talking about it, up until the day it was ready.

Tell us a bit about the experiences that shaped this song and video.

The track was originally called Open Arms, and was written from the point of view of a tree. That this beautiful magnificent wise old tree opens out its branches and sings to you. I will hold you close, with these open arms. So don’t be afraid. I am a child of nature, happiest when I am in the lap of it. When I was 22 all the songs I wrote were about heartbreak, because that was the worst thing that I had to experience. Now things are different. I look at the world differently. I can only write and sing about what I am feeling. An authentic expression of my thoughts.

With the video it was all the work Navzar and I had already done together, the kind of time and energy we have exchanged, years of talking about, arguing passionately about things, how we have grown together as artists, inspiring and pushing each other. All of this has led to what you finally see.

If you had to talk about Don't Be Afraid to someone who knows nothing about you or your work, what would you say?

I’d be like, Hey see this video. It will be absolutely clear to you what kind of artist I am, what I want to be. Still, it does The

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SRIRAM RAVISHANKAR

Monsoon Muse A song for every listener this monsoon.

Nadishana

For every artist, the rains have been a creative hotspot. Each artist has presented the rains in their own unique flavor adding more color and vibrancy to the season. Across genres, monsoon has meant different things and held a great place of significance. Usually musicians flirt around themes like introspection, waiting for a loved one, romance, sadness, joy, or painting contrasting imagery using the rain as a metaphor. However, no matter how overrated any of these themes maybe, every musician still yearns to sing about the rains in one way or the other.

This monsoon, here are some picks for every listener.

Pt. Vankatesh Kumar

Song of the Swan Natraj

Tajdar Junaid

PC:Ronny Sen

U. Srinivas

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For an avid Carnatic listener, the Pallavi composed in raaga Varunapriya

by U. Srinivas specifically seems to enhance the joy in experiencing the rains in a very subtle but beautiful way, ornamenting each drop intricately.

Varunapriya as a raga is one of the most popular picks for monsoons besides raaga Amruthavarshini. Srinivas’s seamless journey across Varunapriya, Vasantha and Malayamaarutha ragas coupled with the rains are an indulgence of a different level.

An interesting raag Hindustani lovers can to listen to on a cloudy afternoon with mild showers is raag Multani by Pt. Venkatesh Kumar. His renditions in this raag create a contrasting soundscape with mild showers in the view emanating the Dharwad style of Hindustani music. Renditions by Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur, Kishori Amonkar are equally captivating in their own way.

Dear, Western classical music lovers, Maurice Ravel’s “Jeux d'eau” is a personal favourite. The piece reflects the sounds water makes as it cascades, splashes, and bubbles through brooks.

Water pieces in general impersonate the rains in different ways making each

piece unique in its own way. Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and Tchaikovsky’s “The Seasons” are probably two of the most popular monsoon pieces, still remaining fresh and relevant.

For the younger, Indie music lovers, “What color is your raindrop” by Tajdar Junaid seems to convey the joy of rains in its simple humming and arrangement that really works for a comfortable listen, leaving a smile on your face at the end of the song. Its mild and earthy rhythms, simple guitars, and sensitive vocals just hit the spot for a rainy afternoon. Songs in the same soundscape by artists like Prateek Kuhad, or Norah Jones, or even Tom Waits just do the trick for a soulful comforting listen.

Filmi listeners are just as spoilt for choice like classical music enthusiasts.

Be it Rafi’s classics, Ilairaja’s evergreen romantic songs, AR, Amit Trivedi, Vishal Bharadwaj, the list just goes on! Picks - “Shauk Hain” and “Munbe Vaa” by AR Rahman, “Pani Pani Re”

by Vishal Bharadwaj, “Chaudhary” by Amit Trivedi, “Deewana Hua Badal” by Omkar Prasad Nayyar, and an endless list of retro songs by the most loved male and female playback singers.

There’s so much clutter in the fusion music genre that picking well fused albums or tracks can get really difficult.

However, Vladishwar Nadishana’s “Shu Khur” from his album “Zero Density” with Kuckhermann and Metz instantly makes you groove without wanting to change the song. The soundscape he creates is light and full of life. Another interesting band from Boston called Natraj feature a song called “Kale Nutsu” in their album “Song of the Swan” that plays contemporary jazz music with influences from African and Indian music. All the songs in their album make for a well-blended fusion jazz album.

KARISHMA D'MELLO

INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS OF INDIAN ORIGIN India is home to some incredibly talented musicians, but while more often than not most of these go unnoticed without the recognition and appreciation they deserve, a few do happen to leave their mark in international music. Some of the most the bigger, more obvious names include Freddie Mercury of Queen who spent a pretty big part of his life here in India, Geethali Norah Jones Shankar or just – Norah Jones, daughter to Ravi Shankar. But it doesn’t quite stop there. There are so many incredible indie and hard rock bands out there whose members have their roots down here in India.

Cornershop’s Tjinder Singh (songwriter, lead vocals, guitar) – Tjinder Singh happens to be among the cofounders of this popular British – indie group, whose lineup also included Tjinder’s brother on the guitar. The band is credited with featuring on Rolling Stone’s – Essential Recordings of the 90’s and topping Spin’s Top 20 albums of the year. Their songs often were accompanied by a sitar or a dholk and their name itself was allegedly derived from a strange British belief that all Indians ran corner shop groceries. The band constantly changed its sound eventually collaborating with Punjabi singer – Bubbley Kaur to create their eight record – Urban Turban.

Soundgarden’s Kerela descended Kim Thayil started off his career with the band “Zippy and his Vast Army of Pinheads” (now isn’t that a BRILLIANT name?), and eventually went on to contribute to hard rock history as a part of Soundgarden with three platinum albums, two Grammies and a spot for himself on Rolling Stones’ “Top 100 Guitarists of All Time”. Later on after the unfortunate break up, he went on to contribute to “Pigeonhead”, “The President of the United States of America” (just the band) as well as David Grohl’s “Probot”, and eventually formed his own punk band called the “No WTO Combo” alongside Dead Kennedys’ Jello Biafra and Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic.

second album and created the artwork and design for the covers as well. He co-directed the video for “Fallen Leaves”, for which went on to win the awards for best video and best rock video in 2007 at the Much Music Awards. In 2017, he was nominated for producer of the year in appreciation of his work on “Afraid of Heights” at the Juno awards.

These are just three of the many international musicians with an Indian past. Sameer Battacharya of Flyleaf, Siddharta Khosla of Goldspot, Ramesh Srivastava of Voxtrot, Mallika Sundharamurty of Abnormality and Parasitic Extripation are few others that you could look into, if you’d like to get a better sense of the picture.

You could argue that they’re not REALLY Indian, and how does any of this matter anyway? Well, I’d agree, for the most part, they were born and brought up in a different country or in some cases countries altogether, but they do have their Indian roots. This matters because it serves as a reminder for the people who doubt that environment and cultural differences in a given demographic play an important role in an artist’s struggle to the big leagues.

Bollywood would suffer a quick death in Norway, the same as black metal would in Papua New Guinea (I checked!).

There isn’t a lack of talented Indian musicians, but there is definitely the absence of an environment for it to thrive in.

Ian D’sa came across his soon to be fellow band mates at a high school talent show. The band was originally titled “Pezz” which they later turned into what we now know as Billy Talent, inspired by a book by Michael Turner. In addition to being the band’s lead guitarist, Ian also co-produced their

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VYOMA SHAH

The Pianists’ Guide To Improvisation Improvisation puts forth an intricate juxtaposition of faithful expression and precision of technique. The process of simultaneously playing dexterous runs, highlighting harmonic signposts through careful selection of notes, staying in the pocket while still emoting truthfully and showcasing originality could seem like an overwhelming conundrum.

We spoke to Brent Tauro, Anurag Naidu, Rahul Wadhwani and Rohan Rajadhyksha – some of our country’s most promising pianists and they were kind enough to let us in on their modus operandi when it comes to improvisation. Here’s what they had to say: Which artists/bands do you draw your influences from?

Brent: My all-time favorite band is Snarky Puppy. I draw a lot of inspiration from the legends - Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Billy Joel. As a keyboard player, it’s important to be open to all types of music. Hence, I also draw inspiration from artists like John Mayer, Ed Sheeran and Coldplay. As far as keyboard players go, Greg Phillinganes, Cory Henry and Shaun Martin are my heroes.

Anurag: There are the usual piano heroes - Tigran Hamasyan, Brad Mehldau, Aaron Parks, Bill Evans, Robert Glasper and Keith Jarrett, to name a few. I do have a metal background, which is why I love Djent music. I also love Bach, Chopin, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Debussy and Mozart. My favorite band has always been Radiohead, though Brad Mehldau's After Bach and Fred Hersch’s Open Book have made me question my existence from time to time.

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Rahul: Western classical influences include Chopin, Mozart, and Bach; Indian classical - Kumar Gandharv, Bhimsen Joshi; Bollywood - AR Rahman; Jazz - Keith Jarret, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum.

Rohan: Off the top of my head – Sting, Radiohead, Sufijan Stevens, Kendrick Lamar, Phil Collins, James Blake, A.R. Rahman, Jacob Collier and the list goes on.

What does improvisation mean to you?

Brent: It’s all about expression. It’s about feeling an emotion and having developed the vocabulary to translate it through your instrument. Improvisation is influenced by everything we are - from the people we meet, to the places we’ve been, to the last conversation we had.

Anurag: Improvisation is extemporization. It is unprepared material that has been worked on but not worked out. It is also the relatable extension of an already existing piece of

information. Hence, it always has to be in context - which means that every moment has to be justified by what precedes it and what follows it. It’s about being original while respecting everything before you.

Rahul: It’s a source of communication. What I improvise at a particular moment is what I feel and what I want to say then.

Rohan: Responding to the moment with authenticity.

What is your approach to improvisation?

Brent: The groove is everything. I tend to play behind the beat just a hair, which I love the sound of. But yeah, you got to have that pocket. As far as note choices go, it evolves with your palette. I’ve seen people use the most complex runs and others use a single note, yet both equally qualify as examples of improvisation and both sound amazing.

Anurag: The piano is an extension of my voice. That's the beauty of the instrument - it allows for polyphony and polyrhythm. When I improvise, I just try to begin with an idea and let it grow. I try to sing all my phrases. I never play anything that my brain hasn't already conceived, so it doesn't sound plastic. I also try to involve the actual melody of the tune into my improvisation.

Rahul: I prefer not to think when I am improvising. That kills the purpose for me. When I practice at home, I focus on technique and theory. When I improvise in front of people, I just play and make the best of that moment.

Rohan: I attempt to follow my ears as much as possible and try not to let my mind dictate where it’s going. It’s a fine balancing act between turning your brain off and keeping your ears sharply tuned to your environment.

What was the biggest challenge you faced when you started improvising and how did you overcome it?

Brent: Listening, and overdoing it. When it’s our turn to take a solo, we feel obligated to use every musical motif we’ve ever learnt and vomit it over the changes. Stop. Listen.

The more you listen, the more you feel it. If you feel it, the audience will too.

Anurag: Keeping steady time. As a classical pianist you never develop the concept of great time, as it's mostly free. I felt a huge handicap playing rhythmic music and finding a good pocket. There was no shortcut. I worked super hard on it and somehow over came it.

Rahul: I used to think a lot in the beginning. Am I playing well? Is that person in the audience listening to me? That

was the worst feeling and I wanted to get rid of it. I realized that the cause of those feelings was that I didn’t have a formal training. After learning about music theory and technique, those thoughts reduced. Knowledge makes you calmer I think, and helps you see the bigger picture.

Rohan: The challenge I continually face is vocabulary. It takes me time to sink into a certain type of vocabulary and internalize it enough to express and improvise with it. But it’s a good challenge, because often if you’re really listening hard enough, you can turn your weaknesses into your strengths!

Could you share some tips on improvisation for beginners?

Brent: Do not use the subject of improvisation as a means of escaping dedicated practice and developing your vocabulary. Secondly, listen. Listening to other musicians allows you to feed off their energy. And everyone knows there’s nothing better than seeing a bunch of musicians vibing it out!

Anurag: Go to the source. You like Cory Henry, listen to Oscar Peterson. You like Robert Glasper, listen to Ahmad Jamal. You like Neo Soul, listen to Herbie. Try to study theory and understand how they did what they did. And once you do that, use the information to inspire, not duplicate material.

Rahul: Learn one thing at a time. Learn the language. Keep your practice as short and focused as possible. If you’re facing problems with practicing read “Effortless Mastery”

by Kenny Werner. Finally when you play, forget about everything and just play.

Rohan: Listen to loads of music! Try to figure out and play everything that gets stuck in your head. The more you play the music you want to emulate, the more you will build your vocabulary. And most importantly, have fun!

Brent, Anurag, Rahul and Rohan are very active in the country’s music scene and have evidently worked extremely hard to be where they are today.

Look out for their existing and upcoming projects: Brent’s primary outfit is a pop rock band called Strike Three.

Anurag is currently working on releasing his debut album, J'ai Fame. Rahul is working on his solo piano project and plans to tour with that music by the end of the year. Rohan has been gigging across the country with the likes of Tajdar Junaid, Dhruv Vishwanath and Sid Vashi, amongst others.

He is currently working on his original material as well.

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NAVYA C

Carnatic music

MEET THE REFORMISTS OF

Indian Classical Music in particular has the feature of being extremely devotional and aims to attain higher spiritual being through the meodious renditions, lyrical value and nuances of the composition. The entire concept of practicing carnatic music and performing was supposed to reach the ultimate divineand not just for the entertainment of the rasikas. This is perhaps because of the rich spiritual history of India where the religious aspects also come into picture. It essentially mentions that the created music (or even any art) should ultimately reach to the ultimate divine but not for materialistic fervours.

same ground) makes the listener think about this social evil at a deeper level.

Carnatic Music – which is more prevalent in Southern India is quite rich in this regard with many composers hailing the name of God in various tunes, word play and of course- amazing innovation in the field. Right from the early time composers like Kshetrayya, till the recent Muttaiah Bhagavatarevery Carnatic Composer hailed the name of divine in various forms. However, some of these composers also had a supreme deity and dedicated their entire musical compositions in thought of honor and supreme surrender.

Anupallavi: Kadudur Vishaya Krushtudai

But with changing social construct and foreign invasions- lot of rapid changes started happening which obviously reflected in the way music was perceived. The medieval composers such as Annamayya and Saint Thyagaraja who came later chose to write compositions which reflect the social conditions of their age – in order to instill some thought into the rasikas. What good is such music which cannot be reached to the common public of reflect the current day problems such as greed, jealousy, rat race by forgetting the ultimate purposeof life? Perhaps these gifted composers felt the need of social responsibility through music quite much in advance even before reformers actually realized the importance of it!

The early composer Annamayya has witnessed untouchability and caste system being rampant and composed the brilliant keerthana Brahmamokkate in Bowli raagam. The lines: Mendaina Brahmanudu Mettu Bhoomi Okate..

Chendaaludundeti Sadi Bhoomi Okate (The highest caste Brahmin will die in the same ground.. and the lower caste shoodra is living in the

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Let us dwell into the immortal words of Saint Thyagaraja in some of his select kritis which are even more wonderful to relish: In the pancharatna kriti Dudukugala Nannedora in raaga Gowla, Saint Thyagaraja explains the fickle minded nature of human beings on how they run behind fleeting treasures of money, materialistic posessions and forgetting the brilliance of divinity. In the anupallavi: Gadiyaa Gadiyaaru Nindaaru ( I dwell in many sins in which I am slammed every moment by moment!)

Charanam 4: Paradhanamulakora ku norula madi karaka baliki kadupu nim pa thirigi natti (I went behind the riches of others and hurted people repeatedly for personal gains) Charanam 5: Thana madh ni bhuvini soukyapu jeevana me Yanuchu sada dinamulu kadipe (I am such a sinner that I am in a false notion that materialistic living is indeed happy living) Charanam 10: Sathulakai Konnaallasthi kai Suthulakai konnallu dhana thadulakai thirigithinaiya thiagaraajaa ptha ituvanti Dudukugala Nanne Dora Koduku Brochura..

(For some days I wandered for wives, then I wandered for kids, then for money- which king’s son would help me (referring to Lord Rama) from this aggressive attitude?)

Even in the eternal composition Entha Nerchina in Suddha Dhanyasi- Thyagaraja sarcastically comments on those men who become slaves of their physical pleasures and taking the eternity of life for granted. He also pleads the God in the kriti Gnanamosagaraada composed in the raaga Purvi Kalyani to give the right knowledge, instead of the one which misguides the purpose of life.

Hail these amazing composers who defy the rules and regulations of Carnatic Classical music being only devotional oriented but also highly responsible for a better society!

meejs iee cee heeOee veer

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ADITI SARAWAGI

Independent Regional Music Next Big Thing in India’s Music Scene Western audiences have always listened to music across genres and their listening choices are not limited to the soundtracks of movies but on the contrary expand over independent artists and bands. This in turn leads to more and more new emerging musicians to enter the field. In India, the trend is a little different i.e. the soundtracks of movies are extremely popular here and playback singers along with music directors are well known and admired greatly.

But lately the trend is shifting towards independent artists and new sounds in music away from Bollywood. Regional music is playing a huge role in this shift with many Punjabi, Tamil, Telegu, Kannada and even Marathi artists changing the way people look at independent albums or singles.

To enable this shift towards independent regional artists, music apps and online streaming has played a huge role.

According to reports, the digital video subscription market is estimated to be around 4,000 crores by 2020 and research shows that the increased number of users is due to the increased demand for regional content. Wynk Music has seen solid growth banking on local content in languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi and Kannada. Saavn has launched Artist Originals to promote new independent talent and ensure it reaches the masses. Regional content is also the reason YouTube is seeing phenomenal growth and says viewership has tripled over two years alone.

Cited as being the first Punjabi rapper, Bohemia back in 2002 released his first album “Vich Pardesan De“and it reached the Top 10 on BBC Radio UK in 2002. A lot of Punjabi artists like Hard Kaur, Honey Singh, Daljit Dosanjh, Guru Randhawa, Neha Kakkar, Raftaar,PrabhDeep and Naezy are extremely popular and even though they contribute to Bollywood and Punjabi films they are consistent with their independent releases as well. They support the independent scene and are actively engaged in promoting it.

The success of Kannada rap album KA-01 selling over 25,000 copies by Alok Babu or All.OK is a major breakthrough with the songs “Nan Kannadiga” and Young Engo going viral with three million views. Tamil boy band Namma Ooru is hugely popular too. When it comes to Malayalam independent artists, Vidwan is well known for its original music compositions influenced by jazz, hip hop and electronic music. Thakara and Prayaan are also well admired Malayalam bands. The last edition of NH7 had Carnatic musician T.M. Krishna on the festival stage.

Regional music is really gaining momentum with Kolhapur born rapper Bhau rapping in his native Marathi at India’s Got Talent got him collaborations with Universal Music and Qyuki for wider outreach. He also tied up with Silk Road record label. Well known Marathi band 90 Feet Road with Ajinkya Jadhav, Rahul Bhavsar and Shakyamuni Pawar aim to create original Marathi content to preserve the language with the first single Laaj Dhar. Famous music directors Ajay-Atul entered the indie scene with their hit single ‘Zingaat’, thanks to their association with movies.

The linguistic barrier in music is slowly and steadily decreasing with people all over the country listening to music from other languages. Regional artists have a huge fan following thanks to social media and they are putting India on the global music map with their individual different styles and genres.

South India is churning out remarkable talent too.

Thaikkudam Bridge from Kochi is a name to reckon with in pushing Carnatic Rock Language to the forefront.

Contemporary Kannada is the forte of The Raghu Dixit Project is and is one of the country's most popular live act. Agam, Swarathma and Avial are also making waves in Kannada music garnering a huge fan following not limited to South India alone.

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VYOMA SHAH

PALM EXPO 2018 Palm Expo 2018 was yet another validation of the symbiotic relationship that exists between musicians and sound/ light centric paraphernalia. Here are some excerpts from conversations that we had with the artists at the expo: YAMAHA STAGE: Could you tell us about your act and take us through your repertoire?

Louis Banks: Gangashakti is an indo-jazz fusion band. On the Indian classical side, we’re covering both, North Indian Hindustani classical as well as Carnatic classical. Our singer will do North Indian and our violinist will do Carnatic. Then there’s Mohini Dey on bass and my son Gino on drums. We’re playing all my compositions, which I’ve written specifically for this band.

Nise Meruno: Since this is an expo and everyone is in high spirits, I will be playing pieces that I feel everyone will relate to. I will be playing a medley of three Bollywood songs, as that’s something people don’t expect from a Yamaha artist. I’m will also play two pieces from the contemporary pianist, Yiruma because I feel like those pieces demand your heart to be ripped open and you can pour out all your emotions.

What are your thoughts on Yamaha’s Clavinova Digital Pianos?

Louis Banks: It’s the best thing next to the original acoustic grand piano.

The advantage is that on the grand piano, you get only one piano sound but on the Clavinova, you get several grand piano sounds like Bosendorfer, Steinway etc. - you can chose. Besides that, you have the whole orchestra as well as choir, guitar, lead sounds and synths – there’s no end to it. I love it.

Nise Meruno: As an artist, I know that I am a Yamaha artist. My loyalty and my support is with them and vice versa. The reason I love digital pianos is that they are personally very intimate. You can put headphones on, practice on them late night and also control volume so your ears don’t get filled and full. I truly feel that Yamaha products are an extension of who I am.

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Montage, I was using the Motif and I really love the piano sound on both. I love the knob on the Montage; it has such incredible features and is easily programmable. Simple things like tap tempo, using arpeggiators, filters and playing around with the cut offs is so easy to do on this keyboard. If you you’re using it for recording, the way it talks to your Logic or Cubase is just mind blowing.

Could you tell us about some of your upcoming projects this year?

Louis Banks: I just completed the music for a South Indian psychological horror film called Prana, which will be out next month.

Salim Merchant: I’m currently working on Race 3, which is going to release on Eid. It’s a massive score I’ve done and I’ve had a great time, because I worked with the Budapest orchestra and some amazing other musicians. Post this, I will be working on a musical, which I’m producing and doing music for.

What advice would you give upcoming musicians?

Louis Banks: Practice and learn how to read music, because it’s an asset.

With Jazz, I would say, copy the solos - it’s very important as a staring point.

Get a feel of how the greats played certain things. Get it in your fingers and you will get a better idea of how to go about it.

Salim Merchant: Learn music. Learn an instrument. You can’t create a loop and say you’re a musician, cause that loop will be outdated after 3 months.

However, the music you’ll learn will be forever.

Mr. Rehan Siddiqui, Assistant General Manager MI Sales & Marketing (Yamaha Music India Private Limited)

How do you feel about the Montage 8?

Product launches at PalmExpo 2018

Salim Merchant: I really like the signature Yamaha sound; it’s phenomenal. Right before the

We launched the portable keyboard E463 which is a replacement model

of 453. We have also come up with the 76 keys keyboard which is popular in north east at the moment.

Some of the other products we are going to launch are the PSR S series and some drum kits and synthesizers.

In the guitar segment, we have launched the FG-TA guitar, a trans-acoustic guitar. It is patented by Yamaha. This doesn’t need outsourced recourses for sound.

Some PA mixers and AV receivers also have been launched.

HARMAN LIVE ARENA: Could you tell us about your act and take us through your set-list?

Taufiq Quereshi: Mumbai Stamp is band that performs using trash material – like bins and buckets. The compositions come from the tabla and the mridangam and that’s what we define on these instruments. We will play 3 pieces – the first piece is called Drum Line, which is a very syncopated piece. The second piece features a lot of vocal percussion and a Djembe solo. The third piece is called Ta Dha. Ta Dha is a bol and it gives me a very grand feeling.

Adil Manuel: The Adil Manuel Collective is a funk, RnB collective, leaning towards a 70’s sound with vocal harmonies, two keyboard parts involving piano and electric piano sounds and horns. We’re going to play a mix of some of my material and some RnB, funk and neo-soul.

Daira: We played two songs from our first album – Meri Soch and Maya and the rest from our third album, which is yet to be released.

What are your thoughts on the Harman sound?

Mitali Khargonkar: I was madly excited to perform at the Harman Live Arena. The sound, the lights, the audience – it was a dream concert. An artist needs good lights and good sound and we had the best.

Could you tell us about some of your upcoming projects this year?

Adil Manuel: I’m just going to get a big studio, kidnap these guys and record. I think we’ll record in June. The vibe is great and I want to strike while the iron is hot. I really want to push this in the festival space as well.

Daira: We’re done recording our third album and we’re planning to release it by around the end of September.

What advice would you give upcoming musicians?

Taufiq Qureshi: As a musician, you need to be like water whatever color you put water in, it becomes that color. You need to be so good that no matter what music you’re playing, you should just be able to gel into it. Keep yourself as clear and transparent as water.

Adil Manuel: Believe in yourself; don’t be shifty. It will pay off if you stick around.

Sheldon D’Silva and Ravi Chary: Make sure your basics are very strong and listen to a lot of music. Indian musicians should listen to western music and vice versa. This increases that palette which you can choose from while making music. Keep an open mind and promote each other. We need to create a strong community because sometimes we are fighting a bigger system that is not interested in what we’re doing.

Taufiq Quereshi: Artist performance depends a lot on good sound and microphones are very important to capture the sound of the percussion instruments that we play. I do a lot of vocal textures and the mic has to catch all the right sounds. The mic itself is so good, that the sound guy doesn’t have to do much on the EQ settings. Harman’s AKG’s are designed to capture the right sounds

Daira: Stop doing covers and keep making as much original music as you can, as that’s the only thing that will stay with you. Money may not come but there are other things you can do to make money.

Adil Manuel: The people at Harman are very supportive and really understand artist needs. Sound was great here, it was a very big, live sound and hence our approach as a band was to sound tighter, crisper and louder than usual, because of the size of it all.

It’s safe to say that both the live entertainment spaces at the expo this year witnessed some spectacular acts and their sound was enhanced by some equally impressive gear.

Mitali Khargonkar: Some patience, effort and consistency is badly required if young musicians want to pursue music professionally.

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PALM EXPO 2018 NUMBERS AND MORE The 18th edition of the Palm Expo, which took place between 31st May and 2nd June at the Bombay Exhibition Centre got off to a prosperous start. With people queuing up for registrations and exhibitors setting up their stalls, the exhibition space was filled to the brim even before doors officially opened up. Live music enthusiasts waited patiently at both – the Yamaha Stage and the Harman Live Arena for their favorite artists to take the stage.

production. This year, India’s renowned composer A.R. Rahman presented the award for Life Time Achievement in Sound Recording to his lifelong sound engineer, H. Sridhar.

SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS:

Palm Conference and Seminar Program:

• 23,436 unique visitors from across the country • Unique visitor numbers established an increase of 20% from last year.

• Increase in percentage of trade visitors from B and C tier towns of India.

HIGHLIGHTS: No Sound Policy: Both the halls created a favorable business environment, thanks to a strict no-sound policy enforced by the organizers. This was well appreciated by global media and exhibitors as well.

The Palm DJ Championship 2018: The PALM DJ Championship 2018 Finale witnessed 10 talented DJs from different cities across the country. Generous prize partners – Reloop, Akai, Alesis, Ali Merchant, MX, Numark, Roland and TSM in association with Point Blank, put up DJ consoles, mixers, headphones, synths, DJ Courses and more similar prizes to be shared between the top 10. DJ Braden from Mumbai won the sought-after championship title.

IRAA (Indian Recording Arts Academy Awards):

The IRAA honors excellence is sound recording and audio

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Palm Sound & Light Awards:

The 8th consecutive Palm Sound and Light Awards honored top live sound professionals who did outstanding work in 2017-2018.

It took place in the International Lounge of Hall 1 and covered three specific topics – Stage Sound & Light, Audiovisual and Music Production, across the three days of the show. The aim was to facilitate exchange of creative ideas and knowledge as well as deliver business education.

Palm Soundscape Program:

This covered topics like big stage sound, lights & visuals, festival and tours, royalties, artiste management, repertoire & publishing, Denon workshops and discussions on psy-trance.

Live Demo Qubes:

This featured brands like Bose,Electrovoice, LAX, RCF and DB technologies.

The success of Palm Expo 2018 can be summed up in the words of Anil Chopra, Director, Palm Expo 2018. He said, “Reputed brands globally define PALM as a top destination to test product performance in a highly advanced market place adopting latest technology and features. PALM leads in establishing new product viability in guaranteed exposure to probably the largest community of highly experienced professionals in pro audio and AV anywhere in the world evaluating new product purchase. We deliver business at the show year on year.”

VOTED

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MALIK ARSHAQ

PALM EXPO 2018

PRODUCT SHOUT-OUT! As we dove into an ocean of microphones, studio monitors, huge PA systems, mixers, MIDI controllers and more at the 2018 PALM expo, we have been delightfully overwhelmed by the wide range of products showcased at the event. We've managed to narrow down the list to some of the most interesting and innovative products that caught our fancy at the expo.

Amphion One15 5.25” Passive Monitors

Personally, these might be the best pair of monitors that I’ve had the pleasure of laying ears on. The sheer amount of depth and detail that I could hear on the Miles Davis classic, “Freddie Freeloader”, had me questioning my understanding of “good sound”. The 5.25” woofers provided a surprisingly tight low end and the detail in the mid-range is unparalleled. The design of these speakers are very practical and meticulously well thought through. The One15's sealed cabinet design results in a dramatic improvement in midrange resolution and bass accuracy, while producing a more honest translation of the music in a room. Amphion's rear-mounted passive radiator moves in perfect synchronization with the front woofer, ensuring that the distance from the front of the cabinet to the rear is always the same so that the balance of air in the cabinet is maintained, resulting in an accurate and tight low-end response. These speakers are pure class and quality while the price tag seems to suggest the same.

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Avid VENUE S6L

Irrespective of the requirements of your live production, be assured that the S6L live mixing system from Avid can handle it with ease. With a choice of five surfaces, 48D, 32D, 24D, 24C and 16C, you can now scale a system to meet any production, space, or budget requirement. Paired with the 144-channel engine E6L-144 engine's state-of-the-art real-time processing, the S6L is an absolute beast. The E6L-144 engine handles all routing, channel, and mixing functions for maximum stability and power, while its HDX-powered DSP engine manages all AAX plug-in processing, with full automatic delay compensation resulting in super-low latency. The S6L unified platform delivers 100% hardware, software, and show file compatibility across the entire line, enabling you to swap control surface, engine, and I/O components in and out based on the requirements of the job at hand.

Features such as Waves SoundGrid integration and creating a Pro Tools session automatically from your current VENUE show file for live recording is the cherry on this massive cake.

Arturia DrumBrute

For the analog junkies that are looking for a drum machine with that true analog sound, look no further! The Arturia DrumBrute machine with its 17 analog drum sound generators and a plethora of hands-on controls offers a one-stop solution for all of your percussive needs, especially for genres such as hip-hop, electronica, house, etc. The Steiner-Parker output filter enables great sounding HPF or LPF sweeps and can be bypassed with a single button press.The DrumBrute is a great addition to your existing setup as it connects to all your gear with USB, MIDI, and Clock I/O. Features such as the 64step drum sequencer, a polyrhythmic (you can make sequences of different lengths), step-repeat glitch machine and the sequence looper make the Arturia DrumBrute a formidable production tool as well as an amazing instrument.

Bose Professional Showmatch DeltaQ Array System

At Bose’s Demo Qube, the new Showmatch systems were being demonstrated as a testament to the fact that Bose is stepping backing into the PA systems market. The new DeltaQ technology design allows directivity, or “Q,” to vary with each array module, directing more sound to the audience and less to walls and floors. The SM5, SM10, or SM20 modules vary in vertical coverage and allow you to form Delta-Q arrays which function much more efficiently than the conventional J-Array or constant curvature arrangements.

Paired with the SMS118 subwoofers, the Showmatch sounded clear and well-rounded.

QSC TouchMix

If what you're looking for in a mixer is simplicity, a compact design, without having to sacrifice on the quality or the sound, then the QSC TouchMix series of mixers are what you're looking for. Available in the TouchMix-8, 16 and 30 Pro variants, these mixers are aimed at producers, musicians and small venue owners who aim at getting that “big console” sound and control. In terms of design, it is quite interesting to see a mixer without faders, instead a touch-screen display that lets you adjust the faders.

The mixer also has a “Simple mode” that allows beginners to access built pre-sets that helps them make the best of the mixer's abilities. Features such as the essential effects, mobile app control and DAW integration make the QSC TouchMix mixers attractive to professionals and beginners alike.

Moog Mother-32 Semi-Modular Eurorack Analog Synthesizer and Step Sequencer

IA Stands

This Mumbai-based company focuses solely in manufacturing of stands. But unlike conventional stands that serve a single purpose, the products they design are completely modular and multi-purpose. Their innovative concept of Stand + Mount approach gives you complete freedom to mix and match the mounts and stands according to your requirements and application.

Moog combines the vintage analog sound with one of the best modern tech to create a powerful synthesizer, the Moog Mother-32. With switchable lowpass and highpass Moog ladder filters, a voltage-controlled 32step sequencer for self-contained programming and a 32-point 3.5mm patchbay for interconnectivity with other modules and extended synthesis capabilities, the Mother-32 packs quite the punch. An interesting feature in this unit is that you can route most of the Mother-32's modulation sources via mini toggle switches, without the need for using patch cables. While, the first semi-modular tabletop and Eurorack synthesizer from Moog leverages modern sequencing and MIDI control options, it still retains its fat analog sound from the classic Moog oscillators.

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Sennheiser XS Wireless 1 DUAL Sennheiser has announced that it will be expanding its XS Wireless 1 series with the addition of a new two-channel receiver, the EM-XSW 1 DUAL. The receiver will be available separately or as part of two XSW 1 DUAL Sets that combine it with two wireless microphones using either the e 825 or e 835 capsule.

XS Wireless 1 DUAL is a 2-channel wireless system for singers and presenters. Designed with ease of use in mind, these analog UHF systems feature a sleek dual-channel receiver with built-in antennas and the streamlined interface from Sennheiser's popular XS Wireless 1 series that offer excellent live sound, stunning design and have been created with users such as weekend DJs, schools, house of worship and hospitality venues on a budget in mind. The EM-XSW 1 DUAL two-channel receiver features automatic frequency management with one-touch synchronization, antenna switching diversity for reliable reception and intuitive, iconbased controls. Each receiver has up to ten compatible, preset channels in eight frequency banks, and provides balanced XLR and unbalanced jack outputs.

Sennheiser’s XS Wireless 1 Series will be expanded with the new EM-XSW 1 DUAL two-channel receiver. It is available as a separate unit or included in the XSW 1-835 DUAL and the XSW 1-825 DUAL Sets The EM-XSW 1 DUAL two-channel receiver is an ideal fit for users that prefer to work with two mics and require a neat,

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one-unit set-up. Like other systems in the XS Wireless 1 series, the DUAL sets offer fast set-up straightforward user operation and great sound.

About Sennheiser Electronics India Private Limited The Sennheiser Group based in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany, was founded in 1945 and has gone on to become a leading manufacturer of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. Sales in 2013 totalled 590.4 million euros. Sennheiser employs more than 2,500 staff worldwide and operates plants in Germany, Ireland and the USA. The company has a worldwide network of subsidiaries in France, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Germany, Denmark (Nordic), Russia, Hongkong, India, Singapore, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, and the USA. It also has long-established trading partners in other countries. Georg Neumann GmbH, Berlin, a maker of studio microphones and monitor speakers, and Sennheiser Communications A/S, a joint venture making headsets for PCs, offices and call centres, are also part of the Sennheiser Group.

LINE ARRAY

MALIK ARSHAQ

CONFIGURATIONS Anybody who has been to a big concert or performance will have seen line arrays in action. Apart from the loudspeakers themselves, the way they are configured plays a huge role in the quality, throw and overall clarity of the sound. In this edition, we will be discussing the different configurations of line arrays and the reasons behind it.

A line array is a loudspeaker system made up of a number of loudspeakers. Sounds simple enough right? Wrong, this where factors such as phase come into play. Timing differences from different sources when combining identical signals may sometimes result in phase cancellation, leading to loss of audio information. Thus, the speakers of a line array system need to be mounted in a line and fed in phase, to create a uniform source of sound. The distance between adjacent speakers need to be close enough to ensure that they constructively interfere with each other to result in a louder, more evenly distributed sound output pattern.

The need to focus the sound at the audience has resulted in vertical line arrays becoming the norm. They provide a very narrow vertical output pattern without wasting output energy on ceilings or empty air above the audience. A vertical line

array displays a normally wide horizontal pattern useful for supplying sound to the majority of a concert audience.

Two lesser-used configurations are the straight and curved array configurations. The problem with curved arrays is that they are not very well suited to most venues as the bottom half will be angled down to provide extra coverage at locations close to the front of stage, the top half will be angled upwards at the ceiling. The problem with straight line arrays is that the beam is far too narrow at high frequencies. A solution to utilise the best features of both arrays is to use a curvilinear or ‘J’ array. Comprised of a straight line portion and a curved portion at the bottom. This provides a long throw straight line component for people relatively far away, while the curve at the bottom acts as an in-fill for the area directly in front of the array.

Spiral arrays, on the other hand, are curved all the way along the array, but the curve is progressive. This means that the top of the array is almost straight with angles of 1° between boxes, and increases to about 6-10° at the bottom. A well designed spiral array could have an almost constant directivity pattern and uniform throw that delivers sound to the audience away from the array as well as ones that are directly under it.

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MALIK ARSHAQ

A SECOND TOO LATE You've programmed some amazing “amazing” music on your DAW. You're happy with how it sounds but it could use some live instruments. You pull out your guitar, hook up your interface, get the plug-ins in place and hit record. For some reason, you can't seem to be able to play on time at all. Wait a minute! We've all been at that point where the annoying delay due to the latency ruins the vibe of your creative process.

Let's tackle this issue from its root cause.

Now, this is a question that's gonna have multiple answers based on who you're asking. There might be people who tell you that anything less than 10ms should do just fine and there might be people who tell you that anything more 5ms is absolutely unacceptable. Personally, I'd suggest that you try different latency timings and try recording, whether it's software instruments or live instruments, and then coming to a conclusion on what's manageable.

Why does this happen? To understand this, we'll first have to get our heads around the concept of buffer size. Simply put, while recording or playing back audio, a stream of data is being transferred between the soundcard of your interface and the hard drive of your computer. The buffer size controls the rate of the data transfer. This means that the higher the buffer size, the longer the amount time required to process that chunk of data, i.e higher latency. Your first idea of a solution would be to turn down the buffer size way down.

Problem solved, right?

It should also be noted that plug-in effects can also add their own processing latency, particularly plugins that look ahead in the waveform. Plus, most interfaces nowadays have a “direct” monitoring option that allows you to listen to the input signal from the interface directly before it goes through the processing in your DAW. Basically, what this does is that it lets you monitor your inputs in real-time while recording without latency. And if you're someone that's chasing “zero latency”, the Thunderbolt interfaces are currently the fastest available. Latency times are cut-down to less than 1ms as it is almost as if you’ll be able to connect directly to the motherboard of the computer.

Wrong. Setting the buffer size too low would result in the data being fed too slow to keep up with the rate of processing, resulting in crackles, glitches, pops and overall bad audio quality. So, the key is to set your buffer size as low as possible in order to keep the latency to a minimum, but at the same time high enough to avoid distortions and pops in the audio.

The question that arises is “So, what is the acceptable amount of latency?”

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Top 5 Hardware Modeled EQ’s 1. API EQ – 550A/B and 560 From the American Automated Process Incorporation (API) which was released in the 70s, this plugin gives us the classic American tone in your session or song. It uses the 2520 OP-Amp for its clarity and depth in their circuit. API is known for its classic deep and rich sound. The 550A EQ has 3 bands of selectable frequencies with bell and shelf options with a variable Q value for each band. The 550B has 4 bands of EQ with a great 12db boost or cut per band. The ‘Q’ factor knob was designed by Late Saul Walker in the 60’s which gives us freedom to choose whether our boost or cut should be wide or surgical. The 560 EQ has 10 bands of Graphic EQ which was widely used in the 60’s and 70’s consoles to accompolish heavier tasks in the sessions.

All the three API EQ’s have their own significant use and character to suite your musical taste.

3. PULTEC EQ – 1A Another classic EQ, the PULTEC was in the year 1951 as a three band EQ with a low shelf, high-peak and high shelf controls. What makes this EQ is its unique design and tonal quality. It adds good low end to your kick, bass guitars and also does a great job when used as a Master buss EQ in your sessions. It has a selectable low shelf EQ with attenuation controls and a high frequency for boosting. There is also a ‘Q’ value parameter to adjust the bell curve for effective use in your tracks. Although it might seem a little different in comparison with other EQs, the Pultec has its own unique signature crisp top end sound and a tight bass that is very sought after.

Most starters or even intermediate sound engineers have trouble choosing between software modeled EQs and outboard hardware gear. To be honest, its the final result that you need to focus on.

Irrespective of what you used, you want your listeners to enjoy and feel your mix.

It is essential to understand why you need to equalise a certain element and how you want it to sound before you choose your plugin. Here are the top 5 hardware modeled EQ plugins that will help you get the best out of your mix.

2. Neve EQ – 1073 and 1084 Designed by the legendary Rupert Neve, the 1073 is known for its classic smooth Neve sound. It was originally designed in the 1970’s and has three bands of EQ. It works well on most sources and in mixing as well as mastering sessions. It has a high-shelf at a fixed frequency of 12KHz and a bell curve which is selectable. Also an added feature is the High Pass filter HPF with a selectable frequency knob, which helps to cut-off the low frequency rumble in your recordings. Later the 1084 EQ was designed with both HPF and LPF and a high ‘Q’ Factor to enable precise control over your frequencies.

4. SSL EQ – E/G Series EQ This EQ was designed in the 1980 to cater to the rock and roll records.

The SSL is one of the most preferred EQs for countless engineers across the world. Famous for its punch, boldness and clarity, this EQ was modeled from the original SSL 4000 E series console in 1979. Te SSL G seires EQ was designed in 1987 with a similar look with a few minor differences in terms of features. The E-Series has 2 fully parametric bands with bellcurves and high/low shelfs.

The G-Series EQ also had 2-band fully parametric EQ’s but with a small twist. This series provided switches labeled “LMF/3” and “HMFx3” which divided the Low Mid frequency or multiplied the High Mid frequency by a factor of three, thus allowing substantial equalization changes at the touch of a single button. While both these models have their own sound and unique character, they are widely known for that classic rock and roll sound and feel.

Author: Baba.L.Prasad. He is the owner and chief Sound/Mix and Mastering Engineer at Digi Sound Studio. He also teaches Sound Engineering and Music Production courses. For more details, visit www.digisoundacademy.com The

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THE

SIGNIFICANCE OF HEARING PROTECTION Whether you're a producer, sound engineer, musician or a frequent concert-goer, you need to know and understand the importance of basic hearing protection. A lot people seem to think that they're impervious or immune to being exposed to loud decibel levels. Well, you're not, and chances are, at some in the future you'll be trying recover from the damage rather than take precautions at an early stage.

Extended exposure to high decibel levels can cause various problems such as • Hearing loss • Tinnitus - Ringing or buzzing noise in the ears • Diplacusis - Pathological matching of frequency and pitch that results in some notes sounding flat • Hyperacusis - A reduced tolerance towards sounds at levels that are easily tolerated my most people.

Doesn't sound too fun, huh? And there is a common misconception that hearing loss only occurs in musicians that play louder genres of music. Truth is that the risk for cochlear damage and hearing loss exists for all types of music, especially people that play percussion or brass instruments.

Your immediate solution to this issue would be to get a pair earplugs from your local store. While this does technically protect your ears from exposure to high levels of noise, there are a different set of problems that arise from musicians and sound engineers using traditional earplugs. It is essential that musicians and engineers hear clearly during performances and rehearsals. Using regular ear plugs muffle the sound, i.e they attenuate the treble more than they do the low end. Also, deeply inserted foam earplugs can provide 30-40 dB of sound reduction when far less is needed to protect hearing.

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This may result in the musicians not being perform comfortably and, maybe, even overplay.

Thus, earplugs that are particularly for musicians were designed by replicating the natural response of an open ear.

Thus, allowing the user to listen with an even attenuation throughout the frequency range, i.e exactly what the music sounds like, only quieter. Based on the loudness of instrument, these earplugs can have flat attenuation of 9,15 or 25dB. The importance of hearing protection doesn't just pertain to the health of the musicians or sound engineers, but also to their careers as their line of work needs them to make decisions based off what their ears tell them.

BOSS ANNOUCES

GT-1000 GUITAR EFFECTS PROCESSOR Premium Guitar Processor with Advanced BOSS Technologies and Class-Leading Sound Quality

BOSS announces the GT-1000, a premium amp and effects processor for guitarists. Designed for superior tone and exceptional musical response, the GT-1000 is the firstever guitar multi-effects processor with 32-bit AD/DA and 32-bit/96 kHz internal processing. Driven by BOSS’s latest custom DSP engine and filled with cutting-edge BOSS technologies, the GT-1000 delivers class-leading performance in a compact and lightweight floor-based unit.

The GT-1000 includes a wide range of expressive amplifier types, newly built with the comprehensive Tube Logic design approach behind the acclaimed Katana, Waza, and Blues Cube amplifiers. Also featured is the groundbreaking Augmented Impulse Response Dynamics (AIRD) technology, realized with BOSS’s extensive research into the complex component interactions in classic guitar amplifiers. AIRD provides new levels of performance when using the GT-1000’s preamps with guitar amps and

power amps, and previously unattainable realism in direct recording and full-range monitoring applications.

Inside the GT-1000 is an impressive selection of world-class effects, with BOSS’s Multi-Dimensional Processing (MDP) on board along with advanced modulation, delay, and reverb algorithms from the popular 500-series pedals. Users can configure amps and effects with numerous routing options, and enjoy mute-free patch switching and delay/ reverb carryover thanks to the ultra-speedy DSP engine.

The GT-1000 offers intuitive editing and powerful control with a large display, 10 assignable footswitches, and an onboard expression pedal with toe switch. Via built-in Bluetooth®, users can edit and organize GT-1000 sounds wirelessly using dedicated apps for iOS and Android devices.

To learn more about the GT-1000 Guitar Effects Processor, visit http://in.boss.info/.

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India’s top AV Rental companies experience the Bose Professional ShowMatch array loudspeakers first hand at PALM Expo 2018 An impressive showing is what sums up Bose Professional’s outing at the PALM Expo 2018, as the brand actively displayed several of its application specific flagship products like the ShowMatch DeltaQ line array system, the EdgeMax premium in-ceiling loudspeakers, the Panaray MSA12x modular steerable array, the F1 compact loudspeaker system, the ControlSpace EX conference system and of course, the game-changing S1 Pro multi-position PA system; each of which garnered attention and praise from audiences and peers alike.

Held between 30th May 2018 and 1st June 2018 at the Bombay Exhibition Center in Mumbai, the show also hosted informative sessions across all three days where senior members of the Bose Professional team addressed the audience about the brand’s several

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technological offerings and the positive impact that these products can add to the end-user’s business.

David Scheirman – Director, Global Concert & Rental Business, Bose Professional – was a key speaker at these sessions – with the exemplary industry veteran emphasizing how rental company owners must be good business people to be successful; and how focusing on solid long-term value, global support and technical innovation helps achieve this. Alongside, David also shared Bose’s long-term commitment to developing the market constitutively with resources and the innovation capacity to move effectively in any direction it chooses; and stressed that the one of biggest assets to the brand’s global success is honing the wisdom of patience, as opposed to expecting an urgent response from trendy marketing gimmicks. “Innovation

has always helmed Bose’s business approach, and the brand has consistently excelled as a leader in providing ground-breaking technologies across various application segments. Products like the ShowMatch DeltaQ line array system, the F1 loudspeaker system, the S1 Pro multiposition PA system; now stand apart as industry gamechangers thanks to the revolutionary technologies they employ which have been derived through Bose’ advanced R&D capabilities and its direct connections with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These products have provided a fitting solution to some of the current challenges in professional sound; and it is heartening to witness the positivity and appreciation that our products have received from pro audio professionals world-over” he affirmed.

Speaking categorically about the Indian market, David continued, “India has a dynamic growing entertainment industry with a vibrant live entertainment scene that has the whole Bollywood culture centred around the movie stars, celebrities etc. Then there’s the resort hotels and tourist zones like Goa, along with the major international-artist concerts and festivals that India’s promoters are attracting, and Rock n Roll music fans who aspire to experience nothing less than the best.

It has taken a while for the Entertainment Production Industry to mature and become sophisticated in India but what I see today is on par with the best practises anywhere else in the world and it’s not about equipment, it’s about people- the skills, the passion for live sound and production technology that I see in my colleagues in India is remarkable. I’ve known some of the rental sound company operators in India for almost 20 years and to see how they’ve grown, expanded their capabilities, how they can now offer world class services to their clients is really gratifying to me.

It is quite the shot in the arm to witness an impressive growth in the number of Bose Pro users here, especially in the live sound domain where Bose ShowMatch systems are being embraced by top sound rental companies as well as

live-performance venues. Our customers here are the earlyadopters – rental, staging and concert sound professionals who really understand the system design paradigm and are confident about fruitful returns on their investment. In total, I believe India holds a unique blend of robustness and an ever-evolving thirst for new technologies, which is what makes this a great place for the professional audio business”.

Enlisting India as a key business region, Bose Professional have their sights set on growing its market share in the country, as Christian Liebenberg, Regional Sales Manager, Professional Division, Bose Corporation, shares “India is a discerning market that emphasizes quality and innovation, and our products like the ShowMatch DeltaQ system, the ControlSpace EX conference solution, the EdgeMax loudspeaker series, and more, have all received great appreciation and adulation, owing to the revolutionary technologies that these respective products employ.

Even at the PALM Expo, we’ve had a very encouraging response, with audiences portraying genuine interest for our products that were on display at the booth and at the Demo Cube. With an impressive portfolio of products across all segments – live, portable, install, and conferencing – our focus is to enhance service and customer experience. Our expanded network of distribution partners and service partners across the country will play a key role in attaining this; and they will work closely with our in-house team of skilled and seasoned industry professionals who have consistently been doing a great job.

In the next few years, we envisage an increased userbase here that’s high on demand for future-ready technologies – the kind that Bose has consistently delivered to the market for years. Bose will continue to accentuate its focus on India as a key market by highlighting products and technologies that augment user experience, and in the next few years we’re confident of securing a sizeable portion of the market share”.

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CASIO AP-270 REVIEW Casio has been a symbol of reliability and quality for decades now. Their products have served musicians and producers of various calibers, from professionals to beginners. In this edition, we'll be taking a look at the Casio AP-270, a keyboard that does an excellent job of reproducing the rich expressive power and resonance of a classic acoustic piano.

The features of Casio’s newly developed multi-dimensional morphing AiR (Acoustic and Intelligent Resonator) sound source reflects thorough attention to detail in translating the rich, resonating tones inherent to a classic acoustic piano. This has been achieved by expanding the capacity of the installed memory to achieve a longer sampling duration and enhanced waveform data quality. From the initial attack to sustain and the way resonance of the note gradually vanishes, everything that you hear from the AP-270, screams out “Grand Piano”!

The AP-270 lets you choose from two installed piano sounds, based on the kind of genre, environment and the tonality that you require. The first tone is perfect for powerful, richly reverberating performances, making it ideal for a classical music. It reproduces classic grand piano sounds across the range from soft, delicate tones to strong, powerful tones, depending on the weight of the keystrokes. The second tone is a great choice for bright, luxuriant performances. It makes its presence felt with crisp, straightforward sound, even when being played in a band. Its tonality is ideally suited to jazz, blues and pop music.

One of the main issues that people who are accustomed to playing on acoustic pianos have with digital keyboards is that they don't get the same feel of touch or weight on the keys which makes the instrument feel less “real”. The AP-270 tackles this issue by employing the new tri-sensor scaled hammer action keyboard II responds by incorporating a system with three sensors that detects the touches of the keys sequentially. To top it off, the simulated ebony and ivory keys offer the luxurious feel, texture and touch of a grand piano keyboard with crimp surface finish to prevent slippage.

The attention paid to reproducing the tonality of using the damper pedal is so accurate that it even simulates the resonance created by the lifting of the dampers themselves when the pedal is pressed.

While holding true to character of a grand piano, the AP-270 manages to fit in a lot of modern technology that helps it cater to a lot of different scenarios, making it an extremely versatile tool. It has 22 high quality tones with various digital effects such as reverb, chorus and some adjustable DSP parameters. Its compatibility with the Chordana Play app allows learning your favourite tunes easy and fun, with the music score and piano roll notation.

You can either play along with the audio data recordings of 10 live music recordings of orchestra performances or jam with a friend in the Duet Mode, allowing people to play in the same mode.

A powerhouse of features and possibilities, the Casio AP-270 is extremely useful for a number of scenarios and applications. If you're a classical pianist looking for an instrument at home, something that isn't as space-consuming as a grand but has the feel and playability of one, look no further. The AP-270 is great for seasoned musicians that are looking for quality in a compact package. That being said, it is also versatile enough to serve as an instrument to teach on. Its compatibility with the Chordana Play app make it a great choice for learners and beginners.

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Point Blank Mumbai: Next Term Starts July 2018. Free Software Worth Rs.66K! Point Blank’s Mumbai school is well and truly established now as one of the best equipped and professional schools of its kind in India. Their expanded programme, developed in association with The True School of Music (TSM) now ranges from one-day tasters, like Explore DJ, the next of which is on 30 July, to three-month comprehensive programmes, like the returning Complete DJ & Entrepreneur, which begins again on 10 July. Junior-specific classes are locked in for July, October and January while there are more Kids dates to be revealed. Enrol on any of the longer classes and you’ll also get a free copy of Pioneer’s Rekordbox DJ performance software, plus Native Instruments Komplete 11 with Complete DJ & Entrepreneur, totalling ₹66,000!

At the end of the two weeks, the students put on a live performance at SummerHouse Mumbai, showing off their new skills in the fully-kitted club. The DJ studio at TSM has since been upgraded with the latest Pioneer DJ gear.

Students and Instructors from the inaugural DJ/Entrepreneur Course in Mumbai

For their first term in 2018, Point Blank included two additional programmes in the thriving centre of dance music in India: Mumbai. In May, they expanded further to cater for young people and children. For those interested in testing the water to see if DJing could be their thing, they offer a single session with the Explore DJ course or the more intensive Pro DJ Workshop, for those who really want to get the most from one day of instruction.

For young people wanting to go further and really get their heads into the skills and nuances of DJing, they offer a DJ Pro course for both kids and slightly older juniors where, over 18 weeks, students will get a fully-rounded education in the different styles and techniques available to DJs, so you can figure out exactly what kind of performer you want to be. With further weekend and evening classes available for adults too, there’s a programme to suit anyone. Why get stuck in the rush hour traffic when you stay in town after work and learn how to DJ! The upcoming term sees the launch of the first revamped Complete DJ/Entrepreneur course. Much like Complete DJ, this is the course for you if you are really serious about learning all the skills you need to become an artist in your own right. Over three months, you will be given detailed tuition in beatmatching, mixing with CD, Vinyl and MP3, scratching and more, finishing by playing in a top Mumbai club! You will also learn everything you need to know about the music industry and how to build your brand, so you can begin your career in earnest. Students have access to practise time outside of class using a range of incredible equipment including Pioneer DJ’s CDJ2000 Nexus, DJM2000 Nexus, EFX 1000, RMX 1000, and DDJ-SX DJ Controller.

Enrolment is open right now, so don’t delay! Whatever your aims with DJing and whatever your age, sign up and get your free copy of Rekordbox DJ performance software, the best way to use Pioneer DJ equipment.

Get all the information you need on their website: https://www.pointblankmusicschool.com/contact/

A student using our state of the art DJ studio at TSM in Mumbai

The latest Pioneer DJ Equipment in one of our state-of-the-art classrooms The

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MUKESH AMARAN

MUMBAI July 12th

Underground Authority

Hard Rock Café, Andheri

July 12th

The Colour Compound Once Again

Flea Bazaar Café, Mumbai

July 12th

Parvaaz

Hard Rock Café, Worli

July 13th

Taufiq Qureshi's 'RhyDhun' Reminisce the Magic

The Quarter, Mumbai

July 13th

OffSet presents Aditya Nandwana on Audio Synthesis

The Habitat, Mumbai

July 19th

Fossils

Hard Rock Café, Worli

July 20th

Agnee Performing LIVE

Flyp at MTV, Mumbai

July 21st

Riwayat - Namit Das + Anurag Shanker

Hive at The Great Eastern Home, Mumbai

July 26th

TrapHouse Deli - Dopeadelicz, Bombay Lokal, Moksh, DJ Blunt

The Habitat, Mumbai

DELHI

Gig Calendar JULY 2018

If it isn’t here, it isn’t happening! Write to us at contactus@highonscore.com to get your event featured!

July 12th

Thaikkudam bridge

Hard Rock Café, New Delhi

July 14th

Bizzare Contact

Kitty Su, Delhi

July 14th

Many Roots Ensemble

The Pianoman Jazz Club, New Delhi

July 20th

Sanjeeta Bhattacharya

The Pianoman Jazz Club, New Delhi

July 27th

Orient Express

The Pianoman Jazz Club, New Delhi

BENGALURU July 12th

Anand Bhaskar Collective

Hard Rock Café, Bangalore

July 12th

The 90's Kids Project LIVE

Fandom, Bangalore

July 13th

Sufi Acoustica Tour feat. Tochi Raina & Band of Bandagi

Hard Rock Café, Bangalore

KOLKATA July 19th

Tag us on social media to get your gig featured. thescoremag highonscore

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The Radical Array Project (TRAP)

Hard Rock Café, Kolkata

GURUGRAM July 13th

Lekka

Saints N Sinners, Gurugram

July 14th

Frisky Pints!

Saints N Sinners, Gurugram

July 21st

Crooner's Collective

Saints N Sinners, Gurugram

July 27th

Chizai

Saints N Sinners, Gurugram

MUKESH AMARAN

ALBUM ARTicle:

Abhishek Shindolkar An artist that shares our vision of shining light on all aspects of the scene like visual artists, photographers, album artists and so on is the producer / artist Abhishek Shindolkar. A music producer for the Mumbai based Hip Hop crew Swadesi, Abhishek is one amongst a diverse set of Emcees, DJs, Beatboxers, Graffiti artist and poets.

Being a musician and artist, it was only a matter of time until he was approached to create an album art. His opportunity came through Mr. Viveick Rajagopalan when Abhishek approached him to be mentored in Konnakol, an art form that is considered to be the language of rhythm to understand music better. This meeting proved beneficial for Abhishek as Viveick recognized his talent for the arts and offered him an opportunity to create the album art for his Ta Dhom single.

“When Viveick sir was making the EP this year, He wanted a similar kind of Vibe for the EP artwork too.

Both of us worked on the concept and he asked me to involve the Visshudhi Chakra. The Chakra present in the throat. It is one of the 7 chakras present in the human body. And the concept of the artwork was how everything originated from sound and the vibrations that it created, has created everything and everything is just vibrations moving in a rhythmic pulse which, though moving at different paces eventually come together on the one. That is what the artwork tries to say.”, he says.

Having spent a large amount of time in the studio with the artists themselves, Abhishek says the album is a special one for him. “The EP sounds beautiful! I've been around since almost day 1 from the time of production of the tracks till the recording, mixing and mastering.

I have seen the massive amount of hard work put in

by Viveick Sir and the Swadesi boys for a whole year!

It is an extremely unique combination of Konnakol and Hip Hop. Which required the rappers to rap on different and complex time signatures and quite a task to produce the music and make it sound like a perfectly balanced fusion of both genres and the end result is crazy!! I love it.”, Abhishek comments on the album.

Abhishek believes in listening to what the artist is trying to convey through the music. The ability to connect to

the music allows artists like himself to create elements that reflect the very thought process the artist is trying to get across. “I will see what the vibe of the song is. Is it a very Upbeat or a fast-paced track? Or is it a slow, melancholic, downtempo vibe for example. Depending on that I'll choose the colours and the layout of the artwork.

Minimal or Chaotic? All depends on how the song is.

The most important thing is that the song and the album art should both go hand in hand. The art itself should give you an idea of the vibe of the song and vice versa.”

Abhishek says on the process of creating the artwork.

“Music has played the most important role in my life. It took me a while to realize that I couldn't do without music and there was nothing I loved more than that. And for me, Drawing and Music are the best and very bold mediums of expressing yourself. Music and drawing help me to express what I want to say in a very detailed form as there are no restrictions/ limitations.” A mark of a true artist.

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