The Score Magazine June 2021 issue!

ISSN 0974 – 9128

Vol 14 Issue 05 June 2021

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Music Technology

Sidechain Compression 101: What is It Score Indie Quickie

Anisha AOD

On the cover

KARSH KALE

In conversation with the multi-dimensional Karsh Kale.

Score Magazine

Also Inside: In conversation with Priyanka Khimani, Shamir Tandonhighonscore.com and more.

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32-Key Portable Keyboard with Built-In Speakers

HARMONY 32

54-Key Portable Keyboard with Built-In Speakers

HARMONY 54

61-Key Portable Keyboard with Built-In Speakers

HARMONY 61 +91-98112 68090 musicnmoreindia@gmail.com The Score Magazine www.onstageindia.in highonscore.com

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INDEX

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Music Tech

Top Opera performances of all time.

Anatomical analogy between the human body & Saraswati Veena.

Mic Maintenance: How to keep them in top shape.

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36

Find out

Read about

Music Tech

5 new-age musicians who are redefining the Sitar.

A cup of music, a gallon of life: What makes raagas different from other music?

Best electronic Drum Amps

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DJ CONTROLLER WITH BUILT-IN LIGHT SHOW

DJ CONTROLLER WITH BUILT-IN LIGHT SHOW AND SPEAKERS +91-98112 68090 musicnmoreindia@gmail.com The Score Magazine www.onstageindia.in highonscore.com

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INDIA’S NATIONAL PAN-GENRE MUSIC MAGAZINE

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In Search of right Sound CONVERSATION WITH THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL

KARSH KALE

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In the world of music, sound plays an inherent part of the overall listening experience.

It brings out an artistic fervour to the listener and embarks them on a unique musical journey. Some gifted musicians across the globe overcome the boundaries of genres, connect links and bring out marvellous experiences that evoke multitudes of memories, and visuals to the mind’s eye. As music evolved over time, new genres came into picture that opened up never before seen boundaries to the listener. One such fantastic musician who needs no introduction in the field of global electronic music and underground music is Karsh Kale.

A musician who is in constant search for the right sound, who never stops until his musical equilibrium is reached in creating a composition, a musician who can link multiple art forms with the scintillating aspect of sound, Karsh Kale is an absolute musical delight.

While the entire globe is fighting the vices of the pandemic, this gifted artist has come up with two parts of an album named Touch. The first part has released and bringing in some amazing response all over.

The Score Magazine is extremely pleased to have a soulful conversation with this gifted musician: Hello Karsh, Congratulations of releasing your 6th album “Touch”! We absolutely love it! Our personal favourites are ‘Lovers' and ‘Fist of Fury’. When we listened to Sunset Sketch right after Fist of Fury, the transition was beautiful. How did you manage to create this album amid the pandemic situation?

Malini ji and me were in a studio about three years ago working on a piece of music. Before we started working on it, we did few recordings having her extempore aalaps that I hadn’t revisited till then.

During the pandemic, I opened them up and started writing pieces of music revolving around it. I arranged around her vocals and sent it to her and she loved it! She said we had to put it some proper form and it happened.

Thank you! It all started when I came to the US from India in March 2020, for a period of three weeks and was supposed to return to Goa after that. I had about 3 to 4 shows in Chicago, New York and LA. I have a place in Brooklyn and was actually not planning to stay there. But thanks to the pandemic, I was stuck there. The black Lives movement was happening and lockdown was rampant. I hadn’t seen my family and friends then, and was disconnected with the world. I started writing lot of music then, and finally could get to Goa after many attempts. I spent the next six months in Goa, now again in lockdown, which became the collection of music. This is the first part of my compositions and the second part will be releasing this July.

“Lovers” is inspired by many stories I have heard during the times of pandemic who were separated away from continents, and geographical distance.

Does the name “Touch” signify anything particular according to you?

Touch was something which we were missing especially during this time of pandemic. People couldn’t meet their loved ones, family and close people because of the social distancing. Suddenly, there was a serious longing for human touch in these difficult times. That is where the inspiration for this album came from.

How did you rope in Indian Folk Singer, Padma Shri Malini Awasthi for the song “Lovers”?

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You are known for amazing collaborations.

How did you decide to create this one album without collaborations?

More than anything else, it was due to the pandemic, the inability to get together with artists.

There is a lot of conversational aspect that happens in music, not just a process of studio recording. In this case, I just kept the blueprints to myself.

What are some of the qualities you look for before collaborating with an artist?

I usually like working with artists that are willing to go out of their comfort zone and willing to take a risk to arrive somewhere new and uncharted. For me, collaborating is an adventure you embark on with other artists so the more willingness there is to try new things , the more of a chance that something magically unplanned may appear.

In your own words, could you describe each of the tracks you have created through this album especially Fist of Fury?

Rapid fire • An artist you would love to collaborate withRadiohead or Tom York • A musician that you call yourself a fanboy ofPeter Gabriel, Radiohead. I am still a fanboy of the musicians I have collaborated with. I am heavily inspired by people like Zakir Hussain and Sting and glad to collaborate with him. I am admiring even the young such as House of Waters, Priyadarshini who are doing great.

• An artist you could never get tired listening to- Stevie Wonder • An instrument you would love to learn if you could?- I do play guitar but I want to be a better guitarist always. Flute always eludes me. When I pick up flute I can never make music out of it. I would love to learn it someday!

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Fist of Fury is a continuation of Liquid Tabla which I put up earlier that are tabla driven electronic tracks.

It started with “One Step Beyond” and continued with “GK2”, in the next album another track “New Born Track” which all have an aggressive tabla feel to it. Bruce Lee is the inspiration for these tracks and if you listen to them back-to-back, you can make out the connection. Fist of Fury is also named after Bruce Lee actually!

I’ve also done a track named “Be Like Water” after the famous quote by the martial arts legend.

What about Sunset Sketch?

This track actually happened when I was on a phone call with my friend who was watching sunset (in Mumbai) while I was watching sunrise (in New York). We were exchanging pictures of sunset and sunrise simultaneously and talking about it. That was the inspiration behind the track.

Talk to us about the process of your production. How did you manage to produce this album in the times of pandemic?

Fortunately, we all have our mobile studios now and I have a studio in Goa and Brooklyn. Once I plug my laptop to my gear, I can easily produce music and I was able to do it in a contained space. It took a year to finish the tracks.

What are some of the instruments you used in making of this album?

I definitely used tabla as a kind of a spine throughout the album, even in the ballads. I tried to achieve a different sound through tabla. For example, in Fist of Fury, tabla was the main voice. Sometimes I used vocal, some other times as a side instrument. I also write a lot on piano, and I transform it to synth sounds within Logic. There is acoustic guitar, and in the second part of the album Touch-2 , there are some interesting collaborations that are high on guitars.

It’s mainly me with my computer, Logic, Piano and the Sounds!

“Karsh Kale mixes eclectic beats with the sounds of his heritage to

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make a sound that is distinctly his own.” – These were the words of Former American President Barack Obama. Where do you draw inspiration from while creating these sounds?

I have always been doing it since I was a kid. I used to hear a pop song and found an analogy to a film song.

Sometimes a visual piece of art can evoke a certain sound. Throughout my life, I have always been in search for unique sounds. I listen to everything from classical music, R & B, Jazz, Ambient Music, and I am constantly changing to various genres. At the same time, my canvas is blank and I keep it open completely.

Do you have any process for composition?

My melodies are usually created when I am on my piano. Once I formulate an idea or a story, I take it to Logic.

It comes from many places after that.

Sometimes, I find it from electronic sounds and build from there. The tracks are very diverse in even in this album “Touch” – the first half takes up one way and in the second half , the journey goes completely unexpected.

If there is any particular album/ track of yours that you could re-work on, what would it be and why?

I think I’d much rather make something new. I don’t like much to listen back too much to my old stuff for that very reason that I’ll start thinking of how I could have done it better. It is always better not to look back at all and go forward with zeal.

What is the one thing that you will never compromise with when it comes to composition?

There is a lot of wavering when it comes to finalising a composition.

Some compositions never leave me for months, but when I know when I arrived at the crux and feel that, “This is what it is really all about!” , that is my ultimate success point as a musician.

What are some of the most significant musical choices you have made?

I think that learning and studying Tabla had been a huge asset to my abilities of playing and understanding the physicality of other instruments.

Also, being a drummer has given me a foundation as a musician allowing me to understand pocket and groove on any instrument. The choice to incorporate Indian Classical and Folk Music into my productions has allowed me to achieve a soundscape that has allowed me to make music for more than two decades .

What are your thoughts on Indie music in India?

I really don’t know that there is such a thing as Indie music in India any more as Indian artists of all walks have gone global. India is producing worldclass Pop artists , singers, songwriters , electronic producers , rappers and fusion artists on par with that if the rest if the world now. Done are the days of Indie music I think. India is International.

According to you, what makes a piece of music worth listening to?

What would be your message to artists who have just made their entry into the industry?

There are too many answers to that question because we listen to music for various reasons. We don’t eat food just for only one reason and similarly our relationship with music is multi layered and varies from day to day and even at different times time of day.

For me, music simply needs to capture a mood and tell a story or create a journey for the listener to take.

There is such an incredible saturation of talented musicians these days, there is a tendency to copy or imitate what we see. I would like to remind the young artists is to be original and not to be too carried away with a particular musician. Always remember that your strongest asset is originality.

KARSH KALE

- Touch 1: Score Reviews British composer of Indian origin, Karsh Kale has been described as a "visionary composer and producer".

His fans include some of the most influential people in the world.

Speaking about Karsh Kale’s music, former American President Barack Obama said “Karsh Kale mixes eclectic beats with the sounds of his heritage to make a sound that is distinctly his own.” Karsh Kale today is known as a pioneer in the world of global fusion.

His career has gone through many avatars over the past 20 years as he jumps between the various roles of being a world renowned tabla player, drummer, DJ/ remix artist, vocalist, multi instrumentalist, film composer, as well as a band leader and curator.

Karsh Kale has also developed a reputation as a genre bending collaborator which has led him to work with some of the most renowned artists from around the globe.

Be it with his live ensembles, or with his work as a world-renowned producer, Karsh Kale continues to push the boundaries of music to places it hasn’t been. He also continues to be one of the most sought after collaborators of his generation. The music maestro has released his latest EP “Touch 1” and that’s what we are reviewing here.

invigorating that anyone who listens to it once, will be touched by it.

As is the case with most of Karsh Kale’s work, the songwriting and the arrangements are quite cinematic in scope and execution. Things seem big and personal at the same time. Like swimming in an ocean of sound by yourself, you can surround yourself with it and feel at home with it, yet there’s always something more coming your way.

Over the years, Karsh Kale has shown his mastery in weaving together multiple threads from the everexpanding tapestry of Indian and Western music. Even though “Touch 1” is an EP, it doesn’t lack ambition, scope, or quality. All five tracks on the EP are brilliant. Starting right off the gate with the fantastic Daft Punk-meets-Indian beats vibes of the opener “Touch”. The magic continues with the ambient/synthwave/Indian melodies layered over groovy beats on “Refugee”. The EP slows its pace a little with the next track “Lovers”

which features a magical flute section interspersed with some folky Indian vocals. It’s definitely a track that listeners will find easy to fall in love with. The EP picks the pace right back up with the furious “Fist of Fury”.

With the right amount of dubstep thrown in, this track belongs on your workout playlist. Just press play and bang out some extra reps on that shoulder press. After setting your pulses racing with “Fist of Fury”, the EP descends into the lush and gorgeous soundscapes of the calming finale that is “Sunset Sketch”. Listening to this track gives the same feeling that one might get from gazing at one of Monet’s gorgeous sunset paintings.

In just over 26 minutes, Karsh Kale takes his listeners through a tour de force of distinct musical styles fused together to leave a long lasting impression on the listener, long after the sun has disappeared over the horizon.

Verdict: Fused to perfection.

Karsh Kale is a man of many talents, one of those talents is the ability to NEVER make anything boring.

Anyone familiar with the term “Asian Underground” or anyone who has ever used a Windows Vista system has been touched by the musical genius of Karsh Kale.

“Touch 1” sounds like a strange title on the surface. What exactly does it mean?

Only Karsh Kale can tell the exact reason behind this name but we can definitely see it as an apt title from our end. The music here is so exciting and The

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IN CONVERSATION WITH

SHAMIR TANDON Tell us about your journey into music? From a corporate lifestyle to a music composer, how did it happen?

When I started my career, it wasn't easy to enter the entertainment industry. It was in the hands of a few and not democratised as it is today. There were all sorts of rumours so middle class kids from modest backgrounds were recommended to refrain from such an industry.

Having lost my parents early in life, I did not have the propensity to take risks and enter a not so organised industry then in early 90s. I finished my cost accountancy and MBA and then entered the corporate world. While I was in the rat race of the mundane duinya of number crunching, I was moonlighting doing jingles and other small music assignments on weekends and at nights on weekdays . I call this my Ranji Trophy innings where I was getting some hands-on experience in music making. Finally with the opening up of the economy, multinational global giants in the entertainment industry started setting shop in India. When EMI Virgin, one of world's largest and oldest record label then, set up its operations here, I managed to seek employment as a marketing manager. Soon I grew to be the country head in a couple of years itself and was running the APAC region for the entertainment / music of the EMI Virgin group . During this stint, I made contacts in the media and entertainment world and also got close to a lot of artists wearing my managing directorial hat. This came handy when I switched my role from being a managing director to a music director. I call this the back door entry. Got in with my left brain with an eventual vision to oil my right brain. In fact, the first few feature films that I did as a composer, I did while I was employed. My bosses in UK had no problems with this passion of mine and soon when the first handful of films that I did, became national award winners, I got tempted to do music full time and here I am.

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You came up with a unique concept of making a transgender band? Where did this concept arise from?

What were the challenges and how did you overcome them?

The idea of the 6 Pack Band was the brainchild of my close friend at YRF & myself over a cup of coffee. The basic idea was to give them the platform & opportunities which they are usually bereft of over the years through the language we knew best, music. There were many challenges at various stages. Initially, the main challenge that we faced was gaining their trust.

They had the natural thought of "why would someone make a band with us & feature us in music videos?". They started trusting us after multiple meetings & sensing the seriousness & sensitivity with which we were functioning as a team. There were instances where no one turned up for auditions, security personnel not allowing the transgenders to enter some premises, hotels not allowing them to stay on their property & many such hurdles which we had to overcome through the entire journey of curating this wonderful band.

You also created a property called 2.0 which was to promote awareness of Autism through music.

In fact, you had so many celebrities join you, how did that come about?

This was not just for Autism, but for the full spectrum of kids with mental health issues & special needs. It's just that the majority of the kids happened to be autistic. The spectrum that was covered with the 6 Pack Band 2.0 members were autism, ADHD, learning disabilities & dyslexia. After the success & global recognition of the 6 Pack Band, we wanted to go a step further. We were toying with this thought of mental health for quite some time & finally decided to go ahead with it. We knew there will be challenges, but by now we were used to having hurdles & overcoming them especially when we believe in our ideas & intentions. As someone has said beautifully "log judte gaye aur

karwaan banta gaya..", we got a lot of support from the industry as we did for the 1st band. Karan Johar himself launched the 6 Pack Band 2.0 with a massive press conference held at YRF. We then had celebs like Tiger Shroff, Rani Mukherji, Mika Singh & many television stars join our journey. All the music videos garnered millions of views & a lot of love from the people.

Our song "Sab Rab De Bande (Isspeshal Mix)" got 22 Million views on YouTube in a single day. The band & I were fortunate to share the screen with Mr Amitabh Bachchan on ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ for the children's day special episode.

What has been your personal preference for Bollywood composing or independent music since you had a number of Bollywood hits?

Composing is composing. My heart is in composing. I was born to compose what I feel. Each one has its own charm. Film songs give a scale with actors and directors and the penchant of our people who are cinema goers.

Independent music has its own advantage as you can compose your heart out without the pressures of a situation in a film.

Independent music is great also because u can decide the genre, the language, the vocalist, and even what you want to say in a song. Am glad that independent music in India is growing and is showing big numbers as was the case in the 90s. I also love nonfilm music cause the artist gets mainstage while in film songs, the composer-lyricist and singer are the only playback and never get the limelight. I am fond of independent music also cause it gives you freedom to experiment and not binds you by the milieu of a feature.

The music scene overall has evolved, how are you keeping up with the pace?

Shape up or ship out is a mantra in any field of art. We have to keep ourselves abreast of the latest developments in music and artists all across the globe.

Irrespective of the evolution, melody stays.

Also, music creation is teamwork. So

we have people with complementary skill sets and its great to jam and cocreate sometimes. It does get hard as the pace of change is really rapid. But isn't that the case in all industries.

One has to keep reinventing and acclimating to newer paradigms.

New generation music has lots of youth, rapping and intense music, Would see you curating something very innovative again?

Oh yes in fact in one of our projects one plus playback we had already curated songs with the likes of the Divine, Naezy, and more and so we have already dabbled in this happily and in fact, were the first movers in this Way back 6 - 7 years ago, I did a track for a film Bank Chor for YRF films that had some intense Rap - depicting the battle of Mumbai Delhi by Naezy and a rapper from Delhi.

You are now promoting good mental health and learnings from the legends that you have worked with through digital handles, what was the most important learning, and whom did you experience that from?

Ans I am blessed by the almighty to have worked with the biggest legends in the music industry. Being the only composer of this generation to have recorded with the legends - many of whom are living and many are no more. Working with these legends has taught me the value of the last mile and the distance that only a handful travel from 99 to 100.

I thought everyone should be privy to this knowledge that I gained in my years of interacting and closely working with the music talent in the big league. The modesty of Lata Mangeshkar and her endeavor to win partner faith, innovations by Asha Bhosle, 360-degree rotational training from Manna De, Importance of daily honing craft from Hariprasad Chaurasia, Observation and passion to learn from Sachin Tendulkar, Team work from Pyarelal of Laxmikant Pyarelal, Time management from orchestra conductors are just a few.

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A LOOK BACK AT INDUS CREED’S ‘ROCK MACHINE’ DAYS WITH THEIR DEBUT ALBUM : SCORE INDIE CLASSICS

Today, even though Indian rock might not enjoy its yesteryear cult status, a few bands continue being relevant such as the Uday Benegal-fronted outfit Indus Creed. The last we heard from the band was their 2012 album Evolve that consisted of singles like Fireflies and The Money.

But the rock band has been in the game for quite a long time having debuted in 1988 with the path-breaking album, Rock’n’Roll Renegade. This was the same time when they were recording and releasing music under the name Rock Machine. The 10-track debut is a time capsule on its own, boasting a quintessential sound of the era and some catchy yet thoughtful songwriting.

For instance, the second track from the album Top of the Rock sounded like an upbeat power ballad but also offered an introspective insight from what seemed like a perspective of a successful rockstar who has it all.

Just take the following lines as a case in point, ‘Like any other revolution.

When rock 'n' roll won, it turned out that the guys on top had all the fun.’

Now, lyrics like these have definitely aged well and Rock’n’Roll Renegade has a plethora of them.

The titular single was another love letter to the then-young group’s absolute love for music. The accompanying music video resembles a classic 80s MTV-broadcasted performance of Western rock groups like Bon Jovi, Europe, and Aerosmith.

Long, flowy hair. Flashing stage lights.

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A keyboardist handling two sets of keys on both sides. The lead singer holding the mic between fingers poking out of holed biking gloves. Such elements make the song and its video all the more nostalgic, especially for the ones who grew up in the decade.

Another standout track was the penultimate chapter Rockin' In The USSR. Even though the title might remind one of the Beatles hit Back In The USSR, this track hardly bears any resemblance. Rather, it's a descriptive song documenting the band's journey on the erstwhile USSR. As The New York Times put it, 'Rock Machine was sent by the Indian Government to the Soviet Union as part of a large celebration of Indian crafts, arts, and culture.'. As mentioned before, the album truly is a remnant of rock history and pop culture in terms of both its sound and songwriting. This is then succeeded by the finale, an instrumental number interestingly titled Ode To Scooby Doo. Contrary to popular opinion, iconic Indus Creed alumni like Uday Benegal, drummer Mark Menezes, and guitarist Jayesh Gandhi weren’t even the first members of Rock Machine. Back when the group was birthed in 1984, the line-up looked pretty different until the aforementioned three members joined along with keyboardist Zubin Balaporia. Benegal and co. started out as a cover band from Mumbai, performing hits by Rush, Van Halen, The Who, and the like. But as the 80s came to a close, Indus Creed was arguably one of the first English-

SHAURYA SINGH THAPA language bands to have found marketability in performing originals and Rock'n'Roll Renegade only bears testimony to this fact.

Since its release, it has been a monumental work in the nascent stage of independent rock. To quote New York Times yet again, sold more than 10,000 copies in six months.'

This was also the age when streaming was an unknown phenomenon and indie music was rare, especially in non-metropolitan settlements. So, fans desperate enough to listen and share Rock Machine's discography turned into 'renegades' themselves as many resorted to piracy. This was particularly true in North-eastern states like Nagaland and Meghalaya where music distribution was scarcer.

Hence, through Rock'n'Roll Renegade, it can be said that Rock Machine did bring about a revolution in their genre.

The 1990s were a major change in their style and of course, their name. 1997 saw Indus Creed parting ways only to be reunited in the late 2000s. When it comes to the ensemble, Benegal and Balaporia are the only original 'renegades' left from the debut album along with newer recruits. The long hair, the flashy colours have made way for a more grounded, monochrome look (as can be seen from the video of 2012's Fireflies). With nearly eight years since they dropped their last record, one can only wonder what Indus Creed's next step would be...

SOUVIK CHAKRABORT Y

THE FORGOTTEN MUSICALITY OF TUSU As we are sinking head-and-shoulders into all the remixes and electroproduced music, there needs to be an initiative to learn, pause and reflect upon our own cultures and fast-eroding reservoirs of indigenous music.

The folk music from the eastern region had been of particular interest to me, largely owing to the nature of its presentation and the natural approach to their rituals and songs.

The tusu, jhumur, bhadu, and other singing rituals of the Bankura, Purulia, and Burdwan districts are particularly fascinating. The ripples of the cultures resonate through many communities in Jharkhand and the northeastern states. Though many of these festivals find a place in the popular media owing to the press coverage and the attention brought to them by the corporatization around them, it is a festival like Tusu that remains with us through a handful of videos on YouTube.

Tusu is a very important harvest festival celebrated in November or the first day of the month of "Poush".

Tusu songs are dedicated often to the harvesting times, nature, and the unmarried girls of the community. The tusu singing style has a remarkable rustic flavor to it. The characteristic tune and lyrics of these songs reflect the humble lives of the peasants of the land. The sheer directness of expression and a love for the countryside emanates through the soul of their music.

In its traditional form, the songs are in worship of the goddess. But, the unifying power of music and the spirit of the community makes this a secular extravaganza where the Christians, Hindus, or any other religion participate along with the Adivasis.

No matter how many head bobbing EDM shows you have been to, the folk music festivals of rural India, are going to be a fresh and unique experience for you. The remarkable cockfights, the nachan dance, or the spellbinding chou dance, all add color to such folk musicals.

The rhythmic quality and the lyrical tone of the songs, speak of very distinct themes. Many of these verses are in gratitude to the bounties of nature.

One of the geet has the following lyrics: "You are joyful in the water; you are playing in the water, who is yours in the water? /Ask yourself in your mind, water is the marital family’. The veneration towards the elemental forces like water, wind, and soil can be seen through many songs.

Thanks to the renewed interest in the communities that there are still some fresh attempts to refurbishing the old tunes in a modern thematic approach.

From global, political, mythological, or even local love interests; the songs range through a high dynamic range of banter, satire, and light-hearted digs.

Most traditional artforms like folk music had survived the test of time owing to its nature of ethnic preservation and symbiotic developments across regions.

The devotion and the spirituality associated with the music constitute a strong collective faith. The lyrical melodies are set to tune by singing the first two lines and then the chorus follows after. Nevertheless, this time of the harvesting season also marks a time of jubilation and celebration of prosperity. So, the fun and frolic resound in the air and the voices of the countryfolk.

The societal structure and the racial pedigree of the communities constitute the essence of the melodies of these folk festivals. The songs may often sound like a love ballad where the tusu might be a representational incarnate of an unmarried girl. The romanticization is unmissable here: “I promise to provide you forever with happiness/ I welcome you to a meal this Makar Sankranti.” | “She has not been bought for cheap money/ and we will not allow our Tusu to be thrown into water”. | "I have been chasing you in vain, I think there is something wrong in my love." | “Where did you get this red sari from / Is it that rich merchant from the West?” | “Sweetheart! Let's elope from this country. Let's fly to some unknown land.”

Finally, just like a seed is left to grow with water and sunshine, the idol of Tusu is immersed in the water. This is in synchronous to the customs of marriage and the departure of the bride to her in-laws. The songs now have a melancholic tune to them.

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SCORE INDIE QUICKIE

ANISHA AOD 16

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Tell us about your latest release and how did it come about It was like any other day. I worked during the day, took my dog, Auzy, for a walk in the evening and finally got the chance to sit in front of the piano after dinner. That’s when I realised that all day, there had been a melody running in my head, as well as the lyrics “every day is a story without the glory”. From there on, “You and I” started to take shape. I think the song is about learning to appreciate yourself.

Take us through your songwriting process The song-writing process is never a given. Sometimes I sit in front of the piano or guitar for hours to write a song, and by the end of it, I feel like I wasted my time. That’s really frustrating. Like I’d have written a song, but I might as well have not.

Other times, doing the exact same thing, I’ll start to feel really excited and sing a certain melody on loop. Then, I’ll get this feeling like I’m onto something and enter a flow. Honestly, I must have written a hundred songs but I’ll keep only a few, and I'll keep writing many more because you never know what you have until you write.

Name few artists who inspire you in your way of writing and making music Regina Spektor and Sara Bareilles for their pop-jazz-quirky style. I like that they make their own song structures and that their composition is so wholesome with just the voice and piano.

Daughter (i.e. Elena Tonra) for her soft-soulfulness. I’m also a soft singer who internalizes the music, and sometimes, when you’re so deeply inside of yourself, it’s easy to feel lost in the crowd. She reminds me that it’s all about the mood, lyrics that tell a story, and a good hook. Today, there are artists like Billie Eilish that are owning this style of singing.

Nina Simone for the topics she writes about – from love, to politics, to just ‘feeling good’, and of course, her classical influence and mad piano accompaniments.

Recently, I came across Fionn Regan, and I’m starting to feel inspired by this electro-indie-pop space.

How important is vocal health to you? And how do you maintain it?

My background is in western classical piano and finger health (yes- that’s a thing!) is so important. For example, I love to play basketball but it’s really dangerous for me because of finger jams (though I still played pre-covid).

Anyhow, when I got into singing, for some silly reason, I didn’t think about my voice as an instrument. In the process, I damaged my voice. That’s why, today, vocal health is incredibly important to me. I try to warm-up my voice, use proper breath support and relax my face and body while singing.

There’s a stereotype of singers who are very carefree about their vocal health.

They smoke, drink, scream, etc. and then sing like goddesses. I don’t know where that stereotype comes from, but I definitely don’t fit the mould.

If there is something about the Indie scene you would like to see change, what would it be and why?

I wish there were boutique labels that supported indie artists with distribution, marketing, financing, etc.

I think there is an audience for English indie music in India. A lot of people say that there isn’t because everyone listens mainly to Hindi music. I feel like people listen to what is encouraged and that audiences cut across genres, languages, cultures, etc. At a gig in Ahmedabad, I once asked the audience what music they’re into these days and I remember a girl said, “Turkish music”. So I feel like the musicians and the audience are ready, but the infrastructure is missing.

What were some of your biggest leanings through the lockdowns?

I learnt how streaming platforms work and that was an eye-opener. I realised that a few of my songs aren’t algorithmically favourable which was quite disappointing, because I really should have known that when producing the track. A lesson for next time, I suppose. When it comes to releasing songs, I learnt that I’m the worst predictor of what does well and what blows.

Upcoming projects I’m currently working on an electro-pop track with a producer in Cyprus. This is a project I’m really excited about. From the song, to the collaboration, and end-product- I’m loving every moment of it.

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Top Opera Performances of All Time Western Classical Music is equipped with some of the strongest and amazing musical forms that can take the listener to never-before witnessed realms. One of the greatest creations of this music form is undoubtedly the Opera. It is not just a musical form but a personal journey for every listener. Interestingly, though Opera is mostly and obviously associated with a form of story-telling, it has the capacity to evoke personalized emotions for each listener. Attending an opera can be termed as a once-ina-lifetime experience for every music lover.

Opera performance is not just about singing expertise. It is a rare space where stage dramatics, music, visuals and sound come together to create an unforgettable experience for the audience to cherish. The art of opera singing involves histrionics, facial expressions, and strong graph of emotional range along with a larger than life understanding about music. Here are some of the greatest opera performances of all time which one cannot afford to miss!

Marriage of Figaro- Mozart: This amazing composition has a great story behind it. When Mozart , the master composer relocated to Vienna from his native Salzburg in the year 1782 , to make a career

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path, he was determined to show the Emperor Joseph II and he court about his unparalleled musical abilities through this masterpiece.

The composition was based on a controversial play named Figaro, and it had every element that could embark great emotions to the viewer.

It has humor, vengeance and high degree of emotional graph- and undoubtedly a timeless listening experience.

Der Rosenkavalier- Richard Strauss: Though termed as oldschool in terms of composition and orchestration, Der Rosenkavalier is fresh to the ear and mind even now.

The storyline is well-equipped with drama and emotion with the central character , a 32- year old woman named Marschallin. Comedy is always termed as the most difficult emotion to excel- and when it comes to music, the hardships multiply. But Der Rosenkavalier is an exemplary opera that fits as a perfect example in this genre.

Wozzeck- Alban Berg: Opera is one of those powerful mediums that reflected social conditions of a time, and Wozzeck still holds good for the mastery it offers. This opera was Berg’s reaction to the horrific times of World War I and was premiered in the year 1925 in Berlin. The

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opera speaks of violence, rawness and the unforgivable situations of the war, and a soldier’s painful journey through insanity during this troubled times.

Tosca- Giacomo Puccini: Being the fifth opera of the celebrated composer, Tosca was dynamic and fast-paced for its times. The opera explored unseen areas of emotion that was realistically moving.

Performed for the first time back in 1900, Puccini successfully created a Political Thriller in style- at a time when nobody dared into to venture the genre!

Otello-Verdi: With stromy beginnings, Otello brings a feeling of the whole world around the listener collapsing, and gives a musical expression for the term destruction.

Written by the composer when he was in his 70s, the composer made a great effort in reinventing his own musical style and brings a masterful shape to this classical play Othello penned by William Shakespeare. Known for its complex characterizations and high dose of drama, Otello by Verdi is one of the best musical interpretations of the legendary play!

MUSKAN GOSWAMI

INDIA’S NORTHEASTERN ARTISTS WHO ARE A COMPLETE DELIGHT TO LISTEN TO Northeast India carries a unique sense of warmth and sweetness in everything that they offer. The artists of Northeast carry a glorious musical reputation, and for all the right reasons! It’s going to be treat for your mind if you listen to any of these impeccable musicians:

1. Taba Chake

Taba Chake is an Arunachal Pradesh based finger-style guitarist, singer and song-writer. Chake’s first album, Bond with Nature, was released in 2016.

His second album, Bombay Dreams, received immense appreciation and was streamed 12.2 million times on online platforms. This album even made it to No.12 on Apple’s Music All Genre Charts. Recently, Chake was chosen by Spotify for their emerging artist program RADAR.

2. Girish and The Chronicles

This is one of the oldest Northeastern hard rock bands in India. Girish and The Chronicles (GATC) is a 5-member band which was formed in 2009 in Sikkim. The band released their first album, Back on Earth, in 2014 under Universal Music Group label. They have also been on a national Hard Rock Café Tour.

3. Anoushka Maskey

Anoushka Maskey is a singersongwriter from Sikkim. Her distinct vocal styling and music leaves a calming effect to the listener.

Anoushka’s debut EP Things I Saw in a Dream was released in August 2020.

Her second EP C.E.A.S.E. was ranked No. 3 on the “10 best EPs of 2020” by Rolling Stone India.

4. Avora Records

Avora Records is a jazz and pop music band based in Mizoram. This one-of-akind band was formed in 2013 and since then, has participated in numerous live shows. In 2017, the band won the Sennheiser Top 50 bands. Avora Records. Recently, the band released their first album, Comedians on Drugs.

5. Alobo Naga

Alobo is a Nagaland based singersongwriter who has gained an

immense following on social media platforms. He won the Best Indian Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2012. Later in Mumbai, at Artist Aloud Music Awards, Alobo bagged three awards. His first album got launched in 2010, and since then has released numerous popular albums and songs.

6. Soulmate

Soulmate is a blues rock band from Meghalaya which was formed in 2003.

The band primarily consists of only two members – Tripti Kharbangar and Rudy Wallang. They frequently collaborate with session musicians when on tour. Tripti is considered as one of the finest female singers from Northeast India, and Wallang is said to be one of the most respected blues guitarists of India. The band is popular for perfoming in concerts in India, Southeast Asia, Europe, The Middle East and the United States.

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SHAURYA SINGH THAPA

5 New-Age Musicians Who Are Redefining The Sitar Purbayan Chatterjee

PURBAYAN CHATTERJEE

RISHABH SEEN

Picking up the sitar from his father Parthapratim Chatterjee, Senia Maihar gharana’s Purbayan Chatterjee is a maestro noted for blending the classical with touches of contemporary of world music. Currently in his mid-40s, Chatterjee already boasts a noteworthy body of work, both as a solo artist and as a member of other classical/fusion outfits. For instance, he also served in the original lineup of Shastriya Syndicate, a septet fused influences of the tabla, mridangam, and sitar with genres like jazz and rock. For a beginner’s course in Chatterjee’s discography, one must definitely listen to Shastriya Syndicate’s Syndicated, and Shiva Shankara, a track that features tabla legend Zakir Hussain and playback vocalist Shankar Mahadevan.

Rishabh Seen

ANUPAMA BHAGWAT

NILADRI KUMAR

Punjab-based Rishabh Seen comes from a long line of classical instrumentalists but what he’s doing currently is probably nobody in his family (or in the Indian classical music space) ever thought of. After playing the sitar as a part of Arijit Singh’s touring crew, Seen went on to found Sitar Metal, the world’s first and only sitar-fronted metal band. Sitar purists might scorn at his work of fusion but as is evident from Sitar Metal’s self-titled debut album, Seen’s experimentation aim to bring about a new age of experimentation that opens the space to take the sitar to unchartered heights. Recently, in 2021, the 23-year-old scene also found a feature on Forbes Asia’s 30 Under 30 list.

Anupama Bhagwat

AYAN SENGUPTA

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Hailing from Chattisgarhi city Bhilai, Anupama Bhagwat is a so-called ‘Surmani’ (as Sur Shringar Sansad dubbed her once) and one of the finest sitar maestros in modern times. She stands out in her performances with the Gayaki style, a lyrical method patterned

after the human voice. Newer converts to her music can get a glimpse of her talents via Darbar Festival’s YouTube channel along with Bhagwat’s own channel. Such is her legacy that in 2006, Italian astronomer Vincenzo Silvano Casulli even named the asteroid 185325 Anupabhagwat in her honour!

Niladri Kumar

Niladri Kumar began his tryst with the sitar at the age of four under the tutelage of his father Kartick Kumar, a disciple of Ravi Shankar’s. He went on to collaborate with many musical stalwarts, ranging from John McLaughlin to AR Rahman. His 2008 album Zitar makes for essential listening. After all, this was the album that introduced the world to Kumar’s titular invention. To put it simply, the zitar is a combination of the guitar and the sitar. Instead of the sitar’s twenty strings, Kumar’s instrument comprised of five strings along with an electronic pickup. In fact, he didn’t limit the zitar to just classical music. One can hear Kumar’s zitar skills even on mainstream film tracks like Crazy Kiya Re (from Dhoom 2) and Alvida (from Life in a...Metro).

Ayan Sengupta

A rising star in the sitar space, 30-year-old Ayan Sengupta again hails from the Senia Maihar gharana and has collaborated with Purbayan Chatterjee on several occasions. After winning a junior scholarship under the Government of India in 2003, he found further acclaim as n ITC Sangeet Research Academy musician scholar. To get a glimpse of Sengupta’s instrumental prowess, listeners can check out the seventh episode from the digital instrumental reality show Life is Music. Assisted by Purbayan Chatterjee and his band 1023MB, the young sitarist played a composition called Red Rain. Another classic is the VR video covering his performance of the Raag Patdeep during 2019’s Darbar Festival.

Indian Scientific Music: Raga Rules and Classification Scientific as it is, a Raga will follow a set of principles or rules. I will first take you through the basic terminology and rules, and then explain the most important rule that supersedes them.

We have previously seen the 7 Notes or the Saptaswara. They are further classified as Shuddha Swaras (“Pure Notes”) and “Vikrut Swaras” (“Warped Note”). It is to be noted that “Sa” and “Pa” are Achala Swaras – meaning non-moving. This implies that they do not have a “Vikrut” alternative. Vikrut swaras are further classified as: 1. Komal Swaras: the ones that fall down from their Shuddha frequency position. The swaras Re, Ga, Dha and Ni have komal alternatives 2. Tivra Swaras: the ones that rise up from their Shuddha frequency position. Only Ma has the capability to be Tivra So, in totality there are 7 Shuddha swaras and 5 Vikrut Possibilites making a total of 12 musical notes to play with.

Rules for a Raga to be in existence Now, the rules for a Raga to be in existence are as follows: 1. The Shadjam cannot be absent. The Shadjam or “Sa” as we know it is the base note and it cannot be absent in a Raga 2. The Madhyam and the Pancham cannot both be simultaneously absent in a Raga. At least one of the two has to be present.

EASWARAN ANANTRAM

3. The Raga must have a definite ascending and a definite descending of notes. The Ascending is called the Aaroh and the Descending is called the Avaroh 4. A raga must have a minimum of 5 notes in Aaroh and Avaroh separately.

The last is the most important rule of all. This supersedes all other rules. “Ranjayati Iti Raagah” that which pleases the ear, which causes a distinct emotion to rise in the heart is a Raga There are a lot of Ragas which also fall into the exception of at least 1 of the 4 rules mentioned. But no Raga flouts the rule of the pleasing notes.

Classification of Ragas - Jaati Ragas have a proper system of classification and are distinguished on the basis of 1. Number of notes in the Raga (both Aaroh and Avaroh) 2. The Family of Ragas from which it is derived called Thaat or Mael or Melakarta 3. Time at which the Raga is supposed to be sung On the basis of the number of notes in the Raga, there are 3 main types or Jaati: 1. Audav Jaati: When the Aaroh or Avaroh have 5 notes exactly 2. Shadav Jaati: When the Aaroh or Avaroh have 6 notes and finally

Sampoorna Jaati: When the Aaroh or Avaroh have all the 7 notes Number of Notes in Avaroh For Aaroh 5 Notes

6 Notes

7 Notes

5 Notes

Audav Audav

Audav Shadav

Audav Sampoorna

6 Notes

Shadav Audav

Shadav Shadav

Shadav Sampoorna

7 Notes

Sampoorna Audav

Sampoorna Shadav

Sampoorna Sampoorna

The first Jaati denotes the Jaati of the Aaroh where as the second is for the Avaroh.

Some Popular Ragas and their Jaatis are as follows: 1. Bhoop or Bhoopali called Mohanam in Carnatic music: Audav Audav Jaati 2. Janasammohini a raga same in both Carnatic and Hindustani: Shadav Shadav Jaati 3. Yaman also called Kalyani in Carnatic Music: Sampoorna Sampoorna Jaati The next article will cover the Family of Ragas or the Thaat and Melakarta Systems. The Time theory of Ragas again a vast topic would have a dedicated Article. Happy Reading!

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ARCHANA LAKRA

NILOTPAL BORA An artist to warm your hearts.

The producer from the north-eastern state of Assam is getting viral and all for the right reasons. A few weeks back when TVF’s youtube original drama “Aspirants” premiered, it was all praises, for acting, directing, and Music. Song “Dhaaga” received much positive response, increasing the fanbase for the singer-writer, Nilotpal Bora. Bora has been associated with TVF for a long time now being the producer for Tripling season 2, and Yeh Meri Family.

Hailing from a musical family, Nilotpal is a composer, singer, songwriter, producer all in one. He started gaining praises when he released the song “Majuli”, and then working with TVF gave him both name and fame. He is blessed with ethereal vocals, which some describe as sitting in a perfect place between a male and female voice such that it captivates you. Here are some of his best deliveries apart from Dhaaga that you must not miss -

MAJULI

Produced, composed, and performed by Nilotpal, this song is about the life of the people of Majuli, the world’s largest riverine island. Due to the flood, people here have to struggle day and night for survival but still, they never lose hope, and this song is a tribute to that hope and smile they carry. In the beautiful Assamese language, this song is a perfect listen to start a day. It reminds you that life flourishes in the toughest of conditions in the most beautiful ways and everyone looks up to the mystic sun in hope. And Nilotpal’s voice is like SONE PE SUHAGA.

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ISHQ KA HAFIZ

This 2019 release from Tripling season 2 by TVF. Again produced and performed by Bora himself, the soulful lyrics are penned by Hussain Haidry.

Having a Darbaari vibe, this song is one of the best in the whole album which in itself is a masterpiece. A song about love and how no one should be questioned about the reasons to love someone. It conveys the feeling of pure, innocent, unconditional love. With emotions and melodies, this one is a must-listen.

PATANG

Another one from Tripling 2, with the same production and writing credits but a completely different vibe. This one makes you nostalgic. Lyrics and vocals are very deep, full of emotions, and will put you in a mood to hit up those old friends and family you have been missing but never get the chance to talk to. It’s about growing apart with time. And as we grow older and become successful, there’s only one wish to maybe return to the place that once held our roots. Do listen to this and remember those good old days.

DE MAUKA ZINDAGI

An inspiring song from TVF’s Aspirants, composed and sung by Nilotpal and written by Avinash Chouhan, this one was the perfect ending song for the viral series.

Uplifting and hopeful lyrics with a theme of Not Giving Up, make this song a perfect listen for days we feel down. According to Bora, they wrote, composed, and recorded this song in three days, which speaks volumes about the musical genius he is. Listen to the song for all the energy you need to fight all that life has to offer.

There are many more songs under Nilotpal’s name which are as amazing as the above-mentioned ones are. If you loved one of his songs, you are gonna love his whole discography. All we wish for is more amazing, soulful, heart-touching music coming from him in the upcoming future. Till then, listen to all he has offered and he definitely would be a part of your daily playlist.

Happy listening!

ANATOMICAL ANALOGY BETWEEN HUMAN BODY AND SARASWATI VEENA Written by: Dr. Tara Rajendran, MBBS MFA., a physician-musician, and the leading advocate of introducing music into Indian palliative oncology infrastructure.

Saraswati Veena

The recorded history of Saraswati Veena, the fretted seven-stringed plucked classical musical in-strument, dates back to 15 century BC. This ancient south Indian/Carnatic instrument has a uniquely complex mechanical system. In 1921, Indian physicist and Nobel laureate Sir C.V. Ra-man published ‘On some Indian stringed instruments’ analyses the geometric significance and ef-fect of Veena’s bridge on the radiation of sound. The instrument is the epitome of a structural-acoustic coupled

problem. The national instrument of India, is unique not only in its acoustic properties but also in its structure.

About 1.2 meters in length, it’s design comprises of a fretboard with 24 frets made of bee wax di-vided using tiny rod shaped brass dividers, primary and secondary resonators, seven strings, their pegs, curved dragon head, and bridge. Out of the seven strings, four passes over the fretboard, and they are the main strings. The remaining three strings (rhythm strings) are placed along the side that’s closer to the player.

Five of these strings are made of steel,

and the remaining using brass. Each of these sevens strings has specific lengths and gauges.

Human vertebral column

The vertebral column is part of the human axial skeleton, which comprises 24 presacral vertebrae. Towards the base there is sacrococcyx, a single curved bone. The size of the vertebral bodies pro-gressively increases as we move caudally. The spinal cord is enclosed within the spinal space that’s housed within these vertebrae.

The analogy

One of the earliest literary mentions of the resemblance of the Saraswati Veena to the human body is found in two Kannada language books published in 1936 by Yeda Torey Subramanya Sarma, namely ‘Sandhya vandaneeya tatvartha' and ‘Veda Prakashike’. The anatomical similarity be-tween the whole spine sagittal Computerised Tomography (CT) image and the sagittal view of Saraswati Veena are uncanny! There is something peculiar about the 24 frets of Saraswati Veena. The interfret distance increases towards the dragon head. What’s thought-provoking is that the 24 human presacral vertebrae size too, like the frets of the Saraswati Veena, increase as it goes to-wards the sacrococcyx/tail end.

There exists a curve at both sacrococcyx and the dragonhead of the instrument! The Veena strings that run parallel over the fretboard are close to how the spinal cord is enclosed within the vertebral column. This way, primary resonator is mentioned in litera-ture as the brain of a Veena.

The academic interpretation of this analogy would perhaps be intriguing. The clinical implications of the resemblance in human anatomy and the structure of Saraswati Veena have not yet been ex-plored. Additionally, the acoustic timbre of the instrument, as commented

by Sir C.V. Raman in his paper, might also be read together with the structural similarity. This might be a fascinating avenue to explore in the future.

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In conversation with PRIYANKA KHIMANI We had a great conversation with Celebrity lawyer and former model-screenwriter Priyanka Khimani and the co-founder and lead partner of Anand & Anand & Khimani. Read on to know more about her amazing achievements in the Entertainment Industry.

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Tell us a little bit about how you started in the Music Industry and what you do I can’t think of a single other person among my peers or age group who can say this – but I’ve been deeply privileged that Lata Mangeshkar was how I started in the music business!

She was my first ever client who I advised and acted for during the very early days of my career as a lawyer. Over the years of my practice as an entertainment attorney, I’m so humbled to continue to have the privilege of acting as her advisor.

I run one of the country’s leading and often recognised as one of the best entertainment and intellectual property firms where my team and I advise a plethora of talent, businesses and services across film, tv, music and tech. We have a star-studded roster of artists, filmmakers, authors, actors as well as some of the most prestigious companies and businesses in the world who look at India as an important emerging marking in the content space. Music is a large part of our expertise and we’re proud of the amazing work we’ve been able to do on that front, right from the cross-border record deals for our artist clients, to leading market entry into India for key global players in the business, to having appeared in court in some of the most-watched industry disputes and controversies of our times.

things happen. And on the business side, platforms, brands, record labels too are constantly innovating with how extensively and fruitfully music can interact with wider audiences, creating multiple income and revenue streams.

As a lawyer though what remains irreplaceable for me is thorough knowledge of my subject and domain expertise. And often, in my experience, this is a mix of knowing the law but also being totally tuned in to commercial practices and trends. Also, the role of a good advisor has evolved so much – it’s no longer limited to simply red-lining agreements. In fact, it’s a disservice if that’s the only role a client sees you fulfilling. There’s so much more an advisor can bring to the table – strategising on construct of deals, disputes, crises, controversy, llegations ranging from one extreme to another, social media backlash, dealing with public facing outcomes and statements, the list is endless in my view. It’s easy to under-estimate how crucial a role a sound and adept legal advisor can play in shaping careers and businesses and steering conversations in the right direction.

How has the legal formalities in music evolved over the years according to you?

The most common ones would be enforcing their rights, having to navigate a complex legal system one really did want to pursue a claim and the associated costs of litigation, dealing with still a very disorganised sector, shortage of good managers (not someone who can book a gig but can truly manage a career) and lack of true and accurate information.

It’s only gotten more and more nuanced over the years. It truly is a specialist’s job. The legal framework and what one is able to do within its boundaries is constantly and rapidly evolving with ever-changing technology and the speed and volume with which content is created and consumed. It’s also quite incredible to see how much the rights and deal landscape has evolved over the years – on the artist side, I interact with clients who are getting increasingly savvy commercially and legally with great overall teams in place to get the best possible deal or outcome – be it a release plan or a marketing campaign or an endorsement– it’s such a rush to see all of us pull all stops to make

What are some major issues that artists face legally in the industry?

What are 5 pro tips you would like to give artists in the music industry?

Don’t believe the numbers they say, they’re all inflated. Don’t DIY contracts – Just like music, it’s best left to the experts. Haste makes waste.

Deals are a commercial exchange – if you’re feeling short changed, you don’t have to go through with it. Don’t mix relationships/friendships and business.

How has the pandemic impacted the scene according to you?

There’s no doubt that the entire live industry has taken a huge hit and I think that’s a bigger loss than most can imagine – not just to the artist but to the crew, the production, the venue, platforms and the entire army of people that is connected to the live economy. There’s nfortunately no relief fund for this one and it’s one of the biggest learnings for our music industry from this pandemic. opefully, we’ll all come together and find ways to add more structure and support to this arm of the business that feeds so many.

Could you point out 3 advantages artists have in the industry from a legal point of view.

Content is king! That’s all the leverage an artist will ever need. As an artist, especially in today’s time, you have a voice and an influence, which the previous generation didn’t quite as much enjoy to the extent that artists do today. In my view, there is great power in this. In having reach, in building communities, in being able to influence. The key is how one chooses to exercise it.

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NITHYA RAJENDRAN

A cup of Music , a Gallon of Life: What makes Raagas different from other music Written by: Nithya Rajendran, a dual Indian Classical vocalist in Hindustani and Carnatic music with over 3 decades training. She is founder and curator of Music Vruksh, an initiative to spread awareness and appreciation of Inidan Classical music for its aesthetic, spiritual, wellness and transformative potential.

T

his is a question that many professional musicians are often asked, by people who are uninitiated into classical music. ‘Different kinds of music make me feel happy. What is so special about Indian Classical music? Why should I try it?’. The first thing that should be done to help them arrive at the answer is to urge them to pick their most favorite Bollywood or Kollywood song from yesteryears, or even from recent times. These same people would most likely pick songs that have a Raaga base. Some of the all-time favorite songs from Hindi films, like ‘Kabhie kabhie’ or ‘In aankhon ki masti mein’ are Raaga-based. So are Tamil hits like ‘Ilayanila’, composed by the maestro Ilayaraja or ‘Nejinile nejinile’, by the genius A.R.Rahman. Some of the recent Bollywood hits like ‘Ye moh moh ke dhage’ or ‘Ghoomar’ also have a strong raaga base.

While all music is beautiful in its own right and has a place in pleasing our psyche, different forms of music cater to different aspects

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of a person’s listening taste. This is not very different from how we enjoy food. There is food that is instantly gratifying and tasty, like pizzas or burgers. But this food is not necessarily nourishing. Then there is food that is heavy on one aspect, like spice or sugar, which, on too much indulgence, upsets the balance of our health. And finally, there is our traditional cuisine that never goes out of style. Raaga-based music, classical or otherwise, can be compared to our traditional food, passed on through the oral tradition over many generations.

Food that blends well with our constitution, our climate and our physical needs. Which is why it never goes out of style.

Raagas have an organic lineage. They owe their origins to the sound of the Vedas. The primordial sound of creation is believed to be the origin of the Sapta swaras or seven notes. No wonder that each of the seven notes is believed to resonate with sounds of different animals and birds. Moreover, in the Hindustani classical music

system of North India, the Raagas have been categorized by the time of day. This means that each raag has a specific time of day in which it flowers and blossoms best. Raagas like Aahir Bhairav and Bhairav resonate with the beauty of sunrise, while Raagas like Yaman blossom in the night.

Even in the Carnatic music of South India, Raagas like Neelambari are used to induce sleep, while Raagas like Amridavarshini echo the beauty of rains.

Will we ever tire of the beauty of the sunrise? Will rains ever become redundant? Will the sounds of birds and animals ever cease to soothe the spirit? Will the seasons ever stop bringing a sense of peace and order to our lives? Will the circadian rhythm of night and day ever cease to be?

Never. These are building blocks of our existence. And music that is born from these will never cease to please the heart, soothe the mind and enrich the spirit.

And that is the answer to the question.

KANUPRIYA MODI

Music Meets Mythology to Create Magic ‘Raghukul reet sada chali aayi, praan jaaye par vachan na jaayi’ These words resonate in our heads with that unique musical tone that goes with it. Our memories of watching Ramayana and Mahabharata on TV make us hum the tune along while reading this verse isn’t it? That’s what happens when music meets mythology.

It helps you revisit history in a lighthearted manner, that’s what magic is all about.

Musical narratives go a long way into our glorious history with epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata having a musical element attached to it. Nothing beats the rhyming verses which the storytellers of the past beautifully narrated in a peculiar tone. Music has been etched in the minds enabling the awareness about our rich legacy and culture over several years.

These poetic narratives portrayed the human characters that possessed superhuman qualities and powers.

They spoke of their brave deeds and applauded their courage through musical renditions. Puranic epic songs became reservoirs of our rich

heritage and prestigious past. Royal festivities had musicians singing their own compositions (or gathas) in appreciation of their patrons.

These songs that narrate episodes from the texts continue to be popular even today. The context and matter of the songs is known to the people but the way it’s rendered adds novelty to the experience. There are some regional oral epics in addition to the Sanskrit epics. Blackburn (1989) segregates these epics based on geographical range, theme (martial, sacrificial, or romantic), and setting (ritual or entertainment). The local ones (range 10-100 miles at the widest) are: Tampimar or the bow song, Kordabbu, Teyyam; the subregional ones (range 100-200 miles) are Annanmar, Palnadu, Jungappa, and Kanyaka; the regional ones (range 200300 miles) are Pabuji, Devanarayan, Ellamma, and Tolubommalata; and the supra-regional (400+ miles) are Lorik-Chanda, Guga, Dhola, and Alha.

It’s a world of interesting recitals that are popular in small regions of the country.

Be it villages or cities, a lot of importance is attached to the singing

of epic songs There are many regional variants to the narratives accounting from different epics and the Puranas.

Ramalila and Rasalila, that are based on the lives of Rama and Krishna respectively, are the most loved classic stories narrated in a musical way.

Ramalila, is based on Tulasidasa’s Ramacharitamanasa, is performed for nine days before the festival of Dussehra, which celebrates the slaying of Ravana by Rama.

Raslila is based on Krishna’s life filled with entertainment and merry-making during his youth.

Music indeed goes back in time forming the very foundation of what we call our rich culture and legacy.

With music meeting mythology we have a timeless experience of what history looked like back then. Maybe it is music and poetry that helped pass on our legacy from one generation to the other. There’s an abundance of stories and narratives hidden in these musical verses and that has actually shaped all our ideologies. The role of music is integral in keeping the memory of these epics and mythological narratives alive for years to come.

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EVOLUTION WIRELESS DIGITAL

Sennheiser makes wireless a breeze; launches Evolution Wireless Digital The all new Evolution Wireless Digital is available for sale in India in June New Delhi, 01 June 2021 – Sennheiser, a German audio giant and the RF expert has launched Evolution Wireless Digital.

The series introduces an easy, app-based workflow while retaining all the professionality, multi-channel capability and reliability that users have come to expect of UHF and 1G8 microphones.

According to Vipin Pungalia, Director, Professional Segment, Sennheiser India, “Committed to revolutionize the audio industry, Sennheiser has been at the forefront of innovation in sound from 75 years. We, at Sennheiser have always strived to delight our customers by offering them the best possible solution for their audio needs. We believe in evolving with passion and aspirations of our customers.

Keeping this in mind, we have introduced the latest wireless microphones under the evolution series- which is Sennheiser’s most successful microphone range. With an app-based workflow and many professional features under the hood.”

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(1) The Smart Assist App

An intelligent set-up automatically creates reliable wireless connections, no wireless expertise is required. You can name the channels to make it easy to stay organized, and have access to all system settings. Bluetooth Low Energy allows for remote access to the system and makes sync’ing with the receiver convenient

(2) Microphone transmitters that can handle any audio level

Evolution Wireless Digital transmitters have an input dynamic range of 134 dB, five times more than the usual 120 dB. This means that they can pick up everything from a very soft whisper to a jet engine at 50 yards’ distance – and this eliminates the need for a sensitivity setting on the transmitter entirely. The receiver has been set to a gain value covering most applications, which you can easily change if desired. A new user interface makes this supereasy – no complex sub-menus, everything is available at a glance

(3) No frequency calculation – and more room to manoeuvre

More and more RF is appearing on stage but Evolution Wireless Digital (EW-D) takes on this complexity and helps you go with the flow. The app will scan the environment to find open frequencies. And as EW-D has borrowed tech from Sennheiser’s top Digital 6000 and Digital 9000 series, the wireless microphone systems do not generate any significant intermodulation products. This not only makes for more room in a given frequency window, but the app can also simply set the wireless links at 600 kHz intervals without any frequency calculation and is therefore able to fit in more frequencies than a standard mic system would be able to

(4) Exceptional specs in every detail

EW-D has a low latency of 1.9 milliseconds and a transmitter battery life of up to 12 hours with the BA 70 rechargeable battery pack. This will take you all the way from soundcheck through to the end of the show and beyond.

A bandwidth of 56 MHz with up to 90 channels per band makes it easy to find space even in the most crowded of RF environments

Model

(5) Fantastic audio

As a digital system, EW-D does not use a compander. Gone are the associated noise floor and artefacts – the system will sound like it’s plugged in with a cable

(6) Full range of pro accessories

From newly designed antennas to antenna splitters, boosters, charging sets – the system will grow with your demands to also accommodate larger multi-channel set-ups Good news for vocalists: EW-D handheld transmitters couple with any Sennheiser or Neumann wireless capsule.

This includes the Neumann KK 205 and KK 204, the new Sennheiser MM 435 and MM 445 as well as the Digital 9000 capsules – a first at this price level.

The Evolution Wireless Digital will be available for sale in India in June. It will come with a choice of handheld, instrument, lavalier, headmic, combo and base sets (see Appendix).

For your social media channels: Sennheiser Evolution Wireless Digital – as easy as an app but fully professional.

Delivery includes

EW-D 835-S SET (MRP: INR 69,900)

- EW-D EM digital ½ 19” single-channel receiver - EW-D SKM digital handheld transmitter - MMD 835 mic head - Microphone clip - Power supply with country adapters - Rack mount kit & AA batteries

EW-D ME2 SET (MRP: INR 69,900)

- EW-D EM digital ½ 19” single-channel receiver - EW-D SK digital bodypack transmitter - New ME 2 lavalier mic (omni) - Power supply with country adapters - Rack mount kit & AA batteries

EW-D ME4 SET (MRP: INR 69,900)

As above but with new ME 4 lavalier mic (cardioid)

EW-D ME3 SET (MRP: INR 74,490)

As above but with new ME 3 headmic (cardioid)

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AKARSH SHEKHAR

THE BEST SOFTWARES TO SPICE UP YOUR BEAT MAKING Beat making has rapidly risen in popularity over the last few years and fantastic new software keeps emerging every day. If you are looking to start your career in beat making or spice up your beat making game, check out these fantastic options.

Ableton Live 11 Intro

Ableton Live 11 Intro is a fantastic entry point for anyone looking to dabble in beat making. Where Live 11 Intro truly shines is in its two unique views, perfect for finding the exact workflow that’s best for you. Its linear Arrangement View is similar to other DAW programs with time and tracks on the x-axis and y-axis. Comparatively speaking, Live 11’s Session View mode changes things up quite a bit, placing individual tracks along the x-axis and “scenes” on the y-axis. In each scene, you can combine different samples for excellent experimentation.

Reason Studios Reason 11

At its core is Reason 11’s virtual studio rack, a hub for crafting beats and tracks through Reason’s massive multi-gig sound library. Housed in this vault of sound, you’ll find synthesizers, instruments, and effects along with over 29,000 synths, samples, drum kits, loops, and more. Reason 11 sports a king’s arsenal of sounds guaranteed to build out top-notch beats from scratch.

Serato Studio Software

With Serato Studio Software, your worries of working with tedious,

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confusing software can be put to rest.

Plain and simple, Serato Studio is tailor-made for DJs with everything arranged around a DJ-friendly mixer along with familiar effects and instant access to your entire Serato DJ library.

It comes jam-packed with drum kits and other virtual instruments as well as 300 professionally programmed grooves so you can hit the ground running from day one.

Image Line FL Studio 20 Fruity Edition

Image Line’s FL Studio 20 Fruity Edition covers all aspects of beat making. When it comes to arranging and sequencing, it doesn’t get much easier than FL Studio’s Piano Roll feature with a flexible Playlist for cueing up automation and note data in any combination you wish. Locking in time signatures is a breeze with options to change them on the fly for a quick and easy way to add some dynamism to your beats. It also offers 11 fantastic virtual synthesizers.

Magix Music Maker 2021 Plus Edition With its powerful song-creation tool and clean interface, Magix’s Music Maker 2021 Plus Edition is more than capable of taking your beat making to new heights. Its UI is completely customizable, letting you lay out Soundpools and instruments wherever you like for optimal viewing. Magix gave Music Maker a modern makeover for the 2021 edition with a redesigned

arranger that makes the most out of the interface’s space and allows you to add more as needed.

Important: Magix Music Maker 2021 Plus Edition is only compatible with Windows.

Magix ACID Pro 10

Magix ACID Pro 10 offers a very powerful sample- and loop-based production at a price that doesn’t break the bank. It comes stock with Zynaptiq’s STEM MAKER 2, a fantastic tool for high-quality remixes. Using groundbreaking technology, STEM MAKER 2 extracts vocals, drums, and stems from stereo mixes with mindblowing results. Important: Magix ACID Pro 10 is only compatible with Windows.

Bitwig Studio 3

With more than enough versatility for both studio and stage use and over 80 instruments and effects, Studio 3 is an excellent platform for supercharging your productivity. Its Realtime Ruler displays timelines in both minutes and seconds, and it’s compatible with Ableton LINK version 3 for syncing workstations of all kinds. The cherry on top is the Grid, Studio 3’s modular sound-design environment with over 150 modules and Poly/FX Grids for creating synthesizers and sequenced patches.

NAVYA C

RHYTHM- THE LESSER OBSERVED BEAUTY IN CLASSICAL MUSIC The world runs on a particular universal rhythm. Everything in the world runs on a specific pace and unique sound associated towards it. Right from the sound of heart beat of a human being, or an living organism- rhythm is an inevitable part of our lives. When it comes to Music- rhythm can make or break a composition. More than the tune, it is the rhythm that first draws the attention of the listener. When it comes to Carnatic music, even the ancient scriptures say, “Sruti Maata, Layah Pita” ( Pitch is the mother, and rhythm is the father) that creates music. A father’s role in the life of a person is to bring in discipline, and order. In the same way, rhythm brings a sense of order to a composition and also forms the real soul of it.

Hindustani and Western Classical music – and even folk music is heavily dependent on rhythm section. Tribals and primordial music in particular evolved from the single rhythmic beat. Folk musicians all over the world appreciate the rhythm in every music they made it. Rhythm transcends boundaries, languages ,creed and even beyond planet Earth!We cannot see even a single musical composition that is created without a specific rhythm. The language of rhythm is understood involuntarily by every musician- as a means of communication in a riveting stage performance!

Rhythm cannot be perceived or fathomed- it needs to be experienced.

From the swift teen taal of Tabla to an effervescent drum solo- rhythm is determined to set your soul on fire! It is the ignited flame that brings passion to the musical composition. From the shortest taala ek taal (eka taalam in Carnatic Music, 4/4 in western classical music) , the taala can even go to the longest cycle beat ( Simhanandana Taalam- in Carnatic Music).

While rhythm can be attributed to a mathematical calculation and it is true to certain extent, there is definitely something beyond the limited world of calculations. Rhythm brings up a different high, and a passionate rhythm player knows this fact quite well. Tugging the heartstrings of a listener through the various combinations and flairs of rhythmic instruments is indeed a rare art. As a music listener, one should not only listen to the artistic beauty of the rhythm but also about the multidimensional aspects of it. Though rhythm looks very simple in the first look, there are multitudes of layers to it.

Let us take a moment to appreciate all the rhythm players across the world who are making a difference and adding a dynamic to the musical compositions. As the monsoon sets by, take time to listen to a tabla solo by Zakir Hussain, or the fusion beats of Trilok Gurtu. One cannot forget the mridangam exponents such as Palghat Mani Iyer in this instance. Let the rhythm take your heart beat to a new level of passion and will for a lively moment!

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PALAK DOSHI

MUSINGS OF THE VIRAL MUSIC THE SOCIAL MEDIA TUNES EVERYONE’S DANCING TO Raise your hand if you’ve caught on to this bizarre habit of scrolling mindlessly through videos on Instagram.

Raise your hand if you saw an IG Reel video and you couldn’t stop playing it on a loop cause the song got stuck in your head.

Raise your hand if you are obsessed with a track from a Reels or Tik-Tok video.

Be it the flamboyant fledgling Instagram Reels or its earlier equivalent Tik-Tok, this form of thumb-stopping video content has received a resounding reception from Gen Y and Z. The internet has been hooked to this form of music throughout the pandemic!

Just an FYI in case you were quarantining under a rock, Instagram Reels was released in India on July 12, 2020. Users are to create and post short, 15-second videos set to music or other audio.

They can be posted on their feed, and the top reels are shared on the Explore page, using a similar algorithm that currently presents the most popular posts.

Reels also curates an assortment of trending and classic tracks to suit your taste and mood. A visit to the Reels music library spoils you for choice.

Here’s a list of some of the top songs that made people scroll down a mile or, I don’t know, kilometres on the Reels Explore page for the first quarter of 2021!

1. Runaway: AURORA

The 'Runaway' trend that became an instantaneous sensation was born from Norwegian singer-songwriter Aurora's hit track 'Runaway' which she wrote when she was

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all of 11! Though released in 2016, the song has made it to a million IG reels and TikToks. With its wistful shades, gorgeous silhouettes and starstudded skies it has made millennials rediscover and fall in love with this track.

2. Oh No: Capone

Astoundingly there’s an entire segment of people that have discovered this song and gotten addicted to it, courtesy TiK-Tok! Raise your hand if you’re one of them unless your hands are aching by now.

However, what few may know is that the OG ‘Oh No’ song roots back to more than five decades. The original composition is from ‘Remember (Walking in the Sand),’ first recorded

by The Shangri-Las in 1964, later Aerosmith made a rocking cover of it too. A remix of the original by Capone is the version heard on TikTok.

3. Everything at Once: Lenka

Adding to our list of eclectic revivals, here’s yet another old gold number that has taken social media by the storm recently - Australian singersongwriter Lenka Kripac’s ‘Everything at Once.’ Known for her playful melodies, whimsical lyrics and dreamy vocals, this pop sensation's track was even used for Windows 8 and Disney commercials back in the day.

4. Peaches: Justin Bieber ft.

Daniel Caesar, Giveon

Post the début of Justin Bieber’s new song ‘Peaches’, his wife Hailey kickstarted the #PeachesMakeupChallenge, and her Insta fam went cray! Pros and amateurs alike, everyone took up the challenge of creating some gorgeous peachy looks and grooves.

5. Bajre Da Sitta - Rashmeet Kaur x Deep Kalsi x Ikka

Singers Rashmeet Kaur, Ikka and Deep Kalsi’s contemporary rendition of the

Punjabi folk wedding song ‘Bajre Da Sitta’ with its colourful pop vibe has won hearts across the Internet (literally, so many double-taps!)

A blend of folk and old school hiphop, it’s like a breath of fresh air making it the much-needed danceable number of the month, hands-down a kickass way of reintroducing the classic to the younger generation.

6. Ava Max: Not Your Barbie Girl A fierce feminist takedown of the 90s Aqua hit, the hyper-pop track “Not Your Barbie Girl” is created by American singer Ava Max who may look like a vivacious rainbow but can slice through steel. It was popularized via TikTok’s Barbie Girl Challenge where females across the world created videos about unrealistic beauty standards so much so that the #BarbieGirlChallenge has over 66 million views, emphasizing women empowering themselves.

You could easily find these on YouTube, Spotify and all other major music streaming apps.

Video creation platforms have not only become a casket full of content but also a powerful promotional tool for newly released songs. I mean it’s fun, it’s functional and it’s free.

Imagine the enormous amount of investment these small-big music labels are saving while engaging directly with their key audience, not to forget how these tracks are helping brands and influencers make cooler content royalty-free. With the plenty of perks isn’t it obvious why everyone’s dancing to the tunes of social media!

AKARSH SHEKHAR

Mic Maintenance: How to Keep Them in Top Shape Condenser microphones •

Put a plastic bag over the mic when you are not working, and always bag the mic before storing it in its case.

•

Always use a stocking screen pop filter when recording vocals.

It will stop the saliva from the singer’s mouth from entering the diaphragm and turning it into a sticky fly paper for particles floating in the air.

•

•

Never put your microphone down without covering it first, especially not on the floor. Ribbon mics have very strong magnets which attract a lot of minute metallic particles which can damage recordings.

•

Don’t let novices handle your ribbon mics. Many people don’t understand the proper methods for the care and handling of a ribbon mic. If a ribbon mic is treated in the same way as a dynamic microphone, it will most likely be damaged. If a person just blows into the mic and says “check”, it will probably have to go for repair.

Ensure that the mic is at least six inches away from the mouth. This stops the capsule from suffering damage.

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Always connect the cable from the power supply to the tube condenser mic before turning the power supply on. Hot plugging can cause severe damage to a tube or even destroy it completely.

•

Never put your condenser mic where you would not put your ears. Condensers are very sensitive instruments that respond to minute sound pressure changes.

Excessive sound pressure level (SPL) can go on to degrade the capsule’s diaphragm. It’s quite similar to how prolonged exposure to high sound pressure levels will damage your ears as well.

•

•

Ribbon microphones •

Handle your ribbon mics with extra care.

Always position your microphone slightly off-axis when close-miking high-energy sources, which will protect it from excessively loud sources. Ribbon microphones have a fairly even pickup pattern, so moving it slightly off-axis won’t have an adverse effect on your recording.

When using a ribbon on a kick drum or any other instrument with a strong directional blast of air, angle the length of the ribbon at 45 degrees to the source, not parallel to the drumhead. This reduces the stress endured by the ribbon. This allows the ribbon to pick up the sound without the entire acoustic pulse hitting the ribbon all at the same time.

Dynamic microphones •

and tough usage. If your mic has some kind of odour, you can eliminate them by removing the grill and washing it. If it’s really gummed up, try a toothbrush with soft bristles. You can leave the foam windscreen attached to the grille while you clean it.

•

Don’t put the wet grill on the mic.

Slow air drying is the way to go but if you are in a rush, go ahead and use a hair dryer on a low heat setting. Remember to detach the internal foam windscreen though.

•

If your microphone doesn’t have a removable grille, hold the mic upside down and gently scrub it with a damp toothbrush. This position will stop moisture from reaching the cartridge. You can clean the foam over diaphragms in the same manner.

•

If your microphone smells bad, gently scrub it with a toothbrush soaked in a diluted solution of mouthwash and water. You must hold the mic upside down while doing it. Disinfectants should never be used on the head of the mic. These chemicals can get inside the grille and cause extensive damage to the mic.

•

If someone with lipstick was using your mic, you may find lipstick smeared all over the grille.

Luckily, you can use makeup wipes to get rid of the lipstick stains from the grille.

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Sidechain Compression

101

What is It? Compressors in general are triggered when audio signals pass through them.

However, a lot of advanced audio engineers use sidechain compression, which utilizes a secondary source to trigger the process. In the scenario where the secondary audio signal exceeds the compressor’s specified threshold, the compressor applies a gain reduction to the main signal.

Here are the different uses of Sidechain Compression

Ducking

Ducking is widely used for voice over recordings. Ducking is applied when the background music bed is run through a compressor, which is set so that it is not affecting the input signal.

Split the voice-over announcer’s mic signal so that it feeds your mixer’s or audio interface’s input along with the compressor’s sidechain input. Now, when the announcer speaks, adjust the compressor’s threshold so that their voice will cross the threshold and trigger the compressor, which will turn down the background music. The music goes back to the original levels once the announcer is done speaking.

Bass Ducking

Bass guitar can also be ducked with a variation of the above mentioned technique. You can achieve that by putting a compressor on your bass guitar then feeding the kick into its sidechain. This way, whenever

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a kick sounds, the compressor will automatically lower the volume of the bass. As long as your compression levels aren’t extreme and you are paying close attention to your attack and release settings, you will just hear a clean sounding kick. This technique works well for other competing elements, as well, such as snares buried under high-gain guitars.

exceeds a certain threshold. Use a high pass filter between 4kHz–10kHz to get the desired result. If that doesn’t work, try creating an exaggerated boost around 7.5kHz. A word of caution — don’t get overzealous. A couple of dB of gain reduction will probably suffice.

In fact, if you take it too far, your vocalists will sound like they have a speech impediment.

EDM-Style Pumping

Frequency-Dependent Compression

Sidechain compression is the secret behind the pumping effects created

by EDM producers. This sound can be achieved in a similar manner to bass ducking but with extreme settings.

Place a compressor on your bass then feed your kick into the compressor’s sidechain input. This way, every time the kick hits, the bass will duck and swell rhythmically with the rest of the track.

De-essing

De-essing is a specialized type of frequency-dependent compression that’s used to suppress the obnoxious and intrusive sibilance that occurs when vocalists sing words with s, z, sh, and other sounds that contain lots of high frequencies. In order to do this, you will need to split your vocal so that it’s routed to your main output as well as to an equalizer that’s connected to your compressor’s sidechain input. Set the EQ so that the compressor triggers whenever an offending frequency

Inserting an EQed signal into a sidechain will alter a compressor’s sensitivity to certain frequencies or ranges of frequencies depending on if you boost or cut those frequencies, respectively. In order to do this, split your stereo mix so that it feeds your main output along with an equalizer that’s connected to your compressor’s sidechain input. After that, use the EQ to filter out any overbearing frequencies. For example, if your mix’s kick and bass are triggering the compressor, then cutting selective low frequencies or employing a 150–200Hz high pass filter to the sidechain trigger signal will calm it down. This is an effective way to add enough compression to glue your mix together without introducing obvious audible artifacts. Some of the popular compressors in the market such as the Solid State Logic G Comp (and its plug-in counterpart) have a built-in functionality for this.

AKARSH SHEKHAR NAVYA C

Make Your Indian iPhoneRaagas Videos for SoundandBetter Spring Healing Modern iPhones are fantastic devices for video recording. They can capture flawless videos in 4K and come with video stabilization which will make your videos seem like they were shot using a steadicam. As great as the video quality is, the sound seems to lack at times. The in-built microphones are decent, but not as good as a high end camera’s. Let’s check out some ways you can enhance the sound of your iPhone videos.

Use a mic

Plug a tiny zoom mic to your iPhone’s lightning port. It can go a long way in enhancing audio quality, especially for videos shot in quiet envvironments.

You can also go with a mic with a cable or a great wireless iPhone mic like the Mikme.

An external mic is great for improving the sound of your iPhone videos. Your iPhone utilizes its input automatically.

With the other methods outlined below, you will need to record the audio separately and merge it with the video later. This isn’t simple on iOS. If you record audio and video together in sync, you don’t need to do any fusing later.

You will be able to use it as soon as it’s done shooting.

Clip-on mic

Another option is a clip-on lavalier mic that you must’ve seen people use on TV regularly. These are particularly convenient, as they often plug straight into a jack socket. One more thing.

Once you’re using an external mic, get a fluffy muffler or windscreen as well.

These foam pods pop over the mic, and keep all the wind noise at bay. You might think that it’s a bit unnecessary but trust us, as soon as you get wind noise on your recording, you’ll wish you’d bought one..

Use another iPhone or iPad

You can also use another iPhone to record audio. This is a great way to get a mic up close to your subject while shooting a video from a distance with another iPhone. You can just leave it on a desk near the audio source and nobody will notice it. Unlike regular mics which need to be hidden behind something if you don’t want them in the shot. An iPhone can lay still on a desk, record audio and nobody will notice.

If you choose this option, then you will need to combine audio and video later.

Make this easier on yourself by creating a visual and audio reference to use later. You know those clapperboards

they use on movie sets? That’s exactly what they do. They make a clap, and you can also see the exact moment they make it. If you don’t want to use a clapper board, just clap your hands on camera. You can also attach an external mic to the second iPhone.

Use a standalone recorder

If you are a prolific video shooter, a portable recorder will be a great addition to your arsenal. There are a lot of great portable recorder units but we won’t list them here. If you use an external recorder, make sure that you do the clapperboard trick discussed earlier. Also be sure to check that the audio files it creates are compatible with whatever software you’re using to marry the sound and the video later.

Getting the audio off the recorder and onto the iPhone is a big challenge when using a standalone recorder. It might just be easier to use a computer to do this. iMovie on the Mac will do the job, and there are plenty of other Mac videoediting apps. You can use apps such as Final Cut X for this purpose (and it has many other features as well).

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AKARSH SHEKHAR

Best Electronic Drum Amps Electronic drum kits are great for drummers who want to practice at home without disturbing anyone.

These low volume solutions come with headphone outputs but if you want to perform live, you will need electronic drum amplifiers. As more and more people start using electric drum kits, here are some of the best electronic drum amplifiers that you can use:

clarity or accuracy. Every crash, snare, or kick will sound crystal clear at all volume levels. And, if you desire a more refined sound, it’s loaded with a contour switch that slightly scoops the mids to give the tone a more sculpted feel.

The Strike Amp 12 is loaded with an active 2-way speaker consisting of a 12inch low-frequency driver and a highfrequency driver.

KAT Percussion KA2

Roland PM-200

If you’re looking for a perfectly portable gigging amp, then the KAT Percussion KA2 is a fantastic choice for you. Even though it's small, it packs a massive 200 watts of power to help you cut through the mix, especially when you crank up the presence control. This will be very helpful while playing with guitarists on high gain. The KAT Percussion KA2 combines impressive versatility with ease of use and is specifically designed for digital drums. It’s loaded with a pair of drivers — a 12-inch woofer delivers a present and punchy kick sound with a cutting snare. The 1-inch tweeter helps your cymbals sound bright, clear, and better than ever.

Alesis Strike Amp 12

This sleek wedge monitor produces a staggering 2,000 watts of peak power, which means it can be used at home or on loud stages. But that amount of power doesn’t come at the expense of

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The Roland PM-200 is a purpose-built electronic drum amplifier. This wedgestyle powered monitor generates 180 watts of power and is more than loud enough to fill the room. With this monitor, you’ll get access to plenty of volume, full low-end response, and crisp highs. The PM-200 delivers clarity at all volume levels, thanks to the 2-way speaker design (12-inch woofer and 1-inch horn tweeter). The PM-200 has dual XLR outputs (stereo pair or dual mono) that let you record in stereo or plug right into the PA when you’re playing live.

Roland PM-100

The Roland PM-100 is the smaller sibling of the Roland PM-200. But just because it’s smaller than its big brother doesn’t mean that the PM-100 can’t stand and deliver. The 2-way speaker system (10-inch woofer plus a 2-inch tweeter) delivers clean and accurate

sound reproduction with more than enough headroom. You’ll love the powerful kick drum, punchy snare, and shimmering cymbals.

Like its bigger brother, the PM-100 has two line inputs, a 1/8-inch auxiliary input, and independent controls for each. These let you jam with another member of the band, your favorite songs, and more. Finally, the pair of XLR outputs allow you to plug into your audio interface or straight into a PA onstage.

Porter & Davies BC2

When you’re playing electronic drums with in-ear monitors, it can be hard to recreate the big bottom end of a traditional kit. Porter & Davies has a solution for you! The BC2 Tactile Drum Monitor bundle gives you the low-end thump you’re looking for without needing to crank up your regular stage monitor. But how does a drum throne double as a monitoring device? The answer is genuinely quite ingenious — tactile sound transducers and bone conduction. The same technology was also found on a popular children’s toothbrush that played music through the teeth while brushing. The throne comes equipped with a tactile generator that’s connected to the external BC2 sound engine. Whenever you hit the kick drum, your seat will also vibrate.

RIBBON MICS HOW AND WHEN TO USE THEM

A ribbon mic is a special kind of dynamic microphone. However, unlike a dynamic microphone where the diaphragm is attached to a moving coil that vibrates within a magnetic field, ribbon mics have an extremely thin strip that stays suspended in a strong magnetic field. The ribbon performs the task of both diaphragm and transducer, providing a condenser’s sensitivity and response with a different character.

Here are the some applications of ribbon mics:

Stereo Capture

The figure-8 pattern that ribbon mics natively exhibit is a natural fit for the Blumlein stereo capture technique. Named after renowned British electronics engineer Alan Blumlein, this technique provides excellent stereo separation and control over room ambience. This setup uses two identical figure-8 microphones positioned in a way that their elements cross at right angles while staying very close to each other. The sE Electronics Rupert Neve RNR1 comes with a fantastic form factor and an extended frequency response, making it perfect for high-fi Blumlein stereo applications.

As the figure-8 polar pattern offers complete off-axis (side) rejection, these mics can easily pick up (almost) completely isolated (coincident) stereo fields. Depending on where you position your Blumlein pair, you can pick up more or less room ambience.

Kepe the mic close to the source and sufficiently far from the rear wall. This will help you get pure stereo with little ambience. Mid-side (M-S), another popular stereo technique, requires one figure-8 and one cardioid mic, which are combined in post production, but it guarantees phase coherency and mono compatibility.

Brass and Woodwinds

The smooth sound of ribbon mics is fantastic for woodwing instruments like sax, clarinet, and oboe. They allow you to capture the tonal sweet spot without picking up mechanical noise from the keys and pads. This produces a signal that doesn't require any more processing. For many engineers, ribbons have been the traditional go-to mics for trumpet and trombone. An AEA R84 on trumpet (about two feet away from the bell) captures the tone of the horn without harshness, while a Royer R-121 or R-122 straight into a girthy preamp delivers an amazing trombone sound. Perhaps the best thing about using ribbons on brass is that you get all the warmth of the instrument without any stridency when musicians play really loud.

Strings

Ribbon mics are fantastic if you are recording a big string section in a

small room with limited ambience.

These mics can provide a more spacious, cinematic sound that belies the size of the acoustical space they’re recording. In fact, a ribbon can be used for a different take of any source where you might use a condenser/dynamic mic.

Drums

Ribbon mics are great for drum overheads, capturing cymbals without the tizzy hype. An R88 deployed at a reasonable distance on drum overheads delivers a beautiful stereo image of the entire drum kit that can be combined with a kick drum mic. This leads to a highly effective, minimalist drum kit recording technique. A ribbon mic will work very well when it's miked on the bass drum’s drumhead surface at a 45 degree angle.

Electric Guitars

Ribbon mics are very popular for recording electric guitars today, whether it’s in a studio or in a live setting. But prior to the 1998 introduction of Royer’s first ribbon mic, the R-121, ribbons were generally off-limits for use on electric guitar cabs. They couldn’t handle the power back then. The new generation of ribbon mics is robust enough that they can be used on any source — and they sound incredible on electric guitar, smoothing out the cutting midrange of overdriven amps while still imparting a low-mid punch that yields a powerful tone.

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How does one transition from facemelting Skyharbor solos to composing for Bollywood films?

This may sound surprising, but Skyharbor was really the reason for me getting a foot in the door in the film scoring world. As was the case with Marty Friedman, there really wasn’t any reason why the prominent composers who work in film here, who have their pick of people to collaborate with, would want me to get involved with film scores unless they specifically wanted my sensibilities on their project.

In conversation with

KESHAV DHAR Even though he is most known as a pioneer of progressive metal in India, Keshav Dhar is a man with his finger in many pies. Having created the avant-garde prog anthem maker Skyharbor out of his bedroom, he established his excellence early on in the scene. Subsequently, he has gone on to make music with Marty Friedman (yes, THAT Marty Friedman), produce and mix for a multitude of Indian and international musicians and even tiptoe into composing for Bollywood.

The musical polymath caught up with us to talk about navigating the lockdown, composing with Clinton Cerejo, albums he would recommend to aliens and his 10 Commandments of making good music.

What was it like, co-writing music with Marty Friedman?

It was very intimidating at first, till I realised (and he emphasised) that he literally wanted me to do my thing the way I would write a song of my own. Being a producer, when I work with other people I tend to go into my “how can I get into this person’s head and think like them” mode, but he made me feel really very comfortable.

It made sense, because there really wouldn’t be any reason for someone like him, who could literally pick anyone from the world to work with, to approach someone like me unless he really wanted my specific sound.

Tell us about your most fascinating collaborations till date.

Fascinating is a subjective term, but I really feel like Vishal J. Singh’s guest appearance on the Skyharbor song ‘Celestial’ was by far the most ear-to-ear smile-inducing collaborative moment I’ve had yet. That guitar solo was pure magic. To me, it really is one of those once-in-a-blue-moon performances where every note is exquisite.

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In a way, it actually makes sense, because one of the things I’ve heard a lot about my music is that there’s a very cinematic element to it, a ‘visual’ feel to the music, so to speak. So for me, the transition from composing music for music’s sake to composing to picture was a very seamless one.

All it really took was to learn the ropes and techniques specific to film scoring, which I’m still learning with each new project. In terms of a shift in mindset, not so much. In fact, I’ve been told often that a lot of both my bands’ songs could easily fit into films.

What do you look for in a "good song"?

Something memorable, something that makes me want to rewind and press play again once the song ends. Above all, I need to feel something. People might think the opposite of a good song is a bad song, but to me the opposite of a good song is a boring song.

If a song makes me groove, I like it. If it makes me laugh, I like it. If I think it’s awful, I’ll still appreciate it more than a song that just passes me by and makes me feel nothing. There can be technically stunning music that bores me to death.

A large section of Skyhabor's fans found the band via the internet. But then again, streaming and piracy have bitten into artists' incomes. As someone who has been part of the phenomenon, do you see a viable solution to the dilemma?

This is not something that people want to hear, but honest to God I cannot stress enough how important it is to NOT have financial expectations from selling your albums or your singles, at

least for the first 5-6 years minimum, maybe even more.

that music is so inspiring! Highly recommended.

You are in all likelihood only going to set yourself up for disappointment and end up quitting. To put it bluntly, there is no way we can control peoples’ tastes. There are tons of factors that need to be in place to have a glimmer of a chance of making money from record sales, and none of those factors are in our control except making the best possible music we can which makes us happy.

How do you find new ideas for your music? Books, movies, art...?

I wouldn’t say books, but definitely films! I also really like to pick apart and analyse productions from totally different genres and soundtracks.

Sometimes I’ll lift certain ideas and motifs and warp them in my own way till they become something totally different but ‘mine’.

If it happens to connect with people, awesome. Make more of it. Maybe it will connect with enough people that some may want to even put money behind it. But be real. Almost all of our favourite artists didn’t really start making any substantial bucks from music until their third or fourth albums, maybe even later. A lot of them slept on floors through their 20s.

Manage your expectations. Music in and of itself has been devalued severely over the past two decades because the way music is consumed now has changed forever - but at the same time there are tons more alternative ways to make money from music other than just trying to sell records.

Instead of trying to make money from your albums, think of ways to exploit your recordings in other ways that can generate other financial opportunities for you. Look into publishing, look into sync opportunities, look into merch and branding, look into performing, any other avenue where your music can become attached to a product that actually generates money.

There are plenty of people who will scoff at this and would rather spend their time complaining about how they’re the only ones fighting a losing battle and how they’re the only ones that respect music because they buy CDs, but the truth is that the world of music has changed, and we need to change with it.

Any artists that have caught your eye recently? Who should we be looking at as the next big thing?

I’ve been absolutely obsessed with Emilie Nicolas and her last two albums, especially Tranquille Emile - she’s probably a bit too left-field to be the next big thing, but dear god,

What, according to you, is the primary difference in the mindset of a composer and a producer, especially when they are different sides to the same person?

A composer’s output is largely just an idea or a thought, whereas a producer’s output is actualising that thought or idea into a listenable form of a recording. Neither can exist in a consumable form without the other, although the composition always comes first.

Composers don’t need to be producers or vice versa, but when they do happen to be the same person I think it’s actually easier. Because when you hear an idea in your head, and you have some skill in production, you are alreay hearing it in a certain form, certain style, or with a certain sound.

And then it’s just a matter of picking the right tools and using your technical skill and creativity to translate that idea into listenable, recorded form.

If you had to pick three albums to introduce humanity to an alien civilization, what would they be?

Jakob - Solace (for serenity, beauty, desolation, emotion, bleakness, all the vivid cinematic things) Billie Eilish - When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (for literal perfection in songwriting) Meshuggah - Catch Thirtythree (for the soundtrack to your worst nightmare) Having been in the "indie scene" for ages now, what's your take on the evolution of the landscape? What, according to you, is the good and the bad of Indian independent music?

I think it’s mostly just good. The scene has just blossomed into something that I could never have imagined ten years ago. The level of songwriting, production, and effort that some of the

top musicians and artists are putting into their products is nothing short of world class, and a lot of Indian indie artists can wipe the floor with any international act, which wasn’t necessarily the case ten years ago with the exception of a dozen or so artists.

I really have no complaints about it, and I’m privileged to be part of it. I try my best to keep my finger on the pulse of what’s current and what the younger crop of producers and songwriters are doing, and so much of it is mind blowingly good. Technology and accessibility have also transformed massively, which can only be a good thing.

Can you take us through your studio?

What gear do you swear by for your day to day operations?

My studio at the moment is my “living” room, haha. I’ve never really been a fan of ‘gear’ for the sake of collecting gear, and all my equipment is strictly functional. Very little of my hardware is ‘luxury’ items. Lame answer, but the three things I just couldn’t possibly live without for my day to day are my MacBook Pro, my Dynaudio LYD48 reference speakers and Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones.

What are Keshav Dhar's 10 Commandments for Making Good Music?

• Be humble.

• Learn an instrument. Preferably two. More if you can.

• ●Learn to record yourself.

• ●Back up your projects on at least two hard drives Every. Single.

Day. • ●Listen to lots and lots of different music. Don’t be a snob. Keep an open mind.

• ●If you can, play with other people.

There is magic that happens when two or more people make music together that just cannot happen when one is by oneself.

• ●Surround yourself with musicians better than yourself.

• ●Practice, practice, practice.

• ●Don’t spend all your time working on music and not having a life outside of it. Your music will likely end up boring. Interesting people have interesting experiences and come up with interesting ideas.

• ● Be humble.

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KAUSTHUB RAVI & SIVANESH NATARAJAN

APPLE MUSIC ANNOUNCES SPATIAL AUDIO AND WILL BRING LOSSLESS AUDIO TO THE ENTIRE CATALOG Picture credit- Official Apple Website Apple music just recently announced that it would be bringing both Lossless Audio and Spatial Audio (in partnership with Dolby Atmos). This is very likely a direct competition to services like Tidal and other high res providers. While this is a very exciting prospect for both casual consumers and audiophiles, it does bring with it some interesting implications to some of us who are making music.

Let’s first try and understand what these new additions are starting with Lossless Audio. Basically in simple terms, all audio on streaming platforms usually undergo some degree of compression. This is done to ensure smaller file sizes that play faster on consumer devices and also take up less space on servers. Lossless Audio does away with the middle man that is

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the software compression that the file goes through. Instead, it allows you to hear the file just as the producer/artist had put up in all its full-sized glory.

This is done with Apple’s new codec ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec).

They have different playback tiers and it starts at CD quality, which is 16 bit at 44.1 kHz (kilohertz), and goes up to 24 bit at 48 kHz, and is playable natively on Apple devices. For the true audiophile, Apple Music also offers HiResolution Lossless all the way up to 24 bit at 192 kHz. The last one however will need a dedicated DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) and possibly a nice headphone amp/Headphone pairing to be fully appreciated. It is important to note that Bluetooth devices cannot decode these formats so you’ll need wired headphones/earphones. The iPhone has a built-in DAC that

supports 24-bit, 48kHz so you can use a pair of Lightning headphones. The 3.5mm port on the Mac also supports 24-bit, 48kHz. Additionally, Apple’s 3.5mm Lightning headphone adapter includes its own DAC that supports 24-bit, 48kHz so high-end wired headphones will work. However, the Lightning to 3.5 mm Audio Cable that Apple sells for the AirPods Max doesn’t support Lossless streaming.

This Lossless feature was long overdue as most of the platforms that did provide high res audio were not available to the Indian market. Not every song will be available in these formats at the beginning, but Apple says that to start with they will be adding more than 75 million songs to the Lossless catalog with more being added every day.

The Spatial Audio bit is more interesting and fresh. Apple has partnered with Dolby Atmos for this particular feature. It uses the same tech that goes into theatres to provide an immersive experience. This feature, however, is limited to products that have the capability of Atmos playback.

Apple says that their earbuds and a variety of beats headphones will be able to play these initially. However, as we’ve seen when Apple announces any new tech, we can be fairly certain that many other major players will soon follow. Spatial audio treats elements of a song as ‘objects’ that can be placed in a virtual space. This allows the listener to experience the audio in the context of it being around them in a virtual space that is interactive.

Now that we’ve got the introductions out of the way, we’d like to talk about what this means to the average producer, engineer, and artist. It is important to note that this isn't the first time a company has tried to bring something like 3D audio to the mass market. In the early 1970s, several manufacturers developed quadrophonic systems to bring four-channel audio and a sense of excitement to the music. However, due

to prohibitive costs and competing formats, quadrophonic sound never took off. Even Sony has been doing it with 360 Reality Audio which some other streaming services have adopted as well. Apple however has a knack for pushing these technologies to the mainstream market more efficiently than other players. So it is fairly safe to assume that this technology is very highly likely to be more widely adopted. To further cement this assumption, Apple is incentivizing major artists and producers including J Balvin, Gustavo Dudamel, Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Kacey Musgraves, The Weeknd, and many more to make content in these new formats.

In recent times, we’ve seen the ceiling for producing professional-sounding content drop lower and lower with the introduction of DAWs and home studios. The quality of affordable gear both on the software and hardware front has become extremely high.

This is making the gap between the products made in high-end professional studios and home studios shrink day by day. The recording quality that is influenced by the treatment in rooms, high-end microphones/preamplifiers, and high-quality AD/DA converters is probably the only separator. But you can reliably mix a record in your home on a laptop and pair of headphones.

With a reasonable level of skill, you make make it quite difficult to tell if it was done in such a manner.

With respect to Lossless, the mastering engineers will start playing a more significant role. There are already quite a few people certified to deliver Apple Digital masters (formerly MFiT or Mastered for iTunes). The introduction of something like Spatial Audio does change things a little bit more. It requires new skills, new software, and possibly new equipment upgrades. Dolby Atmos has recently been seen pushing its 300$ production suite in collaboration with Avid and Protools. They have been actively promoting this software and its use.

Being in a studio that never considered

a 5.1 setup or surround setup before, we now find ourselves actively looking to procure the software and hardware necessary to be Atmos capable. Toplevel engineers including the likes of Manny Marroquin from the US and even our very own Shadaab Rayeen have been seen making major upgrades to their studios to add these capabilities.

So what does one need for these capabilities? Well to start with, you’ll need the Dolby Atmos production suite (that currently works with Protools).

They are offering a comprehensive trial to anyone who is willing to try their tech out. In fact, when we emailed them, they were extremely helpful and willing to provide information and resources to help us learn and understand the technology. They call it Object-based mixing. You can mix with headphones using virtual room simulation software like Waves NX and even Dolby is supposed to have similar software. The recommended way is to have a full surround speaker setup.

You can give them your budget, room dimensions, and other constraints and they provide you the best setup possibilities.

So does this raise the ceiling a little bit again? Does this put certain bits of the production process out of reach for the average producer? Well, it all depends on how quickly things are adopted and how widely received the whole thing is. As an audio engineer, it is quite exciting to these new avenues.

The lossless audio is a huge booster and long overdue. A lot of soul is lost through the compression process and the music is never heard by the consumer in the same way it is heard by the producer/engineer or the artist.

The introduction of lossless audio should bridge that gap a little. It will also be interesting to see how players such as Spotify respond. They have been rumored to announce a similar thing for a while and we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.

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Studio Tour

Kings & Prophets, Aizawl Tell us about space We have two Studio rooms which we labeled Studio A and Studio B. Studio A has a bigger space, a Live room, Iso Booth and of course the Control room.

Studio A is where all kinds of Live sessions happen. Stu-dio B has a much smaller space with a well equipped Control room and a Vocal booth.

Besides these studio rooms we have a spacious lobby and a pantry.

Take us through the process of Production Our process starts with a proper PreProduction, where our engineers get all the necessary information needed in order to get the best recording flow in a session. Say, for instance we’re setting up for Live Band, getting the production idea, what kind of music style, how many band members and the respective instruments requirements are basically the first things on the list.

Then once the instruments are placed in their respective stations, we start

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putting up the microphones which we intentionally select to match the sound & tone we are looking for. Fortunately, we have a decent microphone collections why not make use of it. There are times we have three mics on the snare. Once that is done, we connect it to the wall panels and then send it the the patch bay and into our awesome sounding SSL & API preamps, always sound of amazing with these. After documenting everything in our Track Sheet then we finally setup our DAW that is ProTools.

That would be the brief version of our session setup.

What are some of the studio essentials you would recommend?

Few studio essentials that I think are a must are, number 1 on my list would be Coffee :) You need to have a good black coffee to get you started for the day after working late the previous night. You also need to have a measuring tape and a duck tape.

When miking up using a measuring tape and documenting it helps to

maintain precision even if we have to come back for the session in a different day. Duck tape or any other similar materials help to adjust the tonality of certain instruments specially drums.

Other than these, have tools like screw driver, Allen Wrench set, plyer, drum stick, guitar picks and guitar strings. If you have those in check you’re usually good to go.

What equipment do you use?

Our equipments: We have Apogee Symphony I/O, Universal Audio Apollo Firewire & Antelope Orion 32+ as our main Converter. 2 Apple Mac Pro’s and 2 Apple Mac Mini’s.

Preamps - Solid State Logic Alpha VHD, API 3124, Audient ASP 800 Monitor Speaker - Focal Solo6 Be, Monkey Banana Gibbon 8 & Yamaha HS50 Outboard Gears - SSL Fusion, Art Pro VLA II Compressor, Dangerous Music

DBox Summing Mixer & Monitor Controller, Otari Analog Tape Machine 8 Tracks MX5050. Universal Audio UAD Plugins & many others Guitar Amps - Vox AC30, Laney Iron Heart, Mesa Boogie Mark V, Roland Bass Amp. Microphone - Neumann U87, Neumann TLM102, AKG C414, Blue Woodpecker (Ribbon), Rode K2 (Tube), Shure Sm7B, ElectroVoice Re20, Sennheiser MD421 many more like Audio Technica and Se Elec-tronics Pieces of gear you cannot live without As the Chief Engineer the studio myself I would say it is almost impossible for me to have a session with-out the API preamps, Neumann TLM 102 & AKG C414. They are my go to mics, I cannot run a session without any of these three. They are so handy because we sometimes have three vocal sessions a day and personal projects and amateurs are really common, so the TLM 102 & AKGC414 are easy to setup, sound fantastic and with the API Preamps we can have a World Class sound quality in just 5 minutes of setup.

Describe your typical work day in the studio.

We open at 11AM. Our manager comes in to supervise the cleaning and make sure all the essentials are there for the day. After that, straight away our engineers get ready for the session, be it recording, overdub or Mixing session. Our manager usually keeps his session inventory where he checks whats pending and whats ready to be delivered. Other than this if we have free time some other day we have team training to improve our technical skills.

Take us through some of your most significant releases from your studio and why it is special.

There are so many releases that we are really proud of but this time I’ll mention just one and thats “Comedian on Drugs” album by our home town band, Avora Records, released last year 2020. Making of this album was really special because, they were at the time the hottest up and coming band in India, they won almost all the big competitions they appeared in that year 2017 and got tons of invitations to perform. In 2018, they came in to the studio to record their debut album. I Co-produced the album, and I had real fun making it, these guys are extremely talented and incredible to work with. The band had a clear vision for the album and they already had it all planned out in their minds even before they ever come in.

So, co-producing it was more like assisting the band to make each vision of the song a reality. However I would like to mention that the process was really technical recording wise that was the best part for an engineer. We did a lot of crazy, wild experiments. In using all those techniques, all i had to do was capture their art and musical skills and make sure i get the soul of the song. It was one of the best experience I’ve had ever since I’m in the music business, almost 15 years ago.

What’s your next buy for the studio?

Recording Custom Drum Kit & decent cymbals collection:D are already on the way, very excited about that and we’ll also be getting the Barefoot Monitor speakers and the legendary SSL-Bus Compressor as soon as possible.

Tips to aspiring owners of studios To an aspiring recording studio owners across our country I would like to encourage them to first invest in the technical knowledge before investing in any kind of equipments specially the expensive ones. Reason one is everyone loves to have cool gears that people may admire and you might get clients who are attract-ed by your gears. But sooner or later if your production is not up to the mark or expectation then you’re going to loose that client. Reason two, if you invest on expensive gears first, its gonna take you a while to become professionally good. which is usually 2 to 5 years, by this time some of your gears will wear out and you will have to reinvest. In other words, you’re giving yourself the opportunity to learn with expen-sive gears while making less income which is not a wise business strategy. So, you can buy decent afforda-ble gears and invest as much as you can on learning.

Other thing is you can also first work under someone who already knows and get everything you want to know about. Get yourself together, have patience, it takes time and then when you have the experience, expertise, confidence and the professionalism and then start the big investment. All the Best.

We’re really fortunate here in Kings & Prophets to have started out even back in 2012 with some of the best and industry standard equipments. Right now, the legendary Universal Audio 4-710 Preamps, DW Moon Mic, Yamaha The

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GENELEC Aurom Post Doubles Down on Immersive with Genelec In Mumbai’s notoriously competitive post production market, a studio’s success depends on offering a consistently excellent service – and being able to offer the latest and best technology. One such post production house is Aurom Post Sound, who have deepened their commitment to immersive audio with the addition of a second 7.1.4 room, powered by Genelec Smart Active Monitors.

“With customers impressed with the kind of performance we were getting from our first immersive studio, we decided to upgrade our original 5.1 room to a 7.1.4 configuration,” explains Aurom’s owner Akhilesh Acharya – who is a sound designer and mix engineer in his own right. “That would mean we would have two rooms with Genelec 7.1.4 monitoring that can both offer multi-format post production.”

The project saw Genelec’s Indian distribution partner, Sound Team, work closely with acoustic consultant Ajay Kumar PB and the local team from Dolby to ensure that the room would offer the translation between the studio and the movie theatre that Aurom required, as well as meeting Dolby’s exacting standards in a challenging space. The facility’s first Atmos studio used 8240A monitors and a 7270A subwoofer for the 7.1.4 configuration, but due to the size of the second room a different solution was found for the new space.

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“We all know as mixing engineers that if you want to get the right sound and translation, Genelec is the only option available,” says Acharya. “For the new room we are using 8340As as LCR, with 8330As for surrounds and overheads plus a 7370A subwoofer and 9301A Multichannel AES/EBU interface,” he adds. “These monitors were suggested by both Dolby and Sound Team in accordance with the room size, so that we can work on both theatre mixes and OTT platforms. We are absolutely happy with our monitoring chain.”

With the solution designed, installation was a smooth process, taking five days from cabling to commissioning. One of the reasons for this was Genelec’s GLM calibration software.

“We were impressed with the way GLM’s Auto Calibration works, and gets you very accurate results,” says Acharya. “The ability to then manually tweak after the AutoCal stage really gives a lot of flexibility to the person calibrating the room. We have also made different setups in GLM so that we can switch at any time between presets for a 5.1 film mix, theatrical Atmos, OTT Atmos and stereo too.”

Reflecting on the overall project, Acharya is clearly satisfied with the choices that Aurom has made. “For a mix room everything is results oriented,” he reasons. “It’s all about translation. We have not lost a single client in the past 5 years. The main reason is, they have heard more or less the same mix in the theatres or at home. Customers are happy and we have been getting regular work.

We have found a high-performance product with very good reliability, and we are extremely happy with our purchase of Genelec monitors.”

LOOKS GOOD, SOUNDS GOOD - Our favorite music art in May 2021

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Unleash your creativity

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Find out more at www.genelec.com/glm4

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