The Score Magazine November 2013

ISSN 0974 – 9128

Vol 06 Issue 11 - November 2013

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India's National Pan-Genre Music MagazinE

Q&A

Neeraj Shridhar The last viking

Kailash KHER cover story

Yamaha Powers BAND OF THE MONTH

In the epicenter of the Indian music community

Reptilian Death Triggers the Indian metal onslaught

Exclusive interviews with Vijay Iyer, Dan Estrin of Hoobastank and Wilbur Sargunaraj

the edit PAD F Strategy and Planning Ajay Prabhakar Director, Business Development Pragash VM Editor-in-Chief Nikila Srinivasan Associate Editor Supriya Talupuru Head, Marketing & Operations Sneha Ramesh Creative Director George Vedamanickam Lead Designer Nipun Garodia Social Media Coordinator Vishakh Iyer Content Support Sai Adithya

OurWWW

eatured in this issue is the phenomenal Kailash Kher. He represents the perfect symbiosis between commercial and independent music.

ScoreNights by the Score Magazine have scaled new heights. We have recently moved to a new venue in Chennai at the The Havana The Raintree, St Marys Road. This move signifies a huge yet inevitable step of creating the best music platform for Independent artists in Chennai. We were able to achieve this only with the support of our loyal audiences; you.

We are now retailing our magazine across all major metros in over 1000 locations. We are also available as an e-magazine through Magzter and on Apple devices though the AppStore. We are currently averaging a viewership of over 2 lakhs for our online edition available through issuu.com.

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i nside

cover story: Kailash Kher

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The musically beloved, the popularly sanctioned. Our cover story artist describes in detail his exploits in the field of Indian music. Page 10

Band of the Month POWERED BY YAMAHA

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Reptilian Death:From the deepest darkest pit, comes the Indian metal onslaught.

Neeraj Sridhar

STAR OF THE MONTH: VIJAY IYER

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The trendsetter who moves flawlessly between Bollywood music and the independent projects. Here’s to him.

Music and the Psyche Musical Awakening

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Research indicates music leads to a beautiful awakening. We gather the stuff

Carnatic Segment

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To the budding carnatic singer: Here’s a collection of things to do in your spare time.

Quirks & Queries

Award-winning musician, critically acclaimed producer and soon to be Harvard professor, all in one. And some more.

IN INDIA HOOBASTANK 16

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Aditi Paul, our new high flying songstress gives us the scope on her latest works.

Ek Garam Chai with Adithya Srinivasan

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Talks to us about being one of the youngest Ghazal singers in the scene.

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Dan Estrin of Hoobastank gets chatty about the band’s recent trip to India.

“

For me, creating a song is like a mother giving birth to a baby.

I visualize the idea, then write and compose the tune along with Naresh and Paresh.

KAILASH

KHER Very few singers have the ability to completely make a song his or her own. Kailash Kher is one such talent. This exceptional singer with his characteristic radiant smile tells us the most compelling musical journey. Read on to know more about Kailash Kher’s next project, his future plans and his journey so far.

Cover Photography: Joy Datta

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Every musician is special in his or her own right and they only add on to the music scene like a new star in the sky.

A self made musician, Kailash Kher has held his own with his stand out voice and his varied talents. Be it writing lyrics, composing music or even the odd guest appearances in films. In between his busy schedule which is bustling with a lot of activity, Kailash spoke to us and shared a lot within a space of minutes.

What has been keeping you busy lately?

Right now, I’m working on this project called “Desi Kattey” which is directed

by Anand Kumar. He’s the same person who directed Zila Ghaziabad recently. It stars Sunil Shetty and has Kailasa composing the music (which is Naresh Kamath, Paresh Kamath and me). It has been an exciting project so far with varied sounds. The movie should be out mid next year.

Talking about Kailasa: Tell us more about your band. How is the “chemistry” between the three of you when it comes to music.

Kailasa is a journey that has been going pretty strong for a good few years now. Naresh and Paresh compliment me when it comes to music. Our thought processes are very different. For example, when I seriously come up with a love ballad, Naresh and Paresh will just say “We should do an EDM number instead”. The opposite has also happened but our differences are always creative and we always settle for the best we can produce.

Kailasa has toured a lot. What is your best experience on tour?

Oh yes! We have done 100 plus countries. Every city has given us something to take home. Two of my favourite experiences though are Norway and Chennai. We went to close a music festival there and it was loaded with firangs (white people). We played our set and the people went mental. The police then told me the last time this happened was when Michael Jackson came. Similarly, Chennai have always been brilliant every time we have performed there. They make us feel amazing after each show.

You have sung in 18 plus languages. Which was the toughest language?

I will never say a language or a song is tough. I think each song is a challenge which I take on. I try to perfect the accent and sing it. I like to learn new things all the time.

Who are your role models?

Indian folk musicians and the ustads from whom I’ve learned (be it directly or indirectly) are all my inspirations. Pandit Kumar Gandharva has been a great influence. I feel every singer past or present is an inspiration in some way.

You worked extensively with A R Rahman. How it working with him?

Rahman saab is always a pleasure to work with. The last song we did together was for Dilli-6. We are very similar people. We are not into partying or things like that. Our party is in the studio where we create music *laughs*.

Our musical interests are in line. He is a brilliant man. It’s like going into a trance while working with him

How was it performing for the recent International film festival of India (IFFI)?

It was a fun experience. The Indian government sent me a letter asking me to perform and I obliged. I did songs in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and a few other languages. It was nice.

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Do you think there are too many musicians these days and thus the quality of music falling?

NO! NOT AT ALL! The more the merrier according to me. Every musician is special in his or her own right and they only add on to the music scene like a new star in the sky!

What do you have to say about the current live music scene in India?

I think its the best gift for us musicians these days. We all know piracy is a cancer for our industry. People don’t always buy music anymore. The live scene helps a lot of musicians keep that hunger to perform by satisfying their needs with some money.

Chandni Chowk to China Dasvidaniya Sacred Evil – A True Story Sangini-Perfect Bride Fool and Final

The last time you wrote was for Chandini Chowk to China. Why haven’t you been writing lyrics lately?

Good Boy Bad Boy

Oh yes. Well, I can just say I haven’t had the right opportunities. I have written the lyrics for “Desi Kattey” and will be writing for....

Aladin

For? My next album which Kailasa has been working towards. For the first time, in the independent music scene, someone will be collaborating with Padmashree Prahalad Singh Tipaniya.

How do you go about creating a song?

For me, creating a song is like a mother giving birth to a baby. I visualize the idea, then write and compose the tune along with Naresh and Paresh. Then we come up with our song. Or sometimes the three of us compose and then write lyrics. Its a lovely process to be a part of.

You recently worked with Shreya Ghosal on a concept called “Project Resound”. Can you tell us more on that?

Sony has come out with a range of headphones recently.

Their concept was to promote the headphones using two artists i.e Shreya and me. It was a great to work with Shreya Ghosal, who is a very very talented artist.

Is there something you’d like to tell our readers?

Please buy music. It is something you can do to prevent the evil called piracy and help artists survive. It is very difficult for upcoming artists to stay motivated if there is piracy. It is the biggest form of support you could offer us artists and help the Indian music scene achieve bigger and better things.

One incident you would like to share from your experiences.

I was initially supposed to be launched with “Chalte Chalte” the Shah Rukh Khan movie which had music by Aadesh Shrivastav.

Due to various reasons, they had to use some other singer to redo the same track. It was slightly tough after that and I had to do lots more work before “Waisa Bhi Hota hai” came my way and I did “Allah ke bande” which thankfully wasn’t scrapped.

The very veratile Kailash Kher has the gift that keeps on giving. We hope Kailasa and Mr.Kher keep belting out those wonderful numbers and keep us in tune with their music.

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HIS WORK AS MUSIC DIRECTOR

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Dhol Dil Bole Hadippa!

Waah life ho to aisi Aa dekhen zara Kurukshetra Desi Kattey (upcoming)

Sai Adithya

TOP 5 Kailasa SONGS

Filmi 1

Allah Ke Bande

2

Arziyan

3

Mangal Mangal

4

Veyilodu Vilayadi

5

Chak De Phattey

(Waisa Bhi Hota Hai 2) (Delhi 6)

(Mangal Pandey) (Veyil)

(Khosla Ka Ghosla)

NON Filmi 1

Saiyaan

2

Teri Deewani

3

Tauba Tauba

4

Albela Sajan

5

Vethalai

(Jhoomo Re) (Kailasa) (Kailasa) (Kailasa)

(Kailash Kher and Chinnaponnu’s Coke studio session)

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Star of the month

Vijay Iyer As an award-winning musician, critically acclaimed producer and future Harvard University professor, Vijay Iyer dons many a proverbial hat. Fortunately for us, one of those happens to be with the way of words. Here’s his illuminating take on music, controversies and more.

The jazz scene has been predominantly ruled by AfricanAmericans. How did an Indian with 14 years of Violin training venture into it and was it a premeditated move or just an incidental stumble?

This is one of the peculiar things about being Asian American -- we constantly get asked versions of the question, “Do you really belong here?”. Lots of white people (EuropeanAmericans) have become part of the jazz community, but nobody ever asks them this question.

I was born and raised in the U.S. I’m as American as anyone else.

The fact is that unless someone really tries not to be, every American is influenced deeply by African American music.

That said, this “move” was neither premeditated nor incidental; it is the result of an ongoing effort conducted out of necessity. I have spent more than a quarter century studying African American music, culture, history and aesthetics. I apprenticed with a number of elder, legendary African American musicians; and I collaborate with artists of color in my generation. In negotiating difference in America, I have found points of contact and common experiences, as well as points of divergence. I have also found a rich diversity of On Piano experience and perspective among African I was composing my Americans; they don’t all think the own music, improvising/ same and they don’t all agree. playing what I wanted

On Violin

I was studying the Western Classical tradition.

Generally, the goal was to play “perfect” performances of music of dead European men from centuries ago. I quit the violin when I was 18 because I didn’t have time to pursue perfection.

and learning about a living American tradition that is called Jazz. Piano just stayed with me, because I only ever played what I wanted to play.

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Photo credits: Jimmy Katz, Hans Speekenbrink

Kanika Mishra Do you believe that music is a skill that can be acquired over the years as opposed to the natural-given gift most people perceive it to be?

I started Violin when I was three, but of course that didn’t become my main instrument. Playing Piano by ear was made possible partly by my early ear training. But, maybe, it could have happened another way... I guess we’ll never know!

It seems to me that there are many different ways to have a musical life. I’ve come to know many musicians who are remarkably gifted from an early age, and many others who got started as instrumentalists/composers relatively late in life.

I’ve known great musicians who had formal training from early childhood and other great musicians who had no formal training at all. I’ve known people who don’t identify as musicians who are nonetheless remarkably musically perceptive and aware, and I’ve known professional ‘musicians’ who can’t perceive or identify some basic attributes of sound. I suppose the main point is that music is something that belongs to all of humankind. While there may be very skilled practitioners who are amazing to behold, the rest of us can participate in it too.

What is it like to have received the ‘genius’ fellowship by the MacArthur Foundation – and to have witnessed the backlash that followed?

It’s a tremendous honor. I am very happy and stunned. Just to be clear, neither the MacArthur Foundation nor any of the recipients use the word ‘genius’. That’s a label that the media perpetuate.

I’m just thrilled to have such an opportunity to do good work that On being the might make a difference in the first Franklin D. and world.

Florence Rosenblatt This backlash you mention Professor of the Arts was really tiny. A couple of It’s new for me and it’s new for people made comments online, Harvard University’s Department of without having heard much Music so everyone’s excited. I am of my actual work. They later looking forward to creating a role apologized. It didn’t really for myself on campus. It feels have much consequence, good to have tenure -- I never except that more people heard dreamed that would the news about the award. happen.

What prompted you to gain a Masters degree in Physics, given that music evidently is your niche?

If not a Musician or a Scientist, then…

I do a fair amount of writing, so maybe that would become a more prominent calling in my life.

If I could learn a new instrument I’d work on my singing voice or try to play the drums. It wouldn’t be the first attempt for either.

If at first, you don’t succeed...!

As a pianist, I was a late bloomer. I didn’t know if I’d ever be good enough to have a life in music. I also didn’t really know how to become an artist; it’s not an easy or obvious choice and it carries a stigma, both for Americans and for Indians. When I was growing up, my family didn’t know many professional musicians, and certainly not any Indian American musicians. Meanwhile, my father was a research

chemist. Many of their Indian friends were doctors, scientists and engineers -- that was the basic makeup of the first wave of immigrants from South Asia to the U.S. The sciences were always visible in our community as a career option.

Your music is never just that. Life post-9/11, racial discrimination, war...stories that could melt a heart of stone. Which of these stories that you’ve spun is closest to your heart?

I can’t choose one project over any other, but I’m very happy with our newest album Holding it Down: The Veterans’ Dreams Project. I did this with poet Mike Ladd in collaboration with young American military veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There’s a serious dose of ‘reality’ on there that pushes beyond music or art. In spite of its difficult subject matter, it has a healing force that we never anticipated and we’re very proud of it.

Where do your inspirations come from, and how do you go about putting the pieces together for an album?

It’s an organic process, not an academic one. I don’t generally “conceptualize an album” - if anything, I get some project going, or even just a few ideas, and then they add up to an album much later. I’m inspired by a lot of things and by many of my collaborators too.

Are there any Indian artists that you’re especially looking forward to collaborating with in the near future?

I’m hoping to do something with Zakir Hussain - we’ve spoken about it for years and I think it may finally happen soon.

Many still identify you as an Indian musician even though you have attained the mannerism and lightness of a global trotter. Did you ever face an identity crisis with regard to music?

I have been lucky to be a part of a new generation of American musicians who reflected the changing face of America. In 1965 the U.S. enacted a new law, the Immigration Act, which changed its visa policy about non-western immigrants. That’s why people like our parents were let in. This change coincided with the Civil Rights legislation that granted rights to African Americans.

Since then, in the last half-century, America has started to look different. People like me were among the first children to grow up in this new reality. Once we came of age and started to participate in culture as adults, it was an uneasy new reality for everyone -- it was new for us to try to be seen as full-fledged complex individuals, and new for America and the rest of the world to witness and respond to that. So maybe that period -- the 90s, and part of the early 2000’s -- were what you might call an identity crisis, though I think that’s the wrong term for it. Anyway, now things are different: we have an African American president, an Indian American Miss America and Mindy Kaling writing and starring in her own television show, among other things. It’s still not easy, but there’s a level of acceptance now that we didn’t have twenty years ago.

Probing a little more into perceptions, what are some of the toughest ones you had to deal with along the path to musical awe?

The only problematic perception is an uninformed one.

Unfortunately, some people are perfectly content to remain uninformed, and to make counterfactual, prejudiced statements based on blind guesses about me. But overall I am happy, productive, and active, so I can’t complain!

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Manisha Bhat

The month of October was abuzz with experienced musician from various corners of the world. Find out the inner workings of Dan Estrin, lead guitarist of Hoobastank whom we caught up with during The Great Indian October Fest 2013, Bangalore.

According to you, what is the best song you’ve written till date?

I don’t know. We have a couple that I listen to sometimes, that I’m really proud of. I can’t think of much because of the number of songs we have. We have a song called What Happened To Us. I don’t think that that’s our best song. I can’t say The Reason just because that is what most people would say. Although, statistically it’s been proven that it’s the strongest song, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is the best song.

We also have another song that we wrote years ago, a long time ago called Right Before Your Eyes and it was a movie soundtrack for the movie Daredevil; I like that song.

There’s another song called More Than A Memory that’s really cool and I like. But these songs are a little different. They’re not straight-up, typical simple songs. They’re a little deeper. You go on a journey when you listen to them.

How have your songs evolved through each album?

me. Not just guitar because I play the guitar in the band. I also play drums, the bass and a little bit of piano. I stink at piano, but I can play a little bit.

Just to retract a bit, what’s the reason you started making music?

I just really liked it. It was always something. Even before I ever made music, I always really was fascinated with it and gravitated towards it. I liked listening to music, singing along with music. It wasn’t until I was about thirteen that I saw a close friend of mine, went over to his house and he had a guitar and I was like, “What is that?”. He said he was taking guitar lessons and that made me envious. I went home and I asked my dad if I can get guitar lessons. Both my parents were actually happy that I went up to them and showed the interest in something. That’s also because they’d tried sports with me and I wasn’t into it.

Which creative medium would you love to pursue but haven’t yet?

I am doing it already. I like to work with other bands, I think anything; like grades in school. with younger bands, bands that need help, that need There’s Elementary school, Junior development and we need to be like “swoosh. This A contemporary high and High schools. With is what you need to be focusing on!” I’m already artist’s music I every year, you’re constantly doing it, and this is what’s special. bought recently changing. You might But I want to do it and be very successful. I want not really know, I bought recently: Bruno to produce; I want to produce music. I’m doing it’s happening so Mars. I think he’s an amazing it right now with the band at home. I’d love to slowly on a daily artist, he’s really good. He do that. basis. You grow, does sound like Michael you develop, you Jackson and Sting from Would you like to say something to evolve, you change The Police. your fans in India? and you learn over the time frame of 15 Tonight will be our fifth show in India, but it’s only 20 years. our second time here. We did four shows in this tour and this is our last show of this tour and it’s just been amazing.

We’ve been a band since 1994. A It’s a real eye-opener to come to a place like India; we got to lot of people don’t really know see how people live and do things. At the same time, we could that. We’ve been a band for a long give what we do back to the people that have never seen us or time. We didn’t have any albums have had a chance to see a lot of bands out back then. We didn’t really because a lot of bands just don’t have any until 2000. Some of our come here. We really appreciate songs are mature, some songs On touring India that we have a chance now. are deeper and mature and some In the Hoobastank page on Last night, we played in New songs don’t at all. They just Facebook, I see a lot of fans from Delhi and it was so cool. sound like they could be on the other cities in India asking why we The audience was so great. last record *laughs*. don’t come there. You know what, We played two shows before we’d love to and hopefully we’ll come that, in Pune and a small Which back. If the phone rings or we get an place in Delhi. Those were band has email and it says “Hoobastank please great too and the crowd was When I was influenced come to such-and-such place in India” amazing. a little kid my and (obviously) they’ll have to be you? favorite band We showed up to a place last able to pay for that and if that was Guns n At this point, it’s night and we had no idea that works out, we’ll come!

Roses. not just “a band”. it was going to be like that. It I’m at the age now was five thousand people just going where, I don’t really crazy! So thank you very much, for all listen to the band that I grew up our fans in India, all over India. Hopefully, listening to. I love those bands but I this is just two times in the beginning of a very very long listen to a lot of different music now career of coming here and playing shows for people. That’d be and so much different music influences so cool!

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Neeraj Sridhar The Last VIking The late 90’s/early 00’s had a boom and saw a great pool of artists who really wanted the song to be top notch right. From recording and lyrics and even to videos. One of the early starters of this lot was and is Neeraj Sridhar a.ka. the Bombay Vikings. We spoke to this trendsetter and boy, does he have a lot to add. Read on:

On Krrish 3 I always turn up at least 10 minutes before a recording but Rajesh saab and Rakesh ji were waiting there getting things ready half an hour earlier. Hrithik had also turned up a little later to the recording and it was a fun experience. All the Roshans strive for perfection and that recording showed just that. It wasn’t the toughest song I’ve ever done but the whole experience was very nice. Good fun!

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The Next Projects I just recorded for Wajid’s ‘Bullet Raja’. Wajid is an absolute pleasure to work with. Himesh and I have also finally worked together for Sajid Khan’s next film ‘Humshakakls’. Sajid and I have worked together in all his films except one (Himmatwala). He calls me his lucky charm as he claims all the films I’ve sung for him have become hits.

Amrita Das/Sai Adithya Do you think the Indipop has died a slow death?

Yes! I don’t know what or who or how it went wrong.

Independent music is a necessity and that’s how the music evolves. Otherwise, the music is the hand of say 5-6 people and you only consume what they give you. There is very little experimentation for the singer.

Your videos are always a stand out. Who was the brain behind it?

It was me *laughs*. Being brought up in Sweden, I’ve grown up watching a lot of quality music videos. India, at that point, had a few decent videos but the majority was projecting vulgarity with poorly dressed people gyrate in a bar. I wanted to do things my way and give the people something more appealing and easy for all age groups.

So I specifically inserted a clause in my contract to make that happen and I think I’ve been reasonably successful in doing that.

Not everyone took to an Indian coming from abroad and doing well, did they?

I included a lot of western influences like Rap and some English lyrics. So, yes. A few people didn’t take it all too well. I remember a journalist coming up to me and saying “Sir, your work is kind of destroying the Hindi language” (He asked me this with bits and pieces of English in it) and I was pretty shocked.

I replied “I will give you three months time, come back to me and ask me the same thing in Shuddh Hindi”. I don’t think he ever came back.

My Hindi was not that easy flowing initially, but I worked on it and I feel that my pronunciation was never blamed. I did a couple of Telugu songs for Devi Sri Prasad. Now, that was a lot of hard work on pronunciation. But Devi and I sat together, worked hard on it till it came out well. My wife’s side is from Andhra and they will vouch for that! I also strongly believe, music is a universal language. The lyrics can be in any language but music is music.

How did Neeraj become the musician he is today?

I started off with a metal band like most teenagers.

We loved stuff like White snake and Bad Company. I was part of almost 12 bands. My tightest band though was a band called ‘Spitfire’. We To Aspiring had two Finnish Musicians guitarists.

As a musician, learn the basics.

Finnish people When you pick up an instrument, are stunning learn the theory properly because metal guitarist even if you don’t cut it as say a singer and we were you can always do something else with touring many respect to production or performing. places across I’m saying this because, if you are Europe. Then not technically solid, it is difficult one find day, I felt to last long in this industry; cut off from it and your shelf life is very I said no, let me do less.

something else. I bought a keyboard and then the very first computer recorder made by Atari. There was this now popular software - CUBASE. It used to record MIDI. I set up a studio and did a lot of advertisements. I could experiment a lot and it was good fun.

Aound the late 90’s, it so happened that Sony and I signed a contract. Kya Soorat hai which came out in 1999 was actually produced in 1995. I wanted to reproduce it and then do it. Sony actually said let’s keep it. Sony thought this was a onetime thing.

When I went to their On Pritam office, a lyricist called Mehboob who He & I are good friends. completely ignored We have done some stunning me. I walked out numbers. The last film I worked of Sony, sat in my with him was Cocktail. I actually car and dialed did two numbers for that film, I my friend to get also did a version of Daaru Desi Universal’s number. as well but it was dropped.

They sanctioned the After this, Pritam hasn’t budget and then we used me. I have no idea worked together till why.

Zara Nazaron Se Kehdo.

It was a shaky phase, and as time progressed I had to shut down my studio in Stockholm to comeback to India. Then, suddenly there was a lull.

What happened then?

Bhushan Kumar from T-series called me over. Pritam, who was there, said he loved my music and that’s when we recorded the title track of ‘Bhaagam Bhaag’. After that, Shankar Mahadevan and I met somewhere near Bandra - he asked me if I could sing for him. We recorded ‘Ticket to Hollywood’ from the film ‘Jhoom Barabar Jhoom’. This was followed by films like ‘Hey Baby’, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’. It just happened real quick!

Did all this help?

I used to listen to my songs in a lot of places but when I walked around, no one knew it was me. I remember doing a live gig with big artists lined up after me (He was a good singer and he had done some Bollywood by then). I was booed off stage and I was pissed. The playback singing made people recognize me.

Was it the first instance where your song has been dropped?

Salman bhai (Salman Khan) loved my work. So, Himesh Reshammiya had called me wanted to sing for ‘No entry’. This song called Dil Di Nazaar but then it was later dropped probably because the producers thought my voice didn’t suit Salman Khan. It was a trend those days that only certain singers sang for certain actors; that might have been another reason. I sang for Salman Bhai for his film ‘Ready’ and the song (Character Deela) got really popular.

With that, we wrapped up a long and interesting chat with a musician who is always ahead of the curve. Here’s to a straight shooting, no non-sense man.

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Musical

Awakenings As human beings, we crave contact with others. It’s a part of us.

Unfortunately, there are those of us afflicted with conditions that inhibit that ability to communicate with others and reciprocate the love and attention that is given. But research shows that there is a beautiful awakening within that can yet be had. An awakening that is obviously facilitated by… music. What else would we write about?

There is a growing recognition that music can inhibit the rapid decline of dementia sufferers. In one renowned study, social worker Dan Cohen (UK) created personalized iPod playlists for elderly patients with Dementia. Each of these underwent a transformation, according to him. “They would be slumped over and unresponsive, but after listening to the music given to them, their eyes would brighten and they would come alive again. They are able to actually answer questions and speak about their youth, and this is sort of the magic of music that’s familiar for those with dementia,” Cohen says. “Even though Alzheimer’s and various forms of dementia will ravage many parts of the brain, long-term memory of music from when one was young remains very often. So if you tap that, you really get that kind of awakening response. It’s pretty exciting to see.”

The concern that this study had raised was that individuals

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would remain more aloof if they stuck to themselves listening to music through headphones. However, increased socialization was seen as individuals would excitedly share their music and talk to each other about a new song that reminded them of something in their past.

Professor Paul Robertson, a concert violinist and academic who made a study of music in dementia care, says ‘We know that the auditory system of the brain is the first to fully function at 16 weeks, which means that you are musically receptive long before anything else. So it’s a case of first in, last out when it comes to a dementia-type breakdown of memory.’ In one instance, Robertson was playing for a former church organist. ‘She was very far gone, no language, no recognition. Someone started singing a hymn and this woman sat down at the piano, found the right key and accompanied the singer in perfect order.’

christina Stephenson

Dan Cohen’s TIPS on Music for the Elderly with Dementia

Get the playlist right.

Keep it simple.

Find out the person’s tastes and create a varied mix: no more than five to seven songs per artist.

Make sure the elder knows how to use the player or that someone nearby can help. Use over-ear headphones rather than earbuds, which can fall out.

Be patient.

Keep it special.

It can take time to reach the music memory.

If the person is responding, feel free to sing along. If someone doesn’t like the headphones, try a small speaker at first and incorporate the headphones gradually over time.

Don’t leave the player on all the time. Nursing homes are finding it works well during transitions: If someone is hesitant to take a bath or eat or get dressed, music may help move things along.

with learning how to play a musical instrument, as hemay get intimidated by human contact. Slowly, the therapy moves on to include singing and even dancing, if the child shows interest for such activities. An emotional outlet is finally provided as well as a sense of fulfillment, which were lacking in the past because of limited social activity. Pertanika Journal provides us with a study of 41 children where improvements were seen particularly in inattentive behaviors over a ten month period. They alternated two different hour-long sessions of music therapy and measured the children on the target behavior checklist on a monthly basis. For behaviors such as restlessness, aggression toward other children, noisiness and tantrums more than half of each group improved by one or two points on the scale.

Individuals with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) have trouble recognizing emotions, particularly social emotions conveyed through facial expressions — a frown, a smirk or a smile. This is an obvious cause for their social isolation as they find it hard to communicate or socialize. In an innovative study led by Istvan Molnar-Szakacs, a researcher at the UCLA Tennenbaum Center for the Biology of Creativity, music will be used as a tool to explore the ability of children with ASD to identify emotions in musical excerpts and facial expressions. “Music has long been known to touch autistic children,” Molnar-Szakacs said. “Studies from the early days of autism research have already shown us that music provokes engagement and interest in kids with ASD. More recently, such things as musical memory and pitch abilities in children with ASD have been found to be as good as or better than in typically developing children.”

Music isn’t just an aid of the elderly, but it can be used to aid the cognitive issues that children face as well, especially those with Autism. Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and verbal and non-verbal communication, and by restricted, repetitive or stereotyped behavior. The diagnostic criteria require that symptoms become apparent before a child is three years old.

Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is not well understood.One main aspect is that their quality of life worsens progressively with symptoms of ADHD. The reason that music therapy has such a great effect on autistic children is that autistic children do not engage in normal social activities, and music sessions give them an opportunity to express themselves. Music therapy for an autistic child starts

This article focused on Dementia and Autism as most research with music as therapy has been conducted with these two conditions.

However, the research mentioned can extend to a wide variety of conditions and disorders as mentioned in previous articles. This need of non- pharmaceutical solutions is pressing, especially with the elderly and fragile, and music is the best bet. As always, we urge for more studies in the Indian context. There is no question on music aiding the mind, but we need to see it happening here. The onus lies on us to see our own people back on their feet and not given up on anymore. They still have lives to live. Our culture, unfortunately, doesn’t see the other side of the coin.We tend to resign ourselves to the conditions we have been given.

Well, head’s up, India. You’re in for a rude, erm, musical awakening.

References: The Guardian: Power song helping people dementia Npr.org: For elders with dementia, music sparks great awakenings Ageuk.org.uk: Dementia and music Indian Express: Music therapy can cure Alzheimers Autism Today: Music strikes a chord in the Autistic Brain Science Daily.com

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Band of the Month

“

Reptilian Death is not a band. It’s an entity.

We exist when we have to and when we leave the stage or studio the band doesn’t exist.

This reptile has been slowly emerging from the depth of hell to spread venom across the territory of Metal in India. None shall survive. Here’s to the creator of this onslaught.

Over to Reptilian Death, our annihilating Band of the Month.

Demonstealer (DS)

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The visual presence of the band connects with the album concept.

Vinay Venkatesh (VV)

Where does the essence of RD lie?

DS: In the deepest darkest pit of hell.

Trace the history of Metal influences on the band from the beginning till now for us..

DS: Just a lot of good death metal. From day one till today, it’s all just good death metal that influences me.

On debuting in UK with the famous Hammerfest 2014.

Any memorable touring experiences?

DS: Our comeback gig with the new lineup in March at Domination: The Deathfest where no one knew the band was going to be playing we just showed up and opened the gig.

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VV: All credit to Sahil. He’s worked very hard to get these gigs for the band.

DS: No blood and sweat, just a couple of emails. The blood and sweat has gone into writing a good album and putting up good live shows.

After that it’s all just a lot of emailing backing and forth.

Ajmal Zaheen/ Sibarshis Dutta

Reptilian Death. Very brutal name. What did the reptiles do?

VV: Eh?!? Why does it signify brutality to you? I have no idea what you’re talking about.

DS: Nothing really. You can interpret it either as a reptile dying due to natural causes or human interference or death caused by a reptile. Nothing brutal. Just the course of nature. The real idea behind the name was to be comical almost given that it started out as a 1 man death metal parody band. Today,(of course) it has a much more serious ring to it given the nature of the band.

Let’s go back to the birth of the devil. How did Reptilian Death come about to be?

DS: Drawing influences from the likes of Anal Cunt, Anal Blast, Meatshits, Cock and Ball Torture, I decided to write some music in similar vein with a humorous element to death metal. The almost parody like outfit was Reptilian Death.

Over the years the reptile metamorphosed and plenty of skin shedding later it reached the stage it is today. There have been many line-up changes and along the way we released an album called ‘Total Annihilation’ in 2004 and then an EP ‘Intestinal Feast’ in 2006.

Your album ‘The Dawn Of Consummation and Emergence’ has received an insane stamp of approval . As according to you, what makes this one unique?

DS: I wouldn’t say that is anything specifically unique or ground breaking about the music. I think we’ve found enough of an identity with the sound to sort of say that ‘this is RD’ and this is what we sound like. It’s an honest album and I think with death metal that is an important aspect.

The masks, make up and the ‘evil’ facade. Are they inspired ideas?

VV: The visual presence of the band connects with the album concept. Demonstealer and I discussed the same over a few meetings and decided on the costumes and face paint.

DS: My initial inspiration came from ‘The Berzerker’ an Australian death metal band that wears masks and plays in boiler suits (similar to Workshop/Slipknot) and I knew that I wanted a crazy visual experience for the band’s live shows.

Thus began the discussions and the final execution of the idea in the band as you see it today.

We dug around you have played an acoustic death metal show at Planet M, Bangalore! What made you do this?

DS: Reptilian Death’s first live gig was going to be at the band contest at Strawberry Fields which takes place at the National Law School in Bangalore. We were 1 band away from getting on stage and the show was called off due to a sudden death of a faculty member on campus.

So there were a number of bands from Mumbai and out of town and Seem like I remember Vijay Nair (currently Heavy Metal bands director of OML) trying to organize have the longest album an impromptu gig at planet M where few of us bands could play. names ever. Why? I remember PDV started with DS: Because we believe our

a Nirvana cover and growled and immediately the store manager said pack up. So after some convincing we managed to get permission to play ‘clean’ with no distortion and no growling. We were 17 year old kids from Mumbai who had traveled 24hours in sleeper non AC so there was no way we were leaving without playing something. So we played 3 songs clean and got told to politely leave the place. It was a terrible performance but we were just happy to have played.

We can see a drastic change in your song structure and even in your lyrics over the years. Tell us how did this lyrical transition happen?

DS: When I started RD I was 17 years old. I’m 31 years old now.

I’ve grown as a musician and as a person so what you hear musically is my evolution as a musician. Lyrically, after the first album ‘Total Annihilation’ in 2004 I gave the lyric writing up to Sugath who sang on the EP ‘Intestinal Feast’.

For this album ‘The Dawn…’, I gave total control over to Vinay which explains the lyrical ideas and themes changing drastically from album to album.

RD was pretty quick in grabbing record labels while many of the other bands in the genre are struggling their way out for it. Or so it seems to us. Can you elaborate a little on your success factor?

DS: I’ve been playing music since the year 2000 so I would hardly say the label search has ended quickly. Getting signed has been 13 years of hard work paying off. For me success is being able to do music full time and tour full time. So I’m far from successful yet. I think we’ve just worked hard enough and created a great piece of music, packaged it well and labels have believed in what we’ve shown them. I think that is all it takes really. You got to build yourself, your craft and your reputation and people will want to work with you.

Here is your space. Give us some honest opinion on the metal scene in India-The bands and issues like old school vs. modern metal.

DS: It’s pretty cool actually and it’s growing well. Genre wars are inevitable and in most part of the world there are separate scenes for different subgenres of metal. In India the scene was just 1 and now because it’s finally splitting up and taking shape there is so much old school vs new school debate. In 5 years none of this stuff will matter. People will write their music, organize their gigs and fans will follow what they want to and be happy. The only thing we need to focus on in People tend to making fans realize associate death metal that they got to support with negativity.Penny for the bands they like by your thoughts? buying their music, DS: I think that is not restricted to paying for concert death metal but to all metal. People tickets and so on. are ignorant fools who should explore Bands need to ensure a little before passing judgment. In they write good music fact, even most pop songs are about and deliver to the fans heart break which is a negative value for their money. thing, it’s not happy, it’s not It’s a two way street and positive. I guess art feeds we can achieve a nice eco on sorrow and pain. system.

fans are not with an IQ below 80 and can remember names of albums that are more than 2 words.

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Wilbur

Sargunaraj This one man wonder has given us so much awesome be it terms of music or just plain culture, we’re just considering calling him Full On. Wilbur is back. Not that he ever left. Over to the poster boy of alternatecool-jigna.

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Top 3 things one will learn after watching the movie

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That everyone is a Simple Superstar

That Wilbur loves the word “first class”

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Eating too much Chicken 65 causes loose motions.

Supriya Talupuru After seeing your simply simple superstar movie, one of the viewers said it bridged two worlds. Seems like your aim from the first scratch till now. What are your thoughts on this?

There are so many bridges and so many gaps! The gap between the rural and the city, the educated and uneducated, the rich and the poor, the common and the uncommon and between cultures. It has always been a desire of mine to set a simple example in making these bridges! I may not have all the answers but I have seen the importance in understanding and relating to both sides of the bridge and to recognize our humanity that brings us together.

You use humor to sensitize people towards issues.

Be it how to use an Indian toilet or the being open to one’s community. What are your personal experiences with such a direction?

Yes! I know many people who refuse to look at images or watch videos about our brothers and sisters around the world who are living in terrible living conditions or they only see one side of the story. Since we are talking about bridges - here is a bridge that I love building…Have you seen the Poverty Song? This is a bridge that takes you to a place where you see smiles, laughter and generosity amidst the most horrible living conditions. This allows people to see a different side and to just become aware! There are so many topics that I touch up on in the movie in a funny but relevant way like Caste, Skin colour and of course left hands and toilets!

A producer in America recently said “It makes me so happy to see someone like Wilbur make the effort to change this world without caring about views, fame or status. Just doing anything one can do to educate, and even bring smiles on peoples faces. This world needs more of that.”

Do you face moments of artistic diffidence?

The point, mission and vision has always been very clear but of course from time to time I face those moments where I seem to wonder if writing songs and making videos about Chicken 65 or cobras is a path I should continue to tread on. When I hear people tell me that a song like Chicken 65 in some way helped them out of depression or prevented them from taking their life I then realize that this platform is exactly the one I should be standing on!

think people enjoy seeing genuine and authentic encounters take place. Maybe it also has to do with CQ (Cultural Intelligence). You see, having a high CQ means you have a strong sense of your own cultural identity. You know who you are and what you believe but you are equally interested to step out of what you feel is comfortable to engage with and learn from others! This is one of those bridges I am always interested in building!

What are factors influenced the movie?

Apart from having a desire to share my story in a feature film one of the biggest influences came from my Mentor in France Mr. Jean Vanier who inspired me to share the message that everyone in the world is a simple superstar! This is the backbone of the film! My Co-producer Robert D Stephens who is another simple superstar caught the vision and without his radical and counter cultural generosity this film would not exist today! He continues to inspire me that this is a relational and collaborative effort and that fostering relationship is our main first class focus!

What do you think of the growing independent music scene - do you think the gene pool in this “scene” is diverse enough?

I think we all are special and every artist and person has something to offer. Unfortunately we live in a highly competitive world where we will claw our way up to the top. Independent is really a word I don’t like using when it comes to what I do. As Jean Vanier said “It is important to bring people into a place where they feel accepted and recognized in their talents, gift and abilities and where they can have a sense of belonging” This is what the Wilbur World Wide community is all about! Not being “independent” but living, learning and sharing with one another…because that is what life is about! Simple Superstar Movie is partnering with DARK IS BEAUTIFUL. We are also very excited to be part of the #darkisbeautiful campaign. Proud to say that #sssmovie never used creams or powders to make any of the actors look fair. Except for when powder was thrown in my face against my will!

UPCOMING DATES: November 8th USA Premiere San Francisco

Musically, what genres of music is predominantly featured in the movie?

3rd South Asian Film festival

Indo World Fusion. That is exactly how it sounds and means! A combination of music around the world fused and peppered with the sounds of India! Collaborations also took place with remixes of my songs crafted by artists in Lebanon, Canada, India, UK and the US. People will get to hear all the very popular songs from the entire Wilbur Sargunaraj discography. One of my favorite songs on the soundtrack is a punk rock remix of “Mark of the Man is a Mustache” from a band in Swansea, Wales UK called KD Knows My Name. They even sang in Tamil! How first class is that!

Artisans’ Centre Mumbai

November 30th India/Asia Premiere December 6th Bengaluru Premiere Alliance Francaise

December 7th Chennai Premiere Alliance Francaise

Previous Screenings

A lot of people, across nationalities, are able to connect with your form of story telling. What are your thoughts?

Sept 21 2013 World Premiere

I think it’s because of the disposition (terminologeeee: usual attitude of a person or animal) I have when doing my field trips or supercall solutions. I’m just being myself and having a teachable attitude. I

South Asian Filmi Film Festival

CIFF Calgary International Film festival Canada

September 28th Toronto

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fest ival

FOCUS

The last few months of 2013 are jam packed with one music festival after another. We took on The Great Indian October Fest which proved a real treat.

We also got a chance to talk to artists touring with the Red Bull Tour Bus as they hop from one city to a show.

Scribe 3 things about the Red Bull Tour Bus you’re most kicked about.

Motion sickness (because it will kick in), being road candy and haseen vaadiyan.

3 unusual and fun things one can do while touring on a bus.

Taking a shit will be unusual, for sure. We’re still figuring how we’re going to fit into a toll naka, and the PS3.

What are your plans when not playing on the gig machine?

Learn how to drive a bus. Enough is enough. So when Red Bull next makes a plane, we’ll only fly it.

Which is the one international and desi-wala artist you think would totally rock this set-up?

Deftones and desi, Advaita (to see how they all fit on that stage).

The Supersonics 3 things about the Red Bull Tour Bus you’re most kicked about.

Stage on wheels, ps3 and fulfilling our rock & roll destiny of playing in a traveling band.

3 unusual and fun things one can do while touring on a bus.

Play marble mixer on the iPad, drink free Red Bull and bully the tour manager recovering from the mayhem.

Which is the one international and desi-wala artist you think would totally rock this set-up?

The Supersonics and the Beatles

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Manisha Bhat

India’s biggest music and beer festival, The Great Indian October Fest presented by Kingfisher came with a bang this October. This ninth edition of the October fest only keeps getting better with International and Indian musicians. The freely flowing Kingfisher beer, flea market, exciting games and food add to the evening.

their best of songs. There was also Shanker Tucker playing the best of Clarinet in the festival. In all this, there was a world within the world, The Nocturnal Cell. It was booming with the best of music mixes by NDS & Blue, DJ Ajit Pai and DJ Inferno. Then, after all this drama, came the big boys of Hoobastank. They’d found a huge mass of crowd gathering during their soundcheck and did do a song right there. After a while, when they did come The best part about the October fest, which is inspired by the to perform, they killed it! Not just because they played “The German Oktoberfest is that it has three stages that gives the Reason”, they were brilliant and applauded. people a sense of fulfillment. The three stages showcase three Day three came with a bang! With loads of artists in the lineup, different types of music. There is King’s Land Stage, Common there was a massive crowd, for the Sunday it was. There was no Colors World Stage and Nocturnal Cell Stage. As the name beer counter that was free, everyone was either dancing to the suggests, so is their appearance. The King’s Land Stage tune or singing along. The day kick started with Clown With A featured the International bands and the well known Indian bands. Common Colors World Stage featured the bands that are Frown, a nine piece band which has trumpets and saxophones in the band. Then came Lagori, spreading madness through music. establishing their stand in music and in the country. Nocturnal Cell had the craziest DJ’s playing their music and making people High on music and beer the crowd cheerfully welcomed the band, Agam, a carnatic-rock band. The band was as mind-blowing as go crazy. the genre in itself. Meanwhile, there was Slain with a choir who On day two, Hoobastank (the headlining band) were to perform sang godly songs and somewhere inspired the people there. It was and there was a lot crowd to enjoy the music. The day started off now time to make way for The Raghu Dixit Project. As always, with Beat Gurus playing on the Common Colors World Stage, without a doubt, it was a jumping and singing along session with and the tent was filled with people to watch the boys beat the this band. More like a, do what he say or get abused. After this African instruments in an Indian style. As soon as they were was Baiju Dharmajan, formerly in Mother Jane, doing what done, the King’s Land Stage alit with music by Skrat from he does best. Amidst all this, there was still a world inside the Chennai. Playing some Garage rock, they rocked the stage alright! world where DJ Jochen Miller, DJ Jasmeet and DJ Ash Roy Meanwhile Aabha Hanjura, Sufi music artist teamed up with the continued to woo the crowd and house music lovers with their founding member of Beat Gurus, Ganesh to give the audience mixes. the best of both worlds. It was like an African-Indian live mixtape. It was more like a Rock day at the festival, with many forms The festival of 2013, ended with Mika Singh’s performance which of rock music playing back-to-back. After Skrat, One Nite Stand was the much awaited event of the night for all the Bollywood music lovers. So full on and Indus Creed moved the crowd with their amazing rock music. If that was not enough, Avial joined this rock night to play The

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with

Aditi Paul

This month, get behind the wheel with the pretty and outstanding Aditi Paul. Having lent her voice to the movie-of-the-moment Ram Leela, she’s been packing the proverbial punch for the love of music.

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan sahab; Ustad salamat Ali Khan sahib and Lata ji are the people who inspire me

I like all types of music especially Folk. I love folk music because it’s raw and it comes directly from your heart. And I can simply connect to my soil.

I think today everyone is more open to experimentation.

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Mahak Rajgarhia It has been a journey (Indian Idol till now in the music industry) that I had yearned for. There have been many learning experiences where I have, in fact, unlearned a lot and the process is still going on.

In Bengal we have different types of folk.

I love Baul and Bhatiyali (the boatman’s song) amongst them. My parents are from Bangladesh and I believe this is why I have this strong emotional connection with the country, it’s soil and it’s music.

It is a tradition in my family to complete education first (I have a M.A in Literature) though I could still pursue my career in music because of their tremendous support. My parents are avid lovers of music and thus this inherent knack for music in me. There were no second thoughts regarding the choice of my career.

I have been a drama queen since my childhood, so preparing myself to emote a certain type of expression comes quite naturally! Jokes apart, I think it’s important to understand the feel of the song and emote accordingly. But I’m still learning how to get it right.

It would be tough to pick up the craziest moment as I have had thousands of such moments. But to mention one would be climbing up the trees, clad in a saree, to pluck unripe mangoes!!! Oh You should give it a try.

The scariest moment would be every time on the day of the publication of results. I think I have given my parents several heart attacks. And my happiest moment? Well, that’s yet to come.

In my early days, we used to sing endlessly and freely. It would only be Tagore songs since I was a student at Santiniketan and there was hardly any scope to lend one’s ears to film songs. I love Tagore songs. The fact is he has written for each an every possible emotions so beautifully that sometimes you actually experience those moments through his words. That is the spell of Rabindranath Tagore. However, it was all types of music that attracted my attention and I gradually carved a liking for film songs.

Three words that describe me best would be energetic, eccentric and a learner.

If not for singing, I may have been an Astronaut may be, because I love their attire. I’m terrified of physics, though.

Ecstatic is how I feel having sung for a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film.

It’s a great learning experience. I have loved all his movies and the songs. The music in his films exhibits his extensive knowledge and skill in music. Also, it was great to be taught by him.

I do agree that the social networking sites have opened a new horizon for all of us to connect to the world personally. But, I think one should be careful enough about one’s level of performance before making it public.

Being asked about my experience with Coke Studio is definitely one of my favorites to answer. It was enthralling and electrifying right from the audition. It was a dream come true moment for me. In fact, the day I came to know that I have been selected I called the person (who gave me the news of my selection) twice to reconfirm it. I was silent and numb, of course out of joy, for a few minutes.

Singing in Rahman sir is an institution and it’s a great privilege to see different languages him create music. The entire experience was, in a word, is always a great EXHILARATING.

challenge and it is like reaching the summit only to find newer peaks beckoning you.

I have always been a fan of Illyaraja sir and Rahman sir. Their music inspires me a lot.

Having got to meet them and working with them remain precious.

Singing for Illyaraja sir was great and thrilling! In fact, I have also performed at his place during this Navratri and everything about that evening was so divine. Even the breeze was eclectically musical. I think I was blessed to have that opportunity.

Lag ja gale by Lataji can bring me to my knees. I love the innocence as well as the longing that she has so beautifully merged in this song. She is truly the goddess of music :)

As far as the experiments are concerned, I want to experiment with Tagore songs and wish to reach his heavenly creations out to the youngsters.

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EK GARAM CHAI with

Adithya Srinivasan Adithya Srinivasan, an upcoming & one of the youngest Ghazal Singers gets talking about Ghulam Ali, learning to pronounce Urdu and being a South Indian.

Given the lack of popularity of Ghazal music in recent times, what kind of challenges do you face?

Ghazal is a niche genre. There might not be a million people head-banging but there certainly are people who still enjoy this form of music and quality of audience sometimes overpowers their quantity! There are challenging times when ghazals don’t particularly suit the occasion or audience; at such times I ‘filmize’ or ‘classicalize’ ghazals.

You opened for the great Ghulam Ali last year. Do you want to share anything about him or the experience with the readers?

Ghulam Ali Sahib is a living legend - a monument of mastery and a hurricane of humility! I performed ‘Main Khayaal Hoon Kisi Aur Ka’ which was on the lips of every connoisseur sitting in the audience. It was more than a cloud nine moment for me.

Ghulam Ali Sahib was at the green room during my performance and as soon as I finished, I went inside to meet him. He blessed me and was very happy with my rendering of the ghazal. I could also give him my album ‘Ghazal Ka Mausam - a tribute to the Legends’

You hail from a traditional south Indian family, and ghazal music has its roots in Urdu. How did these two come together for you?

My grandfather M R Rangarajan had performed for our ex PM

“

Mrs. Indira Gandhi. My mother Sudha Srinivasan used to sing on the All India Radio and my father R Srinivasan was into theater and acting, so music was running through my veins. Leave alone Urdu, even Hindi was very scarce at home! I had a close friend who used to learn Arabic & Urdu every evening so I started visiting him more often and started learning pronunciations from the ‘Hazrat’. I figured out the differences between Saaki & Saaqi and learnt many other popular words & phrases frequently used in ghazals.

What can we expect from your newest project- Tu Hi Dilruba?

‘Tu Hi Dilruba’ is a dream project. It would feature Grammy® nominated musicians and the mastering is proposed to happen at a world famous studio in the United Kingdom. I have written & composed the song myself and I plan to release it in the third quarter of 2014.

Everything else about the track is a surprise!

Where do your roots and affinity for this genre originate from?

Way back in 1998 when I was 6 years old, Colonial Cousins were in news & I could somehow manage a cassette. I was amazed by Hariharan’s style of singing and was totally crazy about him. Few months later my father brought home ‘Hazir’, the first ghazal album I heard in my life and I must have played every song over a million times. I was in love by now with ghazals and that’s how it all began.

You are considered a major upcoming talent in this field by many. How does that feel?

It feels really nice and honored! It is the people who made me top the ReverbNation charts, downloaded extensively on Apple iTunes, exploited the replay button on YouTube and spammed their iPods with my music!

It’s Riyaz and the right know how that has brought me this far and I hope to go farther making people happy with my music.

My next international single ‘Tu Hi Dilruba’ is based on Ghazal Vocals and Western/ Contemporary orchestration. It shall be the answer to whether fusion music pertaining to ghazals would work out or not.

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This month we talk about the HPD-20 HandSonic Hand Percussion Unit and MICRO CUBE GX Guitar Amplifier.

Dynamic E-Percussion for Stage and Studio Roland takes digital hand percussion to a new dimension with the HandSonic HPD-20, a unique and versatile instrument that’s ideal for a wide range of music creators.

From percussionists and drummers to electronic dance music performers, composers, and all the way to producers. Equipped with the renowned SuperNATURAL sound engine and potent multi-effects, the HPD-20 offers 850 dynamic, ready-to-play sounds. The HandSonic pad interface also excels in computer music applications, where it’s perfect for playing virtual instruments, recording MIDI and audio performances in DAW software, and much more. With its convenient trigger inputs, you can easily expand the HPD-20 with a Roland pad and hi-hat controller to build a super-compact percussion set.

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Powerful hand percussion instrument for live performance and studio music production

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850 ready-to-play sounds include percussion from around the world, melodic instruments, drums, tones for modern electronica beats, and more

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Roland’s acclaimed SuperNATURAL sound engine delivers unparalleled tone quality and expressiveness

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Import up to 500 of your own WAV sounds via USB flash memory and assign them to pads

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Deep editing capability allows you to tweak and layer instruments and process tones with three independent multi-effects engines, ambience, and EQ

The New Standard in Ultra-Compact Amps A top-seller worldwide for nearly 10 years running, the MICRO CUBE is the most popular battery-powered amp of all time. The new MICRO CUBE GX retains the tiny size and huge sound of its legendary predecessor while adding many great additions and improvements, including i-CUBE LINK, increased output power, a chromatic tuner, and a MEMORY function for saving your favorite settings. The massive, high-gain EXTREME brings the total number of COSM amps to eight, while HEAVY OCTAVE has been added to the onboard effects section for thick, ultra-low tones. i-CUBE LINK opens many new opportunities for practice and recording, providing a built-in audio interface for working with music apps on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

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Ultra-compact guitar amp with custom-designed speaker

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13 silicone rubber pads provide ultra-sensitive velocity response and a comfortable feel

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Eight COSM amp tones, including the ultra-heavy EXTREME amp

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Dynamic pad assignments let you dampen, mute, and tune sounds for authentic performance of acoustic hand percussion like congas and tabla

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Eight DSP effects, including HEAVY OCTAVE and dedicated DELAY/REVERB with spring emulation

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Roll button and Realtime Modify knob; D-BEAM for controlling sounds and effects with hand movements

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MEMORY function for saving favorite amp and effects settings

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Easily capture performances and ideas with the Quick Rec function and export them as WAV audio files to USB flash memory

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i-CUBE LINK jack provides simple audio interfacing with Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch (interface cable included)

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Inputs for connecting a Roland pad and hi-hat controller (sold separately)

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USB Computer port for audio/MIDI communication with popular music software, including DAWs and standalone virtual instruments.

Free CUBE JAM app for iOS plays songs and minusone jam tracks, and lets you record the MICRO CUBE GX’s COSM amp tones along with music playback

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Chromatic tuner built in

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Runs on battery power or supplied AC adapter; carrying strap included

Ever Bridge

Sandunes (Electronica/ Experimental)

Indie Myths and Fables

Jester (Electronic Rock/Pop) This is the second electronica act which caught my attention in this month! This female fronted electronica act from Mumbai has lot to offer in their sound. Sandunes can be defined as a bridge between old and new dub with a hint of Drum N Bass. But remember freak if you are going ga ga over those random electronic music tracks in vh1 then this is not your cup of tea. Sandunes is more matured with deeper sound and lesser noise! With guest musicians like Siddharth Basrur and Uday Benegal, Sanudunes will surely explore a few unexpected horizons of music. I personally find her sound is very refreshing - a perfect hangover killer may be! Favorite picks- ‘I would’ and ‘perfect fit’. Go pick it up fellas, it’s for free!

Available for free download at sandunes.bandcamp.com

Attuned Spirits

Vasuda Sharma (Fusion/Hindi Rock/Experimental)

Jester – this Nayi Dilli based modern Rock/Pop circuit is comparatively new in the circuit. And like I said they offer a pretty fresh doze of music as well. They have that perfect post 90’s feeling in their music with loads of melody. Those funky guitar lines are matching perfectly with the keys and successfully turning everything into a happy feeling note.

The vocalist has done a pretty decent clean singing job. A perfect indie release only if you are familiar with the new age electro Rock transfusion. Songs like ‘Harlequin’ has unexpected psychedelic transformation but the band is pretty much successful in what are they trying to do. Don’t know how far I am right but I did found a loads of ‘Zero’ feeling in their sound, inspiration may be!

Personal picks – ‘Sepia’ and ‘Harlequin’.

Available at flipkart.com/myths-fables-jester

There are musicians who refuse to put a hold on their musical boundaries.

Their utmost soul satisfaction comes from their diving through different genres and soulful experiments. Mumbai based Vasuda Sharma is a musician who falls into this league. This Barkley passed out is one hell of a talent to get recognized! She had a youtube release a few months back and when I watched it I did not create any special attention towards her music. But When I streamed the full album, I got a completely different perception! It’s an amalgamation of classical Indian music, Blues, Jazz, Rock and everything in between. And as you know that, not everybody can put all of these into a single mixer. And she has one of the most soothing voices I have ever heard in recent time. Lyrically she is quite spiritual and aesthetic! And yeah I could hear some mesmerizing cello tunes too! Currently she has been touring the major cities to promote her album so be prepared to get mesmerized by her stunning looks and soothing voice. And don’t forget to buy the album too.

Personal picks would be ‘Maula’ and ‘Cruel World’.

Khoj Antariksh (Rock/Pop/Progressive)

Available at nh7.in/audiolizer/attunedspirits/ Available at itunes and oklisten

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Sibarshis Dutta

Breaking Bad with no good music in the background?

We won’t let that happen. Here are some of this month’s coolest music to dive into.

Swimmers

Frame/Frame

(Downtempo/Drum N Bass) We often misinterpret the term ‘electronic music’ by the most common thought process that it’s nothing but party goers bliss and nothing but random mindless music to the others! And electronic music does not only mean ‘Psy or BOOM’. Deep sown in underground, there are bunches of people who are digging out some of the deepest electronic noise! The best part is a few of them really knows how to do a cross connection between different genres. New Dilli based electro Downtempo/Drum n Bass act Frame/Frame has recently released their ep titled as ‘Swimmers’. It’s completely a one man effort with helps from a few of his good friends! The ep contains five songs in total and all of the tracks are filled with very soothing yet dark, raw yet finely produced samples! Personally the tracks took me to a landscape (or rather mindscape) where clouds were bursting over gentle and giant pine trees and I could hear the sound of leaves murmuring by the wind passing by.

Gladly I understood why they referred it as ‘Swimmers’. Best listenable suggestion is – Put headphones! Edgy bass lines in the track ‘Pastels’, repeat mode on!

My personal picks would be ‘Pastels’ and ‘Feather’ Available for free download atframebyframeofficial.bandcamp.com

There has been a certain increase in the numbers of Hindi indie musicians in recent years.Well that’s certainly a good sign that the listeners are actually thinking beyond bollywood numbers. Antariksh certainly falls into the headliner category in this genre.This Delhi based gang of happy boys have recently released their full length titled as ‘Khoj’ the meaning of which signifies searching for something which is unreachable. The titles of the songs clearly signifies the outcry of a soul which is trying to find its own share of happiness.Very much radio friendly sound indeed and I can clearly smell the reason for being it a super success. Musically they are rich and pretty modern indeed. Excellent drumming with various time variations and very clearly defined guitar work in terms of production.

Although vocals is kinda predictable. They clearly shows the signs of becoming mainstream heartthrobs! I wish for their success!Go buy it people,you will not regret.

Personal picks - ‘Na jaane kyun’ and ‘Shoonya’ The

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#ScoreNight EVERY FRIDAY!

only at BAK BAK BAR (Bangalore) HAVAVA, the club (Chennai)

EVENTS Galore

For more bleh, blah, boo on gigs and all things sound bound: knock on skore.in.

We’re watching you.

This month’s gigs all consolidated into two pages of awesome!

The Great Indian October Fest 2013 The 9th edition of Kingfisher’s The Great Indian October fest saw some spectacular performances. Here’s the visuals stand testimony to the fact.

White Mug The groovy White Mug believes in creating a sound typical of laid-back soulful music. As gestalt as it gets, they totally blended each note much to the pleasure of the listener.

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The BottleFlower Seeds and The Astronauts We got our alternate-progressive creep on with these bands. Not that we need an excuse to celebrate alt/prog and chill out.

The Peanut Butter Conspiracy, The Broadway Addicts & The Detours This ScoreNight, we had the power of three. The Peanut Butter Conspiracy, The Broadway Addicts and The Detours come together for an epic gig and how.

Live Banned What would you expect from a band that dresses *ahem* colorfully? Like really colorful. Live Banned’s performances are characteristically bold, flamboyant and energetic.

Manic music lovers were in for a treat the Hard Rock Café as the Bacardi Weekender (a series of parties held as a lead to the Bacardi NH7 Weekender) kicked off. It was a massive treat to listen to Indus Creed, Soulmate and Spud in The Box.

Photo credits: Nikhil Kataria Sandhya Talupuru (ScoreNight – The Peanut Butter Conspiracy Mumbai: Radha Mohan Rajani The

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Interesting Projects for the Working Carnatic Musician Some musicians of today have solid side professions such as singer Saketharaman, who works in Bangalore fulltime. However, for many, music is a profession they are single-mindedly dedicated to. Quite a few young musicians of today want to pursue activities that supplement their passion.

Start a Band

Teach

Giving proper Carnatic concerts is very exciting and stimulating for a musician. Yet the demographic of listeners are of a varying nature. Performing in a band however, gives you more scope to reach a greater and more diverse crowd. Now, I am not saying go commercialize yourself and make every effort to ‘blend’ in. In fact, it takes a lot of talent and intelligence to take a traditional art form and present it in a way that appeals to the masses. If you approach the right people and have a solid concept, there is a lot of value and flavor a musician can add to the Indian and World Music scene. One of the primary examples of successful bands of the past are Shakthi consisting of great Indian musical legends such as Ustad Zakir Hussein (tabla), Sri T.H. Vinayakaram (ghatam), Sri Ramnad Raghavan (mridangam), Sri L. Shankar (violin) and English guitarist John McLaughlin. Luckily, this idea of forming bands that blend Carnatic and Western music has not faded. Bands such as the Heartbeat Ensemble lead by the Ghatam maestro Sri S. Karthick and Karuna Kshetra which was started by Manickam Yogeswaran have emerged in the coming years.

Among the current generation of today, there are bands such as Yodhakaa and APE (Aditya Prakash Ensemble) that have emerged and created waves in the field of Classical Fusion. “APE seeks to break down the walls between the cultures of jazz and Indian Classical Music, to discover music free from genre itself” says band leader Aditya Prakash.

If you ask any of the eminent musicians of today in Carnatic Music, they will tell you that one of the greatest ways to revisit and reinforce concepts is through teaching. “It reinforces what you know, helps you break down concepts. This makes you aware of what you are singing/playing and why!” says singer Vani Ramamurthi, who teaches a select few aside from performing. She adds, “Sometimes, when something comes to a person naturally and they aren’t conscious about how they are doing it, one has an opportunity to take notice of such things. This in turn clarifies their understanding of what they can do.” This enhances the experience for both the musician as well as the student.

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Make Your Own Series In today’s Carnatic scene, there are a variety of music series conducted throughout the year to enlighten rasikas and musicians about various subtopics or composer’s in Carnatic music. Mudhra, an organization dedicated to thematic presentations, holds series such as the Veena Utsav (August) to showcase the magnificence of the Veena. During the December season, they hold a concert series that explores different thematic presentations ranging from Thillanas, RTP (Ragam Thanam Pallavi), One Raga-One kriti and concerts that feature Composer specific pieces. The founder of the organization, Mudhra Bhaskar is a percussionist

Ananya Ashok himself and started the organization in an effort to promote the art. Other musicians who have held unique series are Mridangist Sri Patri Satish Kumar who recently held the wildly successful Patri Drum Fest and Prince Rama Varma of Travancore, who holds the yearly Swathi Utsavam in Kerala.

Write about Music Another way to immerse yourself in your music aside from singing your heart out is to write about it!

Artists such as Sri TM Krishna, Sri Chitraveena Ravikiran and many other artists contribute in great ways through writing their thoughts and ideas regarding music practice, history, and performance.

Singer Sushma Somasekaran for example, writes for Sruti Magazine on a frequent basis interviewing the latest talents in the field of Carnatic Music. She notes, “Interviewing people definitely gives me a personal insight into the way different musicians handle this career path. It’s a great learning experience for me.”

Artists like Sandeep Narayan have blogs where they document their performances and write their thoughts on music. So, my fellow musicians: whip out your pens or your laptops and start writing!

Get involved with Research For musicians with a science background or an interest in the science of music, research is an excellent route to take. Mridangist Akshay Ananthapadmanabhan, who finished his Undergraduate and Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering at Cooper Union, shared his experience researching the mridangam. “There are definitely aspects of the research that have helped me understand more about the mridangam from a completely different lens. For instance, the first paper I wrote helped me understanding the harmonic characteristics of the instruments and how the strokes we play on the mridangam are composed of certain resonant frequencies of the instrument.” He explains that there are ways other musicians contribute even without a Science background. Projects dealing with transcribing recordings for purpose of rhythm and raga identification allow musicians to do what they love doing, which is listening to music while making some dough.

There are numerous possibilities for fun and creative projects that benefit you and the music community simultaneously. Not to mention, good use of your musical skills!

You’ve decided to take up Carnatic as a career.

Concerts come but not as frequently as you would.

In this article, I look to give you, the dedicated musician a few ideas on interesting projects to carry along while pursuing your performance career.

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NIEL MORSE BAND FEATURING

MIKE PORTNOY Every year Mood Indigo, the cultural festival of IIT Bombay brings in sensational talents from all across the world to showcase their performance in front of young college students from all over India.

International bands like Simple Plan, Karnivool, and Porcupine Tree have performed at OAT, the amphitheater of campus during the fest. The headlining band for this year has been finalized and it’s going to be none other than progressive masterpiece formed by five insane multi-instrumentalists, Neal Morse Band Featuring Mike Portnoy!

On-stage, will be Neal Morse (Vocals, guitars, synth), Mike Portnoy (Drums, Vocals), Randy George (Bass, Vocals), Eric Gillette (Vocals, Bass), Bill Hubauer (Synth, Vocals). The American based band will perform on the very first night of Mood Indigo.

Neal Morse Band led by Neal Morse is yet another project of the popular guitarist and his partner from Flying Colors and Transatlantic Mike Portnoy. It is coming first time in India to perform exclusively for Mood Indigo this December.

When asked about the reasons behind their choice, Darpan Sanghavi, the Pronites Head says “Our ideology this year was to get a band that interests all types of music listeners. With Neal Morse band and Mike Portnoy coming together, we believe we have done precisely that.”

Mike Portnoy, born in New York, attended the Berklee College of Music on a scholarship in 1985 which is where he formed the band Dream Theater with whom he sustained a successful career for 25 years, developing a tremendously devoted fan-base and record sales of almost 10 million copies worldwide.

Mike’s long list of Awards include 26 Modern Drummer Magazine Reader’s Poll Awards including Hall of Fame Inductee in 2004, MVP of the Year in 2010, Best Progressive Rock Drummer (for the magazine’s record of 12 years in a row), Best Clinician (twice), Best Educational Video/DVD for Liquid Drum Theater, and Best Recorded Performance of the Year (7 times) for Dream Theater’s Awake, A Change of Seasons, Falling Into Infinity, Scenes From A Memory, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, Score and Avenged Sevenfold’s Nightmare. He also holds the distinction being the 2nd youngest

to headline IITB’s Mood Indigo this year.

World’s Best Drummer to perform on 20th December in IIT Bombay drummer ever inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame (while age 37) and is currently the youngest in the Hall of Fame.

Neal Morse is an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, band-leader and progressive rock composer based in Nashville, Tennessee. After growing tired of music scene in Los Angeles, Morse decided to travel Europe to explore more, for good. In 1995, this born-again Christian went back to US and formed the progressive rock band Spock’s Beard, one of the most successful progressive rock bands of the 90s. He tries to explore the positive side of life through his music rather than the negative side as is done by many other bands.

Choosing a band lies in the hands of Pronites Heads, who are in charge of arranging concerts at Mood Indigo. With limited resources they endeavor to bring most popular band which is willing to come all the way to India. “So after last year, we didn’t want to reduce on the popularity scale and we wanted to go back to the good old progressive music. Music check. Popularity check. We present to you Neal Morse and Mike Portnoy” says an overwhelmed Saksham Jain, the Pronites Head.

Many prominent figures from music industry have already sent their best wishes to the team. An excited Subir Malik, member of the wellknown band Parikrama says “It’s great to see the Mood I team making the festival one up year after year. This is amazing news and sure to crop up a storm in the industry. Am booking my ticket today!”

“Mike Portnoy is a personality whom young bands and drummers look upto; it will be a dream to open for him in the Open Air theatre of IIT Bombay”, said one prospective participant of Livewire – India’s largest semi professional rock band competition, conducted by Mood Indigo.

“Neal Morse’s music directs you towards the positive aspects of life as opposed to some rock songs which have a hue of negativity in their lyrics and in their progression. It enlivens my mood every time I listen to it”, said Sreeram, a student of Mumbai University. He is willing to attend the concert even thought his engineering exam is scheduled for the next day itself. “Of course! Why on Earth would I miss this; it’s a once in a lifetime. opportunity.”

To get passes for the gig, one may log on to moodi.org/LivewireNite