The Score Magazine September 2014 by The Score Magazine

ISSN 0974 – 9128

Vol 07 Issue 08 - September 2014

thescoremag

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India's National Pan-Genre Music MagazinE

` 50

+ Festival Focus

Jodhpur Riff Jodhpur Riff: What to expect from the colossal festival this October

+ Star of The Month

Sunitha Sarathy “I wasn’t into the idea of singing for films. I got a lot of offers but I kept resisting.”

+ Casio powers

Yamaha Powers

BAND OF THE MONTH

Aditya Prakash

Ensemble

Aditya Prakash gives us the lowdown on his band, APE

Keyboardist of the month

Benny Pinto was more into bikes than he was into his keyboard.

Cover Story

Stephen

Devassy His Life and his Dreams

In Tune & In Fashion : Hard Kaur’s style hues from Boho-Glam to Punk Rock Chic

the edit PAD We are delighted to feature Stephen Devassay on the Cover. He is a renowned Indian Musician. We also have Aditya Prakash Ensemble as Band of the Month, Sunitha Sarithy as Star of the month and Benny Pinto as keyboardist of the month. Sony’s Project Resound did catch our attention and we have Benny Dayal, Nucleya and Karsh talking about Sony’s initiative.

i nside Band of the Month

22 POWERED BY YAMAHA Aditya Prakash gives us the lowdown on his band, APE

I am happy to introduce Ananya Ashok as our new Associate Editor and Shreya Bose as our Social Media Curator. Most of our readers have appreciated our product reviews that we have featured in the past few Issues of the Magazine. We will have more detailed technical reviews about consumer products in our forth coming issues. We would love to hear your reviews about the Magazine and what specific segments you would like to see in the Magazine. All reviews, interviews / articles are written with one sole purpose: To bring you Music and related News. We do not write to please or hurt anyone. You can reach out to us directly at contactus@highonscore.com to share your thoughts.

Pragash VM

Director - Business Development

Director, Strategy and Planning : Ajay Prabhakar Director, Business Development : Pragash VM Head - Marketing & Operations : Sneha Ramesh Associate Editor : Ananya Ashok Content Coordinator : Nidhi Iyer• Shreya Bose Editorial Advisor : Nikila Srinivasan Creative Director : George Vedamanickam Lead Designer : Nipun Garodia WebMaster : Daanish Millwalla Cover Photography: www.DeepaJacobPhotography.com

www.thescoremagazine.com brand partners

10 Cover Story Stephen Devassy: The Man who dreamt big and saw his dreams through.

18 Star Of the Month Sunitha Sarathy talks about Gospel Music and her initial apprehension about film music

26 Score Reviews Discover the latest in Bollywood and Indie Music and our take on them.

Casio Powers:

30 Keyboardist Of the Month Benny Pinto was more into bikes than he was into his keyboard. Check out his transformation here.

32 Festival Focus Jodhpur Riff: What to expect from the colossal festival this October

34 Project Resound

DISCLAIMER: Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustrations without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs and illustrations. Views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publication and accordingly no liability is assumed by the publisher thereof. Advertising copy and artworks are the sole responsibility of the advertisers. http://www.motherteresafoundation.org.in The Score Magazine is proud to support the Mother Teresa Foundation and urge our readers to join us in giving back a fraction of what we have been given.

A round up of the seasons.

42 Classical Segment Talented Classical Musicians from abroad you must know!

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Stephen

Devassy If you look up Stephen Devassy on the Internet or attend a show of his, you’ll find an extremely charismatic man who clearly did nothing short of following his dreams. From his school days at 7th day Adventist high school, Ottapaalam where he started walking into the world of music to his very first keyboard gifted by his father, Devassy has literally worked his way from ground up as a musician. In the 5th standard, Stephen had started learning to play the keyboard. By the time he’d reached 8th standard, he began performing in churches and other public venues. Stephen always felt a connection to music and had made up his mind in college, that he would pursue music seriously in his life. What followed was one opportunity after another. His first tour abroad was while he was in the first year of college with the great Hariharan. A R Rahman's music has had a tremendous effect on Stephen. He inspired Stephen to explore the technical aspects of Sound Engineering and Music Production. Soon his inspiration took him to doing keyboard programming for many leading music directors in Malayalam. Passion for music took him to the next level, when he shifted to Chennai during 2003. His music programming skills gave Stephen an edge in the Tamil industry and he very quickly became one of the most in-demand keyboard programmers in the industry. His music production style was much appreciated in Bollywood scene, where he worked as the programmer for many leading music directors. He has worked with more than 50 music directors in many Languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada and programmed over 2000 songs. Stephen was reaching the height of his career when he began to deviate as his desire to become a live performer intensified. And who could blame him? He’s an incredibly talented pianist who finished his 8th grade in Piano at the tender age of 16 (a distinction bestowed on very few). His schedule filled up quickly with numerous shows, which in turn boosted his popularity. And voila: Stephen Devassy had just become the most sought-after Keyboard performer in India. Today, Stephen’s perfection in playing has made him a sort of idol among the youth today. He is undoubtedly the fastest keyboard player as his fingers are said to quite literally “swim” across the keyboard. He never ceases to awe his audience. As he enjoys each and every note he plays, he is energetic, and fully there. The audience loves him. Musicians love working with him. Score sat down with Stephen to talk about his career, life, and the secret to success.

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Tell us the background story of how you got into music. Why specifically the piano? Well, I always liked singing. My dad bought a keyboard when I was very young. Meantime my brother was learning the Western violin. I would go with him and accompany him for his performances quite a bit. The same teacher that taught him also gave lessons in keyboard and guitar. I ofcourse chose the keyboard because I already had one at home. I was actually quite fond of drums too. I used to just bang on things wherever I went! But ultimately, I settled on the keyboard. When I was a teen I started playing movie songs and stuff like that on the keyboard.

Who were your musical influences growing up? From a very young age, I used to listen to a lot of classic rock, pop, and various kinds of music after Eric Clapton and all the other greats ofcourse. I also listened to classical composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach. I just listened to everything that my dad had in his collection. Infact, I should say my dad had a fantastic collection of music. I honestly don’t even know how he collected all that music over the years but it was a great compilation of music, which he had. Regardless, all that music started naturally coming into my head and in the meantime, I listened to a lot of church music. I liked to go to Church, and the church music I was exposed to was very inspiring. Then I told myself "Okay, I’m going to listen to as much as I can.” I absorbed everything and I think that helped me to grow a lot. Aside from Church Music, I started listening to a lot of film songs. Rahman inspired me a lot at one point and I began listening to a lot of his music.

Tell us about your first band, Seven and what you learned from your experiences during that time? Seven just happened like that one day. The singer, Franco Simon used to come to my music school a lot. He knows my second guru, who was Father Thomas. So, he would often come to the school and hear me play. One day he said to me, "I have an idea for an album that I want to create. I’ve composed some songs. Can you arrange the songs for me?” I was like, " Hmm. Okay, let me see". So, whenever I would get some time after school, I'd go to his house, take my keyboard and we’d start jamming. I think that was the first time I was inspired to actually compose/create something. I was 17 years old at the time. In time, we got another guitar player, and we started jamming together. Soon it became a routine affair. Every evening he'd come and pick me up, I'd spend time with the band, and if it got late, I'd stay there the night. We got really close and that’s when Franco said “I know they’re my songs but, we should make an album! Why can't we make an act?”. He said his lucky number was 7. Hence Seven was born. After that, we started preparing the songs, booked the studio and started recording. We went to Chennai, talked Kosmic Music Producitons for promotion we got on a contract. This led to newer opportunities on TV channels such as MTV and more.

1999 Stephen gets his first break at age 18 to orchestrate music for the album, “Ishtamannu”

2003 Stephen has his music directorial debut with the Malayalam film, “Hariharan Pillai Happy Aanu”.

2000 1999 Goes on a European tour with Hariharan. He also accompanies L. Subramaniam that same year.

He starts the music band, Seven with singers Franco Simon and Sangeeth.

2002 He joins the band, Rexband and and performs in Canada for the World Youth Day in front of Pope John Paul II. The

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When did you first start arranging music for films? What attracted you to this field? Well, as I mentioned earlier, when I was about 16, my dad got me a keyboard which was more of a workstation keyboard. So, right then I started to try stuff on the keyboard because its a layered instrument and you can program a lot of sounds to it. At home I try to compose a song, play songs of Rahman sir, old form and started rearranging pieces with rhythm. Couple friends wanted me to write songs for them and then I started working in studios for small jobs people would listen and they would give me their cards, I would arrange. It naturally started coming to me and then got calls for movies and then one after the other.

Tell us about Rexband and your musical initiative towards the Jesus Youth Movement. Mr. Alphons Joseph introduced me to Rexband. Once in my school, he came to my room and started talking to me rather casually. He asked if I’d be interested in training with a few guys for a performance. It turned out to be Rexband. As we jammed, we really connected. Concerts and a tours followed suit. I got involved in the band full swing and then we went to US. I was 20 at the time. It was amazing. We had the privilege of performing with the band before Pope John Paul II during World Youth Day performance in Canada as well. At the time, we were the only catholic band invited from India. We also got to do an instrumental album around the same time, which was the first of its kind. The album sold out very fast.

You have also done albums like Sacred Chants of Kosmic Music, with holy chants of Ganesha, Shiva and Vishnu. What inspired such an album? That was completely credited to Kosmic Arts. They wanted me to work on a couple albums with them and I thought I’d give it a try. They gave the tune and I started arranging music. The first album I did with them was a big hit and then they contracted for 2nd and a 3rd album. I really don’t know the meaning of the slokas but I could feel the music and could make the tunes. I am good at harmony and I tried to incorporate that in the albums. I made about 15-20 albums like that.

2007 Stephen sets tune to a background of Western music, Sanskrit slokas, mantras and verses from the Upanishads, called Sacred Chants of Kosmic Music, and albums of holy chants on Ganesha, Shiva and Vishnu.

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You have worked with the likes of Zakir Hussain, U Shrinivas, Sivamani, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and many more. What has been the most memorable experience to date, and with whom? A Classical musicians’ thought process is very different because they are from a classical music background. I thought that I would need to learn more about that. One of the best concerts was for the Sakthi Foundation. That was the first time I played for Zakhir Hussain. He said, “I think you have a great future and I want you to come and see me.” I was thrilled. I did a few shows with him after that. I did a few shows with Hariharan and we had quite a few good concerts in India

What is your advice to the youth who pursue music and specifically piano? The instrument has a quality. It comes with harmony and melody and its scope is endless. I feel a lot of emotion can be expressed through the piano. The instrument is extremely powerful. But the thing is, like any instrument you must work hard and pursue with focus and most definitely practice a lot.

Which project in your perspective have you found to be the most challenging in your career? It depends on the performance angle, when I started performing with classical artists, it was a challenge because I am not from a classical background. Sivamani can improvise, but Carnatic musicians are very detailed and I felt there was much for me to learn like ragam, talam, calculations and had to figure out how to contribute in a collaboration. From a production standpoint, doing an album includes mixing everything. It is challenging, the voicing, the tracks, the instruments and incorporating it well and creatively.

If you had a life slogan, what would it be? I came from a humble background went through quite a few hardships and pressures. It is tough to be a mainstream artist. But the main thing I follow is the connection between my creator and I. I follow my guru and I'm fortunate to have the love of my family. One must focus and dedicate themselves to what they want to achieve. Working hard with focus and attention will get you to great heights in life!

2010

2008 2007 Releases his album Romanza, a mix of World Music with the touch of the piano. Hariharanm Ouseppachan appear as guest stars on the album.

Marries his wife Jesna Joy on November 16th, 2010

- He assists Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan with his album of Christmas carols, Breaking Barriers.

2009 He performs in Sakthi Foundation’s annual fundraising concert, Ghananjani.

Nidhi Iyer

It is tough to be a mainstream artist. But the main thing I follow is the connection between my creator and I. I follow my guru and I'm fortunate to have the love of my family. One must focus and dedicate themselves to what they want to achieve.

2014 In March he performed at Calicut Medical College. Later, As part of annual cultural festival 'Sanskriti 2014' of Mar Athanasius College Engineering, Kothamangalam, he performed a pro-show event with Manoj George, Job Kurian, and many more..

2011

2011 In March, Devassy performs in Ragam'11, the annual cultural fest of NIT Calicut. He goes on to perform for NMAM Institute of Technology(Nitte Mahalinga Adyanthaya Memorial)on 4th Of November in the TechFest also called Technidarshan

In march, he performed in the popular cultural fest Spring Spree, held by NIT Warangal.

2012

2014 He performed in the National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi as a part of their Annual Arts Day "Pratidhwani.

In February, he performed at TKM College of Engineering, Kollam for the technical festival Conjura. He was accompanied by Blaaze and Haricharan. The

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www.stringtemple.com

String Temple in this special segment brings Mr.Eero Hameenniemi who is among the most revered western classical musicians in the international circuit. Influences from the South Indian Classical Music has been an integral part of his music since his early visits to India. His collaborations with Mrs.Bombay Jayashri and Shri Karaikudi R. Mani was well received among the global audience. He is also known for his extensive literary work. This interview provides a deep insight on his association with India and the Tamil Language.

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What has been your association with Indian and Carnatic Music citing your regular visits to the country? I’ve visited India annually since 1984, but even before that I’d studied Sanskrit at the University in Helsinki. At first I went to Delhi and North India, but from 1991 I began to participate in the Chennai Season. For many years I have had a regular seat at the MFAC during the Season. I enjoy Carnatic music very much, but I am just a listener. Being a professional musician in the Western tradition is quite enough for one lifetime.

You are also known for your literary works, especially in Tamil Literature. Can you throw some light on it? I have always had a very keen interest in languages, and I have had the extraordinary blessing of having been able to study Tamil under the guidance of Dr. I Sundaramoorthy, one of the greatest Tamil scholars of our time. I’ve written 7 books, four of which deal with India and Indian culture. A decade ago I included some translations I had made from sangam literature into one of my books, but only next year, 2015, a proper collection of translations into Finnish from Ainkurunuru, Kuruntokai and Purananuru is due to be published by my publisher, Basam Books. I have used Tamil language texts in two of my main works for Mrs. Bombay Jayashri and Symphony Orchestra: “Red Earth and Pouring Rain” and “Yaadum uure”.

We would like to hear about your collaborations with the Indian artists such as Smt.Bombay Jayashri and Karaikudi Shri R. Mani. I have been extremely fortunate in finding truly great musicians to work with. My collaboration with Guru Karaikkudi Mani Sir started in 1995, and in 1997 he and the Sruthi Laya- ensemble came to Helsinki to play with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Mani Sir returned in 2010 to perform with the same orchestra in my work entitled “Never Stop!” I hope he never will! My Nadamensemble has also performed with the musicians of Mani Sir both in India and in Finland, and we’ve made a CD entitled

“Unmatched”, which I believe is available in India even now. Another very important collaboration had been with Mrs. Bombay Jayashri, the greatest singer that has ever performed my music. I have been blessed with the opportunity of writing three large works for her. They have been performed in different European countries, and new concerts are being planned as we speak. I have also had the opportunity to write music for the absolutely wonderful flute virtuoso Mr. Flute Shashank Subramanyam and an excellent string quartet from Finland, Meta4. Another dear friend and important collaborator has been Dr. K.S.Subramanian of the Karaikkudi veenai tradition.

What is the scenario of Carnatic music in Finland? How well it is received by the audience and musicians? Unfortunately Carnatic music is rarely heard in Finland, but the great musicians who have come for my projects have often also given classical concerts. They have been very well received.

What you think about the works of Mr.V.S.Narasimhan especially the Madras String Quartet? I have been able to meet with Mr. V.S. Narasimhan on many occasions, and I have the deepest admiration for his work with the Madras String Quartet. I think that his arrangements of Carnatic classics for the string quartet are something unique and wonderful and I hope that he and the quartet can soon come to Finland to perform. I am certain that they would be much appreciated in my country, because the Madras String Quartet makes the string quartet, so familiar to us, into something very fresh, new and interesting.

Can you let us know about the radio programme for Finland in which you highlighted the music of Madras String Quartet? On occasion I have made radio programmes for the Finnish National Radio YLE 1. In one of the programmes I spoke about the interaction between Western and Carnatic music, and as one of the examples of very succesful cross fertilization between our two traditions I mentioned the work of Mr. Narasimhan, who has found a way of making Carnatic classics sit very well with the string quartet. I also played his arrangement of Papanasam Sivan’s Kriti Eesanee in the same programme.

What is your opinion about the Western Classical Music scenario in India? There are many musicians in India who are very well versed in Western music, but my impression is, that it is not often heard in concert in Chennai. Maybe more so in places like Mumbai.

What are your upcoming projects in India and abroad? Many projects. I am working on a new piece for Mr. Flute Shashank Subramanyam and the Meta4 string quartet. For this I have a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation of the US. I have made arrangements for a string orchestra of my Urdu language songs (Sab Kahan?) for Mrs. Bombay Jayashri and they are due to be premiered in Germany and Finland in 2016. I also hope to be able to write yet another large work for Guru Karaikkudi Mani Sir and a large Western Orchestra.

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TRICKS OF THE TRADE WITH

RafFaele Marcellino

Rafaelle Marcellino, Director of Academic and Student Services for SAE Qantm Creative Media Institute Australia speaks to Score Magazine about the nature, intentions opportunities, placements, scholarships and the like afforded by SAE to prospective students, both amateurs and professionals in the creative media industry. Mr. Marcellino is an Australian composer and educator whose music has been orchestrated by many of the leading Australian and International ensembles globally. In March 2013 he acquired his current position at SAE.

Pix: Dwarakanathan Ravi

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Could you give us a summary of what the SAE Qantm Creative Media Institute Australia stands for? What kind of courses do you offer? The SAE Qantm Media Institute is an educational institution that encompasses, creative media, in its entirety. It is structured like an ecosystem. We have film, audio, web design, graphic design, animation. It captures the entire contemporary media creative input. We offer Bachelor Degrees in the six areas: Game development, Animation, Film, Audio and Design. And we also give diplomas in Audio Engineering.

Does your faculty include distinguished personalities of the relevant fields? We have professionals that we recruit from the industry. These are people that have both training as professional practitioners but also teachers. They may not be known to the average listener but have high respect in their fields. For example, in our film course we have people who are filmmakers, directors, post-production, production designers, producers, audio, studio engineers, designers, animators, people that have worked with some of the largest companies in film production - Animal Logic - companies like that.

What kind of students do you think will be a good fit for the SAE environment? Is there an age restriction? The students that come to us are people that want to enter the industry. They have talent, they want to develop that talent, they actually want to make a really serious attempt to get into the industry. So they’re very keen, they want to be practitioners, and we get them working on creative work from day one.

Could you give a summary of the admission process? First thing is putting in an application. We also do an interview in which we like to assess the person’s understanding of the creative media industry, whether they actually understand what they’re coming in for, why that’s helping manage what they’re expecting. It also gives us an idea of their intention because attitude is as important as talent.

Nidhi Iyer What kinds of events does SAE host or organise? Do students participate in them? How often do they happen? We’re looking at a film festival that’ll go national based on student work as a demonstration. We also have a virtual gallery for designers and animators. So it is like an online festival. We try and make this happen once a year so we can gather all the work. We also have industry nights where we invite the local industry on each campus and the student work is put in front of all the professional industry people so they can see who is coming up and it has led to work for people.

Could you tell us a bit about SAE’s partners and collaborators in the industry? I’ll give you an example. The Hi-Fi bar, which is one of the big professional venues in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. We have a program where our live sound students work in their venue. So they learn live sound in a professional environment with real artists doing real jobs.

Does SAE offer scholarships of any kind to prospective students and performers? Yes, we have a merit-based scholarship system, so we target exceptional students we think have promise and provide a scholarship system for them.

Do you have a lot of students from India and the subcontinent? We have Indian students and students from the subcontinent. SAE is a global institute. We have more than 50 campuses around the world. You can transfer between campuses. So you might start in Sydney but end up in London, or start in LA and end up in Melbourne or Glasgow or Liverpool or Milan. We’ve got this network of professionals and collaborators – students collaborate across campuses so that people do projects where the bass player is in NY and the producer’s in Melbourne and the singer is in Liverpool. They can collaborate over the internet. Because if we’re going to prepare people for the industry, they have to have awareness are preparedness for what it means. In India we’re looking to articulate with a lot of institutions, but only quality. My reason for being here is that India has a very sophisticated and world-established industry and we’re talking to those leading people to have articulations and we see that as very exciting. The Indian entertainment industry has the type of quality we want to be working with, and I think we can make some successful connections here.

Is admission process the same for students from India? No. A network of agents including Mr. Vivek (International Market Manager - South Asia, SAE Institute) actually ensures that Indian applicants are looked after. So, it is not just the case of putting in a piece of paper. We help with the visa regulations, with all the processing, with government regulations to come to Australia so students aren’t just abandoned to fill in a form. We actually make sure that everyone is fully informed. We understand that in an Indian culture parents are influencers in making decisions. We respect that. Make sure they are fully informed so that they can help feel comfortable with their child coming to study here. We have to explain to them that there is an industry. For every performer standing on a stage, there are 10 jobs associated with that performer. So for band of 5 people, there are 50 jobs generated to put those people on the stage. And when people hear that they say “Ah! I understand now. There’s work.”

Are there any placement options after students finish courses at SAE? And what about Internships? We now have a compulsory work placement programme as part of our degrees. And everybody does an internship. We have dedicated staff on every campus whose job is to place interns. So, for example, some of our audio students were recently placed with the Bon Jovi tour of Australia.

How are the job opportunities in Australia and around the world? And what about your alumnus working in various places? It is funny where you find our students. We were travelling around and found one of the largest venues in Sydney called the Enmore Theatre and a very successful businessman had established this live venue who we discover had been SAE alumnus. And, in fact, in one of the colleges we have been speaking to, we discover that the head of sound and some of the staff – SAE alumni. I’m going to the SAE alumni conference in Berlin and there are literally thousands of SAE alumni in Europe that drive it together, and it attracts all the big audio and technology suppliers. It is like a global community of artists.

How do you think the students from the sub continent’s career takes off? What do they have to particularly do to compete in the world market? The opportunity for the students is that, because English is the language of instruction for SAE, it helps to develop not only technical skills but also high language communication skills. So, they leave us with being accomplished in their field and have also improved their English language skills, not just in general communication but in the creative media business. So they can return home to work in the local industry, or can keep going and work internationally.

What is your message for prospective students? If you want to get into the creative media industry, you need to have a head start, you need to have training because it is a very competitive industry. And the best and quickest way to do that is coming to a place like SAE where you’re working with experienced staff. So when you get to the end of your degree, you are really ready to take advantage of all the opportunities that are available to you.

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Star of the Month

Sunitha Sarathy Sunitha Sarathy has recorded for over 350 songs for leading music directors including Harris Jeyaraj to ARR. A record winning singer, an AKG endorsee and an irrepressible artist.

Who were your role models when you were growing up and now? Off the top of my head: Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, Maurice White, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Karen Carpenter, Luther Vandross, Phil Bailey.

What are you currently working on? I write my own material and most of it is performed with my band, The Agenda. I like working on not just one genre, I like to sing, write and perform what I feel like. I’m working on another single in Tamil as well. The first one, ‘Nimmadhi’, was released for Valentine’s Day last year.

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Nidhi Iyer Having never been voice trained, how did your train your own voice to sing Indian just as Western? It was fun singing a new style. I work with what comes naturally, never forced. A lot of people like my unique blend of Indian-ness with Western inflections, tone and timbre. I may push boundaries but I stay original.

You’d been a Gospel singer since you were 4 years old, what made you enter the Virgin Voice Choice? I was singing secular stuff and doing gigs in the city. My parents hated my singing outside the Gospel circuit (laughs). A couple of friends encouraged me to enter. So I put together a demo and sent it.

What was it like, in the initial days to come from a western music background? It was very difficult to understand people’s tone of communication and the general way the industry worked. I was always taught to be outspoken and honest in what I thought. Unfortunately, a lot of people thought I was head strong and had an attitude. I guess it rubbed some people up the wrong way. But my commitment to my work was always 10,000 percent.

Which do you prefer to sing the most, movie songs or Gospel songs? Why? Gosh! So tough! To me it’s asking what the soul and heart produces. With Gospel, it’s a totally different feel. There is a communication that happens between my soul and my mind. With movie music, it’s a heart felt rendition of what I like. Both are equally satisfying genres.

Was it always your dream to become a playback singer or was it something that just happened? No, I was totally not comfortable with the idea. I was not sure if I would suit it. I got a lot of offers but I kept resisting.

You got your big break from the song “Thoodu Varuma” of the movie Kaakha Kaakha, tell us about the whole experience. Harris Sir and I worked on 2 telugu BGM tunes for the movie 'Vaasu' which did well. One day I got a call from him and I was really hesitant, but he totally encouraged me with his words and I went to sing for the movie, 'Kaakha Kaakha'. What can I say? It was a triple treat - Harris, Thamarai and Gautham. I heard the bass line and I was like, ‘WHATTT!!!!” I was so happy! Thamarai’s lyrics were so inspirational. I knew the song would do well. I recorded the song in 2 hours.

Tell us how ecstatic you were when you found out that you had to sing for A.R.Rahman. My first solo project for Rahman Sir was for Magnum Ice Cream, UK. It was an off the hook, crazy haunting tribute to the 7 deadly sins - boy was I a sinner that day, drenched in some awesomeness. Yo, he tha bomb!

Did you have the wildest idea that ‘Hey Goodbye Nanba’ and ‘Fanaa’ would be huge hits? I’d guessed Fanaa/Yakkai Thiri would be a hit, but Hey Goodbye Nanba/Khuda Hafiz was a shocker! Even Rahman Annan thought

it was a very experimental song and had no big dreams for that one, even though we loved working on it. We worked on the Hindi tune first which had a series of ingenious lyrics that Mehboob sir wrote on the spot. It was such a beautiful composition!

How was it singing in Mandarin? What kind of training did you have to go through for that? Any new language I try, I learn the meaning of what I sing. Then I try avoiding common mistakes with pronunciations. It is very important to know that there is a lot of difference how people hear a song and how it’s written.

How does it feel like to be the first solo performer from India to be signed by AKG microphones? Blessed! It’s an honor. I thank God for the opportunity and the recognition. They’re a great bunch of people to be associated with and make some really awesome microphones. To be on the same roster as some truly legendary artists is a super feeling.

Your School of Vocal Excellence focuses on performance along with the singing, how important is performance to go along with good singing? It’s like learning French at Alliance Francais - your grammar can be perfect but without practicing it with French people how on Earth can you speak the language well? You can learn to sing, read the basics of music but you need to learn to put your best voice forward. At SOVE, I train them to use their voice as a tool for the material they have to sing. I also help them with perfecting their technique.

What made you open a Vocal School? Do you think it’s necessary that aspiring singers go through these trainings? People and a lot of singers have been asking me to teach them. I have put together a lot of shows where I have trained people to sing. I have gained solid experience over the years, and it was time to put it to use and share the knowledge. I think singers, especially today, need to learn to condition their voices well. Most work on a heavily tuned (auto tune and other effects) song and put it out on the web, get their hundreds of friends to like it, ride the fame but forget to understand that longevity is about honing and preserving your craft.

Lastly, what advice would you give to aspiring singers? Learn to sing, unless you are born with a gift. Don’t follow trends blindly and yield to peer pressure and ruin your voice and your craft. Remember that your voice needs to be preserved like your beauty. Do not dismiss offers to sing backing for artists. I would still sing harmonies with my friends for good singers, there’s nothing bad about that. You learn to sing parts that your brain has not been tuned to learning. Singers please do not change your voice unnaturally. Do not have yellers who scream songs as your role models and sound like a horrid mix of them. Learn some respect for people who were inventors and trend setters - they warmed the seat long before you were hatched and gave you an atmosphere to do your thing. Be humble. Remember to be true, it shows every time you perform. That is soul!

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ANNOUNCES

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Band of the Month

ADITYA Prakash

Ensemble

ADITYA Prakash

Ensemble

They're in the vanguard of Classical Fusion in America today. With a fresh perspective and an original feel, Aditya Prakash Ensemble (APE) is a band worth listening to. Score sat down with Aditya Prakash, the leader and founder of the band to talk about their mission and upcoming projects.

Fall 2010- Aditya is invited for the acclaimed, World Festival of Sacred Music in LA. For this he starts a group featuring himself and a jazz trio with a 3-member horn section. This is the first time Aditya begins composing music with Indian and jazz influences. This is the official beginning of APEnsemble.

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Going back, how was it starting off? I started off learning Carnatic music, South Indian classical music at a young age like most kids. My parents wanted me to keep up with the tradition, so it started off like every other kid. In 1999 was my first visit to India, to Chennai to learn music. So I started learning intensively that Summer, practicing everyday for 2 – 3 hours which I never did before. And I started listening to all the great masters of the tradition. It got me so interested that I became obsessed with Carnatic music. Naturally I improved a lot, and my teacher encouraged me to give a concert. So, at age 13 I gave my first concert, a two hour concert. I remember that was very exciting and I felt very confident, maybe even more confident than I am today. I was so young and obsessed with Carnatic music that I didn’t care about anything else. It was very amazing experience for me, since then I feel that every concert is learning experience and I look forward to each one.

Who are your biggest musical influences? In Carnatic music it is Semmangudi Srinivas Iyer, K V Narayaswamy and PK Jayaraman. About other genres, like I said I was obsessed with Carnatic music and I refused to listen to anything else till high school. I was studying in the US and my friends would listen to Rock and Hip-Hop and I was curious about that and I listened to Rock, but a lot of it didn’t sound like music to me it was just loud and then I heard Red Hot Chilli Peppers and I liked them, it was a very meaningful form of Rock. It is amazing how they use their harmony! And that was my first experience of non-Indian music. Hindustani music- I was in the tour with Pandit Ravi Shankar when I was 16. I didn’t listen to Hindustani much back then, and so he asked me to come to his and give a small concert, a house concert in a party. I didn’t know that it was an audition for a tour, he didn’t tell me anything like that, I got to know that later. He was very encouraging of young talent, so that’s why he had called me. He knew that I sang but he didn’t

Fall 2011- APEnsemble performs publicly as a group for the first time at the World Festival of Sacred Music.

Spring 2012- APEnsemble records their first album of original music, The Hidden.

Spring 2012- APEnsemble performs at LA's most prized jazz music club, The Blue Whale. This performance opens the door to many subsequent performances at the Blue Whale.

Manisha Bhat know the level at which I sang, so that’s why he’d called me. After he heard me and invited me for this tour around USA, Canada with other awesome Hindustani and Carnatic musicians, until then I hadn’t listened to Hindustani music and that’s the first time I got exposed to Hindustani music. And then I became obsessed with Hindustani music starting with Pandit Ravi Shankar, Bhimsen Joshi, Rashid Khan, Ajoy Chakraborty. Later on, in college, at UCLA where I studied music there’s a lot of Jazz music influence, and there I heard Herby Hancock and Myles Davis.

And what about the newer influences? There is Tigran, an Armenian Jazz piano player. The way he created Jazz is something that’s revolutionary. And then I listen to a lot of Coke Studio Pakistan, which is very beautiful. I’ve worked with Karsh Kale, the way he composes is very different. I worked with him for the first time and you get to be so free, the thing with Classical music is that you get stuck in a box, there are rules and certain things have to be done in a certain way, even in the aspects of religion and everything, you have to do it a certain way and that’s the way it is done. But that isn’t the use of your full potential, you may have your own ideas that don’t go with tradition and people like him and Anoushka Shankar, they went with what they felt and if it didn’t go along with tradition they might get alienated from a certain group of audiences, but they don’t really care and that’s something that I admire.

What made you create APE? Growing up, I was exposed to different kinds of music, like HipHop, Rap, Rock and Jazz all these styles from the West. There were these compositions in my head that could not be produced in a Carnatic concert because it would be inappropriate. When I met other musicians, who had studied about music in different languages and different styles, we practiced our own music and then we practiced with each other. We sing in the same Raga like how we sing in a Carnatic concert, roughly the same. So when you play the trumpet with what I am singing, it sounds different, it a whole other sound. It was because of jamming with my friends

Fall 2012- APEnsemble invited to New York to perform at a Gala Event. The 10-member group collaborates with 4 bharatanatyam dancers as well.

that we could take this collaboration forward. We kind of compose together, I’ll come up with an idea, they’ll develop it and then I’ll develop it more. So, it goes back and forth, the whole group is a part of the creative process.

The songs in APE, they cannot be put under one genre, how did you get the idea of mixing various elements to create one amazing album? It’s not really about thinking about it, it just happens. So when I come up with an idea, my friends just embellish on it, that’s how these ideas came forth. They all come from different backgrounds, Jazz, West Classical, and Folk, so we don’t try and blend elements together it just naturally happens. And I feel that when you try to do collaborations just for the sake of doing it, it doesn’t sound all that good. But when you come together with wanting to create something, it sounds more natural.

After an amazing album like Hidden, when can we expect the spring album? Also, how is it different from Hidden? First of all Hidden is all live, and it has a lot of raw feel in it. There are also a lot of mess-ups in it. But we just kept it that way, anyway. This new album is more produced and in its own way it’s from this dance music which I produced with my sister, which is called MARA. It is about the cunning nature of the human mind. It is more of global sound, whereas Hidden is more of a Jazz and Indian Classical. This one is going to have more Hip-Hop, and more a modern influence. It is more easy listening and at the same time it creates this different sound environment.

What are your projects for the rest of the year, apart from the album coming out? I’m also releasing a couple of singles. I’m making a video, it’s called Illusions. It’s from the Bhagvad Gita, where man is made to believe everything he sees, Maya. I’m getting that produced right now.

Fall 2013- APEnsemble performs an original music and dance theater drama in collaboration with Mythili Prakash and Shakti Dance Company, entitled MARA at LA's premier arts venue- The Ford Amphitheater. A successful sold-out show to an audience of 1,200 creates buzz in LA about the newly formed APEnsemble.

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Lucky Tu Lucky Me (Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya) Lots of autotune and effects, but an extremely fun, danceable song. Not much to comment on, except the fact that it has got a bit of girl-boy to and fro which isn’t bad to skip to at a party.

Jumme ki Raat (Kick) India certainly likes it tapori fun. Jumme ki Raat shows no signs of climbing down the charts, and while its still pretty mindless thematically, I guess the heady beat makes up for it. Plus, Salman Khan does have a penchant for fixing any awkward musical situation.

Aata Majhi Satakli (Singham Returns) Yo Yo Honey Singh delivers his trademark portion of pointlessness accompanied by a danceable beat in this track which is mostly just a kind of adrenaline pumping, tapori-dance building exercise, so one can excuse its popularity. Kareena, however, looks great in the video.

Samjhawan (Humpty Dumpty ki Dulhaniyan ) As subtly beautiful as Alia Bhatt’s unplugged version might be, the duet by Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal is as breathtaking as anyone would have imagined. Of course, the song could have used a bit from variation in range from the male vocal, much of which was largely provided by the natural hint of a quiver in Shreya’s flawless voice.

Tera Naam Doon (It’s Entertainment) You hardly ever go wrong with Atif Aslam. Tera Naam Doon is certainly is the quintessential love song with a pleasant tune and comforting lyrics which is a good listen for almost any time of day. While its certainly not his best work, Atif stays at par with his overall standards of art.

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Shreya Bose

Yaar Na Miley (Kick) Jasmine Sandlas and Yo Yo Honey Singh deliver another club number with an infectious beat and repeptitive lyrics. Sandlas’ voice delivers a Hard Kaur like inflection which is uniquely abrasive and an excellent fit for the music. The song works wonders for a good weekend groove. But once again, its not much to remember once you're done partying.

Hangover (Kick) It seems like the eternal money-maker Salman Khan has ventured into portraying his surprisingly admirable vocal skills. Coupled with Shreya Ghoshal (in her usual magnificent element), the song turns out to be catchy, preppy and ends on a feel-good note. The music is hardly innovative, but does well to complement the vocals, completing the artistic unit.

Pink Lips (Hate Story 2) Featuring HIGH on the autotune scale, Pink Lips is essentially uninspired, but delivers good beats and Khushboo Grewal’s voice is quite bearable. The kissing sounds that appear throughout the songs are awfully placed and quite unnecessary, but you probably won’t notice it when you’re dancing to it. It makes for some great moves, but you probably won’t be listening to it at home with a book and a cup of tea.

Ziddi Dil (Mary Kom) Mary Kom is, without a doubt, one of the most anticipated films of the year. As a treat, we’re already receiving insight into the film’s style and content through amazing songs like ‘Ziddi Dil’ which is an adrenaline-pumping battle song that harps on the beauty of a heart crowned with perseverance and stubbornness (in the sense of refusing to give up) when it comes to something you love. We’re loving the song, especially since it provides background to a rare female protagonist who’s looking to kick ass.

Galliyan (Ek Villain) Looks like this track has made itself a bit of a permanent fixture among listeners. One can’t blame them, considering the song is impeccably executed with crystal vocals that ebb and fall like multifarious colours of a musical canvas. Ankit Tiwari paints the song with an unshaking hand, blending instrumental sound with vocals and lyrics which compete with each other in beauty.

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I’m Divine Raaga – Divine Raaga I’m Divine Raaga will be difficult to outdo. Des begins with a winding strain of sarangilike sound, threading the song together in flawless fusion. Baarish has Prithwin weaving a multicoloured musical tapestry with his flute right before a seamless transition into mellow rock glory. Teen Bandar features a morchang (I think; could be wrong) which dissolves jazz-esque piano-and-guitar phases before expanding into the flute’s fluttering at the end. Khilauney showcases the harmonisation of variant musical principles that characterises the album, but notable again is the flute and the keys spinning a sensuous yet paced progression. Banjara is pensive, conflating heavy beats and subdued instrumentation to support vocal expression of emotional barrenness, longing and desire, but falls short on generating the stunned applause that the album generally produces. Maula has a bass-heavy beginning and a throbbing, crooning quality. Buddha converts the song into a seductive process, leading the music into a climactic, heavy-on-the-rock finish. Brothers ends the album well– energetic, multifaceted, with innovative but not alienating riffs. The guitarists deserve real props for this one! The good: Refreshingly experimental, even though they operate under the overused genre title ‘ fusion ‘. Prithwin’s flute. The not-so-good: Buddha’s voice sometimes tends to become a bit too stylised, like in Banjaara. Recommended: Des, Brothers, Maula, Baarish.

Heads Up - The Supersonics Calling them 'post-punk' is too vague to encompass what they have accomplished on their followup to their wildly celebrated debut 'Maby Baking'. Come Around sways on swallowing chords with smooth, rounded edges and that advance and recede while Strawberry is jagged with a more instant jab-and-fall stringwork holding it in one piece. Mani's bass riff is vicious and rampages through the song in a celebration of uninhibited precision. Into The Dark patches interlocking riffs with this consistent tinkle of the cymbals which is most reminiscent of their earlier work. Lyrically, it plays with despondence and loathing, made infectious thanks to the addictive disco feel to it. Even When The Sun Don't Shine is liquid cheer on nudging guitars and laid-back drums with vocals exuding lazy warmth apt to this album harking back to classic pop nostalgia. Its Alright is unapologetically old school. Guitars double-team into a magnified-jingle like ensemble which is made perfect by Avinash's perfectly measured taps on the skin. Open has this dirty string opening which persists throughout, embellishing everything with minimal but indispensable functionality. Why Do is more 'traditionally' Supersonics (whatever that means). "If I said it was time for a truce / Would you think its just another ruse? " -. While Anand might ask "Why Do I, Why Do I Why Do I go round and round?", we're elated by the circular sound made new everytime you listen because the band finds ways to insert a sudden chink of guitar or a beat that changes the entire riff. 'Evil Fly' is a tour de force, laying out viciously perfected hooks in tandem with arepeggios marinated in a contesting two-guitar outro. To The Mall is the ghost of an anticonsumerist Elvis, converting rock n' roll licks into an anthem of sensible insanity. Say what you will about Heads Up, but I hear the beginning of an Aashra like progressive leaning sandwiched between dreamy guitars and paced drums. The good - Novel instrumentation. Inspired lyrics. The not-so-good - Almost nothing. Anand's voice is a tad muffled at times, but that's for effect, really. Recommended - Into The Dark, Strawberry, To the Mall, Even When the Sun Don't Shine

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Baran - Parvaaz Parvaaz has hardly ever disappointed, and ‘Baran’ is the cherry on top of the sundae of their discography. Subtly, they weave out a combination of yearning, assertion, desire and nostalgia. Beparwa has an undercurrent of this pop-funk guitar sequence that effectively transforms the song. Ab Ki Yeh Subha is almost lullabic in its initial vocal movement, soon advancing to Khalid’s powerful inflection and matched with an instrumental arrangement that never fails in harmony, despite changes in beats counts. Gul Gulshan is their crowning glory, a masterpiece of aural minimalism carried by a voice combining plaintiveness and dignity. Roz roz is shaped as a cry of despair and desire, evoked with a resounding voice that could breach the very edges of heaven and whispers of instrumental sound that serve to prop up the lyrics and the voice. The guitarwork is ambient and almost hallucinatory. Khalid's voice is almost harrowingly otherworldly. Baran is more grounded in traditional rock sensibilities, dosing it, however, with some driven but familiar stringwork. Listen for the words of Martin Luther King. Jr encased in a throb-and-flow guitar sequence in the middle of the song. Ghalib moves leisurely, but never compromises on the unwavering power of composition. It has some incredible lyrical work (they all do, but Ghalib matches Parvaaz' musical poesy with words toe-to toe). Fitnah winds through a labyrinth of quitened acoustic sets and this buttery sax sound along with a guitar which plays with your heart like an irresistibly cruel lover. Ziyankar rises from a meditative reverie, moving quickly to a fast-and-smooth progression. The good: Almost everthing. The album exudes an unceasing aura of brilliance. The not-so-good: I wish Khalid had adopted a different vocal style for at least a couple of the song. The expansive extensions fall into the danger of becoming too similar. Recommended: Roz Roz, Ghalib, Fitnah.

Astronot - Disco Puppet Disco Puppet is the brainchild of the Shoumik Biswas, who has drummed with Space Behind the Yellow Room and was even a member of The Monkey in Me. That alone should make you hit 'play' but Biswas builds upon his drumming abilities with experimental tinkering which produces some interesting results. Teacher Destroyer uses an enduring bassline, filtered vocals and female gasping sounds to deliver a surprisingly replay-able number. Saturn's Rings let him demonstrate skills in minimalism, and features a heavy crash-crash-crash-beat system which both enhances and contradics the prevalent melody. Liars is haunting with a willowy vocal line pushed up against a 'catchy' pattern of beats. MM12 is again bound, as are most of the songs with a break-and-repeat pattern which, surprisingly, never gets boring. Take Ends in Intervals as a prime example of this. Dance Blance can easily serve as a Linklater soundtrack if extended beyond the 2:42 minutes. The good: Unconventional musical progression. The not-so-good: Might be too uncanny for a lot of listeners to relate to/ appreciate. Recommended: Teacher Destroyer, Liar, Ends in Intervals

Earthgazing – Until We Last Post-rock is a challenging genre to examine, given its deliberate refusal of definition and boundaries. Until We Last got that right, even though they wear the label ‘post rock’ with conviction. Every song in the EP is a conversation in swathes of luminous sound that is almost visible to the eye in its choreographed progression. ‘Creation’ moves like an echo, the sliver of a memory building upon itself in an ambient headspace, alternating between frenzy and repose. ‘Earthgazing’ slithers like a state of half-sleep, blending clarity and blurring any possibility of deriving an exact message ( create your own). To Space and Back wallows in a state of suspension, but it is hardly monotonous, given that the instruments engage each other in a sort of willowy dance. The song paces itself with a reverberating drum sequence around which the other sounds collect like a cosmic cushion. Parallel Dimensions accomplishes itself in a series of little melodic crests and falls, ending with an innocuous, almost unfinished tone – perhaps a metaphor for the human abruptness that often echoes in post-rock sensibilities. Water brandishes its electro edges, cutting off otherwise unfazed loops of sounds and rousing one from the ecstatic suspension Earthgazing creates. The good: Profound, thought-provoking, flawless combination of dominant instruments and ambient backgrounds. The not so good: To a less than serious listener, the series of sounds may seem to be a tad similar. Recommended: Earthgazing, To Space and Back, Water. The

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BENNY PINTO You know him as the flambouyant, long-haired keyboardist from Euphoria. Apart from waving his cray-hay-zee mane of long hair around his keyboard while doing his job as an entertaining musician both on and off stage, Benny Pinto has since 2010 been part of Eka - the swatantra rock outfit and continues on his pursuit towards giving pure entertainment. As our Keyboardist of the Month, "Benny" talks to us about being brought up in Goa, introduction to music and his association with the instrument. 30

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Vishal Shah How did your fingers land on the keyboard rather than on a string or a pair of drum sticks? Was it your first love? Funny enough, my dad promised me a keyboard if I fared exceedingly well in my boards. While he was thinking Keys, Guitars or Drums, I was thinking Bikes. Talk about a generation gap! Regarding my first love, it’ll always be my wife, of course (winky face).

We read that your father played a variety of instruments? What role did he play in introducing you to music? Yes my Dad did play the violin and guitars as far as I remember, He was a band leader and later a band manager in Abu Dhabi /Dubai, the only role he played was getting me that first Keyboard and his musical genes, I'm saying this because he wasn’t at all encouraging, I think a few of us might be the first few people to make career out of music as in only music for your bread and butter , I left my house at the age of 20 to perform and earn my daily bread as a hotel musician in New Delhi , dad was super skeptical. Once he had heard the Elton John classic Nikita, he looked at me and said "Boy play me a solo like that and you will make me proud!".

You’re known as much for your showmanship as your musicianship. How important is stage presence for a group? Is crowd interaction absolutely necessary or can groups get by playing cool and sticking to their music alone? Yes I feel a bit embarrassed at times! Once after a gospel & evangelizing concert a woman walked up to me a said “hey I was so mesmerized by the way you act on the keyboard”. I thought, “yikes!” the word 'act' to top it for a gospel concert. Nowadays atleast they call it ‘I love your act’. Has a better ring to it! Yes a good act is always great. Unless you are an expert guitarist who played all them smooth solos in one corner of the stage or a Lee Ritenour where if you have to watch his lips as he hums out his solos, which I find amazing! I used to do that too and it was natural or organic as they call it now.

Tell us about your association with Casio. How have their keyboards suited your style of playing? Ah we go way back! While in Euphoria, Payal Sharma Madan started the Aria school of music (Casio Music Club) and being my sister and the wife of my brother Hitesh Madan, I was invited to one of their school functions where it was mutually understood that I endorse for 'The Casio' and I very happily agreed and obliged … I gotta say, man! Euphoria's Maeri never sounded as authentic on the harmonium patch as that and Eka’s Jaane Kyun I love you sounds so romantic on the Piano Pad I programmed ... I use the Casio WK7500 in my Sunday worship too and enjoy the sounds I have made … the Piano Pad specially also the deep organ sounds and the horn sections + voice patch

What are your upcoming projects? We have a song for our girl child 'Babli’, I think we will record the New Years special song we wrote 2 years ago. Our Album which I see taking shape as we have already recorded the drums parts. Gigs and more gigs plus many many more songs!

I gotta say, man! Euphoria's 'Maeri' never sounded as authentic on the harmonium patch as that and Eka’s 'Jaane Kyun I love you' sounds so romantic on the Piano Pad I programmed ... I use the Casio WK7500 in my Sunday worship too and enjoy the sounds I have made. Being brought up in Goa must have had a lot to do in shaping who you are as a person, be it the sands and the beach or performing in Churches on Sunday mornings. Tell us a bit about growing up in Goa and the effect it had on you. Goa is a state of mind! Hope our politicians stay clear of this beauty bestowed by the good Lord Himself on our magnificent Country. After watching Remo Fernandes perform as a kid I was mesmerized to take up entertainment. Hmmm and trying to impress the female crowd is motivational enough to take up this spiritual stuff, (especially when you are young) and signing up in your parish worship team on Sundays ;-) Life is a Beach!!! Indeed, for a musician life is a total beach!!!

Eka doesn’t really associate with a particular theme, by which all its songs are really independent of each other. Everyday rock, casual pop-rock are the terms that come to mind. Is that a conscious decision by the band to not confine itself to a particular genre and play crowd-pleasing songs? You see we have called our genre 'Swatantra Rock' it is free from all pseudo adulteration and too independent of being confined , it is what you will want to hear before you ask for it, it is sing along cause you are on our mind when we perceived it, yeah, performing for over 3000 odd gigs one can have that uncanny knack of pre judging... Not that we are judging the folks but yes sometimes we get it all wrong too, like our last gig in Jaipur, yeah the folks had a ball to our normal set until an elderly woman wanted an Elvis cover... Wow that's when all passion broke loose and it was more like a Hollywood party than a Bollywood as per the brief by the event organisers ;-). So yes, I have no qualms saying we are an all terrain band for all occasion and all times ... as we are ready and willing

Where do you see Eka going in the near future? You do a fair bit of production work and have performed in a variety of events in the past. Is there a higher place the band hopes to reach? Ha! Erstwhile band mates made fun of me when I told him I had prophetic insights! Where do I see Eka you ask? To me it's always "The Lord willing "... The Album is surely on in the very very near future. Yes, productions for sure and hope that Bollywood happens even sooner!

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Rajasthan

International Folk Festival

Immersed in history, Jodhpur - often called the Blue City or the Sun City - has played a significant role in paving the enthralling trails of Indian History. The old city circles the Mehrangarh Fort, the stage to the Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF) - a festival which solely focuses on unearthing, appreciating and living music. It is timed to match the day of full moon, better known to Indians as Sharad Purnima. The city of Jodhpur, proud in its stance, serves a good host for artists and enthusiasts alike. The full moon lets you break free from the constraints of time and a What you need to wonderful array of musicians is rarely ever so alluring.

know about RIFF:

The festival has been endorsed by UNESCO as a “Peoples’ Platform for Creativity and Sustainable Development”. Sir Mick Jagger, of The Rolling Stones is International Patron of Jodhpur RIFF! I know we all wonder how Mick is still alive right now, but he is, and he says that this October, Jodhpur is the place to be, so tumble your way on down there!.

Photo by: Shoes on Loose

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Anirudh Kanga “Jodhpur RIFF is emerging as a fine example of an excellent confluence of music, cultures and heritage. T his amalgamation reveals the richness of our musical traditions on a global platform. The beauty of Jodhpur RIFF lies in the fact that while it is musically extravagant, it maintains its rustic simplicity and commitment to its vision and ethos.”

HH Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Jodhpur-Marwar With a host of music festivals opting for Rajasthan as their venue in the last few years, the state is booming with unique sounds this time of the year. Held from October 17-21 last year, RIFF’s highlights included sets from the Gypsy Allstars - led by Cedric Leonardi, Mario Reyes and Antonio Carmona, Jeff Lang – Aussie folk/jazz singer, songwriter and guitarist – who collaborated with young maestros on the song Maru Tarang – Ripples of the Desert, SPIRO, Jane Harbour and Jason Sparkles – mesmerizing musicians from Britain, and Daud Khan Sadozai - master and living legend of the Robab, an Afghani flutelike instrument. The performers moved the crowd with their songs in ways which were not soon forgotten, their music echoing within the burly walls of the fort. On the final set of the second day at Jodhpur RIFF the fairly intoxicated crowd at the Zenana courtyard within Mehrangarh Fort was hit by the flamboyance of Manu Chao. The Latin alternative musician, one of the finest names to represent rock ‘n’ roll on a global stage, plummeted into an upbeat

rhumba as he entered the stage with his four piece band Manu Chao La Ventura. The 51-year-old musician was beating his bare chest with the microphone for his punk-meets-reggae-meets-blues rhythm, with Madjid Fahem’s guitar pulling off some interesting fast flatpicking. I highly doubt there is a word in spoken language to translate the emotion felt at that moment, but ‘euphoria’ comes close. “The grinning, soulful player with the leather bag pipe!” said Anna Karvinsky, when asked which performance blew her mind. A festival goer from Russia, she was fascinated with the sounds emerging from the leather bag pipe, created from goats’ hide. Even with modernization ruthlessly threatening their music, the enchanting performance and powerful energy displayed by the Manganiyars of Marwar was the talk of the festival. Though the Manganiyars are all Muslims, the kings they sang of were Hindu. It’s a shame to find their perfectly synchronized symphonic voices singing stories of life in Rajasthan, receiving more international attention, than appreciation within our own country. RIFF has been voted among the top 25 best International Festivals for two consecutive years by Songlines Magazine, coming in at 12th place last year in 2013. The festival is one of its kinds because it aims to introduce new and upcoming artists every year. The most striking feature about this festival is the confluence of traditional folk with global music. What is probably lost in words and doesn't give you goose bumps is the atmosphere at the majestic fort, the notes of music in the air and the blur of the lights in this beautiful city.

“There's Music in the Air, It makes the sorrow bow; Let the Music take you there, Far from the world you know” --Letta Mbulu The crowd attracted to RIFF is an amalgamation of music lovers from all over the world. Besides the music and arts, the festival also has screenings of documentaries. In 2013, Jahaji Music and Bidesia in Bambai were two documentary films by Surabhi Sharma exploring the movement of Bhojpuri music, showcased in the RIFF program. RIFF, now in its eight year, will be held from 8-12 October. With the Program and Passes available from 12th of August, you don’t want to be missing out on any of the RIFF madness. If you’re looking for something fresh this year, Jodhpur RIFF comes highly recommended.

Fun Fact

The Dark Knight Rises was partially shot around the Mehrangarh Fort. Isn’t this another reason to explore the beauty of this regal monument?

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What made you come together to work on this for Sony Resound 2? You both come from two completely different genres of music.

N: It is very rare that an artist receives support to create something unique. Sony gave us full creative freedom to do whatever we wanted. Benny and I, both have great fondness for South Indian music as well as electronic music, we used these genres to deliver the message of Purity of Sound to our audiences. Since they have put this track and its accompanying music video on a global platform and that means we have a huge audience now. Hence we want our audience to listen to every nuance of our music, in a way it should be ideally heard, on high quality sound equipment.

What kind of response are you expecting from the audience with this collaboration? B&N: We have composed a funky dance track which is not bound by any specific genre and is a unique rendition of what Purity of Sound means to us. We are happy to know that it is well accepted by our fans and really excited about it. We hope they would experience it on high quality sound equipment.

Mr. A. R. Rahman and Pravin Mani are the two people I would definitely say have had a huge role in helping me achieve and get to where I am today.

BENNY DAYAL

What has been the idea instrumental behind putting together this video track for Sony Resound 2? What outcome are you hoping to achieve? N: We knew that this had to be one big dance track and we wanted people to actually feel like getting on the dance floor on seeing the video. Rakesh Thakar a.k.a Rakka our director knew exactly what we wanted and was on the same page as Benny and I. He has done a fab job, which is clearly visible as he got me, a non-dancer, to dance and match steps with Benny who is a trained dancer, something not many people know of.

How does incorporating two completely different genres of music to create a new version feel? What sort of effort goes into doing something like this? N: I love experimenting with different sounds. I love blending genres to create sub genres. When I was first introduced to South Indian street

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music, I instantly fell in love with it and started experimenting with it in my gigs and I got a very positive response from my audience which kept me going. I had to spend a lot of time understanding the genre though, like how the drums are programmed and what tempo is the best. It took me time but seems like I got it right. I also feel proud of myself for creating very unique South Indian melodies which fill a void in the music that the industry currently comes out with. Honestly, it was the easiest track we have ever worked on but with a very difficult message to deliver.

I imagined it and I decided to use it as is rather than chopping it up too much.

What does music individually mean, to both of you? Coming from different backgrounds, I’m guessing you’ll have completely different definitions of what music means to both of you personally? B&N: Even though we both are associated with different styles of music we still have great love for each other’s music and music in general. I don’t look at language and music separately, I look at it as one genre which I would like to promote globally. With Benny and me the best thing is that we both have great fondness for South Indian music as well as electronic music, which benefited this song to a great extent

Project Resound has Karsh Kale releasing the new video on the 14th, have you had a chance to interact with him as well? Or were your recordings completely independent of the other artistes who we are looking forward to seeing in a couple of weeks?

What is that one thing/person that you can say that you could never have done without to get where you are today?

B: Yes, I have had the chance to interact with Karsh at several occasions. I have done a number of shows with him as part of his Collective across India. With regards to his song ‘We All Fall’ I had the privilege of listening to it while he was in India. Working on Sony’s Project Resound and I must say the track is incredible and one of the most intensely rooted tracks in this project.

B: Mr. A. R. Rahman and Pravin Mani are the two people I would definitely say have had a huge role in helping me achieve and get to where I am today.

What do you as artists think that shows like project resound aims to achieve in entertainment today?

Can we expect you two to be working together on other projects any time soon?

B&N: This endeavor by Sony India will allow for the most personal experience for the listener with our original music composition, the way it was meant to be listened and enjoyed. It will enable them to experience the rush of pure sound.

Is there an anecdote or story that you’d like to share with us whilst recording for this song?

What difference do you think it makes in using high quality head phones over the normal ones you get in any store? What difference would it make in listening to your new track especially?

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NUCLEYA

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N: For me specifically, one particular instrument – ‘Nadaswaram’, really stood out. I have been using its sound in my music for a long time but it was the first time when I saw it being played in person. I love experimenting Meeting these musicians changed with different sounds. my perspective a lot. The way they were playing ‘chenda’ I love blending genres to was very different from how

create sub genres. When I was first introduced to South Indian street music, I instantly fell in love with it and started experimenting with it in my gigs and I got a very positive response from my audience which kept me going

ll- eo he ni , a v T gh nd isi If he cl so ele t o th on ut ou of m a m B s sp rin sic eth en doo gh the ac gi al in ts r ti d sh t w ir e ng m g n ar e th s us e e o at om ic w alr ot as cto in e fi ha ea wh tas r, V sp th nd pp dy er te i ir in s a en j e fu je es g t t s ux in lly sh m d R , h i w m r th ta an on aj ha e ea e po l n y e. an d e se tI s do s t to a it’s d w mo W , in o m or sp .” ge ll pa it th oth rt hin ent kin ire s g d er e of . w r fo th I o we on by St it r e nl al th th h m di y re ay so s sc tr mo e v e tr le tu s i m of ov y a as n et m e an t go deo ck es ed hi u ry d t w , as t ca a tha ng sic . F ex ug s v t I a os p o i t o r s pa n ha w r m e ht er cr rt y. t i h e ss by y e ea s er th w of co x te ti e ha Pr .in e m m w t the cit d. I i oj fo el y o I c ec r y h rl am op ng. lik ha ea d t R fu I e s s d wh alr ! t w the es rth al is e e as ou er a w a re d an ay t a I y nd s ll nd fe ! be ti ia el en m n in g. th es. e

B&N: As artists, we record our music on high tech and extremely sensitive equipment that captures even the finest nuances of sound and the most subtle of notes, which the listeners cannot enjoy and experience them on average quality headphones. Our main focus being that we want our audience to listen to every nuance of our music.

14 th

B&N: We hadn’t seen much of Mumbai and when we embarked on this journey, we looked for a Tamil South India locality, so our friends recommended Matunga and we visited the locality. The whole experience was very refreshing and unlike anything we have seen in Mumbai. We observed and captured everything, the way they converse, their accent and the nativity of their language. We really liked the local “folky” Tamil, which is very musical as well. We also saw people playing and rehearsing which we found very interesting.

Ju ly:

N: Benny Dayal is a great singer. He is very versatile and open to try out new sounds. With such an artist it becomes extremely easy and an absolute pleasure to create a song. We are very certain that we will make more songs together in the future.

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I have been the way I really am from day one and I am not perfect. I do bad things, get a little naughty, but otherwise, I am a nice person and I am glad people have accepted me that way.

Hard

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Diya Pinto

in TUNE

in F SHION

KAUR

She’s that badass every girl wishes they were. On one hand, she’s a dainty beauty in a cotton sari with a red rose tucked in her hair singing a patriotic number encouraging the youth to vote. The next minute, she’s an undaunted and racy rapper with thick cat-eye shaped eyeliner. And you know what, that’s entirely believable. Hard Kaur is quite essentially hard-core and she’s our featured artist for the fashion segment this month.

Her style ranges from casual Boho-glam to punk rock chic. Her makeup consists of bright and fun colors from yellow eye shadow to bright pink lipstick. At the time of elections, she composed a song "Karle Tu Voting" to spread awareness about voting. When asked about the inspiration for her get-up in the video she says, “I had looked at a clip from Salma Sultan (yesteryear's television anchor) and she used to have that flower in her hair. I thought it was really cute and that flower was the inspiration behind my sari-clad avatar.” From the looks of it, there are a lot more avatars coming from this foxy lady.

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Meet the

ATH M X Series Global pro audio giants Audio Technica have introduced an enhanced avatar of the extremely successful ATH M series headphones – Meet the ATH M X series headphones! Comprising 4 models i.e. the ATH M20X, the ATH M30X, the ATH M40X and the ATH M50X, all the models in the new and improved ATH M X series range of headphones are comfortable, closed-back style with the same sized prominent ear pads that provide great isolation and aural delivery. The progression in the range has been planned and executed to perfection, such that the enhanced ATH M50X serves to be the perfect world-class all rounder, while the ATH M40X is a spot on value for money investment for music production enthusiasts – amateur or professional. The vibrant ATH M30X suits applications that demand no-nonsense ‘in-your-face’ mid-range delivery, while the ATH versatile M20X gives users the chance to experience some of the magic of the ATH M50X at an even more affordable price tag. All of the models in the ATH M X Series headphones come with a one-year manufacturer’s warranty, and are produced using high quality materials and components, sporting features like stepped headband adjustment and comfortable ear pad cushioning. The top-line ATH M50X features a 45mm driver, while the rest of the range sport slightly smaller 40mm drivers with neodymium magnets and copper-clad aluminium wire voice-coils. Additionally, the ATH M50X and ATH M40X also feature concealed wiring, swappable twist-lock cables (coiled and straight), and rotatable ear cups (unidirectional only in the ATH M40X). Being a successor to the immensely popular ATH M series headphones, the ATH M X Series stands true to all expectations. National award winner, ace veteran sound engineer and record label

M50x

M40x

M30x

Audio Technica revamp ATH M Series as the ATH M X Series Headphones – superstar sound engineer KJ Singh confesses to being an ardent fan!

M20x

headphones!

owner KJ Singh, who’s body of work includes teaming up with a galaxy of music superstars such as AR Rahman, Lata Mangeshkar and many more, has been a believer and religious user of the ATH M series headphones. And his first take on the ATH M X series does speak volumes. Says the superstar sound engineer, “I have heard stories of both sides of the coin from peers about their views on the ATH M series headphones, but my personal experience as a user has always been nothing but great! I do proclaim - I’m a huge fan of the Audio Technica ATH-M series headphones, especially the ATH M50. Ever since I first used them a few years ago, I’ve only kept adding a couple of sets here and there, for professional and personal use! I still remember, my first set survived some serious use and abuse, going in and out of bags, getting bounced around sessions, and yeah, being dropped on floors, God knows how many times! But they never failed on me! And now, in the new and improved avatar as the ATH M X series, I reckon they’re going to be leaner and meaner than ever! I recently tried out the ATH M50X, and I have to admit, they sounded pretty damn good. They are extremely comfortable, very efficient and have lots of bottom to go round. Let me clear one thing though, they aren’t ridiculously bass-heavy and neither are they the flattest headphones in the world. I’d say they kind of have the right balance, and they don’t disappoint when it comes to creating an impact – for example, you wouldn’t feel that eerie sense of being lost if you’re listening to a dance mix on them viz-a-viz listening to the same mix on some of the other ‘flatresponse’ headphones! And that’s why they’ll be great as all-rounder headphones, especially if you’re tracking. These babies keep it well together, and will get into the groove of a track straight away. They’re clear, detailed, and handle levels really well. It’s great that the younger crop have an improved version of the same guns that I did a lot of shooting on! I’ll take two of the purple ones for sure!”

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VARUN GANESAN It was in New Jersey at a local temple hall where this rising talent gave his first Carnatic concert performance at the age of 13, “That was much before I was really interested in Carnatic Music” he says. He also also gave a performance at the Perambur Sangeetha Sabha in January 1995 at around two and a half years old in which hw was able to recognize 60-70 ragas, “but I’m not sure if that really counts”, he says. Varun's informal music initiation began at a very early age through listening. Varun's formal music education began in Oct 1997 under the guidance of Smt. Vani Sateesh, New Jersey. He later continued his music education in 2007 under Sri Ashvin Bhogendra (NJ). Over the past six years, Varun has had opportunities to sing at many venues in the USA. In addition, he has won several Carnatic music competitions in the United States, the most notable of which are Advanced category competition in CMANA GCD 2007, Concert Competition at CTF 2009, and Advanced Pallavi Competition at CTF 2013. He also was awarded first runner up in the second season of CMI USA (2012). Varun has also performed in the Chennai December music season at various venues/sabhas including Narada Gana Sabha, Braham Gana Sabha Trust, Karthik Fine Arts, and Asthika Samajam. Varun is a recent graduate of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) with a double degree in Computer Science and Mathematics and will be working at a Proprietary Trading Firm, Five Rings Capital, in New York City starting in August 2014.

Rising

Stars of The West

KAMALAKIRAN VINJAMURI Upcoming violinist Kamalakiran Vinjamuri, had his initial training from his grand-father, Sri. Parthasarathy Iyengar. Then he had some training from Smt. Malladi Vijayalakshmi garu. Kamalakiran's first stage appearance was at the age of 2½, in a dance ballet. His father Mr. Subhash Vinjamuri, a violinist himself started teaching him violin at the age of 7. He has given several performances in the U.S. and in India. He gets his training from his father and when visiting India, he is under the tutelage of Ms. Kanayakumari garu. He won several prizes in different music competitions, both in the U.S. and in India. He participates in Kuchipudi dance ballets choreographed and taught by his aunt, Smt. Mrinalini Sadananda. For a recent dance ballet, he composed a Thillana and even got in to Guinness Book of World Records for performing in a Kuchipudi group dance. Kamalakiran is also learning Western music on violin. He plays Carnatic Classical music on the Keyboard and Harmonica (Yikes!). A black belt in Karate, He loves singing, playing Chess, Carom and table tennis. Some kids never quit.

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KRUTHI BHAT Born into a family of musicians, Kruthi showed her interest towards music as a toddler and was initiated into Carnatic Music by her grandmother, Smt. Krishnaveni. She is under the tutelage of her mother Vidushi Rajarajeshwary Bhat, her uncle Vidwan Vittal Ramamurthy, Vidwan Neyveli R. Santhanagopalan, and Vidushi S. Sowmya. She has had the privilege to learn from the legendary Padmabhushan Sri Lalgudi G. Jayaraman and Sri T. R. Subramanyan. She’s a recipient of numerous awards in India as well as the United States like being the Winner of Carnatic Music Idol USA Season 3 from Maximum Media Jaya TV and much more.

ABHINAV SEETHARAMAN

SRUTI SARATHY

This promising young mridangist is the grandson of eminent musicologist Sri S. Vaidyanathakrishnan of Coimbatore, India. He had his initial training on the mridangam at the age of 7 under Sri N. Ganesh Kumar and Sri Vijay Ganesh, followed by Sri Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan. Currently, he is pursuing advanced training under Sri Kumar Kanthan of New Jersey, and world-renowned mridangam maestro Guru Karaikudi Mani of Chennai, India. Aside from traveling extensively around the USA and India to perform. Abhinav has accompanied several leading artists, such as Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Unnikrishnan, Ramakrishnan Murthy, K. Gayatri, and Aishwarya Vidhya Raghunath, just to name a few. Recently, the artist was invited to play at the United States Capitol Building, as part of the first international annual IndoAmerican meet, which featured several leading members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives. To top that off, he’s also co-founder of “MusiLinks”, a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to raise funds for the needy, locally as well as internationally, through music.

Sruti Sarathy has been learning Carnatic music, both vocal and violin, from Smt. Anuradha Sridhar, daughter and disciple of Lalgudi Srimathi Brahmanandam, since August 2001. She has won several prizes in competitions including the prestigious Tambura prize in the Concert Competition and the Advanced Pallavi Competition from the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana. She has also received the ACTA Apprenticeship Award for advanced training in violin. Sruti has also provided violin accompaniment on a CD of Annamacharya songs.

If ever one wanted to witness the phenomenon of a traditional artform thriving across the globe, you needn’t look further than Classical Indian Music. Carnatic Music in particular has made its way into may Indian societies. For many years now in the US, it is fairly common for young kids of South Indian Origin to learn, practice, and perform the traditional artform. Today, the talent that rises from the US is abundant. Here are a list of a few of many talented, young, and upcoming musicians from abroad. Ananya Ashok

SHIVA RAMAMURTHI Shiva Ramamurthi, a disciple of Violin Maestro Delhi P. Sunder Rajan is a talented violinist. This rising star initially started learning violin from Shri Krishna Kutty at the age of 6. He was introduced to Carnatic Music at the age of 4, taking vocal lessons from Smt. Padma Kutty. In 2001, he began his advanced training from Delhi P Sunderrajan and hasn’t looked back since then. He’s performed in numerous venues throughout the U.S. and India, including a series of concerts during the yearly December Season in Chennai. Other than Carnatic Music, Shiva has also learned Western Classical violin. He is part of the band APE lead by the talented Aditya Prakash. Side note: The dude holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from UCLA.

HARIHARAN RAVI Hariharan Ravi, an upcoming Carnatic vocalist from the USA, is a student of Palai Sri C.K. Ramachandran, a prime disciple of legendary Dr. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. He is known for his strict adherence to tradition and classicism. Hariharan is the title winner of both Jaya TV Carnatic Music Idol USA 2012 and the Cleveland Aradhana's Concert Competition, two of the most prestigious competitions in the USA. He has had the good fortune of being accompanied and appreciated by senior musicians. He has performed in many popular venues and festivals in India, such as Jaya TV Margazhi Mahotsavam, Narada Gana Sabha, Ramjhi's Issai Mazhalai, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, and Vani Mahal, as well as across the US and Europe. Currently, he is an undergraduate studying business at the University Of Pennsylvania Wharton School Of Business. Hari has also been part of the famous Penn Masala acapella group.

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Since its inception in 1975, Festember has snowballed into one of South India’s biggest and finest annual cultural fest, taking place from the 25th to 28th September, drawing a footfall of more than 10,000 from over 500 colleges across India. It has been awarded 'The best cultural festival of the year' by the State Government of Tamil Nadu in 2005. Festember, which flagged off as a zero-budget fest redefined itself over the years to become a full fledged one, having associations with corporate giants like Hero, Nimbuzz, Adobe, Aircel and Vodafone.

Sulaiman. While the Proshows garner the crowd’s attention late into the night, the informals are sure to keep both the participants and the spectators busy and on their toes throughout the four days. Picking up from the popular ‘Mr & Ms Festember’ from last year, Festember’14’s ‘Campus Princess’ is to be held on 28th September (Day 4). The model hunt has scaled new heights as this year Festember’14 is in collaboration with Miss India Organization, with the winner getting a free entry to the final round of Miss India 2015 auditions in Mumbai.

Relaxing on the Halloween theme of last year, Festember’14 is all set to go Hawaiian. Festember unfailingly outperforms itself every year with its growing slew of events, performances, workshops and activities.It is a platform for youngsters to showcase their talent and an opportunity for budding artists to kick-start their careers. Competitions with prize money worth over INR 16,00,000 encourages participants to transcend horizons with their sheer prowess and mettle. The Fest is at its zenith during the ProNites, which is easily one of most alluring event. In the past, Festember has welcomed a lot of star performers at ProNites. It has featured traditional melodies played by Kadri Gopalnathand Ganesh-Kumaresh, Euphoria and Motherjane, the rocking beats of Drums Sivamanior the popular songs sung by Javed Ali, Benny Dayal, and Salim-

Keeping aside the glamour and revelry, Festember also has a very human face to it that believes in contributing to the community. The festival is preceded by a series of social, educational and health initiatives by the Festember Social Responsibility team (FSR). Vatsalya, FSR’s debut event took place on Saturday 9th August at Annai Ashram, KK Nagar. This social venture brought together the young orphans and the people of an old age home for a day, where they were kept engaged with various activities. Festember’14 promises to raise the curtains to brighter stars, handsome prize money, bigger crowds and unprecedented adrenaline levels. Breaking away from the Halloween theme, there is no need to tread carefully anymore. Let Festember sail you through this exhilarating experience. Surfs Up!

Scintillating Lights.Staggering Crowd.Sensational nights.Ecstasy at its peak. The most Europhic of Festember,the Pro shows.