ISSN 0974 – 9128
Vol 12 Issue 05 May 2019
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India's National Pan-Genre Music MagazinE
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ON THE COVER
FARHAN AKHTAR
QUIRKS AND QUERIES
SHRI
ARTIST OF THE MONTH
RAHUL RAJKHOWA
READ ON
MUSIC: FROM LYRICS TO TUNE
READ ON
ROCK, RAGA & JAZZTHE INDIAN INFLUENCE IN THE WEST READ ON
CONCEPT VS FEEL
STUDIO TOUR
ISLAND CITY MUMBAI
THE TEAM Director, Business Development Pragash VM Director, Marketing & Operations Sneha Ramesh Director Ajay Prabhakar Editorial Advisor Nikila Srinivasan Creative Director George Vedamanickam Creative Designer Manasi Doshi Content Contributors Shreya Bose Mukesh Amaran Amogh Rao Kausthub Ravi Gajendra Puri Goswami Aditi Sarawagi Souvik Chakraborty Cover Picture and Cover Story Credit Farhan Live
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SNEHA RAMESH & GAJENDRA PURI GOSWAMI
The man who wears many hats With his tuneful, universal debut album ECHOES, this gifted artist speaks to us about the making of the album, the idea, production, how he juggles between various things and more. 12
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Picture credit: Rohan Shrestha #whiteTseries
You’ve been a music performer for a long time now. What triggered you to release an album now? I have been writing music for a while and I think over the years of performing music, there has been a certain association to it because it is predominantly for the films that I have worked on. There is a certain connection but to somehow engage with the audience and fans with something beyond and a little bit more about me. Music was always something I intended to do. Over time, and with interacting with fans, I just felt that the time was right now.
Making an album is a lot of work. You’ve already got so much work at hand across various artistic avenues. How do you still find the time and more importantly the inspiration to still write, record, and sing your own album? I took almost a year and a half off from my film work while I was doing this because it definitely needs that kind of commitment and dedication. It wasn’t something I was doing for a lark and I wanted to give it my best so that when people listened to it, they know that it is a passion project.
How did the break from films help you in making of the album? Well, it gave me the space to think only about one thing day in and day out. Like what is it I wanted the songs to be like, and of course give me time to spend with musicians in the studio and even now to be able to talk about the album. I wanted to focus single handedly on the job at hand. It needed that kind of commitment!
Tell us a bit more about your album It is kind of easy listening and I wanted it to be in the FolkRock Acoustic kind of space so which is why we have kept the album. The emphasis is on what is being said and it isn’t really about the production. We’ve gone for a word more than anything. There are songs about love, loss, being optimistic, hope and touches upon basic human emotions.
There’s a song in your album called, “Why couldn’t it be me?” Would you mind telling us the story behind it? How you came about writing it? This was a song that I had written almost as an emotional reaction to the shootout that had happened in a school in Peshawar few years ago where over two hundred children were killed. So, it really had shocked the world and stayed with me. All war is of course futile and violence is useless but somehow when kids are affected directly, it somehow feels a lot worse. At that time, I was traveling on plane and reading a magazine that had a lot of articles on this. There was a little story in this magazine about a young boy had bunked school on that day. His mother had spoken a little bit in that article because her older son had gone to school. I was thinking about the young boy who didn’t go to school and I thought it would’ve been such a strange place for a child to be in the “I could’ve been there and died, but I didn’t and my brother did”, such a strange feeling! That’s what inspired me to write this and hopefully somewhere help in the healing process.
How did you link up with Tommaso Colliva to work on the album? Well, Tomasso is somebody, Anurag who manages me as an artist, found when he was travelling to a music expo
somewhere. We tried collaborating with other engineers but weren’t able to get exactly how we wanted it to sound. And when Tomasso heard it, he told Anurag that he would like to give it a shot. We had many conversations on Skype where we spoke about each song, what it meant to me, why I wrote it and then he got down to producing it. From the word go, he was in the zone the way I wanted the album to be.
You’re an acclaimed film writer with such a vast body of work. What do you thinks sets music writing apart from film writing? I think film script writing is very plot based and it is different where you are catering to many points of view at the same time. Somehow, in film there is a certain thought between art and commerce. In music, it has to come from a source that is very true and honest and the minute you try to corrupt it with something, it becomes something that it is not meant to be. That’s the biggest difference!
You come from a family of renowned poets and artists. Do you ever conceive your refined taste in music and other art forms as a privilege of your upbringing? Was there ever a conscious decision to fight that feeling? No, not really! I think we have musicians who come from different strata’s of the society, different parts of the world. Of course, family environment makes a difference. Most people who are musically inclined, more often than not, were a part of a family where music played a major role. Not particularly musicians but even people who sat down every evening to listen to records to CDSs at their home. That influence is there and then I guess there is a leaning towards writing and expression through poetry that comes genetically. My mom does not write lyrics or songs but she is a huge influence on me because of the amount of music she listens to.
Which musicians did you grew up listening and what kind impact did they leave on you? When we were growing up, there was a lot of Beatles, ABBA, Elvis Presley, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar playing at home. My mother had a very vast record collection and there were disco LP’s also playing. Occasionally, we also had Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin being played. There was also a Classical section with Bethovan, Mozart etc.
You’re the owner of a successful film company and a music label. What are your biggest learnings from both? I think the important thing is, somehow in some kind of way, whether it is through your own curiosity or through experiences of younger people who are constantly coming into creative space, to just keep your ear on that ground and get a feel of what’s going on around you. A great example of that is what happened with Gully Boy recently. There was a whole movement with underground artists. It was great to recognize that and bring it to mainstream film.
Can you tell us about your involvement with Gully Boy and how it happened? It actually started when Zoya was editing Dil Dhadakne Do and the Editor played her “Mere Gully Mein” track and we all saw and loved the track, there was certain energy to it and a connection with Bombay! And then we saw that it got some 7M plus views and at that point they weren’t signed on with any Label. Later, Divine signed up with Sony for a while. The
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Zoya got a little bit more interested in knowing who these boys were and that’s how it started. She got to know their stories and then spoke to Ritesh and me and we were exceedingly thrilled to do it. And that’s how it happened!
What according to you is the best part about being a musician? What it does is that, it almost compels you to be as honest as you possibly can. There is one thing of making music for public consumption and other is if you have something to say. So, I think there are different kinds of musicians who do different kinds of work. I feel
The second was the Delhi incident that happened on the bus followed by a rape of a three or four year old girl by her neighbour and again was completely brutalised. There was a serious amount of anger in me. For the lack of anything, I had to find some way to be able to channelize it and do something about it opposed to just vent it out. For me, it was important to do something more sustainable and reach out to find out what is wrong with these guys. What is it that they are trying to prove to themselves or to the world? What kind of a joy and high does it give you? I wanted to prove a point that being masculine doesn’t
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self-expression is important. Somehow, through my writing and music, I feel it’s giving me a great outlet to express. It’s probably because I’m from a world where you always have a bit of a spotlight on you, so your guards are always up and you are always on the defence when somebody asks you a question because you might be mis quoted or taken out of context. Music has helped me speak openly and say things the way I want to say it.
You’ve talked a lot about redefining male attitude in the country via your initiative ‘MARD’. Could you walk us
mean this and doesn’t mean you have to show your aggression or be in power or charge. Masculine things also include empathy, sympathy and care!
Could you tell us about the gear you use for your music and how you include technology into your music making I use a very simple thing, a guitar (laughs). I have a couple of acoustic guitars, Gibson, Hummingbird, Taylor. All the composing I do are on one of these guitars. It’s usually me with my iPad with a little mic, guitar, and I record it and put it as a scratch. That’s the first step I do
through the events that inspired the idea of launching such a campaign? The three things that I remember very clearly that actually happened. It close on the heels of each other that really got under my skin to an extent where I felt that I had to do something. The first one was, a harassment case that happened in Guwahati outside a bar where somebody dragged a girl around, tearing her clothes off etc. It came on news and later we figured that the guy who broke the news was actually involved in the incident because he wanted some publicity.
while I‘m writing so I keep tweaking lyrics and stuff while doing that. And then, a very dear friend who has been a part of my band Farhan Live for five years now, Sarosh Izedyar, and I, go to the studio and put down the song a little bit more professionally but with just guitars and vocals. Then a sound engineer would come in to get us the final output that we desire.
If there is something you would like to change in the music industry, what would it be? I do wish we had more robust independent music scene at least for people who have careers out of it. A lot
of musicians make money through touring, and live, that’s where you can make some money but it is difficult with album sales and streaming. It is very rare that it happens to someone that a song takes off to that extent. But, there is a lot of good music that is being made, but unfortunately, the way that it is being exploited, monetized, marketed, it has still not reached that level where somebody who grows up can say that’s really what I want to do for a living and make a career out of. So, hopefully that changes. In this country, Film and Devotional music has captured the space that it’s difficult for artists outside that. Hopefully, labels will have belief in trying to get the independent music scene back on track.
Your message to upcoming artists Most importantly, have something to say! I think success is such an elusive thing. Everyone wants to succeed, if you want to be an artist, you have to think deep and say something to the world through music. It may have been said before but say it in the way you want to!
Rapid Fire Your most memorable concert and why
I remember when we played at BITS Pilani and the energy from crowd was great! We played in Aurangabad with 65000 people and it was mind blowing to see. We played in a very classical kind of auditorium in Australia What do you attribute your success to? Hard work! Who are you inspired by the most? The Beatles. Dream venue to perform in Madison Square Gardens, Wembley An ideal location to write or compose music For me, just being at home and undisturbed with my dog! What’s the song playing on loop right now on your phone? Newyork to Mumbai, a collaboration between DIVINE and Naezy. Describe a day in Farhan’s life That depends on what I’m doing in the day. Currently, I’m in prep for a film in which I’m playing a role of a boxer so I have very early mornings ad training till about 9am. I’m back at home and in bed at 9:30pm. The
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Shri Q UI R K S & Q UE R I E S
How do you juggle between being a singer-songwriter, producer and composer? What do you love doing the most? Singing and writing comes most naturally to me because I have been doing it longer than production. But I have fallen in love with the process of blending my organic sounds with the technicalities of production and fusing the two worlds. Tell us about your song writing process For me, there is no one formula when it comes to songwriting. The approach changes depending on what moves me when I am creating something. Sometimes it's an idea, a melody and words that come first. Sometimes it starts with making a groove that I then layer with other elements such as vocals/keys. Tell us about your music tech set up and the equipment you swear by I have a set up that includes my Mac Book Pro, a TC Helicon VoiceliveTouch 2 vocal processor that also doubles up as my soundcard, a controller, a keyboard and a mixer. I use Ableton live to produce and totally swear by my vocal processor because I started my journey with my solo project, with experiments on it before it all snowballed into a full blown set. What according to you sets you apart? The idea is to create a completely immersive experience for the listeners. I believe that every person is unique and their creations are a reflection of their being, which means that no two things can sound or look or feel the same way. I come from an Indian classical background but I love electronic music and the digital world. So my style is an evolution of blending the two seamlessly. A mix of grooves that blend into traditional and contemporary vocals, deep pads and melodies that will hopefully take people on a personal journey. I'm still learning how to tell my stories through sound. If there is something you could change about the music industry in India, what would it be and why? I think India is at a turning point with so many musicians being able to find platforms to express their art locally and globally. Maybe a little more professionalism and empathy for artists from the business side of the industry, will totally help catapult the scene to the next level. Upcoming projects I am part of an EP called Colors of the Sun, which is a collaborative project with L.A based producers Stephan Jacobs and Ahee. I have lent my vocals for this. It will be out on Muti Music in June, along with a remix of the same by Bรณsa also an LA based project. Bรณsa is a sonic merger of the primal and refined, blending methodically composed electronica with world inspired live percussion. Utilising globally sourced field recordings from their travels as independent musicians,
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producers Stephan Jacobs and Sunev have crafted a sound that pushes the boundaries of house music. The remixes from my earlier collaboration with another L.A based producer David Starfire and Stephan Jacobs called 'Seasons' are still doing the rounds along with videos. World class producer and DJ Bassnectar has been playing our track in his mash ups around the world. I'm also working with David on another track which will be released soon. Other than that, there's a track with Canada based musician/ producer/DJ, Kora who toured India last year that is in the works. I'm a huge fan of his work. I have started collaborations with Delhi based DJ/producer Vir C aka Viridian Music basedand Bombay based genius Karan Desai aka Folic State. These are in the early stages of creation. Other than these collaborations, I am focusing on my solo project which I have been working on for over two years and performing live. It's in various stages of completion.
In conversation with BRAHMANAND SIING, the mastermind behind PANCHAM & PANCHAM UNMIXED box and the coffee table book DIAMONDS AND RUST on RD BURMAN How did the idea arise and what did you want to convey? Brahmanand Siingh: The pack came in later, the movie came first. The idea was to understand the way genius like R.D.Burman created music. The way his legacies stands today and how much of an impact it has made or it is continuing to make with people in his era and today’s generation because we see the trends continuing. The starting point was series of things and one of the things was anger. For all the media channels who would suddenly mushroom around his death or birth anniversary, try and write about him at the same they would come and vanish. No body made any concerted attempt to catalogue that genius. Why do people say he was a genius? These were some of the driving factors and ofcourse I liked his music. Has a country I think we are very poor archives. Once the film was made it went on receiving several awards and festivals. The natural culmination was to release the film. The later we release the DVD pack. It has the highest IMDB rating of 8.8 and very well received by the audience. The pack is around for 10 years now. Tell us your experience working on the book Brahamanand Siingh: I used to maintain a lot of personal notes and diaries. I had a good friend Gaurav Sharma who had collaborated on this book. He was a big R.D.Burman fan and that’s how the book was formed. A lot of work which was not included in the film are available in the DVD. All the observations about Pancham Da are captured in the book. We had such a diary observation of him has a possible person, because I haven’t ever met R.D.Burman.
book was strings of eternity were we used and second part was about the onservations o R.D.burman.
What life lessons did you learn through this experience? Brahamanand Siingh: Many life lessons I have learned. I have tried to convert some of them in my personality, some I am still trying to convert. The way he lived his life was it’s self a phenomenon way. One of the complete artist who was giving to it’s highs. He is nice to people, kind to people and giving. I am sure he had his highs and lows, there were struggles. The way he would manage the struggle is incredible. Life lessons would be, be on high, with innovation juices and create something. Don’t think too much. Use all your intelligence and brain at the time of creating after that don’t think too much about. I feel lots of times we end up ruining things because of our over critical thinking over logical applications. You need to concentrate on making the content it will automatically become a master piece. I have learned from him and sometime I am successfully at doing it but at times I also fail. The art of giving. I get confused when to be given and when not to be giving. I feel when you are giving you have to giving all the time. That’s how he was.
Give us a run through the collaborations during writing the book Brahamanand Siingh: It was a very informal collaboration. Gaurav was a big enthusiast and he had joined in a way that he helped me transcribe a lot of people’s quote like Shami Kapoor, Vishal Bharadwaj, Shami Kapoor, Asha Bhosle and lot of prominent people. First round of The
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ART I ST OF THE MO NT H
RAHUL RAJKHOWA Tell us about your vocal training and how you started
Our boarding school was located 40 minutes away from the closest town, 6 kilometres off the main road, completely surrounded by tea fields and forests. So cultural programs in school were our only shot at taking stage. I'm really glad that we organised the best rock concerts though. In 2006 I remember coming back to my hostel really inspired after watching my seniors perform on stage. Something about the lights, smoke, people screaming really got me in a trance. In 2008 we formed a band called 'K-Reactives' (because we were all good at chemistry) and we decided we would only perform original music. We were the youngest band and the senior girls wouldn't stop telling us how cute we were, that was all the motivation I ever needed to continue :) I learnt how to play the guitar and sing on my own, no training there.
How important is practice in ensuring you retain your voice? It really is. We often underestimate the important of practice and good vocal rest. I’m always on tour so I barely get enough rest and time to practice. The ability to hit higher notes is better and I feel like I have a lot more stamina on stage.
Who has been your inspiration and why? John Mayer and BB king. John Mayer's music definitely improved my song writing skills and the ability to play the guitar. BB King brought a lot of soul and feel in to my music. I remember coming back from college every day and tuning into their music in my PG and I'd feel like I had drifted on to a different space. Those were the hustle days. Things that inspire you during your hustle days leave a lasting impact on you and definitely go on to shape you for the rest of
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your life. I had no guitar teachers as such so watching their YouTube videos always felt like a master class, other musicians would have me awestruck for sure but something about these 2 artists always had me inspired to a different level.
Tell us about your band Paper Boat Started off as an all Stephanian band while in Delhi. When the original line up backed out last minute before a competition at IIT Kanpur, I put together a bunch of friends and decided to call ourselves Paperboat. We ended up winning the first prize there and a position in every other Delhi University competition we went to after. We even got voted as one of the top 3 bands in the Hard Rock Rising contest organised by Hard Rock cafe in 2015. We began headlining college festivals after that, got an official music video out on Vh1. MTV Nescafe labs handpicked us as one of the top 4 indie acts in the country and did a 7 city EP launch tour after. Soon everyone on the original line up had to move on to other cities for work and higher studies so we stopped playing shows that often. Now we play only Prestige shows and when our schedules match. Our fan base is still loyal and you really must make it to a show to believe how awesome Paperboat shows are :)
Upcoming projects I'm presently also touring as a Hip Hop act. Collaborations with Los Angeles based Producers Sudeep Sinha and P Boy are on the way. Sudeep and my last official music video- Reason hit a 100K views on Youtube and our EP -The Stream got a lot of plays on Spotify and Apple Music so this year we will be releasing a lot more Hip Hop and Rnb Music. Our next official music video will be - 'Let me explain’
ARITRO GHOSH
Music: From Lyrics to Tune Nowadays the stature of music is such that it is arguably one of the most important factors in a human being's life. The fact is enough to say that almost each person has a taste for something or the other, and there are many options to choose from. But how are they written? How is it made, such that a person is able to find a liking to at least one genre out of the many? Well its due the magic done by those who put it from mind to paper. Songwriters however have their own individual styles, either bringing words from the tune, or going traditional and creating a tune that suits the writing. There are many individual things fascinating about both, but there's one thing that is common: lyrical madness. The songwriter's first preference usually is to write a piece, then find solace once we've located the perfect tune. This has been done many times over, as admitted by names like Michael Jackson and John Lennon. Sometimes the lyrics flowed in first, while other times, they have said that they found the feeling first in their search for inspiration. In doing so, the nature of its genre is born, and then the words. Although, while I deem one as primary, it is needless to say that both are used primarily as per their own right. A musician sitting down with his guitar to write a new song, tries to find the melody and catch first. He listens to various tunes and recordings to see what blend he can create and get some new aspect to hit him in the head. This wouldnt be so for someone who writes a poem, then morphs and matches it into lyrical dialogue with rhyme and flow.
Many of the songwriters of today prefer to focus on the music first, before jumping to the lyrics. One such example is "All of me" singer and songwriter John Legend. A reason for this is because when doing something well, one usually focuses on the most important part, more or less the seed. The seed of a song is not in the words, but in its hook. The words are one of the main granular sections but the hook binds every word together. Its all about knowing what you want to talk about. Sometimes the story is in the beats, while sometimes it can be in the tone of the instrumental. An example of this, is the famous song "My heart will go on" from the movie Titanic. The tune and score is much more iconic than the lyrics. The melody and harmony are the main key elements that adjoin the power of every instrument and depicts that which makes it still a classic billboard hit. The words in such cases become the ideal backup, or in special cases, the foundation. As a writer, who has tried writing a few songs and prefers going for the words first, I can honestly say that the writing isnt usually secondary. For the person sitting with his guitar hence, it's important to know that for this song, which is he planning to be first, the writer or the musician. The rhyme is the key rope tying the melody and tune, with the core writing, some musicians believe. Hence the depth they put becomes structured very differently. Many believe its here where you get what can be called "good songs" and "bad songs". However its very subjective; as Conor Oberst says: "You can't manufacture inspiration". Truthfully, in music, it either comes or it doesn't. There's no clear method to it.
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SHREYA BOSE
INDIE REVIEWS
Sun Kabira frames, in sprightly pop-rock, the possibility of spontaneous ecstasy emerging from abandoning attachment. In this land of Gautama Buddha, we are familiar with the concept, commonly termed Nirvana. But the song zeroes in on the ineffable, inexplicable joy that arises from realising that all is impermanent, illusory and unworthy of too much investment. Famed spiritual speaker Adyashanti speaks of about a “causeless happiness” that comes from not taking anything too seriously. The band echoes the sentiment (as old as time itself) with “Na tu ispe aasu baha re/ Bas gaata chal aur haasta ja re”. (Shed no tears over this world/Simply rejoice and move on) Sacchai toes the ethos of spiritual seeking, revealing the elusive nature of Truth that all religious/metaphysical paths look to make their destination. They double down on their conception of the human world as claustrophobic, limiting and entirely based on collective delusion. Kalkothri si ye duniya, jooth mein kuch uljhi uljhi (This world resembles a dungeon/ entangled in lies) Uljhe huye hain log yahaan sab, waise jaise jaal mein machli (All humans here are trapped/ as if fish in a net)
Aao Khele (Aankh Micholi): What drives a 23 year old to vocalise “Daldal si hain ye duniya pyare/Maya mein na tu dhasta jaa re” (This world is like a marsh/Do not let yourself be mired in illusion)? Whatever it is, it resonates through a debut album ripe with existential significance. This quintet is the image of youth (the oldest one being 26) but they project lyrical expertise over matters usually experienced much later in the human experience.
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With the likes of “Gali gali main doondh ke aaya/Kaba Kashi ghum ke aya” (I have wandered everywhere/ Wandered from Kaba to Kashi), this one is a paean to human failure. Ornamented in exuberant melody, the words strike a bitter blow to all the pursuits that we keep ourselves busy with - while forgetting that most of it ends up being fairly pointless in terms of accruing peace. Bindiya Tori lack the emotive charge of the previous two tracks, but it is a charming display of sudden, unpredictable love. Vocalist Osho Jain sings like a man with a lifetime of bruises. That usually tends to help
describe accurately the most talked, sung, written and painted about emotion in existence. Bablu Ki Shaadi takes a scalpel to the absurdity of the social quicksand that is arranged marriage. Satire abounds in the entire album, but Osho and his lot have been excessively generous with it while chucking at the hollow kernel of marriages made in relatives’ minds rather than in a couple’s hearts. Once against, lyrical dexterity does not match the first two tracks, but a simple enumeration of how arranged marriages come about ( Bola rishteydaro ne/ Fasaya parivar ne) and how they tend to work out is enough to generate comedy that doles out despair by the balti. Ghoome Re intercepts another common and depressing phenomenon : losing selves and souls in the pursuit of worldly aspiration. The questions posed are frequently repeated, most often by those smack in the middle of the struggle - Why lose sanity for shohrat? The band, based out of Mumbai, chances upon the most fitting metaphor for the city’s unceasing traffic of human ambition and survival. “Hain Railgari sa jivan tera (Your life resembles the train) Moh main kuch lipta aisa (Slathered and mired in delusion) Uljha hain tu khud mein aisa (Enmeshed in yourself you are) Bacha hain na tu khud ke jaisa (No longer are you like yourself) The words gain momentum, rocked by rhythm resembling Mumbai’s endless trains which ferry travelers to and from their fortunes and desires. Aao Khele is an admirable debut. Aankh Micholi sings about important things, and does it well. They garnish their thoughts with skillful, unpredictable riffs and melodies, preventing any possibility of boredom. It expertly reproduces zeitgeist, and while doing so, proves that not much has changed for the human condition. They’re asking questions we have become used to, and yet we have little to no answers to offer.
Science City (Parekh & Singh): Underneath stolid red suits and uncompromising deadpan stares is brewing a set of songs obsessed with every atom of everyday life. This duo, often seen in crunchy colours have made a habit out of manifesting apparently unthreatening songs with flecks of exact truth cocooned in. They stay true to this artistic tendency in their sophomore album, but come armed with a whole new repertoire of metaphors and puzzles. “Time’s a waste of life”,croons Parekh while Singh peppers this roster of curious cynicism with minimal but essential punctuation. The album reveals their obsession with nuance - the how’s of everything they can lay their hands on. They pose questions and use their expressive instinct to breakdown the strangeness of the universe with it's own language. Forward Slash and Surgeon are
especially conversant in this, and you can taste the band’s consistent pursuit of how everything works. Simultaneously, Down at the Sky, Be Something and Monkey take divergent journeys into the commonalities of human nature. Love, loss, self-doubt, resignation, optimism and quiet numbness all come through, riding on the backs of eccentric, playful musings. There is so much in the album that is impossible to get over. They stick to their characteristic juxtaposition of quirk-dabbled, wonder-inspiring composition with straight-laced but colourful wordplay depicting things gone askew. Parekh & Singh have never peddled despair, but they have always been champion sculptors of life’s loose ends. Their music never causes outright exhaustion, but it's beauty belies a certain unease. Science City is named after a museum and science center in Kolkata. As one of the city’s foremost attractions, it does not simply denote a wellspring of knowledge, but has immense emotive resonance for inhabitants of the city. If you have lived in Kolkata, you have probably felt love and giggles (it's a popular date joint) as well as comfort and security (it is also every family’s go-to picnic spot). You feel all of that leaking out of the album, and it wouldn’t be untoward to reminisce about your adolescent Christmas Day at Science City. If you have not lived in Kolkata, simply reminisce about everything else, and you will find that the songs fit into every memory.
KARISHMA D'MELLO
Rock, raga & jazz:
The Indian influence in the west The sitar has long been an accessory of sorts, to artists of varying genres. However, Indian influence in western music runs deeper than the use of a single instrument. The indomitable forces of pop and classic rock took their cues from their visits to India, and eventually each other to create new, Indian inspired sounds.
The combination of jazz and classical never quite received criticism to the extent that rock did. Perhaps it was due to jazz’s natural tendencies towards the eclectic subtleties that Indian classical enhanced. Any scepticism it may have received took a back seat with the rising success of the works of Yusuf Lateef, John Coltrane and several others.
The origin of this fusion has been long debated. Some credit the Yardbirds for experimenting with the cross fertilization of Indian and western genres, with their hit single “Heart full of soul”. Oddly enough, the band did not use an Indian instrument to create the alleged Indian sound that it became known for, but instead, an electric guitar was used to mimic the sound of a sitar; a popular criticism for those debating against this external accreditation.
While the Indian influence may have during that time been regarded as no more than a fad, the true test of it would undoubtedly be time. In that regard, the prevalence of Indian themes, philosophies, concepts and mythology as well as melodic elements and hypnotic backgrounds in metal, rock and psychedelic genres today, would disprove that hypothesis in all of its entirety. The influence continues to live on, across all art forms worldwide.
The dissenting view holds that the first truly discernible roots of Indian notes, was the Kink’s “See My Friends”. In an interview with the Rolling Stone, Ray Davies famously said, “When I wrote the song, I had the sea near Bombay in mind.” However, while these were popular with niches during the 60s, the single force that was able to push the idea beyond its existing boundaries, into mainstream media, was The Beatles. They started off with “Norwegian Wood”, where the sitar was used as more of a substitute for the guitar than in all its glory. However, over the years their sound grew more deeply intertwined with Indian music, perhaps due to Harrison’s growing interest in Indian classical and his lessons with Ravi Shankar. Due to popular music’s reputation of easily digestible formats, the idea of fusing it with the complexities of Indian classical seemed absurd to a lot of people. To the credit of the critic, it took a while until these genres truly embraced the more profound aesthetic of the elements in Indian musical discourse. Deviating from conventional chord structures to more scale focussed, repetitive notes, the use of tambura and drones, particularly in psychedelic rock, received mixed reactions. This seemingly bizarre blend was used to create a hallucinogenic atmosphere, which was seen as borderline parodical to a few classical connoisseurs. “I found it difficult to bring them to an understanding and appreciation of our music from the correct viewpoint. I felt, that many of them were involved with various kinds of hallucinogenic drugs and were using our music as part of their drug experience.” - Ravi Shankar Whatever criticism he may have had at that point, his experimentations with the fusion of jazz and classical had begun before any rock artist had taken to exploring this idea in any noteworthy form. His album “Improvisation” , based on his score for Satyijit Ray’s Pather Panchali, 1955 featured flutist Bud Shank and Gary Peacock on bass.
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India’s musical diversity
ADITI SARAWAGI
Like many other aspects, music in India is also diverse because of its cultural diversity. Almost every Indian city has a different genre of music specific to it. If you want to explore new styles of music, India is a hub of different styles and it’s a heaven for music lovers.
Bengaluru A young city, Bengaluru’s musical journey is all rock and roll. It is often touted as the “Rock Capital of India,” and is well known for its underground hip-hop music scene. It has hosted a number of stalwarts in rock music including Aerosmith and Iron Maiden. Bengaluru has a thriving live music scene and has given rise to a number of music bands.
West Bengal Kolkata has its own breed of music specific to West Bengal-Rabindra Sangeet. The songs are written and composed by Rabindranath Tagore which is immensely popular and many renditions of his music are widely performed. Kolkata is home to one of the first rock bands of India, Mohiner Ghoraguli along with several other Bengali rock bands. Bengal is also known for a music formBhatiali, sung by its fishermen. Nirmalendu Chowdhury is one of the best exponents of this ancient musical form.
Tamil Nadu South India is famous for Carnatic music. Chennai regularly hosts Carnatic music concerts and recitals. A number of popular singers have emerged from Chennai like Aruna Sairam, Gayathri Girish, and Vidya Subramanian. Bhavageete, Naatupura Paadalgal, and Kummi Paatu are other beautiful streams of music in Tamil Nadu, each with its own special tones.
Shillong Shillong is a rock music hub in India and is a shining star on the country’s music map. The famous Lou Majaw, known for his Bob Dylan renditions is from Shillong. Many international rock bands have performed in Shillong like Petra, Eric Martin, MLTR, Scorpion, White Lion, and Hoobastank amongst others. Soulmate, the blues band well known across the country originates from Meghalaya as well.
its Hindustani classical music. The various compositions were highly inspired by the poetry written by the famous poets and literary figures from the town itself.
Assam Assam is known for Bihugeet and this form of folk music is performed every year at the famous Bihu festival. It is not only popular in Assam but across North-eastern India. It represents the joy of the Assamese and these songs usually tell a story on various themes like love, social messages and even entertaining stories.
Uttarakhand Uttarakhandi music usually convey important social messages, stories on nature, bravery and historical characters. The people of the state use their music to share their cultural practices. They are well known to use unique musical instruments like Masak Baja, Daur, Thali, Ransingha, Damoun, and Bhankora.
Maharashtra A popular form of music in Maharashtra is Lavani which is accompanied by a dance form of the same name. It is an entertaining form of music and uses its fun beats to convey important social messages about society and politics. There are different types of LavaniNirguni, Shringari, Baithakichi, and Phadachi Lavani.
Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh These states are known for Pandavani which narrates the heroics of the Mahabharata. It is an old form of folk music but is being kept alive by ace performers like Teejan Bai, Jhaduram Devangan, Ritu Verma, Usha Barle and Shantibai Chelak. India is a true music lover’s paradise and the diversity in the various cultures of the states adds to the beauty of music across the country.
Lucknow Lucknow is known for one of India’s biggest classical music maestros-Begum Akhtar. She is one of the epitomes of Ghazal music. Lucknow is famous for
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AMOGH RAO
CONCEPT VS FEEL
Understanding Advanced Sub-Divisions Most kids who took geometry in secondary school would remember the standard compass and ruler method of dividing a line into equal parts. Dividing a line into 2 and 4 equal portions was always easy. What wasn’t as easy however, was dividing it into 3, 5 and 7 equal parts. The reason here is that numbers (or anything for that matter) can’t be perfectly broken into odd portions. There will always be the need for greater and greater accuracy when scrutinizing the distribution. In this analogy, if you were to think of the line as a bar of music, and the divisions as musical notes, you would land up with tuplets. Tuplets in music have the same problem, but since it’s music and not geometry, accuracy loses some of its value and feel becomes more prevalent. You can experiment with a very simple example. Try playing quarter notes or eight notes inside every alternate bar of a 50 or 60 bpm wholenote click (the slower, the better). You will notice that it is relatively easy and you won’t rush or drag too much. Now try the same scenario with quarter note or eight note triplets. You can play it if you know how triplets feel, but unless you have a seasoned amount of practice, you will rush or drag
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far more often than the even subdivisions. Triplets however are far easier for the lay man or budding musician to master since all of us have been exposed fairly frequently to tripletbased rhythms like the waltz. Coming to the more advanced tuplets like quintuplets, septuplets and beyond, we lack the most important biological sense needed to play it – the feel. This is because most of us aren’t regularly exposed to music or any rhythms that incorporate a 5-note or 7-note bar. So even if we understand how they work, actually performing them with our hands and moving cleanly between even and odd tuplets becomes extremely challenging. There are two common solutions to this. The first and most obvious one, is listening to more of these rhythms regularly. A very good starting point would be a drummer called Anika Niles. Arguably one of the few drummers to make quintuplets a mainstream phenomenon, she incorporates these concepts so fluidly and minimally in simple, pop/rock contexts that they become both easy to comprehend and a pleasure to enjoy. The second would be internalizing the feel and positioning of every note in a tuplet. For example, a quintuplet is unnaturally faster than a quarter note pulse, but slower than an eight-note triplet. This is because 5 falls between 4 and 6. So to begin with, you could try to forcefully rush your quarter notes inside a bar or drag your eight-note triplets, as long as every note is uniformly spaced and they all fit snugly inside the bar. All of this must be done at a particular tempo, over and over until you’ve internalized what the quintuplet feels like and you’ve embraced its unnatural feel. Then you try to play two bars each of a 4, 5 and 6 note division. Finally, you try to bounce between different tuplets at random without losing the feel. If you want to take it a step further, you can try playing rudiments in quintuplets and septuplets, by going over the bar-line in most cases since a majority of rudiments are even phrases. The possibilities and textures become endless once your muscles and mind memorize the feel of these sub-divisions. Then it all comes down to practice.
NAVYA C
Bonding Over Music! The greatest aspect of music is to bring people of different nationalities, languages, musical backgrounds together by finding a common ground and also learning from each other. Many musicians over the years have come up with exciting opportunities in this realm and also brought the best of multiple musical worlds for the audience. When two different forms of music blend together, an entirely new form of enthralling music comes to existence. However, there are some musicians too who believe that when human bonding happens, music automatically flows like a free river. Alliance Francaise Hyderabad, along with Kalasethu, Keolis, Vikat Bharati and Inchorus organized a majestic concert named Queens of Melody in the right intention to bring the cultures of India and France together. But there is much more to this concert than just the collaboration between two countries. The French vocalist and Hurdy- Gurdy player Eleonore Fourniau has adapted this instrument for playing Turkish tunes and giving it a Middle Eastern feel- unlike the homeground of western music. Nandini Shankar’s violin is another biggest highlight of the show because instead of playing it like a plain instrument, she does it with great expressivity and lyrical beauty – simply called as Gaayaki style in Hindustani music. The rhythm department was ably supported by Abhishek Mishra, a young and talented tabla player who had the privilege to play for legends like Pt.Vishwamohan Bhatt earlier. The inquisitive trio had very less time to jam and practice for the show but they bonded over coffee and food during the weekend. During the bonding, they could understand the nuances of each other’s
musical backgrounds and came up with the idea of highlighting mircotones in their concert. They found common scales like Basant Mukhari, Mishra Khamaj and Bhairavi which have similar counterparts in western music. As a result, a beautiful mélange of different music forms with a common ground came into picture. So in a way, they did plan their pieces but at the same time gave utmost importance to spontaneity and relishing their renditions. Eleonore’s supreme control over vocals and majestic playing of Hurdy- Gurdy deserves a special mention. She has got a thorough understanding of her core music form along with Indian music forms as well. After her solo performance which lasted for nearly 15-20 minutes, Nandini Shankar took over the stage to display the beauty of Hindustani Classical music. The trio then gained much momentum by performing together and bringing their worlds closer. While three of them stuck to their homeground by being loyal to their learnt music forms, they also displayed a sense of curiosity and interest towards each other’s performances. This actually brought the audience into a new level of trance and bliss. Fusion when taken in right spirit can create wonders- was proved time and again with this fantastic trio. As performers, Elonore is quite mellowed and grounded by Nandini is sprightly in her renditions. Abhishek Mishra balanced these contrasting musical personalities with his gripping rhythm and tabla riffs. The trio is all geared up to do more musical shows in Chennai and Bangalore which are lined up ahead this month.
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Mumbai Beckons Sound & Light industry to ride the growth wave at the 19th edition of PALM Expo This preview brings a brief update on what’s in store for the 2019 edition in May.
India’s premier trade expo for the live events, music production, lighting, staging and ProAV industry is back with its 19th edition, scheduled to take place from May 30 – June 1, 2019, at BEC, Mumbai, concurrently with the inaugural edition of AV Integrated Systems expo. With foresight of the mammoth potential of the industry, the PALM expo this year features the most ideal exhibit space - with Pro Audio in Hall 1, Hall 2 and Grande Hall, Lighting in Hall 2, PoAV in Hall 3, Demo Qube in VIP Parking Area, Indoor Line Array Demo in Hall 5 and PALM Live Arena in Hall 2 Annexe. The extended space accommodating many new brands, undoubtedly asserts the show as being the finest platform to showcase the latest, most pertinent technologies for the entertainment and install industry. With a bigger exhibit space, range of new products and technologies and several international manufacturers flooding the exhibit space, the PALM expo is expected to welcome more than 200 direct exhibitors who included top manufacturers, brands, distributors and dealers, and more than 25,000 trade visitors.
The Knowledge Quotient at PALM 2019 The expo has taken a firm initiative to improve the skill and knowledge quotient asserting that economic development and business success depends greatly on efficient technology coupled with product information. The objective has led to the conceptualisation of extremely crucial and all-encompassing Conference Programmes. The three-day PALM SUMMIT - Conference, Seminar & Workshop, will be held in the International Lounge of hall 1, BEC, Mumbai. The Summit will host expert speakers across the three days of the expo. The speakers this year come from some of the largest brands and solution providers in the industry. Rahul Samuel will conduct a Workshop on Loudspeaker Arrays and Subwoofer Configurations. The workshop aims at demystifying arrays and enabling you to make better decisions based on science. Waves Audio, will present WavesLive eMotion LV1 - Revolution in Live Sound Mixing. Ravisankar Nadiyam, along with Mixing Engineers Praveen
Daman Sood
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Jaykrishanan Nalinkumar
Didier Weiss
Gautham Pattani
Kapil Thirwani
Muralidhar and Supratik Subramanian will introduce delegates to a new era in live audio mixing solutions. This session will be followed by Creative Sound Design in the Era of Challenging Surround Sound by Baylon Fonseca and Anuj Mathur . An Introduction to Dante Audio Networking by Gautham Pattani will explore applications of a Dante audio network in live sound. From corporate conferences to live music. Demonstrating the scalability and ease of adopting a Dante audio network. A panel discussion on Noise Pollution Control Killing Musicwill focus on Supreme Court setting noise level at 75 db for sound shows. This panel discussion will discuss and debate knowledgeably about noise and decibel levels at live stage events, the balance between organized sound shows and noise on the streets. To be moderator by Sushma Gaikwad, the first line up of panelists include Zura Braganza, Milind Raoraneand Pramod Chandorkar. Didier Weiss will conduct a session on Room Tuning and Optimization. Delegates will get an opportunity to learn about tools available and processes to follow up, called optimisation, tuning, calibration or audio system alignment. Munro Acoustics will conduct two sessions this year. On Day 2, Kapil Thirwani will focus on Sound Design and Electro Acoustics for Entertainment Install Venues such as clubs, pubs, lounges etc. and on Day 3, he will educate audiences on everything they ever wanted to know about Dolby Atmos mix and HE room. Veteran Sound Recording Engineer, Daman Sood will discuss Analysis Paralysis Today Recording Studio Technology. This session will guide the budding artist to select RIGHT equipment, while also considering individual budgets. Deepayan Ghosh - Yamaha Music India Pro Audio will educate audiences on Virtual Reality and Dolby Atmos The other parallel conference programme - PALM Soundscape, is a key feature of the PALM expo and has particularly been instrumental in dissemination of knowledge on technological advancements & industrial trends, empowering the next breed of professionals. Key speakers covering big stage sound, light, visual, festivals, touring tech, FOH, artiste management, music production, A&R - all the ingredients for show biz, congregate in these panels. Reji Ravindran, curator of this 5th edition of PALM Soundscape will kick-start this programme with a masterclass on Classic DJing Tips & Tricks. The panel on Heeding Caution - Safety at Big Stage eventswill tackle immediate problems concerning safety at big stage & stadium events. To be moderated by Sanjeev Pasricha, the panel will include speakers Khushroo Kekobad, Mankaran Singh, Ajinkya Kanetkar and Cyrus Gorimar
The Bollywood Tadka - From Local to Global will discuss how Bollywood has been the biggest Indian export to the world. Moderated by Lil’ B, the panel discussion will include, Bhumicka Singh, Ali Merchant, Ankur Bhasin & DJ Notorious As part of the “Big Stage” Series, day 2 and day 3 will delve into one session discussing business and technical intricacies for the big stage. Next Gen Big Stage Sound will throw light on innovation, techniques & global trends in stage sound systems engineering. Expert panel will also discuss inventory management, ROI & logistical aspects. This panel to be moderated by Sachit Subramanian will include panellists Vinay Agarwal, Fali Damania, Siddharth Chauhan and Samir Kripalani. Expert panel at Next Gen Big Stage Light & AV will discuss lighting effects & mapping aspects. Experts speakers on this panel include Antonio Marino, Vijay Sabhlok and session will be moderated by veteran lighting designer – Viraf Pocha. Music producer Sez, will conduct a workshop on Hip Hop Music Production giving a rare opportunity to understand his approach, workflow & tools when producing for rappers. A panel discussion on Independent Music Artists and Streaming Platforms to be moderated by Amit Gurbaxani and will include panellists - Warren Mendonsa, Tej Brar, Vijay Basrur & Soumini Paul. Gullywood - How Indian Hip Hop took centre stage in 2019to be moderated by Mo Joshi - Owner Azadi Records, will include panellists - MC Mawali, MC Tod Fod, MC Altaf and Stony Psyko. EEMA (Event & Entertainment Management Association) who will have a strong presence at the PALM will discuss on the Need for Transformation of the Event Industry The PALM & HARMAN association celebrates another sensational year of the PALM HARMAN Live Arena. Equipped with the best in staging, sound and lighting gear, the Arena will help buyers identify and evaluate their audio requirements. Besides boosting the business and knowledge quotient, the PALM expo also acts as a platform and catalyst to recognise and honour quality work and talent through its awards – IRAA (Indian Recording Arts Academy Awards) for Audio & Music Production and PALM Sound & Light Awards for Stage Sound, Lighting and Production. Overall, the PALM 2019 will be an amalgamation of creative and technical talent, trade and quality business networking which also provides the ideal platform to connect with new customers and formulate enhanced business opportunities.
Supratik Subramanian Praveen Muralidhar
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SOUVIK CHAKRABORT Y
Le arn
G o o ing o t d n e Mu t s to li sic
Thanks to the internet, our musical sensibilities are evolving by the click, hits and subscriptions every single day. Content creators are coming up with content that finds its own market and subscriber base. Although, appreciating good music is still remains a grey area. Many creators are actually eyeing for the kind of content, which will pre-educate our ears and sensibilities to appreciate good art and good music. 'Out of the Shruti Box' is one such spark amidst the many pearls on the internet. The channel is run by Anuja Kamat, a former scholar and researcher on classical music of India. So, what exactly is it ~ Shruti Box is a drone musical instrument for classical singing. Reportedly, the idea behind the name is to identify oneself with the very essence of 'creating music', just like the way, Shruti Box helps in 'producing' the sound bed of the composition. The pre phrase 'out of' actually reinstates the fact that this attempt to dissect and discern classical music is both radical and non conventional. 'Music education' is done to death as a genre! If you actually hang around the Shruti Box videos. You will understand that the content on the channel is more directed to creating content which will refine the taste in classical music. So it is not essentially focussing on teaching someone how to train in a musical genre. If you still have doubts read the disclaimer right at the beginning of her videos and you will surely find substances in the experience that follow. The credibility? Anuja has basked in the greatness of rich musical crevices and trenches which are deeper than the run of the mill popular media. Lessons! Anuja comes up with a necessary dose of the basic and non-cryptic information on the amount of variety that the classical music
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in our country boasts of. The lessons range from something like the audio visual representation of the saptaswara, to something which talks greatly about the history and lineage of good music. Since, Anuja is vocally trained to a superior stage, there is a greater incidence of anecdotal and practical examples all alike. It is beautiful to know that how easily one can break into an oriental as well as western rendition of the same swaras and sounds. Preachy? Classical music needs a lot of dedication and patience to grasp. There are different gharanas, stylisations and of course, the nuances which make it diverse and interesting. It is difficult to hold an audience who are largely mis-educated or underfed with a decent sensibility of music. Hence, Shruti also delves deep into some content which is more entertaining and less preachy. Something like picking up a song like Jhanaak jhanaak baaje payeliya and rendering it into multiple ragas. Not only is this utmost enlightening but also entertaining at the same time. The intention behind making classical music more an experience that the audience can relate to; is something that comes across all her videos. With the host of underground revolution in hip hop music and the culture of our times. It is important we don't turn our face from the exotic beauty we already have in our hinterlands. From folk music, to classical music, the breeze of our lands have heard it all. There are ways how music has fostered and instilled hopes in our forefathers, at a time when language was still developing. It is only fair that more and more content creators like Anuja, come to our rescue and teach us how to listen to good music!
SREYOSHI GUHA THAKURTA
During the 80s and the 90s, rap written in Hindi and/ or English found its place in Indie-Pop and RnB music in India, but became popular in its most original form, that is, with Hip-Hop much later. Since the early 2010’s, Hip-Hop has seen a steady rise in mainstream Indian music. Rap written in Punjabi started becoming popular in Northern India and it slowly travelled southwards, where it cemented its position in Bollywood. The early practitioners of rap, Honey Singh and Badshah have now become pioneers in Bollywood and are popular household names all over India. A throwback to the last three years in India is enough to dig up a number of national and regional protests that have taken place. Whether it has been about women’s safety, the political upheaval in Kashmir, demonetization or the Long March- concerns have been voiced by hundreds of citizens, who had also taken to the streets. These mass protests have paved way for many artists to make art for the cause. Rap in India has also found a voice of dissent right in the heart of this mayhem. Rap in America has forever been embroiled in controversies around problematic and misogynist lyrics, and conservative political and media groups have always blamed rap for culturing a seeming trend in violence among youths. This problem also exists in the both mainstream Bollywood and dissenting rap cultures that have been brewing in Indian regional languages. But this kind of accusation or an interpretation fails to address and contextualize rap through its frame of social context.
The form of rap that is fast gaining popularity in India, and rising up as a competitor of Punjabi rap, comes out of alleys and slums of metropolitan cities like Kolkata and Mumbai. Popularly known as Gully rap or Ilaka rap, these songs talk about local concerns; the basic day to day struggles of the grassroots. These rappers from the slums have recently come under the limelight with Zoya Akhtar’s film, Gully Boy. Loosely based on the lives of Mumbai based rappers DIVINE and Neazy, this film also has songs written and composed by them. Besides local and larger concerns, Ilaka Rap also has a tradition of writing songs about their pride for their locality, thus challenging other slums in the city. Two or more rival slums often open dialogues and have arguments over songs they post on social media. In May 2018, Minaj Khan of Khidderpore, Kolkata, released his song- “Khidderpur Basti” on YouTube. It talks about the fearlessness of the local boys and their love for violence thereby establishing the superiority of their slum over all other. As a response, Kolkata Rappers of Park Circus realised “Park Circus Zabardast” in July of the same year. Another popular name in the city is Awessum Frankie who released his song “Ilaka Rap Kolkata Rajabajar” on YouTube, almost a year before Khan and Kolkata Rappers. Released under the banner of Radio Mirchi, this song introduced the new sound to the city. Despite promoting violence and communal sentiments, this marginal form of music has risen to the position of one of the biggest voices of dissent in the larger context of Indian culture.
LOCAL VOICE OF DISSENT: LOCAL DISSENT: RAP IN IN THE METROPOLIS RAP METROPOLIS
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GAJENDRA PURI GOSWAMI
Outside Bombay’s Fading Gully Rap, Inside Delhi’s Burgeoning Hip Hop Scene On the stage they’re fierce opponents ready to go at each other’s neck at any given point, off the stage they are confidants who strive to better each other. I could hear their croaky voice from the moment I reached underneath the building of an upscale co-living space in Delhi’s Hauz Khas locality - an area which has beared witnesses to the incredible journey of these artists from organising their first rap battle in a lacklustre parking lot to performing in clubs across the country. My eyes veered towards the rostrum as soon as I reached upstairs, where Prabhdeep - one of Delhi Hip-Hop’s mainstays - was resonating a similar message on the mic, urging his fellow colleagues to lock this day in their memory boxes as they venture to scale higher feats in their career. The Azadi Records artist reiterated the message after the show where he urged them to not succumb to industry pressure and lose the essence of their struggle in search of internet visibility and commercial success. Prabhdeep’s heartfelt message and an evening among Delhi’s Hip Hop heralds reinstated the faith in me that India’s hip-hop scene was alive (and flourishing) even outside the successful mirage of Bombay’s Gully rap. There is something unique about the soul of Delhi Hip-Hop that motivates its artists to keep their voice raw and distinctive even in times when most artists on the other spectrum are caught up in the whirlwind of Youtube views and brand collaborations. The artists here are engaged in an endless endeavour to sharpen their craft even when the spotlight is not shining them. The audience here too, unlike Mumbai, has set a precedent in keeping the art above the artists and refused to exalt rappers into godly figures who cannot be critiqued. In return, the artists have kept themselves in check and focused on creating a timeless body of work that resulted in albums (and EPs) like
Class Sikh, 2 Ka Pahada, Showtime, and Bayaan. Yet, there is an excessive shortage of work in the industry for these artists. Apart from the Azadi Records signees, none have had a regular touring circuit. Artists like Yungsta and Frappe Ash have managed to pull in standalone gigs but only with the genius of their own artistic brilliance. As MC Kode, one of the scene’s adhesive players, points out, “The venues and IPs in the city have failed to reach out to the artists. Whatever gigs are held are organised by the artists themselves, mostly in exchange for some barter with the venue or brands.” One of the reasons for the same is the lack of a cohesive music industry in the city where artists could flourish alongside managers, venue owners, promoters, brands, and the audience. Kode also points out towards the lack of performing venues in the city. He remarks,“Bombay has venues like The Habitat where IPs like ATKT hosts regular gigs. The atmosphere here is not that encouraging.” Kode may be right, but the fact is that Delhi has as many performance venues as Mumbai. The discrepancy between the two cities lie in the lifestyle pattern of their audience. Mumbai is a cosmopolitan hub with a vibrant nightlife scene which gives venues there an edge in pulling crowds. Delhi, on the other hand, remains largely shut after 10 PM. Thus, the only audience the venues here draw are a handful of music enthusiasts are the artists’ earliest supporters and will remain loyal to them even if the hip-hop fervour in India fades away. Yet, hip-hop acts in Delhi keep toiling their muscle in a fit of artistic inspiration. They strive not to attain a million Youtube views, but to earn respect from their peers which is a reflection of the city’s deep-rooted hip hop culture.
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MUSKAN GOSWAMI
Lesser Known Gems of
Coke Studio India is an amazing amalgamation of stunning singers and musicians from across the country. From folk artists to popular Bollywood singers, you will spot great talent here. Since, we all come across the most viral Coke Studio songs easily, we thought of bringing to you some of the lesser known gems of Coke Studio India. Have a look:
1. O Majhi Re O Majhi Re is a song sung by Shaan & Saurav Moni. This Coke Studio song is a recreation of R.D. Burman’s “O Majhi Re” from the iconic movie Khushboo (1975). It uses an ancient boatmen tune from Bengal. The lyrics of the song are written by Gulzar.
4. Nirmohiya Nirmohiya is a song which perfectly expresses what “Young love” feels like. This song takes you back to the time when you were a teenager and you used to get butterflies in your stomach just by hearing your loved one’s name. The song has been sung by 17-years-old Devendra Singh and Harshdeep Kaur. Another great composition by Amit Trivedi.
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2. Teeriyan Tu Jaane This is a unique song which talks about love in its true form. A love which expects nothing in return. The song has an aura of fearlessness and bold attitude attached to it. Jyoti Nooran and Harsheep Kaur have successfully induced the same vibe to the song. Amit Trivedi’s composition has done wonders again with this song.
5. Pinjra Pinjra is one of the most terrific songs of Coke Studio and yet it remains less popular. The refined and passionate singing of Sanam Puri and Jonita Gandhi takes the lyrics of the song to a completely new level. The beautiful lyrics of the song are conventional in nature. This song is composed by Clinton Cerejo.
3. Khumaar A song which beautifully depicts the pain that one feels while waiting for their loved one. The magical voice of Papon brings a soothing effect to the wonderfully crafted lyrics of this song. The lyrics are written by Vaibhav Modi.
6. Badri Badariyan It’s a song about bold romance during the rains. The powerful composition by Amit Trivedi is coupled with Mame Khan’s dynamic Rajasthani texture and Milli Nair’s playful voice, is incredible to listen to. The song perfectly expresses the feeling of romance in the air.
BAND OF THE MONTH
SKYTRIP What’s the story behind changing your name from This Little Question to Skytrip?
drums, cymbals from Zildjian, Sabian, Meinl, Istanbul and Paiste, and the Pearl Demon Drive double bass pedal.
Our drummer and lyricist, Calvin usually bunked Sunday mass and would come chill at Jovith's place. We were sitting and deliberating on band names for this local band competition. One of us said “What do we name this little adventure of ours?”, the other went ”This Little Adventure!”. We agreed that sounded good but decided to change it to This Little Question. Over time with all the ordered chaos and the constant change in the sound of the band, we decided to change the name to something that suited the musical direction that we were headed to. We always liked the reality of how beautiful and limitless the sky is and with our music we wanted people to feel this endless certainty of bliss. So we stuck with the name Skytrip!
In a scene with new artists and bands emerging so often, how do you ensure that your music stays alive and loved?
Name some artists you’re looking to collaborate with and would love to work with Katy Perry would be nice. On a more serious note, we look up to independent bands and artists like Bryden Lewis, Paarth, Jai Row Kavi, Shalini Mohan, Thermal and a Quarter, etc. Fellow bands like Vocal Rush, Excelsior, Sounds Fishy, and Raindown Playbutton are also among our favourites. With the sheer plethora of talent in the Bangalore local creative and performing arts scene, we'd like to collaborate with any creative artist from any walk of life.
Describe your tech set up. What are the gears you guys use? Jovith and Neha use Schecter Damien 7 and 6 string electric guitars respectively, both with Active Pickups with Line 6 HD500X multi-effects processor. Viyan uses synth tones from a variety of digital VST and plugins using the Nektar Impact LX49+ MIDI Controller. Clyde uses an Ibanez GSR200 electric bass guitar. Calvin's drum gear includes Mapex
We are always on a quest of finding that balance between what we love playing and what the audience would enjoy listening to. At the end of the day, music is about making people connect. We have always been working on the unique sound for the band, that sound when you listen to it you'd go 'Hey, that's Skytrip!’. That's our goal. We hope to find it along the way.
You’ve mentioned about being inspired by Dream Theater and Coldplay, how have you incorporated their styles into your music? Honestly we never really chose a genre to play. We’ve always wanted to play any kind of music we like. We have phases where we listen to a plethora of music ranging from metal to jazz to hip hop. Our early inspirations were bands like Haken, Between The Buried And Me, Leprous, Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree from the progressive scene. We absolutely love Indie artists like Coldplay and Imagine Dragons which blur the line between what is conventionally pop and rock. Progressive metal usually tries to encompass the entire sonic range, so we include stuff like the double bass drums in the verses of Cold Rain and low-end ambient guitar riff in the bridge to Spaces. All of these in mostly indie pop synth-based arranged songs.
Upcoming projects At the moment, we are planning on releasing singles every month. There's also an EP planned over the second half of the year, with the shooting for music videos. We are also looking forward to playing live this year to promote our originals. The
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VYOMA SHAH
On Songwriting Song writing is a cathartic but complicated process. So many factors need to align for a mere idea to turn into a work of art. Much like the chicken and egg situation, it’s difficult to tell what strikes the songwriter first – the melody, the groove, the lyrics or the chords. Having recently discovered the almost addictive world of songwriting, I was really curious to know the various routes that different songwriters adopt while attempting to write and finish a song. Talking about what strikes first, “it totally depends,” says Kamakshi Khanna, a prominent singer-songwriter in the scene. “The trigger could be anything, a chord progression, a beat, or a melody I find myself humming in the cab when stuck in traffic. It could also be an idea for lyrical content, which is the rarer one of the lot.” As for harpist and singer-songwriter Nush Lewis, she normally begins with a simple chord progression and then proceeds to write a melody line over it. Moving on to inspiration for the lyrical content, “it comes from experiences that have left a strong impact on me and constantly need a path of expression,” says Kamakshi. As for Nush, her songs draw inspiration from her personal life experiences and from the people that cross her path. “Currently on my new EP, Bridges, the songs are inspired by spaces and situations that one is found in,” says Nush. Songwriters often experience a burst of inspiration in moments, but then do they wait until the next gust of creativity comes around or do they put in a conscious effort from time to time to finish their songs? “I like my writing process to be more natural, which means I write less frequently but with more intent and honesty,” says Kamakshi. For Nush on the other hand, she tries to balance it out. “Initially when I started writing, I
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used to write only when I felt inspired to write. Now, there are days when I sit down consciously to write and if it works, great, else I just leave it,” says Nush. To put things a little more into perspective, Kamakshi and Nush were kind enough to share an in-depth account of the writing processes for one of their released songs. “Moved by Stillness from my album Cakewalk was one of the most experimental songs that I’ve written. I wrote the chorus whilst watching the sunrise in Portugal. I kept humming the chorus and felt frustrated during the trip, since I was unable to find time to complete it. I remember coming back home, penning down the lyrics and finding a keyboard hook that went well with the song. This finally translated into an arrangement that I would never have envisioned,” says Kamakshi. “Untuned, which is from my latest EP, Bridges, had quite the journey. It was written with a different melody line and rhythmic arpeggios. I even performed it like that for a while, but something about it never really felt right. Later, I sat with the intention of reworking it and that opened a whole other side of the song. I literally just rearranged the notes and an altered melody line fell comfortably on top. The next day I took the song to my band and the rest is history. The song went from being my least favourite to one of my most favourite,” says Nush. Finally, putting out your music for the world to hear can be a daunting process. However, both, Kamakshi and Nush are of the opinion that one needs to trust their instincts no matter what people might say and that regardless of how the music is received, it's the only way to grow in your art and progress
MIX TIPS FOR
GREAT PRODUCTION Every time I get this frequent question in my Inbox about “How to get that Big Pro sound during mixing stage in my DAW?” There are countless videos on the internet and also blog to show you many methods the great engineers share about their huge techniques. But it purely depends on how and where you apply it in your DAW. This is the place many starters and upcoming home studio engineers get stuck during their mix. We always feel that the mix is not sounding great and does not have energy, punch or clarity like the popular mixes in the market. Everyone goes through this problem and I have found my own method to overcome this during mixing process. Trust me, this works for any genre! Instead of boring notes, let me break down into few points for your production to sound great.
MIXING TIPS 1. Instead of listening to the song with all the Faders set to Unity gain at 0db level and then adjusting by bringing down the faders, first bring down all the Post Faders to Infinity or -60db so that we don’t hear anything on our speakers. 2. Now bring the Faders one by one but not in SOLO mode! Then try to hear the song like a normal non-technical person. 3. Within 5 to 10 minutes, you will have a clean good balance of the song! 4. After you get this, then decide on the panning of each instruments or tracks which gives good separation on the imaging side of our audio content. 5. Spend good time using the HIGH PASS filter (HPF) on each track to remove the low-end rumble and clear up your muddy sound in your tracks, this gives more room for the Bass and Kick or low frequency instruments to sound awesome.
6. The most difficult thing is to make the Vocal sit on your mix. If it is not heard well, then try applying parallel compression or even serial compression in your session. This can give you a significant boost in your sound and also have compression applied in your track at the same time! 7. For using delays, generally I create separate track for the ending words in your song and then apply a delay effect on that so that it does not clutter up your mix in your session. If you apply in your vocal tracks be careful to adjust the delay time and the feedback time to just hear in your mix and not floating too much in your mix. Also I insert a High Pass filter before the Delay plug-in just to remove unwanted low-end sound entering the Delay plug-in. 8. Use Aux busses to route all your tracks so that it’s easy to handle large track counts when you receive from your clients and colour code them for faster navigation during mix. 9. Mixing in MONO, this is the best way to judge the session in the centre speaker to give you a good balance decision in your mixing process. If you don’t have a mono plug-in or a button in your hardware, try inserting a Stereo width plug-in and reduce the spread to 0.0 (zero) level. This brings all the panning to dead centre in your mix. 10. Finally, add an Aux master and insert a Master buss compression in your tracks for adding that analogue warmth and with a subtle compression reduction of -2db to 3 db of your whole song. Trust me, these tips will surely work for any genre and gives your killer results in any DAW. Happy mixing!
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Author: L. Baba Prasad. He is the owner and chief Sound/Mix and Mastering Engineer at Digi Sound Studio. He also teaches Sound Engineering and Music Production courses. For more details, visit www.digisoundacademy.com
STUDIO TOUR
ISLAND CITY STUDIOS Tell us about the space Island City Studios is a multi-room facility with The Press (Studio A) being our largest Control Room and Recording Room. The Bay (Studio B) is our smaller studio with a Control Room and a medium sized Dubbing Room. Madfingers is our rehearsal space which is perfect for ensembles of upto 10 people. I also wanted a good space for musicians to just come and hang and interact and the perfect spots for that are both the balconies and the Cafeteria.
Take us through the process of setting it up Setting up a studio starts with defining what kind of audio work the team will be doing. For us it was almost anything related to audio. Hence location became the next important factor. It was important for us to be accessible to all Musicians and Production Houses. Also the space itself needed to tick a lot of checkboxes in terms suitability for a Recording Studio. Which is why I hired SoundWizard to make sure that all isolation and acoustic treatment was done with extreme care and precision. Simultaneously, one needs to really consider what equipment will work best for a wide variety of workflows since you never know what to expect in a commercial where you might have a new client everyday. Finally we needed to pick a team for the execution of the project and hence we called on SETHNA Contructions and Kyrus Sethna for interior finishing.
What are some of the studio essentials you would recommend? Coffee, chilling area, a wide variety of instruments readily available. A good team of engineers and assistants that
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know the space and gear well. Well maintained and carefully selected recording equipment. And most of all a good acoustically clean Control Room.
What equipment do you use? I’ll attach a list. But the A room we have a fully loaded API 1608 with Quested q212 as the main speakers.
Pieces of gear you cannot live without This is a hard question to answer purely because everything that we have right upto the headphone system has bought and used for at least 60/70% of our sessions. So almost everything have, we need to have and hence cannot live without it. But if I had to choose, I would say the API console and Questeds in A.
Describe your work day Impossible. Since no 2 clients are the same it’s different everyday.
Philosophy or reasoning behind gear choices I have bought stuff that I know I will use and I that I feel like will give people the right amount of choices to explore their sonic palate.
What’s your next buy for the studio? Amps, synths, mics. Oh no I’m gonna be broke!!!
Tips to aspiring owners of studios Make sure that you plan every aspect of your new studio and really think of why you want to set it up before hand so that you make the right choices in the beginning because the setup is so intensive that it’s hard to make big changes later on. Make sure you understand that takes a while to break even on the overall cost.
KAUSTHUB RAVI & SIVANESH NATARAJAN
BANG FOR THE BUCK! Edifier R980T 2.0
Edifier R1280DB
Bookshelf Speakers
Bluetooth Bookshelf Speakers/ 4 Inch Near Field Speakers
BA-SICK! Listening to good sound while working on our desks is something we all crave. Edifier, a smaller and lesser known US audio company, has earned a central spot in the limelight over the past few years for making a wide variety of performant, feature nice looking budget speakers. The R980T is their most basic powered desktop/computer speaker that comes at a minimal cost. These are made from medium-density wood fiberboard with nice wood veneer on them. The front mesh is very fine and elegant, and the elegant logo on the bottom only adds to their beauty. This model features all the inputs and controls on the back side of the speakers, with a master volume and bass level knobs and the two RCA inputs. Pretty basic stuff here that’s clearly intended to make this speaker as cheap as possible while still being passable. The R980T is a powered speaker, meaning you don’t need a separate amp or receiver – it simply plugs in and is ready to play. The parent unit, in addition to volume/ bass EQ knobs and a power switch, has two RCA inputs, so you could connect it to two devices at the same time. An RCA to 3.5mm cable is included (connects to any standard headphone jack) as well as some speaker wire to connect the second child speaker. With a flared bass reflex port, you’re sure to enjoy a balanced sound with enhanced bass. Furthermore, the bass is adjustable, and the speakers are equipped with a 13-mm tweeter as well, for you to experience the strongest audio output possible. The range spec is pretty decent for an inexpensive two-way bookshelf speaker, and the power handling is pretty minimal. VERDICT So if you’re looking for some basic augmentation to listen to talk radio or the like out loud for minimal cost, these speakers are an ideal choice. But if you’re looking for true reproduction, these won’t compete with more powerful speakers coupled with a subwoofer. Edifier does make higher grade powered speakers that do have subwoofer compatibility, among other features, but they’re more expensive.
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MAKE THE SWITCH! The R1280DB is the successor of the R1280T and now offers Bluetooth and digital input support. It uses the same design and driver setup as the R1280T and offers a similar look and identical performance. They also offer an all-black model which looks way more modern and frankly, a lot better than the normal ones. With a combined 42W RMS output, they don’t offer wall shaking bass, but a sound that is cozy, smoothly textured and room-filling. Measuring 146 x 241 x 178mm per speaker, the Edifier R1280DB sit somewhere in size between a more typical PC speaker and a bookshelf Hi-Fi speaker. Rather than the plastic of many desktop speakers, what we have is a hefty MDF construction with a wood-textured vinyl wrap, just as you’ll see on a Hi-Fi bookshelf speaker. Said wrap can be either an all-black finish or a brown faux-wood one. Edifier has added some subtle but key details that elevate them well above what you’d expect for the price. There are rounded corners, a subtle switch from the wood-textured sides to the mottled-textured middle and a neat chromedplastic stripe across the middle of the speakers, all of which adds that something extra. You can remove the fabric grille to expose the two drivers and single bass port of each speaker. If you are not a fan of dust absorbing grilles, this is a good look. The front-firing bass port helps for positioning in tight spaces without compromise to the bass performance. This selection of inputs is what makes these speakers such a versatile option, especially when combined with the Bluetooth input. You can hook up a TV or PC, something like a Google Chromecast Audio and connect your phone through Bluetooth, all without any extra boxes or paraphernalia. It offers a reasonably even sound and no jarring boosts to bass or treble. It has quite a warm sound, allowing it to adapt to a variety of different genres. VERDICT Overall, whether you do feel the need to tweak the EQ a little, the key thing is that these speakers have the range to provide the option. It’s this versatility that makes them so appealing especially at this price point.
BOSS UNVEILS NEXTONEARTIST AND NEXTONE-STAGE GUITAR AMPLIFIERS Next-Generation Performance Amps with Authentic Tube Tone and Feel, Four Selectable Power Amp Types, and Deep Sound Customization Features BOSS introduces the Nextone-Artist and Nextone-Stage, two gig-ready combo guitar amplifiers designed with the advanced Tube Logic approach. Combining classic tube sound and feel with next-generation tonal diversity, each Nextone (pronounced “nex-tone”) amp offers multiple channels and instant re-voicing via four Class AB analog power amp types selectable from the panel. Nextone amps also include convenient modern features such as built-in effects, a dynamically responsive power control, and personalized sound customization using the Nextone Editor software for Mac and Windows. Widely acclaimed by guitarists everywhere, the Tube Logic design approach delivers real-deal sound, feel, and response by reproducing the complex interactive behaviors of tube amps in every way. This process also brings valuable advantages for today’s players, including greater reliability, reduced weight, and maintenance-free operation. Tube Logic evolves even further with the Nextone series, unlocking access to deep tone customization features that are impractical or impossible with traditional tube designs. With an easy turn of a panel dial, Nextone users can redefine the amp’s overall sonic signature and playing
feel with the unique characteristics of 6V6, 6L6, EL84, and EL34 output tube sections. Each selection re-voices the entire circuit from input to output, putting the complete sonic experience of these four classic analog power stages in one amp for the very first time. Nextone amps also include built-in delay, reverb, and tremolo effects, bringing even more versatility and convenience to gigging guitarists. And with the integrated power control, players can experience authentic cranked-amp tone while matching the volume to any situation, be it home, studio, or stage. Each Nextone amp features a dual-channel design with clean and lead channels, Boost and Tone switches, a three-band tone stack, and a presence control. With a quick button press, the user can switch the amp into custom mode and access factory-tweaked variations of the standard clean and lead channels. Players can further customize the sound with the intuitive Nextone Editor, fine-tuning bias, sag, EQ, effects, and other settings to match their individual style, touch, and pedal preferences. The optional GA-FC foot controller provides a command center for channel selection, Tone, Boost, effects, pedal volume, and more. Alternately, up to three FS-series footswitches can be used to control various functions. There’s also a line out for sending a direct signal to a PA, plus a phones/recording output for silent practice and tracking sessions. In addition to providing communication with the Nextone Editor, the amp’s USB jack functions as a direct recording interface for a DAW. Using the editor software, the character of the direct sound can be set to one of three Air Feel settings for a range of mic’d cab tones. The flagship Nextone-Artist features 80 watts of power, while the Nextone-Stage features 40 watts of power and a slightly more streamlined cabinet. Both amps come equipped with a custom 12-inch speaker. To learn more about the NextoneArtist and Nextone-Stage guitar amplifiers, visit: in.boss.info
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KAUSTHUB RAVI & SIVANESH NATARAJAN
IT'S A NEW DAY!
VALHALLA DELAY Effects Plug-in
• BBD: A dark, low fidelity bucket brigade delay model. • Digital: A cleaner, higher bandwidth delay, with the ability to dial in digital dirt.
• Ghost: A Valhalla DSP original! Combines the tape model from the HiFi mode with frequency shifting and a unique diffusion algorithm, for sounds that will split your skull in two. • Pitch: A digital delay with added pitch shifting. Perfect for micro-shifting vocals, adding harmonies to synths, creating vast shimmering soundscapes, or shrieking sounds that forever spiral upwards or downwards. • RevPitch: Reverse pitch shifting! Everything that goes in, comes out reversed In addition to this, they add five tape styles -
ANOTHER HOME RUN FROM VALHALLA! Valhalla, the most sought after reverbs in recent times, have released a new delay and its everything you would want it to be! Its easy to use and clean, extremely versatile design has always had a special place in the plugin folder. The plugin offers everything from modern to classic. Tape echo, BBD, old-school digital, pitch shifting - all covered. The classics expand into the unique Ratio and Quad delay styles, the Ghost mode (which adds frequency shifting), and a powerful diffusion section that can create anything from smeared echoes to ethereal reverbs. This allows you to use delays to create spaces and opens up a whole new level of production possibilities. The way the plugin turns simple drum grooves and guitar licks into intricate patterns is truly lovely. The seven (!) modes of the unit are • Tape: Modeled after vintage tape echoes, with all the features and quirks that were loved in the old hardware. • HiFi: A higher fidelity tape echo, where the ability to precisely sculpt the sound is in your hands.
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• Single: Same delay length & modulation for left and right channels. • Dual: Independent delay lengths for left and right channels. • Ratio: The right channel is set to a ratio of the left channel, and the feedback of left and right channels is mixed. Perfect for sounds that slowly transition from delay to reverb-esque. • PingPong: A delay that bounces between the left and right channels, with the ability to set the left and right delays independently. • Quad: Models the multi-head tape echoes of the 1960s and 1970s, with up to 4 delay taps on tap. All this adds an insane amount of flexibility and choices that might seem intimidating, but like always, the presets provide amazing starting points. All in all, the plugin is an absolute must have for producers and mixers alike. And the best part is that like all other valhalla plugins, its extremely affordable! The best bang for buck addition to your plugin collection in a long time.
LIQUIDSONICS LUSTROUS PLATES REVERB - SLATE DIGITAL
that that something like Valhalla offered. But it did have its place, especially on acoustic mixes. Lustrous plates, however, has been a really fresh addition. It contains seven plate types which are algorithmic variations of modeled hardware plate reverbs. The seven are named Chrome, Silver, Steel, Rhodium, Beryllium, Corbomite and Iridium. Each has a distinctive sound, which makes Lustrous Plates quite versatile. In addition to the different flavors, there are plenty of adjustable parameters, which are organized under two different tabs, Reverberation and Equalization. Under the Reverberation tab, one of the most consequential controls is the Reverb Time Damper, which governs how much the plate will resonate. Low settings cut the resonance sharply, changing the sonic character significantly.
BRILLIANT ADDITION TO THE SLATE UNIVERSE! One of the newest additions to the Slate Digital Everything Bundle, Lustrous plates is from the same people that brought us the Verbsuite Classics. However Lustrous plates is available for purchase separately as well. To be honest, as someone who works at a studio that has a real Bricasti M7 and a few Lexicon units, the Verbsuite classic’s emulations of the same did not really do much to excite me. It sounded too digital, especially at the top end and never seemed to blend with the signal as beautifully as the real ones do. To be fair, it is not quite right to compare a plugin that's part of a 100$ subscription package to a 5000$ unit, but still it did lack the usability
OVERLOUD TH3 Guitar Amp Modelling Software [Mac OS/Windows]
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS! Not exactly brand new, but I’d like to talk about this one as its the newest additions to the Slate everything bundle. It will be replacing the S-Gear amp sim. As an avid user of S Gear amps, I was quite bummed out about having to now either switch or get a standalone version of the same to continue using it. So I decided to give the TH3 a chance and use it on a couple of sessions. As a first time user, I
The Frequency Dispersion parameter controls how the plates transmit different frequencies and is governed by some physical factors of the modeled plates, such as size, pickup position, tension and more. It gives you subtle control of frequency response and can even be modified by several choices in the preferences. You also get a Pre-Delay control that lets you choose between time settings and rhythmic values based on the song tempo The best part of this plugin is that it isn't actively trying to emulate a particular hardware unit but just adds a unique spin on reverbs based on them. It sounds fantastic and blends with the dry signal so well. The wet/dry knob can take some time getting used to as it works in its own quirky way but once you get the hang of it, it's quite nice. Especially on drums and guitars, you get the sense of space without really hearing the verb much. The EQ is quite easy to use and helps you get to where you need without much fuss or fiddling. Its a tad pricey if bought separately but definitely a worthy addition to the slate bundle, making the bundle a much better-looking package overall. was quite pleasantly surprised at its usability. The first thing I look for in an amp sim is reliable presets because tweaking for a tone is one thing but having a quick tone to just lay down ideas is often overlooked. The presets worked pretty well on the few guitars that I tried them with. With this new version, TH3 introduces a wonderfully simplified interface and racks full of new virtual gear. In addition to seven new cabinets and 10 new effects, there are 24 new amps — 21 for guitar, three for bass. These include officially approved models from Randall, DV Mark, Brunetti, and THD, which sit alongside models based on famous Fenders, Marshalls, Oranges, Mesa/ Boogies and so on. Overloud have developed proprietary non-linear algorithms, too, which have noticeably improved the sense of realism compared with TH2. The new software feels like playing through an amp, reacting perfectly to how the strings are struck. The orange and black GUI makes it easy to read and navigate. Much easier than something like Bias. Overall, its another great addition to the slate bundle. It's easy to use straight out of the box but allows you to get real deep and detailed when you’re going for a unique sound/tone. he presets offer everything you need to nail a particular style, or to get experimental with hybrid tones and effects layers in the studio. I'm starting to miss S-Gear a little less already and hopefully will make a complete transition soon!
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Loud and Clear The S360 combines main monitor performance with compact size, delivering a true reference even at high sound pressure levels. And with our GLM software, the S360 will intelligently adapt to your acoustic environment. So if you need to really feel the energy in your music – or are working with large scale immersive film production – it is no longer a choice between power and precision. Find out more at www.genelec.com/S360
Distribution by Sound Team T: +91 22 2881 4041 E: info@soundteam.in www.soundteam.in
IN CONVERSATION WITH
BRAD DIVENS, CEO - FIXINTOGETMIXIN INC. & FOH ENGINEER - ENRIQUE IGLESIAS Tell us about "fixintogetmixin" and the idea behind it The class was born out of my passion for music and mixing. It’s about my journey in music and how I started as a musician and ended up being a FOH Engineer. Then it evolves into what is important to me as an engineer, the techniques I developed along the way, my approach to mixing and how I put it all together. I wanted to be able to give something back to the audio world and share my experience and knowledge.
What according to you does it take to get the perfect final audio mix? It’s all about doing your homework. Listen to the artists music and become a part of it. Make sure that the source sounds good before you start to turn the knobs. Taking a minimalist approach and realizing that it’s not about having all the latest gear as much as it is knowing how to use what you have. Once you’ve mastered the art of mixing then you can start to incorporate the toys that you would like to use.
What are some important qualities one must possess to be a successful engineer such as you? I think you need to be genuine in your approach and always think of the artist and the audience first. I think that being a musician before I was an engineer has helped me to understand and relate to the artist on a musical level. Always treat those around you like you want to be treated. It’s a very small world that we work in. Finally, I think it’s very important that you are able to adapt to any situation that you are in whether it is good or bad and be able to deliver the show every night!
Tell us how you use the JBL VTX A12 Line Array Series. What do you like the most about it
stereo image and the smoothness of the top end are stunning. It’s a pleasure to mix on and I actually feel like i’m in the music and not just out in front of it. It’s like having a big pair of studio monitors in the air.
How do you incorporate JBL 705P Near Field Monitors and Soundcraft Vi 3000 Mixing Consoles to craft your signature mix? I feel that when I spend time on the VI3000 with my live tracks that I’m able to do everything that is needed to create the best mix possible. Being able to use the 705’s and 708’s as a reference gives me a true sense of the music and the mix. I know that when I’ve got the mix dialed in with the VI and the near fields it will translate perfectly to the VTX A12.
You work with a varied range of renowned artists. How do you manage to cater to a specific sound of each of them ensuring that you do not sound the same? First off each artist is going to sound different due to the nature of their music. It’s not my job to make them sound like I think they should sound. It’s my intention to make them sound the best that they can. When I’ve accomplished that, I’m satisfied and so is the artist and the audience.
Tell us about your India trip and the workshop My trip to India has been amazing. The Harman Pro India team went way above and beyond my expectations to create the absolute perfect environment to hold my class in. It was classy, professional and very well organized. I feel that the workshop came across exactly as I had hoped it would. That everyone would enjoy themselves and take away something from their learning experience.
I love the clarity and detail that it brings out in my mix. The The
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Sennheiser XS Wireless Digital A good connection doesn’t require being tied down. Wireless means no obstacles, no distractions, just effortless audio, every time. As a liberating solution for the musician moving about on stage, or a convenient approach to practicing in the rehearsal room, XS Wireless Digital empowers your inner creativity by allowing you to roam free. Lose the cables but keep the connection. XS Wireless Digital is like any classic romance, it’s elegant to see, complex in theory, but intuitive in action. These might sound like strong words for a wireless solution to your audio needs, but like any love story, you know it when you experience it. It’s an instant connection. XS Wireless Digital is essentially a cable replacement. It works digitally, using a 2.4 GHz transmission to create a wireless peer-to-peer connection. With a simple touch of a button, step away from the cables and maintain a faithful connection. As a liberating solution for the musician moving about on stage, or a convenient approach to practicing in the rehearsal room, XS Wireless Digital empowers your inner creativity by allowing you to roam free. It means interacting with the crowd like you never have before and enables you to take your performance to the next level. It’s the power to turn audio limitations into audio opportunities. Frankly, it’s a simple but versatile tool that means more than we’ve had the time to discover. What we do know is that it works, and if you’re looking to change your relationship with cables and frequencies, then you need to try it out. Who knows? You might find you have an instant connection.
No more cables
every time. Empower your performance with the ability to roam free; lose the cables but keep the connection.
One touch ease-of-use It’s simple, each XS Wireless Digital has only one button. Press to power up and link simultaneously, click once to mute, and hold to power down. It’s as easy as plugging in a cable, minus the cable part.
Digital for worldwide operation Your sound should be as boundless as your ideas. Forget about having to set frequencies and step into the world of digital. Using a 2.4 GHz transmission, sync and go anywhere, anytime—effortlessly.
Features • One touch ease-of-use • 2.4 GHz digital transmission for worldwide operation • 75m range (250ft) in optimal conditions • Up to 5 hours battery life on a single charge •Switch between multiple transmitters linked to one receiver • Configure any combination of transmitters and receivers • Mute from either transmitter or receiver
A good connection doesn’t require being tied down. Wireless means no obstacles, no distractions, just effortless audio,
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MUKESH AMARAN
ALBUM ARTicle:
HANISHA
TIRUMALASETTY
Hello, a little bit about yourself and your background in arts and music? My name is Hanisha Tirumalasetty and I’m a visual artist based out of Mumbai. Originally an architect by education I decided to pursue art & design as a full time career. This involved a lot of self learning and I’ve been working in the industry for about 3 years now. Art and design have always been a passion for me growing up and I’m glad I’m able to do what I love everyday.
Tell us about your collaboration with a client from conception to creation and the end product. My most recent collaboration was of course with the band The Koniac Net for their album ‘They Finally Herd Us’. They sent across their new music and a few ideas they had as a band for the artwork. So I listened to the music to understand the vibe of the album and came up with a composition based on the ideas they presented in their brief. They were very easy to work with and the fact that they had a vision which completely aligned with my own interpretation meant that the process of creating the artwork was pretty smooth. Making sure all of the various elements worked together to create a composition that told a story was probably the most fun part of creating the album art.
What are your thoughts on how other art apart from music is perceived in our music scene? (Like visual arts, album arts, photographers and the likes) I think at this point in the indie music industry, you can see a lot of merging of talents. It’s become such a huge collaboration of media, whether it be animation, music, art, video or photography, everyone is coming together to create a more wholesome product. This in my opinion allows for all these
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art forms to have symbiotic relationships with one another while standing out in their respective fields as well. At the end of the day we are all looking to express an emotion or an idea and that commonality is probably what drives us to expand beyond what is expected.
Tell us a little bit about the process that is involved in making a piece by Hanisha. I do think more often than not it’s more madness than method. Sometimes I have ideas at the oddest of times and I end up thinking about it for days until I finally decide to piece together a composition. But then there are also moments where I just start drawing something at random without any idea of where I’m going and I just eventually find myself at the end. It’s completely just dependent on where I am in my head.
How is creating an album art different from creating other art? When I’m approached by bands to create album art I do try to make sure I know their intent behind the music they’ve created since it’s their expression, and then I work on combining it with my own interpretations of the music. I definitely think it’s more of a collaborative effort than when I create art for myself.
Tell us about your art style and the concepts behind your artworks. My art style is quite eclectic. I don’t like to stick to one style so I make sure I sort of dabble and create something different every once in a while. I think I make it a point to not be too recognizable which also lets me take up varied projects. I do however love to draw women and I think that’s a recurring theme in my work.
Bose Professional Introduces DesignMax Loudspeakers, Commercial Sound Processors and PowerSpace Amplifiers With 12 models to choose from, DesignMax loudspeakers bring outstanding audio and aesthetics to any commercial space Bose Professional is introducing DesignMax loudspeakers, a wide range of loudspeakers which offer the flexibility and style to deliver outstanding audio and aesthetics for any commercial space. With ten loudspeakers and two subwoofers to choose from — including ceiling-mounted, surface-mounted, and outdoor-rated options — it’s easy to create tailored DesignMax systems for any application, large or small. DesignMax loudspeakers range from 2-inch low-profile models to 8-inch high-SPL compression-driver loudspeakers. All models deliver instantly-impressive sound, with no EQ or DSP required. Enabling Bose EQ voicings on select Bose digital sound processors and smart amplifiers provides even better sound. SmartBass processing can also be enabled to deliver enhanced sound at any listening level. On select models, the Dispersion Alignment system provides wide and consistent off-axis response – so everyone hears premium sound. Elegant form factor surface enclosures, sleek, minimumbezel grilles, removable logos, and attractive styling allow DesignMax loudspeakers to blend with any décor. Surface-mounted DesignMax loudspeakers feature hidden U-brackets and the unique design holds the loudspeaker closer to the wall, providing a
much cleaner appearance. DesignMax loudspeakers are available in black or white, and are paintable. For installers, unique QuickHold mounting mechanisms on each DesignMax loudspeaker make the installation job easier, reduce strain, hassle and save substantial time in the field. For surface-mounted models, the loudspeaker snaps in to the QuickHold U-bracket. Installers can adjust the pitch and lock the QuickHold levers to set the loudspeaker in place, without using tools, in seconds. For ceiling-mounted models, installers can simply push the loudspeaker into the ceiling opening. QuickHold mounting arms spring into place, holding the loudspeaker as the installer finishes the job. All models include Euroblock connectors; ceilingmounted models include plenum-rated backcans, tile-bridges, and front-access audio wiring that makes installation and troubleshooting easier. From concept and design to installation and operation, Bose Professional DesignMax loudspeakers have the features, style, and flexibility to make every phase of a project more successful — leaving end users more than satisfied with everything they hear (and see) For more information, visit PRO.BOSE.COM The
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Gig Calendar MAY 2019 DELHI
BANGALORE
06 May
Aakshit Marwah
The Pianoman Jazz Club, New Delhi
04 May
ARATI RAO Quintet
Bflat, Bangalore
08 May
Señor Elefante
The Pianoman Jazz Club, New Delhi
08 May
Blues Night with The Chronic Blues Circus Ed 8
Humming Tree, Bangalore
08 May
G-Shock Fireball 2019 | Delhi Edition
Auro, New Delhi
12 May
KittyKo present BEC
KittyKo, Bangalore
09 May
Anomaly Thursdays X Infuture ft. Sandunes (DJ) + Okedo
Auro, New Delhi
16 May
Humming Tree, Bangalore
13 May
Andrew Sabu
The Pianoman Jazz Club, New Delhi
10 Years of Krunk: Iglooghost & Malfnktion
19 May
KittyKo, Bangalore
Tribute to U2 by Doppler Effect
Hard Rock Café, New Delhi
KittyKo X Paradox presents Frankey & Sandrino
25 May
Saturday Night Live ft Tidal Wave
17 May
The Backyard Shroomsl
The Pianoman Jazz Club, New Delhi
Hard Rock Café, Bangalore
18 May
BLOT! Live
Auro, New Delhi
22 May
Hanita Bhambri
The Pianoman Jazz Club, New Delhi
31 May
SkyEyes
The Pianoman Jazz Club, New Delhi
31 May
Anomaly Thursdays ft Tadeo[Token/ Non Series] + Jay Pei x Vridian
Auro, New Delhi
16 May
HYDERABAD 17 May
GURUGRAM 04 May
Pink Floyd Dedicated Night with Trouble Clef
MUMBAI Kitty Su presents : Guy Mantzur
Kitty Su, Mumbai
09 May
Thursday Live ft. Fame the Band
Hard Rock Café, Andheri
10 May
Monstercat Uncaged India
Kitty Su, Mumbai
10 May
When Chai Met Toast - Friday Night Live
If it isn’t here, it isn’t happening! Write to us at contactus@highonscore.com to get your event featured! Tag us on social media to get your gig featured. thescoremag
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Saints N Sinners, Gurugram
PUNE
04 May
The
Hard Rock Café, Hyderabad
Jammers
highonscore
Hard Rock Café, Pune
XS Wireless Digital An instant connection. A good connection doesn’t require being tied down. Wireless means no obstacles, no distractions, just effortless audio, every time. As a liberating solution for the musician moving about on stage, or a convenient approach to practicing in the rehearsal room, XS Wireless Digital empowers your inner creativity by allowing you to roam free. Lose the cables but keep the connection. An all new way to perform wirelessly. An instant connection. www.sennheiser.com/xsw-d