The Big M Cover - July 2010

So this is what The Big M has in store for you in this issue…

• The Big M COVER STORY: BRAINS BEHIND THE BAND – Vignesh Iyer meets the unsung hero behind your favorite band
• The Big M ENLIGHTENS: THE SYNTHESIZER – Find out the engineering marvel that has added a whole new perspective to music making
• The Big M LIKES: IT’S RAINING ROCK(ER)S! – Shikher Chaudhary uncovers the versatile Indian music scene that this year has seen so far
• The Big M INFORMS: YOUR MUSIC, YOUR MONEY – Discover the benefits of registering a copyright with Vignesh Iyer
• The Big M MARVELS: MUSIC, THY HEAL US ALL – Divya Srinivasan finds out how music heals the spirit
• The Big M REVIEWS: MUSIC ALBUMS – Vikrant Dev sinks his teeth into two brand new music albums and shares his views
• The Big M ATTENDS: THE BIG GIGS OF THE MONTH – Yolande D’Mello brings us a recap of the hottest events of the month gone by

All this along with our regular “The Big Mouth” and other fun stuff.

Also, don’t forget to flip through our June issue online, which can be found in the Previous Issue section.

Shikher Chaudhary tracks the musical journey of this Canadian Band to find out what sets them apart

Triple Juno award recipient and prolific singer/songwriter Montreal native Sam Roberts is often described as the definitive voice in a collection of American and Canadian bands centered on 70’s classic rock nostalgia. But in reality, this former hockey player has so much more going for him. Through three albums of passionate and infectious folk-rock and power-pop tunes, many of them built around a percussively strummed acoustic guitar, Roberts has breathed new life into a very dry, dull Canadian music scene. By means of odd references to Canada in many of his songs (even singing in French for a few verses of ’No Sleep’) he maintains a staunch national identity but that certainly doesn’t limit his appeal to a strictly Canadian audience.

With tune crafting skills which have the ability to stand up well next to early Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney material, Sam Roberts’ first full length LP ‘We Were Born in a Flame’ presents a lush and enjoyable listening experience.  Along with compelling and inquiring lyrics, Sam Roberts is also an interesting musician who decides to play all the instruments except for percussion on this album. A risky move no doubt, he manages to pull it off with conviction with the record ending up sounding grander and richer than it ought to be.

The album is rich in instantly memorable hooks which will find you tapping your feet within the first 30 seconds of ‘Hard Road’ – the opening track. Along with the uber-catchy clap along ‘Brother Down’ and the gorgeous and seductive orchestral pop of Beatle-esque ‘Taj Mahal’ which makes the most of Roberts’ talents as a violinist, ‘Hard Road’ is a stand-out track and contains some gripping and intelligent lyrics, something of a rarity in today’s formulaic music world. Roberts writes with eloquence about the universal human effort of finding the easy life and avoiding the bumps of the real world. When he opines, “There’s no road that ain’t a hard road to travel on”, he is able to chronicle the troubles of life in this fallen world without offering therapeutic platitudes like “believe in yourself” or something similar. On this record, Roberts chooses to narrate the problems of humanity and creation rather than offer solutions and in doing so manages to escape falling into a moralistic outlook blatantly prevalent in popular media and music. ‘Paranoia’ finishes off this pervasive album, starting out as an acoustic piece before ending as an upbeat, driving instrumental. Overall, an impeccable combination of guitar, percussion, and piano makes this CD worth multiple listens.

Released in 2006, Roberts’ second release ‘Chemical City’, with its share of rockers, ballads, and artistic experimentations is a very well rounded album. Backed by a group that would continue onto the next album, Dave Nugent (guitar), Eric Fares (keyboards), James Hall (bass) and Josh Trager (drums) helped craft this album with its folky-1960’s rebellious feel whilst throwing all notions of a sophomore slump out the window. Starting off with the psychedelic rocker ‘The Gate’, the album’s mood soon shifts towards an alternative mode with tracks like ‘Mind Flood’ and ‘Mystified Heavy’. ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ with its sing along melody is an instant classic, while ‘The Bootleg Saint’ and ‘The Resistance’ call to mind mid era Rolling Stones. Chemical City also sports two folkier tunes, the lovely acoustic ‘Uprising Down Under’ along with the emotive keyboards, and the vocals-only heartbreak song ‘A Stone Would Cry Out’.  A much more rough-around-the-edges album, Roberts balances the strong melodies and anthemic choruses with some affecting subtle pieces. There is a strong sense of cohesion among these extremely well crafted songs with lyrics that see him wise beyond his years.

The latest offering from the Sam Roberts band ‘Love at the End of the World’, sees them at their most potent while delivering on the same bluesy hard rock formula, supplied with abundant pop hooks and mixed in with a little psychadelia when needed, as seen in beguiling ‘Lions of the Kalahari’. ‘Up Sister’, ‘End of the Empire’  and the forlorn ‘Waking the Dead’ stand out among other eclectic tracks of the album  ending with a piece featuring off the wall lyrics set to a piano driven tune in the captivating closer ‘Detroit ‘67’.

In retrospect, Sam Roberts represents the perfect example of the modern day singer/songwriter. With songs that range from bouncy, fun loving to a mellower sound, combining rock & roll fundamentals with folk influences, he is able to extract old influences and creatively rework them to create a unique original sound and deliver them with the vibrancy and honesty rarely seen in today’s rock n’ roll.

Juno Awards Report Card

• We Were Born in a Flame (2004): Album of the year, Rock album of the year, Artist of the year
• Bridge to Nowhere (2007): Video of the year
• Love at the End of the World (2009): Rock album of the year, Artist of the year

Article by Shikher Chaudhary
Images Courtesy: Cherie Marion, Dave Gillespie

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There’s a new entry in the list of music awards recognizing talent internationally. However, there’s something that makes these Asian awards truly ‘indie’. Shikher Chaudhary finds out.

“We’re not the Grammys, and not even close to the glamour of the MTV Asia Awards, but AVIMA (Asia Voice Independent Music Awards) is perhaps one of the biggest supported music awards in the world” says Siva Chandran, founder of AVIMA and managing editor of Voize.my, Malaysia’s leading lifestyle and entertainment portal.

Sanjeev T & The Rainbow Bridge

Plainly stated, no awards in the history of Asia have attracted as much hype and public interest in such a short span of time as Asia’s first independent music awards. Established in 2009, these awards exemplified the true indie spirit by doing away with major sponsorships and rather focusing on shining a spotlight on the largely ignored Asian music scene. When asked about the name, Siva explains that AVIMA has a cool unintended meaning. “When broken up, Avi is “my father” in Hebrew, and Ma means mother, so the awards hope to be the mother and the father of Indie awards this side of the Pacific.” In its bid to give a voice to Asia’s very large Indie community and its varied styles of music, AVIMA along with its standard categories of Best Rock Act, Best Hip-hop song, etc., also offers up awards like moody melancholic masterpiece, feel good song and mind blowing video of the year, being a few of its amusingly tagged categories.

Motherjane

Now in only its second year of inception, AVIMA 2010 promises to be the single most anticipated music event of the year with participation from over 20 countries including India, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan, to name a few. A truly global affair, music lovers from across the world are given the ability to simply log in to the online voting site, take a listen to the nominated tracks from each category and vote for their favorite acts with a single click. Although not necessarily a democratic event with public voting only accounting for 30% of the scores, founder and chief judge Siva Chandran assures that the remaining 70% will be based on the unbiased decisions of judges from Europe, Australia and the US.

Though Malaysia might have secured the highest hip hop nominations, India similar to last year, rules the roost in terms of rock nominations. Leading the pact with three nominations are winners of last year’s ‘Best Rock Act’ and the favorites to clinch the same title two years in a row, Motherjane. Without a question, the most prolific band toiling away in the scene today, gifted vocalist Suraj Mani is also up for ‘Best Vocalist’ while the whole band is the only Indian act selected for the ‘Most Mind blowing Video’ category for their understated yet extremely powerful imagery of the song ‘Broken’. When asked about how it felt to be nominated yet again for the highest award of the show, the band replied, “It is awesome that AVIMA is recognizing so many talented artists in India. Major Indie music awards bring international attention to indie artists & that’s great for music. We were honored as AVIMA Best Rock Band in 09 and 3 new nominations in 2010 means our music is reaching people globally.”

Bicycle Days

On par with Motherjane is another man who’s paid his dues and has been duly rewarded with success, Sanjeev Thomas of Sanjeev T & The Rainbow Bridge who commented on his ‘Best Vocalist’ nomination, “I’m glad I’m recognized outside India for the music I make and for the efforts I give into the music. It’s great to be recognized, apart from myself many indie bands from India have been nominated and this is a proud moment, a moment of growth, hope and more music coming from a younger generation who would be more happier in the future to take music seriously and make it a part of their living. With developments and organizations like AVIMA, Indie music has an avenue to be displayed and an avenue to understand expressions of artists, expression which strives for a difference in our existence here. I wish all the luck for everyone nominated and will always join the fight for recognition for our indie artists here. Support is important and from support comes support systems to take this forward.” The Rainbow Bridge also holds nominations for ‘Best Electro-Dance Song’, ‘Best Rock Group’ and ‘Best Rock Song’, a category which also includes the likes of fellow Chennai residents, the funk rock quartet Junkyard groove with their song ‘Imagine’ and Mumbai metal giants Demonic Resurrection with ‘A Tragedy Befallen’.

Finding themselves in the presence of these heavyweights are relative newcomers, Summerpint Junkie with their song ‘Forbidden Fruit-Flower’, featuring a rich blend of psychedelic rhythm and melody and a fair amount of progressive influences thrown in for good measure. A strong song by any standards, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Mumbai lads pull off a major upset, wining the category over some of the more experienced veterans. With vocals straight out of the alternative era, the song ‘Hallucination’, finds them with their second nomination in ‘Moody Melancholic Masterpiece’. “It feels awesome to be nominated; it sort of sprung up on us. There is no substitute to the high in knowing that our music is spreading and being appreciated. Summerpint Junkie puts in a lot of emotions in every song, so knowing that someone finds some connection in our music keeps us going, further in till our music, words and message become a part of their reflection. AVIMA is definitely giving us a brilliant opportunity to do just that and we just hope to realize all the faith that our fans have in us and keep spreading our music”, commented the band’s guitarist on its double nomination

Summerpint Junkie

“It is an honor to be elevated on a platform such as this and win or not, more ears are oriented towards the music which is what is important,” mentioned Karthik Basker, another nominee for ‘Best Rock Vocalist’ heading the widely acclaimed Bicycle Days, a band up for the ‘Best Rock Group’. A group with an opulent literary background and wide ranging influences, their songs prove nearly as epic as Albert Hofmann’s infamous 1943 tryst with that faithful drug, the one which inspired the band name.  Giving stiff competition to Summerpint Junkie in the category of ‘Moody Melancholic Masterpiece’ is the stellar ‘Circles’, an unwavering tour de force with deftly played drums and serene vocals amid chiming guitars.

In other nominations, Junkyard Groove’s low key, playful ‘Folk You’ and Zedde’s anthemic tribute to his city ‘Mumbai’ competes for ‘Feel Good Song of the Year’ while Prayag’s ‘Bas Karo’ finds itself as the only Hindi song in any of the categories.

Whatever be the result, the passion and determination of each band nominated undoubtedly boils down to the core of the awards itself, as optimistically stated by co founder M.Tevan, “We’re glad that the Asian indie scene is moving in the right direction. The indie scene is huge in Britain, Europe and in the United States, and some of the biggest brands in the world today are lining up to be affiliated with these exciting and bold new artistes. We’re confident with platforms like AVIMA; Asian indie acts will receive better global recognition.”

AVIMA 2010

Winners at AVIMA 2009

• Best Pop/R&B Song
  • Naino sey – Sanjay Divecha (India)
• Best Hip Hop Solo Act
  • Krishan (Sri Lanka)
• Genre Bending-Mindboggling-Out of this world Track!
  • Together again – Shaair and Func (India)
• Best Rock Vocalist
  • Dia Hassan-Juliana down, (UAE) – Gold

Some of the other nominees at AVIMA 2010

• Best Rock Group
  • The Standards(Thailand)
  • Nikotin (UAE)
  • Tarantist (Iran)

• Feelgood Song of The Year
  • Daybreak – I Like You (South Korea)
  • The Camerawalls – The Sight of Love (Philippines)
  • Breaking up – Nadhira feat king lhota (Malaysia)

Article by Shikher Chaudhary
Images Courtesy: Bicycle Days, Ahruti Marathe, Eva Dowd

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Genre: Indie Folk/Blues

Year: 2010

Label: Dead Oceans

Country of Origin: Sweden

Rating: 9.5/10

The term ‘Dylan-inspired’ is off-handily used by critics umpteen times to describe a particular folk singer’s songwriting capabilities, but in the case of

Kristian Matsson

Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson a.k.a. The Tallest Man on Earth, this term is dead on target. Not only does he have the raw, energetic and southern accented voice, he has the panache of writing earthy folk songs deeply indebted to 60’s roots music. His inspirations maybe antiquated but he is young blood; his spunkiness injects an extra dose of adrenalin into the songs he writes. This lineament drew the attention of listeners towards his critically acclaimed debut album ‘The Shallow Grave’ which ultimately landed him a touring opportunity with notable folk band Bon Iver for whom he was the opening act.

In the second record, Kristian shows an increased maturity in his approach towards writing songs and this new record, dare I say, has the catchiness of pop music. While his earlier record was melancholy tinged, this new record seems like Kristian has exorcised the ghosts of his past and has learnt a lot of lessons. Instead of dwelling on sadness he is embracing it as a part of life and being hopeful that things will improve and that he will set the trend of making changes himself. On this record Kristian seems like a man possessed; his voice commands presence on the record and the songs radiate so much brilliance that it sometimes can be blinding! It’s a perfect record to listen to when you think that your life has been smoked out like a cigarette and all that is left of you is the butt. The Yang of the record will overpower the Yin of your mind. Like the title suggests, Kristian pictures himself on a wild adventure not only to free himself from the chains of quotidian drudgery but also to find the love of his life and to trace his roots. The deft lyricism and the guitar strumming play stellar parts to sink this feeling deep into you. Sample the track ‘King Of Spain’ in which he metaphorically sends the message across that one should pursue our dreams however trivial they may seem to the others by singing “Well if you could reinvent my name, well if you could redirect my day, I wanna be the King of Spain” and by playing the chords on the guitar that sound like a galloping horse on which he is seated to conquer unknown lands. While he is busy being the king of Spain, he also has this eternal longing of being the king of his lover’s heart by singing of his heroics, “You know it’s a Lion’s heart that will tumble and tear apart, when he(himself) is coming down the hills for you” in the track ‘A Lion’s Heart’. This feeling is also echoed in the delicate and sentimental “Love Is All”.

The Tallest Man On Earth

He may be crafting such adorable and accessible songs about love, which will strike a chord with a lot of listeners; on this record he also displays that he is a master storyteller, like in the second track ‘Burden Of Tomorrow’ where he vividly describes his bizarre origins and the reason for his wild hunt by wording, “The rumour has it that I wasn’t born, I just walked in one frosty morn, In the vision of a vacant mind” and “I will find this stranger (himself) that you fear, so that I am not a burden tomorrow dear”. Even on the track ‘The Drying of the Lawns’ his words create a mental picture of the dingy wooden room it is inspired by. All along on these stories of adventure and rollicking in the nature’s bounty, the guitar is his faithful companion. On the subdued songs his guitar strings can be heard plucking and reverberating airily corresponding with the toned down and sometimes detached voice while on his poppy numbers, the guitar takes centre stage and help in creating an ecstatic atmosphere. Like all master craftsmen he saves the best for the last in the form of a ballad ‘Kids on the Run’ which sounds like Bruce Springsteen singing ‘Tears in The Rain’ accompanied by Sir Elton John on the piano. It is a beautiful track that encapsulates his mature understanding of emotions. He sings, “No we have not grown a day from the poison we share” and then laughing it off by singing “Will we ever confess what we’ve done? No, we’re still kids on the run”.

Like a wandering sage, Kristian Matsson crafts tales of his experiences and presents it to the listeners in the form of this phenomenal record that sends the message of bringing positive changes to life by breaking the fortress in which our mind is trapped. This record is lyrically adept and the production is spellbinding. Well, a lot of people may be put off by his raw voice (the same happens with Dylan’s voice too) but after listening to this record they will be reassured that Kristian Matsson’s voice is not gimmicky but has such infectious energy that it will definitely make them swap sides, in favour of The Tallest Man On Earth.

Article by Vikrant Dev

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Genre: Dubstep/House/Techno/Experimental

Year: 2010

Label: Hotflush

Catalogue No.: HFCD003

Country Of Origin: U.K.

Rating: 9/10

Dubstep it seems has a dark future, not in the sense that it’s coming to an end, but in the sense that the number of followers of dark dubstep has increased over the years. Not only are there more number of producers making such kind of music, they are also receiving plaudits from critics and listeners alike for creating dark, wistful and inhabitable sonic landscapes. Burial’s eponymous album and the sophomore Untrue, Boxcutter’s Oneiric, Kode 9 + The Spaceape’s Memories of the Future, King Midas Sound’s Waiting For You, etc. and even compilation albums like Appleblim and Shackleton’s Soundboy Punishments and Mary Anne Hobb’s Warrior Dubz have proved that dark dubstep is here to stay and that it is burgeoning. You can add Scuba, who has created a stunning record that delicately balances dance floor frenzy with ambient sounds and field recordings, to the aforementioned list. But, Scuba is not new to this scene. His 2008’s debut and the singles and remixes he released prior to and after that displayed his penchant for drawing influences from industrial sounds. But, what separates Scuba from these other artists is his eclecticism and his experimentation with techno and house music. Part of his eagerness could be explained by his Djing stints at the now famous Berghain night club in Berlin.

Paul Rose

In this record, Scuba creates a more cohesive and tighter sound than his debut simultaneously breaking through the clutter of the deafening slabs of bass driven records that have become synonymous with dubstep. Like Burial, he creates a sound that is cold, detached, robotic, futuristic, and industrial, which mirrors our mechanical existence in the concrete jungle. Though the sounds are cold, they never embrace misery and stay true to the dance floor. To correctly reflect this alien sound, Scuba uses paraphernalia in the form of field recordings of rustling, clattering and clashing objects, falling drops of water, metallic sounds, etc. and uses them as embellishments on the record rather than mere inutile static sounds. These sounds add chaos, liveliness and motility to these tracks. Accompanied by these is the effective and emphatic use of synths like in the barren and beatless album opener ‘Descent’ which dwells on synths that sound like subdued industrial sirens and landing spaceships or like in the third track ‘Three Sided Shapes’ that features droning synths sounding like machines doing menial work. Also, tracks like ‘Tracers’ do have swollen synth passages and uplifting crescendos, but they are either stabs or are short lived, maintaining the frigidity of the record. The sultry and soulful female vocals make an appearance only at the opportune moment, and steal the show away. The vocals are cut up and most of the times echoic. While most of the songs have industrial leanings like the songs crafted by minimal techno artist JPLS, there are songs that use the emptiness of the deep oceans as the muse like in the track ‘Minerals’ which is set amongst beats but uses ambient sounds that are characteristic of whales. Also the near silence of the ambiance contributes to this feeling.

Holding all these elements together are the skeletal beats of the songs. The album opener which is beatless serves as a prelude to the tracks that follow. Most tracks are genre defying and effortlessly and smoothly change from house to two step garage to techno to downtempo and everything in between. Case in the point is the magnanimous track ‘Tracers’; it starts out like it’s a trance song with an intoxicating synth stab, but later gives way to amazing dubstep beats. Even latest trends like UK funky have been incorporated into the songs as can be seen in the track ‘On Deck’. The last song on the record ‘Lights Out’ shows best the ingenuity of Scuba as far as experimenting is concerned. One is left bewildered as to when the transformation has occurred on the track if one gives the track a passive listening. There is a lot of attention to detail here so this record demands a careful listen to enjoy all the nuances.

Scuba Triangulation

Lot of people will crib endlessly about the obvious reference point- Burial’s records. But, Paul ‘Scuba’ Rose has really moved on as can be seen from the plethora of activities going on deep under the cold surface of the tracks. Some tracks may not be dancefloor scorchers like others or may not really give away entirely to adrenalin junkies, but this does not mean they are not doing their job well. In fact that territory is a virgin territory for remixers or for Dj’s who want to slow things down in their set. This record is amazing from head to toe and easily the contenders of the top ten albums of 2010.

Article by Vikrant Dev

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Continuing our journey to explore traditional Indian Musical Instruments, we take a look at some more of these master pieces.

BANSURI

There are two varieties of bansuri: the transverse, and the fipple. The fipple variety is usually played in folk music and is held away from the lips like a whistle. Because of the flexibility and control it offers, the transverse variety is preferred in classical music.

The Bansuri

Pandit Pannalal Ghosh (1911–1960) elevated the Bansuri from a folk instrument into serious classical music. He improvised with the length and number of holes and eventually came up with longer bansuris with larger bores and a seventh hole placed 90 degrees around from the line of the other six holes. Longer bansuris provided better coverage in the lower octaves.

Playing style

Bansuris vary in length. They range from about 12 inches up to about 40 inches. 20-inch bansuris are common. Another common and similar Indian flute played in South India is the venu. The index, middle, and fourth fingers of both hands are usually used to play the six hole bansuri. For the seven hole bansuri, the fifth finger of the right hand is usually used.

The sound from a bansuri comes from resonance in the air column inside it. The length of this column can be varied by closing or opening the holes. At the same time, keeping a hole half-open helps in getting a flat note. The Sa (on the Indian sargam scale, or equivalent “do” on the octave) note is obtained by covering the top three holes from the mouth-hole. The higher and lower octaves are played by changing one’s embouchure. The flat portion of the fingers, and not the tips, are used to cover the holes as this gives better control and ease while playing the half-holes. While playing, the sitting posture is also important and care must be taken so that the back is not strained for long hours. Bansuris of different sizes are used to play different octaves. The longer bansuris with larger bore are usually for lower octaves and the slimmer ones for higher octaves.

Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia

In order to play diatonic scale on a bansuri, it is important to find where the notes lie. E.g. in a bansuri where Sa or the tonic, played always by closing the first three holes, is equivalent to D, one can play sheet music by creating a finger notation that corresponds to different notes. A bansuri player is able to achieve the complexities of Raga music such as microtonal inflections, ornamentation, and glissando by varying breath, fast movement while playing both half and full holes, and covering the holes gradually.

Maestros

• Hariprasad Chaurasia
• Rajendra Prasanna
• Devendra Murdeshwar

Fun fact

• In traditional Indian metaphysics, it is noted how remarkable it is the way the life force (pran, or literally ‘breath’) is converted into a musical resonance (sur).
• In Indian mythology the bansuri has a special significance as it is the chosen instrument of the Hindu god Krishna, who is often depicted playing it.
• Hariprasad Chaurasia was a trained wrestler before he moved on to play the flute, (His students dare not play a wrong note!)

SAROD

The sarod is believed by some to have descended from the Afghan rubab, a similar instrument originating in Central Asia and Afghanistan. The name Sarod roughly translates to “beautiful sound” or “melody” in Persian (which is one of the many languages spoken in Afghanistan). Although the sarod has been referred to as a ‘bass rubab’ its pitch range is only slightly lower than that of the rubab. Lalmani Misra opines in his Bharatiya Sangeet Vadya that the sarod is an amalgamation of the ancient chitra veena, the medieval rubab and modern sursingar. There is also a speculation that the oud (a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in Middle Eastern music) may be the origin of the sarod. Among the many conflicting and contested histories of the sarod, there is one that attributes its invention to the ancestors of the present-day sarod maestro, Amjad Ali Khan. Amjad Ali Khan’s ancestor Mohammad Hashmi Khan Bangash, a musician and horse trader, came to India with the Afghan rubab in the mid-1700s and became a court musician to the Maharajah of Rewa (now in Madhya Pradesh). It was his descendants – notably his grandson Ghulam Ali Khan Bangash who became a court musician in Gwalior – who gradually transformed the rubab into the sarod we know today. A parallel theory credits descendants of Madar Khan (1701–1748) – Niyamatullah Khan in particular – with the same innovation in 1820. It is possible that Ghulam Ali Khan and Niyamatullah Khan came to the similar design propositions either independently or in unacknowledged collaboration. The sarod in its present recognizable form dates back to 1820, when it started gaining recognition as a serious instrument in Rewa, Shahjahanpur, Gwalior and Lucknow. In the twentieth century, the sarod received some finishing touches from Allauddin Khan, the performer-pedagogue from Maihar, best known as Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan’s guru.

Construction

The Sarod

The conventional sarod is a 17 to 19 – stringed lute-like instrument – four to five main strings used for playing the melody, one or two drone strings, two chikari strings and nine to eleven sympathetic strings. The design of this early model is generally credited to Niyamatullah Khan of the Lucknow Gharana as well as Ghulam Ali Khan of the Gwalior-Bangash Gharana. Among the contemporary sarod players, this basic design is kept intact by two streams of sarod playing. Amjad Ali Khan and his disciples play this model, as do the followers of Radhika Mohan Maitra. Both Amjad Ali Khan and Buddhadev Dasgupta have introduced minor changes to their respective instruments which have become the design templates for their followers. Both musicians use sarods made of teak wood, with the playing face covered with goat skin. Buddhadev Dasgupta prefers a polished stainless steel fingerboard for the ease of maintenance while Amjad Ali Khan uses the conventional chrome or nickel-plated cast steel fingerboard. Visually, the two variants are similar, with six pegs in the main pegbox, two rounded chikari pegs and 11 (Amjad) to 15 (Buddhadev) sympathetic strings. The descendants of Niyamatullah Khan (namely Irfan Khan and Ghulfam Khan) also play similar instruments. The followers of Radhika Mohan Maitra still carry the second resonator on their sarods. Amjad Ali khan and his followers have rejected the resonator altogether.

Another type is the one designed by Allauddin Khan and his brother Ayet Ali Khan. This instrument, referred by David Trasoff as the 1934 Maihar Prototype, is larger and longer than the conventional instrument, though the fingerboard is identical to the traditional sarod described above. This instrument has 25 strings in all. These include four main strings, four jod strings (tuned to Ni or Dha, R/r, G/g and Sa respectively), two chikari strings (tuned to Sa of the upper octave) and fifteen tarab strings. The main strings are tuned to Ma (“fa”), Sa (“do”), lower Pa (“so”) and lower Sa, giving the instrument a range of three octaves. The Maihar sarod lends itself extremely well to the presentation of alap with the four jod strings providing a backdrop that helps usher in the ambience of the raga. This variant is, however, not conducive to the performance of clean right-hand picking on individual strings. They tune to C.

Playing Style

The lack of frets and the tension of the strings make the sarod a very demanding instrument to play, as the strings must be pressed hard against the fingerboard.

There are two approaches to stopping the strings of the sarod. One involves using the tip of one’s fingernails to stop the strings; certain strength and stiffness of the fingernails is a prerequisite for accuracy of pitch. The other uses a combination of the nail and the fingertip to stop the strings against the fingerboard. The technique which uses the fingernails produces a ringing tone, while the fingertip technique produces a flatter tone.

Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan with sons Amaan and Ayaan

Left hand fingering technique of the sarod is not as well-defined as it should have been in order for sarod players across the board to understand each other. Fingering techniques and how they are taught depend largely on the personal preferences of musicians and are not even distinguishable on the basis of school affiliation. Radhika Mohan Maitra, for example, used the index, middle and ring finger of his left hand to stop the string, just like followers of Allauddin Kha. Maitra, however, made much more extensive use of the third fingernail for slides and hammers. Amjad Ali Khan, while a member of approximately the same stylistic school as Radhika Mohan, prefers to use just the index and middle fingers of his left hand. Amjad Ali is, however, pictured in 1960 playing with all three fingers.

Maestros

• Ali Akbar Khan
• Allauddin Khan
• Sharan Rani Backliwal
• Debojyoti Bose
• Mohammad Amir Khan

Fun Fact

A student of Ali Akbar Khan once mentioned,

“He could find out within a hundred and fifty students, which student had which string out of tune and by how many semitones off, and a sarod can have upto 25 string!”

Images & Content courtesy: Furtados Music

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THE BIG Pik of the month

Moksha

One wittier idea than the other and we keep getting floored. Some brilliant attempts doing the rounds to support indie bands but this one goes a step further. Radio Mirchi through their initiative ‘Band Banao, Jeetu Raaj ko Sunao’ brought in Maharashtra Day on 1st May with a band playing Marathi numbers! How apt is that. Though Moksha is neither a Marathi band nor are all the members Maharashtrians, their original lineup included just one Marathi song, which later multiplied. Their Marathi numbers to name a few were one with a message for Mumbai and the other a romantic number. We say, lets trend this up. So now finally, not just aika dajiba with re-remixed versions playing in the gullies on this day; we’ll have hummable pieces for the manoos loving music in all forms, language no bar. Kai sangta ho!

Caralisa Monteiro

Trust Limca and O&M to add freshness to our screens every summer for those 45 seconds. The latest ad featuring Hrishita Bhatt has another soft voice that caught our ears and the search led to the unconventional Caralisa Monteiro, who’s been crooning ‘Kuch boondein chura lo na’ in all her innocence. Interestingly, she has already lent her voice for some bollywood features like Rock On (remember ‘Phir Dekhiye’ ?) and has composed some potential originals as well, besides more commercials. The music for the campaign has been composed by R Anand; the lyrics written by Swanandh Kirkire. The advertisement has a certain feel-good factor which drags you into its mood no matter what. The simple lyrics pep you up completely. Try listening to it or watching the video first thing in the morning – and you’ll see the magic. But all justice done by Caralisa and we see a bright future ahead of her. Here’s wishing to hear more of you girl!!

Guy Ritchie's movie RocknRolla

Look what we found! Blackstrobe strumming ‘I’m a man‘ on those spunky guitar strings that kickstarts Guy Ritchie’s movie RocknRolla’s credits adding the grungy ‘lets-bring-it-on’ feel that sets up the tone for this underworld rollercoaster. With the pulse pounding soundtracks produced by Guy Ritchie himself and renowned music supervisor Ian Neil, you are in for a musical treat. The head hitting tunes are not for the faint hearted, and definitely not your idea of casual listening on a relaxing weekend. Following that, other electro rock performances like 1960’s American garage rock band The Sonic’s psychedelically throbbing “Have Love, Will Travel”, English indie rock band The Subways’ scream fest “Rock & Roll Queen” and Australian post-punk band The Scientists’ thumping “We Had Love”- these are just the smashing must-have albums for The Big M readers this month!

The Big M Careers unravels yet another unconventional line for quirky musicicans.  Kirti Tarang tells you how some have put those vocal chords to be used as good as an orchestra ! Say hi to A Capella..

We all know a guy, who sits in the centre of our college canteen with his guitar and plays his way to popularity. We just hate him; as we can’t play with anything but ourselves (no pun intended!).

Apparently, there are takers for this talent of ours. The sounds, which we vocally produce like they do in Tata’s Docomo ad is a full-fledged genre in music – A Capella.

A Ca… What?

Penn Masala, the world’s first and premier Hindi a cappella group, was formed by a group of students at the University of Pennsylvania. Formed in 1996 , they have been featured in the soundtrack of American Desi (remember the zingy 'Aap jaisa koi?') and have released six full-length albums.

A Capella music is a form of group singing where vocal harmonies are used in place of musical instruments. To put it simply, it means singing without instrumental accompaniment. It literally means ‘in the manner of the church’ in Italian pertaining to its origin in church music & chanting, without instruments.

Does Whistling count?

Yes it does. According to Neuman Pinto, band member Choncorde, “Any sounds vocally produced can come under A Capella. From the kick of a bass drum (which comes under an art called ‘beat boxing’) to reproducing a violin or trumpet part.”

How to begin?

Pinto points out, “If you are talented in this genre, you should waste no more time waiting for opportunities to arise…. go out and look for like minded people and start creating your own sound. Take an old classic and do it in A Capella. Create something new, practice hard. Practice it in the streets…. you will notice how interested people are in what you are singing.”

The Cheat Code

Rockapella is an American a cappella musical group formed in 1986 in New York City; in addition to original vocal music, the group also performs a cappella covers of pop songs.

Pinto candidly shares his cheat-code with The Big M readers, “When you form a group, make sure that each of your members is bringing something new to the table. Every character in your group has to ooze  personality. For instance, in a band setup, you wouldn’t want the guitarist to sound like the keyboard player, similarly, in A Capella you don’t want everyone to sound like a lead vocalist. When you are singing the part of an instrument….. be that instrument.”

Is there any Future?

Based in Israel, The Voca People group (consisting of five men and three women) is an international vocal theater performance combining vocal sounds and an acapella singing with the art of beat-box. It boasts of over 6 million youtube hits in a few days right after their first performance on national TV.

In the United States, A Capella music is really big. With the new TV series Glee that emerged in the last year it is getting even bigger.  So, for many people it didn’t surprise when Pennmasala; an A Capella band of University of Pennsylvania performed at the White House on Diwali. Though the band members are of Indian origin; in India it still needs time to reach that level. Yet, the future is bright too as a lot can be experimented in India with A Capella; we can merge it with local musical styles to create the appeal we want it to have with the masses.

Watch Out!

Unfortunately, it’s tough to sustain an A Capella group because of the time, effort and dedication involved. Unlike a band of any other genre, it’s difficult to easily replace a member, especially if you’re a small unit. ‘Chonchorde’ was one of India’s best before they split. “Everyone has their own aims and goals in life. That was what went wrong. Members of the group reached a point where their priorities changed. They had to fulfill their individual dreams.” Pinto elaborates.

Hey where are the BABES?

Except for the ‘Voca-People’, all the major A Capella bands are all male bands. For Pennmasala and Choncorde, it was a conscious decision. Pinto, a band member of Choncorde, reasons, “Girls complicate things. I am saying that the quality of music would not  have been affected but it would have changed the atmosphere and jokes for sure.”

Get inspired

Here, take a look at The Big M’s favorite A Capella Bands and their youtube links:

• Choncorde
• Pennmasala
• Voca people
• Rockapella

Article by Kirti Tarang

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