Archive

Author Archive
12 Jan

January Issue Out now!

Comments off

It all started with the idea of creating a platform for everyone related to Indian indie music to reach their respective targets, be it the youth, fellow musicians, the corporate world or audiences across borders and regions. It’s been two years now and we couldn’t be more proud;

The Big M, over the last twenty four months, has grown into a loved, respected and most importantly a trusted source when it comes to music. And we owe this to you, our readers.
Thank you!

In our cover story this month, we look back at the most defining events and trends in the last couple of years that have and continue to shape India’s indie music industry.

Being part of the scene and having watched talent from close quarters, Aalok Padhye from Something Relevant shares his take on the bands to watch out for in the coming year.

Also, we catch up with Eva Dowd and Denise Wilcke as we try to figure out just how exactly they manage to
promote independent talent sitting across a few continents.

A quick look at the Submerge Goa Project that has brightened up Goa’s new year, an interview with Karnivool, a preview of IIT Madras’ annual fest Saarang and lots more lined up inside.

We’d like to wish our readers a very happy and musical new year! Your support is what drives us, and we promise to keep going, bringing you the best of indie in the years to come!

Until the next issue then,
Sing Along!

The Big M Team
feedback@thebigm.co.in

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



Advertisement

 

11 Jan

Fuss over Cuss

Comments off

Bollywood has never been too fond of the Censor Board and their edit-wars date way back before the reel of time started to spin. Mansie Shah brings us more on the fuss over the usage of cuss words in Bollywood Music.

No One Killed Jessica

Parallel to the intellectual growth of the audience, Bollywood has too undergone metamorphosis to cater to such change. From fairy tales to ‘real’ cinema, it has been a long drawn battle for the song dance routines against the danger of extinction. However, cinema that mimics real life is not without its own set of roadblocks. The dangers of pseudo-intellectualism, insensitive portrayal of violence and aggression, sexism et. al. are indeed quite real. Another offshoot of such roadblocks is the use of swear words in movies and more specifically, swear words which are set to tune.
There are arguments, both for and against use of swear words. These words are often used to spice up the mundane life, as a vent for frustration, as a tragedy-meter, for its ‘shock’ value and at times, even as punctuation – relevant only when not used. Whatever be the view of those who literally voice their support or of those who think of them as unspeakable, one cannot deny the reality of its prolific use and acceptability in local parlance with absolutely no regional barriers, except for maybe translation related errors.
Movies are rated by the Censor Board and accordingly, one may choose to watch or avoid it. Bollywood songs on the other hand, are omnipresent, much like God. They blare out from taxi walla’s phone, fellow traveller’s lips, Bollywood enthusiast neighbour’s house and if you stir slightly during your surgery, you will know that these songs are played in the operation theatre too. Back in focus, is the debate over the use of swear words in Bollywood music because of a song from Delhi Belly which has grabbed the attention of rock music fans, prudes and the Censor Board alike. In a clever twist of phonetics, the words ‘Bhaag D. K. Bose’ when played in a loop, sound like a rampantly used Hindi swear word. However, by no means, is this the first of its kind in Bollywood. There have been songs from movies like Kaminey, Shakti, Tere Bin Laden, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Khatta Meetha, Yeh Saali Zindagi, Shor in the City and No One Killed Jessica, to name a few, which have used swear words.

Arguments against the use of cuss words in Bollywood music find root in arguments of public morality and decency and against obscenity. If you recall, there was a major uproar in the 1990’s over the use of the word ‘sexy’ in a song starring Karisma Kapoor. The issue is with regards to moral policing of Bollywood on taboo subjects and this includes the use of swear words. As society progresses on the path of tolerance, taboo subjects are discussed more openly and at times, they are weaved into the fabric of society after they have been out in the public domain for long. If there was to be a song floated now with the word ‘sexy’ in it, it would easily be absorbed into the nation’s Bollywood crazed veins, without so much as a protest.

Yeh Saali Zindagi

Shor In The City

Right to freedom of speech and expression is enshrined within our Constitution. Read plainly, this guarantees cinematic liberties that the creatively inclined may take in the making of a film or while composing music for it. ‘Real’ cinema demands that life be portrayed as it is. If for making a film close to ground realities, one is required to make use of swear words, one shall. However, this is not a blanket right as it is subject to public decency and morality and this serves as a cue for the entry of a moral police officer, the ‘Censor Board’ into the apparent crime scene of ‘crossing-the-line-with-creative-liberties’ in the high power drama of Bollywood. Now, if only the questions of public decency and morality could be answered using the Hawk Eye technology like in Cricket. Sadly, this question itself is shrouded in subjectivity. I believe the idea is to stretch the rubber band elasticity of public decency and morality with creative liberties as far as you can, and while you are at it, hope that this rubber band doesn’t throw a histrionic fit before the Censor Board.
Now, arguments for the other side of the coin; use of swear words in Bollywood songs can act as panacea for the modern age evils. For a socially awkward adolescent, this can be used as conversational fodder which may help him procure social acceptance. This may work equally well at the paradoxical flashy yet boring parties where everyone wants to rush through to dinner time. This can contribute towards growth in one’s coolness quotient. It also provides an opportunity for a lewd person to be lewd and not be judged for it. Though in all fairness, music is at times genuinely good, but more often than not, it is the swear word that helps the song dominate the air waves. At the end of the day, ‘real’ cinema also wants to reap huge profits and escalating popularity means the big bucks. The use of swear words in a Bollywood song is a free pass to such escalating popularity.
‘Real’ cinema may want to portray life as it really is, but Bollywood itself is larger than life, at least in India. Though for many of us, Bollywood is and always will remain a source of entertainment where we retain the ability and discretion to discredit as and when required, there is a huge chunk of society over which Bollywood and its domiciles, yield enormous influence. This provides an inkling as to why smoking on screen has been banned and why there is a lot of concern around endorsements by the big wigs, especially when the products are harmful. When a super star sings swear words set to tune, it validates the usage. There is not enough space in this article to comment on whether usage of swear words itself is right or wrong, but there is enough to convey that the image of an eight year old girl singing the infamous Delhi Belly song, with all of her innocence, is not a pretty sight to behold.

 

09 Jan

Jamming with the Star!

Comments off

Rohan Rajadhyaksha

There are countless number of youngsters and adults alike who harbor dreams of making a career in music. Though more often than not, we stop short of converting these dreams to reality. Yet, there are some who cherish these dreams and are heard humming Pink Floyd tunes or tapping their feet while typing away on their computers at work. As Yosef Hayeem, a budding singer and guitarist puts it, “I am going to be a musician someday. Not a rockstar – a pure and true musician. I am just waiting for the right time and the right opportunity to come my way. After that, it’s just going to be me and my music!”
Well, here came the opportunity. Dream Makers Entertainment, an entertainment & artist management company came up with a contest wherein all that one had to do was record a song (in English) and mail it across. The entries were to be screened by the singer/songwriter Nikhil D’Souza himself.
So why did they choose Nikhil D’souza of all the artists? On this Tanya Seth from Dream Makers Entertainment says, “Well, apart from Nikhil being one of our clients, he is open to such events and collaborating with fresh and new talented artists.”
The finale which took place at Blue Frog on 28th June, 2011 saw a set performed by Nikhil and like always, had the audience engaged and excited. However, the highlight of the evening was the announcement of the winner Rohan Rajadhyaksha. On what really made Rohan stand apart from the rest, Nikhil says, “I was going through the email entries and I came across Rohan’s which said that I am a 17 year old boy and I like writing my own songs and composing them. I knew I had to open this email and listen to him.”
Performing his very own composition, the 17 year old humbly speaks of his feat, “I am of course very excited. This was quite a surprise as I never expected it. I didn’t think of winning as I thought there would be many more talented and experienced people apart from me. This is of course a great chance and platform for me to learn and gain valuable exposure.’
Apart from getting a chance to jam with Nikhil, Rohan has also won himself other perks such as a solo show at Candies, Mumbai, Gift Vouchers worth Rs. 11,000/- , an exclusive photo shoot and an Artist Management deal from Dream Makers.
The contest received a great deal of response and the team at Dream Makers Entertainment hopes to host more such events in future. The concept is unique and provides an excellent platform for upcoming artists to showcase their talent and at the same time interact and perform with an experienced musician, thus helping them learn and develop their skills.
And how was it working with Nikhil? To this, Shreya Naik, the Founder of Dream Makers Entertainment says, “He has been extremely co-operative. It was fun working with him. We hope to do more of such shows with him in the near future. Nikhil is a rising international star today and we only expect his popularity to increase greatly in the coming days.”
Divya Naik

08 Jan

Finally Here! Coke Studio @ MTV

Comments off

They say music has no boundaries, and a big testament to this has been the popularity and fan following that Coke Studio Pakistan has been able to create here in India. Well, it’s now time that we have our own version of this brilliantly received concept. Akshata Bhat speaks to the people involved.

Coca Cola has always been known for its brilliant branding and marketing. But even their expectations were probably surpassed by the massive success of Coke Studio Pakistan, their musical concept which premiered in Pakistan in 2008. Coke Studio Pakistan is a series of television episodes featuring live music performances, with the episodes later available on the website for downloads. The series was an instant wild hit with the youth not just in Pakistan but across the subcontinent, because it was a fusion of modern contemporary influences like rock, with traditional eastern and other regional influences. In other words, it was a modern twist to classical music and the sounds that we have grown up hearing in our culture, and the harmony truly created musical magic.
As a dedicated fan of Coke Studio Pakistan, therefore, my joy was boundless when I heard that Coke Studio was now going to be in India! An Indian version of Coke Studio is like a dream come true for music fans. As breathless fans watched, Coke Studio @ MTV premiered in India on 17th June 2011.
At the MTV office, the excitement at the launch of Coke Studio makes for an electric atmosphere. Raghu Ram, executive producer and super-sarcastic judge on MTV Roadies, holds the pride of having run the most successful show on MTV for eight years; however, we are informed, he believes that Coke Studio @ MTV has the potential to overtake Roadies.
So what is Coke Studio @ MTV all about, according to the different people involved in its creation? According to sufi vocalist Harshdeep Kaur, the magic of live music is a very large part of the Coke Studio @ MTV allure. Live performances have a charm that we do not often get to experience; further, the audience will get more peeks into the making of Coke Studio @ MTV in episodes that will be shown on television later on in the evenings, after the actual live performances themselves are televised.
Moreover, Harshdeep adds, another important aspect of Coke Studio @ MTV is that it highlights the fact that Indian music has more to it than just Bollywood, something that is reiterated by many of the other artistes as well.


To the Ghulam Mustafa brothers, it is the excitement of a show that is happening for the first time in India. Something that has been a hit in our neighboring state (Pakistan) is now in India as well. The varied musical influences also have been an enriching experience; they recall, for instance, the reinvention of one of their sufi numbers which was originally in 8 beats, but then had to be adapted to 6 beats to fit the waltz style.
Coke Studio @ MTV has fusion written all over it; the impressive list of artistes features everyone from Kailash Kher, Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Richa Sharma, to the Wadali brothers, Harshdeep Kaur, Chinna Ponnu and many others. We will have the opportunity of discovering completely different styles of music; Assamese music, Gujarati folk, Punjabi music, sufi, rock influences. Often, styles that are polar opposites are seen in the same song; take the example of Kailash Kher and Chinna Ponnu who jammed together, with the only common thing being their infectious energies. All the artistes mention what an amazing learning experience it has been to be a part of such diversified music and to interact with such different musicians.
Coke Studio @ MTV features nearly 50 songs over a series of 10 episodes telecast every Friday at 7 p.m. Most of these feature a different vocalist for each song; what remains constant is the house band, comprising Zohan Husain on the keyboard, Dibya on bass, Nyzel on the electric guitar, Darshan on drums, Arun on percussion, Navin as a guest on the tabla, Deepak on the dhol and Sanjoy on the acoustic guitar. They were also accompanied by folk artistes and traditional instruments as per the requirements of individual songs and styles. These are the talented guys who provide amazing accompaniments to the vocalists. How was their experience on Coke Studio?
“It was wonderful,” says Zohab, “working on a show that is not a reality show, but features so many different artistes, each a complete professional in his/her style.”
Nyzel adds, “It truly is fusion. Leslie Lewis has directed all the compositions wonderfully. Despite featuring so many different styles, the music was designed beautifully; Leslie Lewis has given freedom and choice to each artist. Moreover, we were exposed to so many new styles of music, the likes of which we have never heard before.”
“Everybody loved the jam sessions,” Darshan mentions. “One of our longest began at 12 noon on one day… and went on until 8 30 a.m. the next day, with only a fifteen to twenty minute dinner break in between!”
Another artist Roop mentions that Coke Studio brought alive not just the singer in her but also the lyricist.
Sufi artist Harshdeep says, “It has been a surreal experience, a dream come true, to be a part of Coke Studio @ MTV. It is one of those important milestones in every artiste’s career. Coke Studio @ MTV will hopefully also bring to the audience new and upcoming artistes who have not had such a large platform before.”
And the man of the moment is Leslie Lewis (of the famous Hariharan-Lewis Colonial Cousins), who has directed all the episodes. How was it working with Leslie Lewis? Says Nyzel of the house band, “He was like the principal in school, and we were like his students.”
Leslie Lewis has been completely involved in every single episode, and he loves the work. It is an amazing experience, he says, to have worked on something that the whole world is now watching live on television. “There has been so much love and so much passion from so many people, the singers, the house band, and it is this that will be seen on television.”
He adds, “While we have seen some brilliant marketing of music in India, the music content itself has not been great of late. There is no good music, with that heart factor in it, the kind that makes you want to listen to a song on repeat, that ensures a song is around for years and years. Coke Studio @ MTV is about getting that music back. It is about music for the youth mass, about preserving Indian culture and giving it a modern take. If one travels across India, the north, south, east and west, one comes across so many flavors and different sounds. Coke Studio @ MTV is about attempting to capture all of that. It has a modern feel, an Indian feel as well as an international feel.”
And how did he select the artistes? “When I got on board, many of the artistes were already in place, especially the Bollywood ones. I introduced more of the folk artistes, some of the amazing people that I have worked with before. It was like a bhelpuri of sorts. I created a musical map, and left a little musical space for each artist to do his/her own thing.”
Was it difficult to weave together such varying musical styles? “It is somewhat difficult to string together two completely different artistes who have never even met before. But everyone loved the jam sessions so much, no one wanted to leave the sets!” he recalls. “It was hard work, though I loved it; for forty days, I functioned on only about two and a half to three hours of sleep a night.”
And what about the other little proud moment that Coke Studio @ MTV has created for Leslie Lewis? His daughter Divya Lewis, all of fifteen, is debuting as the youngest artiste on Coke Studio @ MTV! “We did not want to push Divya onto the music scene; but there is something about her music, and so people wanted her to be a part of this.”
“She is a good singer, completely up to the mark, otherwise we would not have included her,” he adds as an afterthought. This is validated when Divya obligingly croons a small part of the song that she has done for Coke Studio @ MTV. “It has obviously been a fabulous learning experience,” she smiles.
While most of the songs have been done by the house band, a few songs also feature independent artistes like band Advaitha, Kailasa and The Raghu Dixit Project. Hopefully, future seasons will also feature more such artistes and act as a platform for discovery.
Coke Studio @ MTV episodes will eventually be up for downloading, as are the Coke Studio Pakistan ones; the website is already up on www.mtvindia.com/cokestudio/. The Facebook page also has a fair bit of information on the artistes, the episodes and sneak peeks, and general tidbits. So here’s to a true treat for music lovers, one that crosses all the barriers of language, genre and boundary.

08 Jan

‘Hall’ of Fame

Comments off

Guitar Hall

It all started in the year 1998 when Mr. Kiran Roy decided to set up the first Guitar Hall in Chembur, Mumbai to cater to the music training needs of budding musicians in the city. Professional music training was imparted amidst a serene and relaxed setting and the place soon started attracting students of all age groups not only from Mumbai but from various parts of the country. Today Guitar Hall has grown to 20 centers spread across various cities with 55 world class teachers from across the globe and more than 4800 students learning guitar, drums, keyboards, etc.

Guitar Hall was found at a time when guitar players were mostly self taught and quality training was hard to obtain. The academy helped put aspiring guitarists looking for professional training on the right track. At Guitar Hall, programs are designed to build a student’s technique and stylistic identity teaching him to communicate effectively with a live audience so that skills developed in class can be directly taken to the stage. The curriculum and technology is constantly upgraded to make it more relevant and attract students from diverse backgrounds who reflect the multiplicity of influences in today’s music. The academy strives at providing an environment where aspiring guitarist’s learn how to integrate new ideas, adapt to changing musical genres and showcase their distinctive skills in an evolving community.
The students are inspired to push themselves past their own expectations and into the forefront of every aspect of music; all this with the help of an experienced faculty which includes some of Mumbai’s renowned musicians.

Music theory is taught by employing both traditional as well as innovative techniques to help learners develop their music skills. Individual music lessons are as much part of the curriculum as is playing in a band and participating in jam sessions. Each class has a creative component where students learn to experiment with composition and improvisation. Customized training programs are used depending on the age, skill set and existing knowledge of the students.

More than a decade since its inception, Guitar Hall’s teaching methods and learning environment has been whole heartedly accepted and this is evident from the ever increasing number of students being trained here. From modest beginnings to one of India’s largest music academies, Guitar Hall has surely come a long way, all thanks to the vision and dream of Kiran Roy. As Joel Barker put it, “Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference”.
For more info visit www.guitarhall.in