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.

Carrot, Potato, Beans, White Pumpkin, Peas, Egg Plant, Coconut, Green Chillies, Red Chillies, Cumin Seeds, Tamarind Paste, Salt, Yoghurt and Curry Leaves combine to create this tangy dish relished by the people of Kerala. Off late a newer version of this all time classic dish has emerged and people seem to love the taste. This one however is for the ears and the sound is provided by the association of Tony John, Rex Vijayan, Mithun Puthanveetil and Binny John. Together, they are best known as Avial.

Avial

“We sing in Malayalam so we never felt the need to have a name that was English, so to speak” says Rex Vijayan who handles guitar playing duties for the band. “Still a lot of people who aren’t from Kerala thought Avial is not a very Malayali sounding name.  Even when we go abroad, people always want to know what it means as it sounds very global” he says.  Within Kerala the idea that a much cherished eatable was going on to represent a band didn’t go down too well at least initially. “Our friends were questioning our seriousness of it all. To them Avial seemed like a fun name and we are pretty easy going people so they felt we were simply carrying that image forward with the band.”

Avial catapulted to fame across the country after their first single Nada Nada was released in 2003. They also shot a music video for the song and it was released by SS Music. The tremendous responses they received to the song egged them to go further and continue in the same vein. “The fact that we sang in Malayalam is what helped us get that success initially, and those who do not understand the lyrics look upon the vocals as another instrument that accompanies the song” says vocalist Tony John.  The guys within the band knew each other even before they came together to form Avial and Rex reckons that it was natural that they sing in their mother tongue. “There was never a plan to sing in Malayalam before but whenever we met even just to jam and chill out, we used to sing old Malayalam songs. Also we like how poetic it sounds, very unique for someone who hasn’t heard it before.”

Avial - In Performance

Their conviction to continue to sing in a language that cannot be understood by majority in the country has only strengthened as the years have gone by. At a time when most Indian bands are trying to ape their western counterparts, bands like Avial strongly feel the need to get back to their ethnic roots.  “I listen to Italian, Brazilian or any other kind of music that sounds good. A song like Macarena for example finds a connection because, end of the day it is the music that matters” says Tony.  Avial’s faith in the local language seems to be well placed and one wonders if it offers any guarantee of success when compared to the English speaking fraternity. “I can only say that it’s best to do what comes naturally to you. For us it happens to be our mother tongue and there are bands who are really big in India today and have made it through singing in English” says Rex.

Avial do not write the lyrics for their songs. They like to borrow folk songs from the past or in what can be described as a first for a band, have specialists who write raw, folk sounding lyrics around which the band weaves its tunes. This rather uncommon method is preceded by the band members helping their writers out with a theme and even pictures to help them grasp the vision that the band has for a song. “These people are mostly our friends and they happen to be very good at writing these songs. When you come to think of it, Folk music and Rock music have this very raw feel to them, which is why we feel that it is good to combine both. Also we are particular about how the lyrics sound to the ears when sung, and the people who work with the lyrics have a very good understanding of these requirements which makes it good for us” informs Rex. Most of Avial’s songs are reality based and are related to the political and social happenings within the country.

Avial

Avial released their first self titled album in 2008, four years post coming together. This was an extraordinarily long time by any standards and their second album is still in the making as we are made aware by Tony John while he speaks on the subject. “The thing is, we are all very lazy people by nature! (A fact which was also corroborated by Rex) We don’t go in with an intention to produce a song, it is all very instinctive. If you ask me how much of the second album is made, I would say probably up to thirty percent of it has been put together in some shape or form!” he says.  Going by that it would possibly be easier to estimate the delay rather than the arrival, not until mid 2012 would be our guess. “We normally jam and then have a tune and the grooves in place” says Rex. “But, when you get back to these things after a few weeks, they may not sound as appealing as they did when you came up with it. So in order to move ahead, the music that we do must surprise us.” Tony’s house serves as the unofficial ‘headquarters’ of the band and the band normally prefers to hang out doing nothing too productive on most days. “Most of the stuff we do, we keep changing it and then finally get tired and delete it!” he says. One glance upon their Facebook page, or the comments on a video suggest that the pressure to release a second album is steadily building but they remain determined to do it their way.

Prior to the release of their very first album, they were a five member band.  The powerful, booming and raspy vocals heard on most of their first album (except two songs which had Tony’s vocals) were sung by former vocalist Anand Raj Benjamin Paul. His departure certainly left many of their fans somewhat discontent. “It was sad. He got married to an American and is now settled in the US. However Rex and I had put a lot of work into the production of the album, we couldn’t have stopped there” says Tony as he reminisces back to the sudden and possibly the only really difficult time of the band’s journey so far. “Post his departure, it was tricky for us because people heard his voice on the album and mine when we played gigs. However I believe that our fans are fiercely loyal and have shown it by sticking with us. Yes there are those who are hardcore fans of Anand’s voice, and they’d miss that element but there isn’t much that can be done about it” Rex feels that not too much needs to be made of the differences as there are some differences which are basic in nature too. “For example Anand looked very rugged himself, and that went along with his vocals too! Tony is more sophisticated when it comes to the stage presence and looks you could say but as a vocalist, though different, I feel that he pretty much nails all of our stuff.”

The latest to come from Avial is a song called Aana Kallan (Aana means elephant in Malayalam and Kallan means a thief, which translates to elephant liar or big liar) as part of the Malayalam movie ‘Salt N Pepper’. The response to this song has been phenomenal in Kerala and there is a feeling of content within the band. “We actually bought a book which had folk lyrics in it and Aana Kallan appealed to us and then a tune was born” says Rex. While Rex was quite happy to lend their music to the movie industry based in Kerala, not everyone in the band shared the same opinion. “I was hesitant at first” says Tony. “I thought it was bullshit to be honest but Aana Kallan related to this character in the movie and we had the song written, it just had to be worked upon before we had the final product ready.” The success of the song has helped them gain a mass appeal within Kerala. While Avial was already popular with the people who followed the scene, it was still a band that was left wanting mainstream recognition. “The man on the street possibly got a taste of Avial the band” says Rex. While this might surprise many who read through this article, there has always been a feeling within the band that they were better known outside of Kerala rather than within their home state. This makes the success of Aana Kallan dearer to them.

Tony John, Rex Vijayan, Mithun Puthanveetil and Binny John

Their popularity outside of Kerala is demonstrated by the sheer numbers of people who can sing along the choruses to their songs which are sung in Malayalam. Also they are one of the very few bands who have managed to perform abroad. “One of the fondest memories I have is of a Mumbai college which was full of Gujarati students singing along to our songs” says Rex. He couldn’t recollect the name, and hence we stick our neck out to say it could have been Narsee Monjee or Mithibai in all likelihood. Aadu Pambe with its monstrous guitar riff and masterful arrangement remains the bands favorite song to play to any crowd. “I really like to see the crowd jumping along to that one” says Tony. “There are other favorites too like Chekele, Karukara, Ettam Pattu, etc.”

As they are about to sign out, we are tempted to ask what they prefer more – the band or the dish? Both Rex and Tony declare their undying love for, take a deep breath – the dish! “We all are big Avial (the dish) fans, so it is unfair that you ask us to choose! In fact you cannot ask this question to any self respecting Malayali!” they say.

Well, we prefer the band too. Nada! Nada! Nada! Nada! Nada!

Article by Vignesh Iyer

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.

Leslie Lewis

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 17^th June 2011.

Hariharan & Kavita Seth

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.

Harshdeep

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?

Kailash Kher & Chinna Ponnu

“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.”

Raghu Dixit & Band

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.”

Sunidhi Chauhan

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.

Article by Akshata Bhat

At the beginning of the year, we established that India had arrived as a global music destination. Now it’s obvious that our musicians too, are on par with some of the best in the world. Tracy deSouza asks Ehsaan Noorani how it feels to have his own signature line of Fender guitars.

Ehsaan Noorani

It isn’t surprising that Ehsaan Noorani has his own signature line of Fender guitars when you consider that he’d previously owned more than 20 Fender Stratocasters, and he bought his first Fender close to 30 years ago. It is less surprising that Fender chose Noorani to endorse their newest line of guitars when you consider his caliber as a guitarist and his technical knowledge as an avid ‘Fender-holic’. The timing is stellar and this means a great deal for India and for Indian musicians; this endorsement is a marker that reinforces India’s position on the global music map.

A Guitar is Born

When Fender set up shop in India, the year was 1994 and studio guitarist, Ehsaan Noorani, was one of their first and most frequent customers. Due to his penchant for collecting Fenders, if wasn’t long before he became well acquainted with Jasbeer Singh, the sole distributor of Fender in India. When the big wigs of Fender came down to Delhi in 2004, Singh facilitated a meeting between the two parties. While Noorani was more than happy to fly to Delhi to meet them, he had no idea what they had in store. “When they left the country they sent me an email saying they’d like to design a custom Fender for me, I could barely believe it” says Noorani, still quite thrilled.

By then, Noorani had developed an enviable reputation in India, however the officials at Fender did not choose him on face value and popularity alone. Since he first began his career as a musician, Noorani has proficiently played the role of studio guitarist, composer and producer. His versatile skill set and technical knowledge, where Fender guitars and other equipment is concerned, remains unparalleled. In fact, Noorani is everybody’s guitar info go-to guy; he is tremendously adept in the ups and downs of the various features of different models, thus the perfect candidate to design the guitar.

Ehsaan Noorani with the Fenders Guitar

Technical knowledge is not the only reason for their decision; Noorani’s musical knowledge too is exemplary. Beginning as an amateur classic rock and metal guitarist, Noorani stepped up his skills when he discovered his love for the blues; he mastered that technique swiftly. Between 1985 and 1986, Noorani studied at the Guitar Institute of Technology, where he learnt to use his imagination, collaborate amicably with other artists and professional guitarists. Returning to India at the end of 1986, he began to work in the music industry for advertising and corporates. At Mukul Anand’s insistence, Noorani created the soundtrack for ‘Dus’ along with his friends and colleagues – Shankar Mahadevan & Loy Mendonsa, in the year 1994. Since then, Noorani’s style has transformed tremendously over the years, due to his genuine passion for music, in all its expressions. Today, he is a wholesome musician, well-versed in genres as diverse as Punjabi, Arabic, African, Rock & Roll, Country, Jazz and even Metal.

The Ehsaan Noorani Signature

Being in love with the Stratocaster model, Noorani has loosely based his signature line on this design, while making some important modifications. The first ever signature model had a beautiful translucent green basswood body with flame maple veneer, because green is Noorani’s favorite colour. As an exclusive India based release, Noorani has decided to customize the neck to make it more comfortable for Indians to play it. “Unlike the British and American guitarists, we Indians have small hands; and as much as I love the Stratocaster, I’ve always found the neck rather uncomfortable.” Thus, the Noorani signature Stratocaster has a 9.5” radius rosewood fingerboard with 22, 6105 Narrow Jumbo frets.

This modification that came intuitively to Noorani has left guitarists floored. “To test the guitar, I presented it to 6 of the best guitarists in India, in November last year. The feedback was resounding; everyone wanted to know how I had made the neck so comfortable!” The signature model also features custom humbucking and single-coil pickups in the middle, with five-way switching for a superior output. The guitar has locking chrome tuning keys and two-point synchronized tremolo bridge to give it tuning stability and great intonation; the perfect instrument for the musician who wants to juggle genres.

This guitar was created exactly as per the specifications that Noorani provided Fender with. “Because they trusted my knowledge of guitar mechanics they gave me a free hand to design the guitar according to my personal taste”, Noorani says of his made-for-India guitars. Having been conceived by the creative mind of a versatile guitarist, these instruments are capable of traversing myriad genres gracefully. To make the mix exciting, he’s chosen to have the guitar manufactured in four heady translucent shades: red, blue, green and purple.

Fender has changed the Indian market for the better with the introduction of the Ehsaan Noorani signature line. This endorsement provides Indian guitarists with a line of quality guitars, customized as per an artist’s specifications, which they can use for live performances and studio sessions. The ease of availability across the country and their competitive pricing make these guitars accessible to a bigger audience.

India Shining

This achievement for Noorani comes swift on the heels of A. R. Rahman’s success at the Oscars. With the new line of Stratocasters, Fender has shown the world that Indian musicians are worth talking about and that this is where the market is. This custom line that’s made solely for India validates the presence of a mature market that’s full of professional musicians; clearly, a worthy investment has been made.

Noorani states, “India is a growing market as far as the music instrument business is concerned. More and more people are getting into music not only at an amateur level but at a professional level too.” He feels that this budding market can only begin to bloom as giants like Fender show interest. “It is fantastic that musicians in India can now access superior instruments which will help them play and develop into superior musicians” he encourages. Citing the fact that India and her artists have now moved into the global limelight, Noorani says, “This endorsement has definitely shifted international instrument manufacturers’ attention to India; as they see the potential of a growing market for their products here better equipment will become more accessible.”

As a corollary to the above, it seems fair to assume that as the accessibility of superior equipment improves, Indian artists will find it easier to develop higher quality skills. As an extremely creative musician with excellent business sense, Noorani sincerely hopes that labels begin to invest in independent artists so that upcoming composers don’t have to write film music to get noticed. If this happens, the Indian music scene will most likely develop a flourishing and extremely varied palate of sounds; only good can come of a move in this direction.

The Humble Musician

Incase you were wondering, Ehsaan Noorani doesn’t act like a guitar God at all; he doesn’t throw his weight around or walk about with his nose in the air. He is actually quite modest and no matter what he’s achieved in his myriad years in the industry, he certainly doesn’t think he’s the best that there is. In fact he has been known to begin his day by discovering new music; Noorani literally surfs YouTube every morning in an effort to remain current. He listens to all kinds of music without exception.

When asked if there’s any genre he dislikes he says, “No. A lot of musicians suffer from tunnel vision and restrict their listening to just one kind of music, I feel that this is not healthy for the growth of a musician and no one should write off other styles of music.” His advice to musicians is to continuously explore new music. These days he’s busy working on the score for ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ while perfecting the finger plucking classical style; he never stops listening and he never stops learning.

In conclusion, he says, “Lastly, I feel that you should never think that you’re number one. When you do that, you’ve already fallen behind.” You know you’ve made it when the biggest guitar company in the world creates a signature line in your name, but Ehsaan Noorani remains a modest man and a sincere musician.

Article by Tracy deSouza

Image Courtesy: Monisha Ajgaonkar

Equipped with a degree in architecture, he decided he would rather do something unconventional than find a regular job. As luck would have it, MTV India decided to launch a VJ HUNT which he won and then, life didn’t change overnight. We’ll just say that he embarked on a path which allowed him to make the changes. From being THE face of MTV he founded ‘Submerge’ for the ones who were thirsty for quality Electronic Dance Music to be played in India, through Submerge came about the now world renowned ‘Sunburn’ festival and he isn’t done with the partying just yet! Vignesh Iyer finds out.

We’re sat inside the Bagel Shop based in Bandra and Nikhil Chinapa is exactly as what one would imagine him to be. Mostly laidback, sipping on a cold coffee and if you are imagining the body hugging tee and shorts, that’s about right. Furiously working away on his laptop though, and a little peek reveals man’s best friend on the screen – Facebook. He is concerned that the recorder might not pick up our conversation and therefore has decided to hold it up like a microphone while he speaks. “How much of Kaliyon Ka Chaman and Mambo Number Five can one listen to?” he says when quizzed about how the VJ turned DJ. “The music that I love wasn’t getting played at all and that’s how it happened!”

Nikhil Chinapa

One wonders how he finds the time to work with MTV as a VJ, do his disk jockeying duties while also managing a business on the side, which really can’t be considered as something ‘on the side’. Surely, there is some kind of a deal here with the man. God, we mean. “Haha! I am actually running a negative balance there!” he says. “There is MTV, the DJ stuff, Submerge, Sunburn and we plan to start off with the Rainbow festival in Bangalore in May. Apart from all of this, there are music based projects in Oman, Nepal and Coorg.” So how does he manage to retain his sanity amidst all of the work and the jam packed schedule? “It’s a combination of coffee, gym and music that helps keep things balanced!” he says. Sleep, as has been mentioned on the Submerge website is strictly optional for him.

Submerge was founded in 2003. It was a manifestation of the same pent up frustration that pushed Nikhil Chinapa into becoming a DJ. The vision was to have a one stop shop for Electronic Dance Music in India and eight years since its inception, that is exactly what it stands for. Today it is recognized as a brand that delivers quality music, quality nights and works with people who have a certain standing in music. For many of the DJs it represents a benchmark which they aim to reach. They boast of having hosted some of the best nights in clubs across the country where a variety of widely well known DJs have come down to perform for the overburdened dance floors. “I think that frustration which we felt was felt by many and it’s not something that dies off” he says. “Because in a space time continuum, you are always going to have a seventeen year old who is pissed off at the music that’s around him. So frustration goes hand in hand with the youth which is probably why we always keep hearing fresh music! So I see Submerge as an entity which will constantly keep evolving and changing.”

Perhaps one of the reasons why Submerge is such a resounding success is because of the outlook to ‘business’ the three main people associated with the venture have chosen. Nikhil, DJ Pearl (who is also Nikhil’s wife) and Dr.Hermit never looked at Submerge as more than just another wild party. “You never see any hurdles as such when all you are doing is organizing this party. Dukaan bandh hain? Theek hain coke kahin aur se le aate hain!” he says with a grin spread across his face as he emphasizes his point further. “I think that is also one of the reasons why Submerge has managed to sustain itself while some of the others have fallen by the wayside.” he suggests.

As we prod further on any of the party associated challenges, there is a visible nonchalant approach as far as Nikhil is concerned. There hasn’t been a glitch so far even while convincing international DJs to come down and perform in India. That is obviously not much of a problem at this point in time considering they have grown much as a brand, but even the early days were relatively smooth. “Artistes always have a keenness for exploration, they want to go to a territory where they haven’t worked before and India for many is seen as this final frontier” he says. The professionalism that one has come to expect of submerge these days has surprised many an international act into saying “Wow! I never expected this!”

Companies like Submerge and other entertainment related events have hugely benefited from the government ban on advertizing alcohol via mainstream mediums like the television, newspapers, etc. This means that the sponsors have had to find other avenues to market their product and what better way than to display alcohol to a crowd that’s already high enough on music and ready to groove! “When you look at overheads, club costs, salaries and the cost of drinks, you cannot recover what you pay a DJ on a night purely on what the club makes” states Nikhil. “So yeah the sponsorship does come in handy and they see the kind of crowd that comes in for our events. They have good brand recall and we ask for small amounts of money most of the times. It’s beneficial for all parties.”

One thing Nikhil does concede very honestly is the fact that being a MTV VJ definitely helped when it came to establishing Submerge. “A certain percentage of the initial crowds that came in would come to the event because there was an MTV VJ at the event. Through that we have been able to convert a few into trance music lovers, from where they go to our website which is a knowledge resource and we’ve had people who have become friends or fallen in love or out of it!”

A fast developing perception within the country is that Submerge has perhaps monopolized the market, that it is the be all and end all of EDM in India. It is difficult for people to notice the competition when one name clearly stands out and Nikhil is quick to refute that charge. “Oh that is absolutely untrue. There are other independent companies or independent artistes like Midival Punditz or Jalebee Cartel who are doing an incredible amount of work” he points out and is keen on stressing further, “There is a crew based in Chennai and the DUSK (DJs United to Save Kolkata) crew in Kolkata and I told them that sounds cheesy by the way! However I think on a pan India scale we are probably the most organized of all the companies that are out there.”

The Sunburn music festival started in the heavenly state of Goa in 2007. Organized by Submerge and seen as one of the best festivals in the world, the three day festival has had many a famous name come down to play for the party crowd that flocks the beaches of Goa every year. Artists like Ferry Corsten, Funkagenda, Paul Van Dyk and Richard Durand are just some of the illustrious international names that have performed at the festival. While the three day extravaganza certainly leaves most of its revelers asking for more, there are some murmurs of discontent. One of the primary factors has been the rising ticket prices and the mention of it is not received very warmly at the other end. “I think the ticket prices were fair last year considering what is on offer at Sunburn. I don’t see people complain if the beer is too cheap though. When I go to China I pay four times the amount I pay for a beer at Sunburn. Does anybody say anything about that?!” He also speaks further on how it would cost much more to watch a single DJ play his set abroad than it does at festivals like Sunburn where multiple acts are on show. “I mean I get to hear Funkagenda, Ferry Corsten, Paul Van Dyk and so many more for the price of just one ticket. I know there is a sentiment that we are a monopoly and therefore we can raise the prices but if you sit down and do the math for a festival like that in Goa at that time of the year, with flights, accommodation, security, stage management and hospitality, etc. it is an absolute nightmare and it costs a huge amount which I can’t share!” he states firmly.

Another issue which is slightly less worrying than the rising ticket prices is the possibility of two huge acts performing on two different stages at the same time. This in fact happened at Sunburn 2010 where Paul Van Dyk and Funkagenda played on two different stages confusing the crowds as to which one to pick. However Nikhil does not see this as a problem at all but sees it as more of a planned move instead. “Okay, so it will actually get worse this year. The whole idea of a festival is to not see everything that’s on show. Why would you want to come back to it then?” he asks. “If you miss your favorite artist like say Funkagenda, then watch him when he is on his India tour or come again to Sunburn!” he says. When quizzed about the names that might be coming down for Sunburn 2011, he flatly refuses to reveal any name but that of his own.

Nikhil Chinapa’s aim is to reverse the current trends. He truly believes that India is the country to be in for DJs and while an upcoming DJ might want to play in Europe which is seen as the hub of Electronic Dance Music, Nikhil believes it can be India. “The idea is to reverse engineer the entire global music scene altogether. I have been abroad with Pearl and it is really no big deal. We find that we get more respect and adulation in India than anywhere else!” he states as he explains his vision further, “I have found that India is far more vibrant than any other place, so if the scene here is as vibrant as the people are, there wouldn’t be any need to go abroad and play.”

He is as laidback about his business plans as he is while sitting on the couch at Bagel Shop and doesn’t see the need to have a necessary long term plan. “The trick is to not plan at all” he states. “The trick is to go out and throw a party, call a few people and see what happens!” We think that’s worked out just about fine so far, and there’s no reason to believe it won’t in future.

Article by Vignesh Iyer