After composing music for a long time, Arijit Datta found himself at a dead end desperately hunting for a muse. Chasing melodies which only ran away from him, he was frustrated and suffered from a severe creative block. Repeatedly singing his old songs pleased the audience but did nothing for him. “Music on the whole has ceased to be a beautiful experience” he realized and it was this that finally pushed him to unplug himself from it all and pull out of the music circuit completely.

The Big M recommends: Airport

But thankfully, things did not go the way Arijit anticipated. Getting a fresh perspective he found his long lost creativity and “melody began pouring in like rain” in Arijit’s words. Everything fell into place when Arijit met Vinay Lobo who he’d only heard of in the past. Vinay on the guitar and Arijit’s lyrics led to an explosion of fantastic music. The songs were propelled to unbelievable heights with Vinay’s skill and expertise on the guitar. Vinay’s crunchy blues style with Arijits love for jazz and old classic Hindi music, proved to be a dynamic combination. Both of them knew that there was something magical in what they were doing. This is when AIRPORT happened.

Some time later Arijit was at a gig in Pune where Sid Coutto was performing with his band ‘Tough on Tobacco’. Even though Arijit knew that Sid was a killer drummer and was with Zero, he didn’t know him personally. Conversations after the gig led to a bond of mutual admiration between the two. From then on, Sid Coutto is a member of Airport. Arijit says that “When you stop chasing and accept what you have or don’t have, things just start to happen.” Airport was on a roll.

Things fell into place in a similar manner with Amit Ahuja who was a college buddy of Arijit. He jumped on board without much hesitation and finally Airport was complete.

After the awesome opening gig on 9^th December, the band is contemplating about how to progress. Should they record an album? Or focus on live gigs? Or should they write more music before making any further decisions? Let’s wait and watch Airport closely. They seem to have some great stuff in store for us. Airport in 2010 is definitely on our ‘must check out’ list.

Band Members

>Arijit Datta- Vocals/Guitar

>Vinay Lobo- Lead Guitar. Very strong blues influences. He also plays with Nikhil D’souza’s band KNAP and The Vinyls.

>Amit Ahuja- Bass.  He’s the bopper and can groove just about anything. He also plays with Shridhar/Thayil.

> Sidd Coutto- Drums. Singer & songwriter. He was recently featured in Sutasi as a composer. His songwriting made him form his own band “Tough on Tobacco” which has a happy reggae funk pop sound.

Article by Divya Srinivasan

So, you love Shankar Ehsaan Loy. You worship Indian Ocean. When you saw Porcupine Tree performing at Mood Indigo, your fingers itched to grab the mike and tune the crowd to your sound. Guess what? You can do that. And we can tell u how.

1. Before others, make yourself believe.

Most of us think we are not talented enough. Even JLo thought so.  In an interview, she was reported saying, “It wasn’t like it was with Marc, who opened his mouth at age three and was blessed with a voice from God. That wasn’t me. I had to work at it, but I knew that once I had achieved it, people would respond to me in a certain way.”

There is definitely no substitute for genuine talent, but there is nothing that cannot be achieved with determination, hard work and passion.

Your passion for music is reason enough to rebaptise you from a “freak bathroom singer” to a respected and remembered artist. All you have to do is to identify your USP.

2. USP- Your Unique Selling Proposition.

If you want someone to invest money in you- you must have something unique, unheard to offer.

Remember Shankar Mahadevan’s album Breathless. We all went ga-ga over it as it claimed to have been sung in just one breath. Another example is Guns and Roses bringing in and popularizing the concept of “Live Fast Die Young”. And let’s not forget John Scatman who sold millions of recordings worldwide and was named “Best New Artist” in the Echo Awards in both Japan and Germany. A stutterer, John liked to say scatting was a process of “turning my biggest problem into my biggest asset”.

Come on! Think deeper and find out what you have got to sell.

3. Broadcast Yourself.

Who says you don’t have media? Make your videos, put them on You Tube. Even better, make a blog for “your” music videos.  Initially blackmail your friends to watch your videos and comment on them; a tactic you used for getting testimonials in Orkut days. But this time your job doesn’t end here, market yourself. Tweet about your video on your Twitter account, post the links on Facebook and witness the transformation in process.

4. Don’t be a Shy Pod.

Can’t figure out your USP? Don’t get time to shoot your video? Ego clashes in Jamming sessions? Your boss sucks the creativity out of your head? Band buds have shipped to another country? Whatever your problem is, don’t hesitate, talk to us. You may find your queries silly, but we don’t and we won’t rest till we find a solution.

5. Watch this space.

When you find your USP, you need to nurture it into a brand. We promise to guide you with the help of the best in the business, next issue onwards. If you are lucky, you might even win an internship with your role model!

So write to us at myjourney@thebigm.co.in and together, let’s begin the journey towards your dreams!

Article by Kirti Tarang

Alternative was cool. At that time we didn’t know that alternative isn’t quite alternative. That alternative fed off the mainstream. That alternative existed because mainstream required it to. That was the time when I discovered Indian Ocean. They played live at the Ramjas College grounds, in 2001 if I remember correctly, at a concert sponsored by British Council and I listened to their rendition of Gorakh Pandey’s Hille Re and folksy Maa Rewa. These two songs then meant the world for me. Poetry of resistance set to alchemy of earthy sounds. The following years were spent chasing Indian Ocean across Delhi. Somewhere during these years the dreamer, the rebel, the volunteer inside me died. But my fascination with Indian Ocean didn’t. I’d still go to their concerts and see familiar faces in the crowd. We’d not really know each other but we’d give each other a nod of recognition when our eyes met. Though the meaning of some of their songs eluded us, for they borrow material freely from as diverse traditions as Kabir and Syrian Christian hymns in Aramaic, we’d sing along at the top of our voices. Together, it was a community cemented by our passion for Indian Ocean’s music.

"Rahul is the face of Indian Ocean. Sumit, the blood and Amit, bones." And Asheem, I asked? "He's the soul saale!"

Indian Ocean is a different band in that it loves to perform live and connect with the audience. The energy levels of their performances are directly related to that of the crowd. Seeing us losing our heads they’d improvise and pull off some really mind blowing sessions. Amit would come out with his gubgubi and jam with Rahul, or Asheem would get up and use Rahul’s guitar as if it was a percussion instrument. Once during a concert at Hamsdhwani at Pragati Maidan, Asheem even invited Shubha Mudgal up on the stage for an impromptu jam session. A song would never sound the same ever in their concerts. They’d introduce a new instrument; infuse new lyrics (Aara hile, Chhapra hile, Baliya Hile lag; Dilli ki saari sundariyaan hile to saara jagat hile lag) and just go with the flow. Their banter in between the songs just added to the experience. A friend whom I was trying to initiate into the music of Indian Ocean once said that he could sense ‘homoerotic tension between the four members. They’re playing as if they’re making love!’

We were/are all Indian Ocean junkies. I and some of my closest friends used to kick start all our drinking sessions with their music. Songs from Desert Rain, Kandisa and Jhini were put on loop and would play till the wee hours. We couldn’t really bring ourselves to like Black Friday soundtrack somehow, perhaps because we’d associated a different imagery with its music. That of the film.

I heard them live earlier this year in Mumbai and the performance was awful. They were playing to the top executives of the Indian automobile industry at the Autocar Awards ceremony. They looked quite out of place. As soon as they took on the stage a lot people got up and headed towards the bar. Those who stayed apparently couldn’t really connect to the music. I walked up to the stage, stood right in front of it, and sang along for old time’s sake. I remember Asheem smiling at me. I’d like to believe that he recognized the crazed out fan from Delhi. Perhaps.

Last night I got a message from a friend informing me of Asheem’s death. I reached home late and longed to hear Asheem’s massive voice, especially in the title track on Jhini. Since I have just shifted into a new place I couldn’t locate the disc. But, while I was going to sleep I remembered an exchange that I had with another friend years ago after getting sufficiently drunk.  He said, ‘Rahul is the face of India Ocean. Susmit, the blood and Amit, bones.’ And Asheem, I asked? ‘He’s the soul saale!’

Article by Faiz Ullah

'Sound' gives us a medium of expression and it works remarkably with children.

Besides being a vital part of our national and global culture, MUSIC helps build relationships between individuals and facilitates growth and development. “Music Basti” program with children at risk, is the reflection of this belief in the power of music to personally understand and access the world. ‘Sound’ gives us a medium of expression and it works remarkably with children. Appreciating music and its various forms and expressions can help children develop skills and progressive attitudes and enjoy their education and schooling experience. It all started back in 2008 by Integrated Development Education Association (IDEA), supported by The YP Foundation and Aman Biradari.

Music Basti uses music as a tool of self empowerment and enables children to enjoy their basic childhood; just the way they deserve it.

By definition ‘street children’ are the ones who live on the streets because they are homeless and hence without any sort of adult supervision. They spend most of their time with other children in a similar predicament who also lack direction and support. Being constantly on the move, these children have no sense of security and stability. Some of them have been abandoned or orphaned and many are victims of various forms of abuse like sexual, physical or emotional.

‘Music Basti’ came up to help these children and to give them a platform to express themselves through music and thus help their overall development. It aims at generating social and cultural awareness about the problems faced by these children through the universal language of Music. It uses music as a tool of self empowerment and enables children to enjoy their childhood: just the way they deserve it. With these basic goals and principles, Music Basti began its activities in Delhi and served as a link between the music community in Delhi and Street Children at risk.

Today, the organization has trained more than 50 musicians and has over 100 volunteers involved in their activities.

Music Basti identifies young talented musicians and volunteers, trains and motivates them, and gives them an opportunity to learn and perform music as well as trains them around human rights and child rights issues. Organizing workshops is a regular activity and the program has also documented a few short films. Concerts held by Music Basti not only showcase art and photography by the children, but the program has also been supported by exclusive performances by popular bands like Advaita. Music Basti was selected for Change Looms DAC (Ashoka & Pravah) and VIKALP (UNESCO, The YP Foundation and UNFPA) in 2008, as well as Unconvention Mumbai (British Council and OML). Music Basti has organized performances at iCONGO Karamveer Puraskaar award ceremony and CRY’s program “Sabko Shiksha, Samaan Shiksha” this year, and “Being a Child” on 14th November 2009, celebrating Children’s Day with 200 children along with performances by bands including Advaita, Vedanta, Astitva and others.

Today, the organization has trained more than 5o musicians and has over 100 volunteers involved in their activities. You can be a part of this change too. This is a hands on project that requires funding and volunteers. The only thing really required is to step forward and do something. Please contact Music Basti today if you would like to assist either financially or personally. Email: musicbasti@gmail.com

Article by Divya Srinivasan
Image Courtesy: Shiv Ahuja and Sabhaney

The first thing that comes to your mind When you hear of ‘Blue Frog’  is the lounge with offbeat live music, with a relaxed ambience equipped with great food and spirits to add to your experience.

What most of us don’t know is that The Blue frog is not only a club located in a former warehouse in Mumbai but also a music production company, an independent record label and four fully equipped recording studios. The Record label and production house arms of the Blue Frog music movement were launched in May ’08, approximately 6 months after the extremely successful club opening.

‘Good music is good business’ Blue frog’s mantra, is a glimpse into the music outlook and ideology of the founding partners: Ashutosh Phatak, Dhruv Ghanekar, Srila Chatterjee, Mahesh Mathai and Simran Mulchandani. The five of them share equal responsibility of running the show and all their hard work, cramming and brainstorming till the wee hours of the morning with little or no sleep has clearly paid off.

Some call it Backward Integration, some call it Forward. Well, we call it 'Complete Music Making Experience'.

The Blue Frog music project has only begun to unfold, providing the unrepresented sections of the music industry with a mike to be heard, raising the quality of life and making the whole music making process painless and hassle free.

The concept adopted by Blue Frog is unique and revolutionary, providing a one stop destination, for ‘music creators’. They helps their artists produce their music, promote their music and perform their music all at one place and under the umbrella and support of Blue Frog.

The idea originated as a hope for a systematic structure for the music business which represented every form of music. And hence the four legs of the company. The studio to record and produce the music, the label to distribute and the club: an awesome place to perform live.

Initially they simply wanted to give the non-bollywood or non-Indian classical music artists a platform to perform and a medium of promotion. All the limelight was on the conventional genres and they were well represented, but what about the other stuff going around? The Blue Frog Label was the answer to this. They sure did find a way to start with a bang, signing SHAA’IR e FUNC mainly because they represented the new age of India which blended in perfectly with the blue frog mantra (and also because they were simply awesome). From there began the course of struggles and consequent victories for the Blue Frog brand.

In the beginning, Blue Frog believed they were a traditional label and approached artists in a very traditional way. However, attempting to be ‘cutting edge’ but still holding on to some traditional ideas does not always work together. Things were changing and they felt that Music as a business is dying and therefore Record labels are dying. Realization dawned that the future is not in music video CD’s and the like but lies in live performances, supported by the internet.  A live performance cannot be duplicated and that is where the future lies.  Thereafter they took a completely new direction by focusing on expanding the club to provide more live performances and using the label as an innovative marketing tool: Equating a music CD to a business card.

The Big M fancies - blueFROG

Today Blue Frog is Building a database on the internet that features music by their artists and loads of independent labels from all over the globe, Genre no bar. In 5 years, Blue Frog aims to have enough power to draw artists from all over the world and organize a festival on a large scale like Glastonbury, right here in India. Growing the brand of Blue Frog through LeapFrog and Frogfest will help in converting this dream into reality. Blue Frog is still in its foundation years, but will soon be a world player, representing India in the music Industry of the world. The basic idea being that ‘music in India’ should not only be synonymous with Bollywood but also with the Blue frog.

Think Blue Frog is the ideal label for you/your band to sign with?

Then make sure you’ve discovered yourself entirely and don’t need your label to give you ‘direction’ so to speak. Blue Frog is not interested in a Boy Band or someone without an identity. Making music is Blue Frogs business and not making images.

Besides this, artists who are comfortable with live performances and have excellent stage presence are exactly what they are looking for.

They can offer you a digital distribution worldwide and a stage to do what you love, all over the world.

Though they’ve come a long way, Blue Frog insists they are still babies in this business. They do not have everything figured out and that’s a fact. They might be the only organization in the country who’s attempting this revolution, but they still need the audience to support them. Well, we wish them all the luck!

Article by Divya Srinivasan
Image Courtesy: blueFROG