With India being one of the most sort-after destinations for bands across the world, Shikher Chaudhary uncovers the versatile music scene that this year has seen so far…

Akcent

With only six months into it, 2010 has already been a somewhat tumultuous year for Indian rock. From Tehelka articles hoping to expose a ‘make-believe’ scene cultivated by the media and harboring niche middle class rockers aping the west to protests and petitions against allowing a certain aging boy band to perform at one of the country’s premier rock festivals, the year has seen its share of ups and downs. But behind the usual doubt and criticism, a relative swell in the number of albums released by Indian bands, some duly worthy of high regard, the infiltration of once local acts now into major European festivals, and the bestowment of a select few with international acclaim and awards has led to an exponential rise in recognition across the board. It is perhaps this recognition along with the efforts of various promoters that has brought about the biggest change as compared to say a few years ago, a saving grace in many ways, an exponential increase in the influx of global acts, indie, metal or otherwise, from corners of the world and genres not generally exposed to Indian audiences.

Hot on the heels of a year that played host to acts as varied as the indie folk quartet Mumford & Sons, popular Danish hip hop act Outlandish, Swedish melodic death metal stalwarts Amon Amarth, celebrated 80’s band Mr. Big and more significantly, a band in their prime, playing a sold out show at Mumbai IIT’s Mood Indigo, the progressive rock styling’s of Porcupine Tree, 2010 has already borne witness to an notable set of bands and artists, washing onto our aural shores. Certainly the biggest and possibly the most controversial concerts of the year took place in Bangalore in the form of Rock in India. Headlining acts which included the likes of South African alternative band Prime Circle, Welsh multi-instrumentalist and rising star Jayce Lewis (due to embark on another 10 city Indian tour in the coming months), legendary singer/songwriter Richard Marx and the aforementioned boy band, the Backstreet Boys brought with them a barrage of negative reactions from rock fans displeased at the idea of allowing a certified pop group to play at a rock festival.

Lamb Of God

Speaking of pop acts, the trio of Adrian Claudiu Sina, Sorin Stefan Brotnei and Mihai Gruiaone better known as one of the most popular Romanian dance-pop group Akcent, also made their way across India from the 4^th to 6^th June thrilling audiences in Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. With smash singles like ‘That’s my name’ and ‘Stay with me’ the crooners entertained the hundreds in attendance with their signature disco house sound contrasted with a strong Romanian influence.

Danish band Michael Learns to Rock who made a career out of churning out soft rock classics such as ‘The Actor’ and ‘Sleeping Child’ in the early 90’s find themselves on their third Indian tour, after performing in Bangalore and Chennai in ’95 and Mumbai, Bangalore and Shillong in 2004, the band is back on a three city tour in June catering to their loyal Asian fan base. Relatively new to Indian ears is the massively popular psychedelic trance DJ duo from Israel, Skazi, whose distinctive sound merging trance and punk has gathered a cult following, becoming a staple of rave scenes across the globe.

Eternity

With respect to genres, there is no shortage of international bands thoroughly representing metal with the Bangalore crowds being treated to a heavy dose of American heavy metal throughout the year.  The Summer Storm festival organizers brought in one of the kingpins of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal in Lamb of God to headline the festival with their brutal yet groove based riff metal.  In almost certainly an attempt to compensate for their previous erroneous choice of bands, the Rock in India organizers have pulled together two renowned thrash metal giants, Testament and Slayer to be top of the bill at the second edition of the festival scheduled for 30^th October of this year. Each backed by an illustrious catalogue of classics, the show promises to be one of the explosive in the city’s history and certainly one for the history books.

Prime Circle

On the indie front, some major bands which have turned their sights towards India are NastyPeach, a funk/soul band from Tel Aviv performing the Indian circuit throughout July and British alternative act Placebo who have just released their sixth studio album ‘Battle for the Sun’, who with an ability to weave platonic melodies with teenage angst offer up a rich palette for devoted fans in the country when they tour sometime later this year. Irrespective of which bands tour across our country, it is safe to say that the rock scene has come a long way from catching glimpses of odd international bands every few years or so. India’s rock community is finally being given the chance to indulge in a plethora of sounds through these bands, each recognizing India as a bona fide market while at the same time paying dividence and enriching the rock scene as they pass through.

Article by Shikher Chaudhary

Motherjane

With a presence of over 14 years in the scene and in the press, this article should not be construed as just another reminder of their musical prowess but rather a celebration of a band at its peak and a poignant reminder of the band’s impact expressed in the words of contemporaries, maniacs and international admirers alike. Shikher Chaudhary weaves together this exclusive.

It is nearly impossible to put in writing something about Motherjane that hasn’t been said or written before without evoking a clichéd quote or rehashing an old statement reiterated a million times before. We are still to find just the right adjective that would sum up the band’s impact on the scene and do justice to their cause.

Honestly speaking, growing up with the Indian rock scene has always been a frustrating and bittersweet journey for probably any rock fan in this country. Even though things are slowly but surely getting better there has always been an unduly ignorance towards the country’s rock scene, the western music scene permeating so deeply within our culture, engraining itself within our subconscious over the years that comparison between those ‘rock gods’ and our home grown heroes seems all but inevitable, with most of the Indian bands more often than not falling short of the mark. But ever since we could remember Motherjane has always been the one of the most consistent bands in the Indian rock scene. Now that might not sound like a lot, but in a sea of cookie cutter, download-today, gone-tomorrow rock bands, consistency goes a long way. Original, ambitious, and genuinely honest, the band has defied expectations with an unweaving passion, a distinctive sound with a heavy debt to its carnatic roots and an undeniable religious fan following across the world to become the carrier’s of Indian rock into the next decade and the foremost driving force beneath this now thriving rock scene.

Hot on the heels of their highly coveted song for Amnesty International’s ‘Peace’ album, ‘Tribes of Babel’ and a dual win at Avima 2010 for the most popular act of Asia and best rock vocalist for Suraj Mani, comes some pretty interesting updates from the Motherjane camp. Sumesh Lai the former head of RoseBowl TV for years, who was the creative force behind two of the band’s videos ‘Chasing the Sun’ and ‘Fields of Sound’ when he was at Rosebowl, has left to take on the role of director at Motherjane’s record label Aum-I Artistes, where in addition to managing the label he will be also be responsible for creative content and will be working on live DVD productions of the band to be released in the near future. Also the band has already written 26 songs, out of which, ones that are to be included on the album, which is scheduled to begin recording in July and the title is yet to be determined.

Reinhardt Dias (Blakc)

“Even though our sound is extremely different from Motherjane’s, being more of a contribution of individuals then primarily guitar driven progressive rock, we really appreciate the role Motherjane has played in the progress of the scene. We had a brilliant experience playing with them at the MySpace show and hope to repeat it real soon. I believe Baiju’s carnatic influence that he brings to the band is their main appeal as his soloing is based on Indian ragas and when that kind of genre meets rock, it is bound to sound really original and is definitely worthy of Indian rock. Also I believe they have been really underrated over the years; it’s only in recent times that people have noticed them as a veteran band and how they have contributed in a major way to the Indian rock scene, mainly because of their sound which is a perfect balance of Indian and Western. I would just hope that they receive the international recognition they deserve really soon and represent Indian rock at much bigger avenues.”

Arsh Sharma (The Circus)

“The whole blend of prog rock and Indian carnatic music is absolutely their main draw. In addition to being extremely talented musicians they are incredibly nice people. I recall having spent a night in the same hotel in Bombay as Suraj a while back and understanding and liking his thought process quite a lot.

I’ve seen them live a couple of times now and their performances post ‘Maktub’ have a lot of charisma about them. They’re helping the Indian rock scene grow in the larger sense, and definitely reaching out to the international community in terms of the rock scene, even though there are so many tangents to the scene now and they are not entirely representative of the scene, they’re definitely a good indication of the variety that is there to be offered here. It’s great to have a band like them around who connect at such a spiritual level with their audience, and I hope them the best for the days to come.”

Siddharth Nair (Blind Image)

“Motherjane are some of the most amazing musicians hailing from Cochin which make me really proud to belong to the state of Kerala. They are one of the few bands that have made India proud when it comes to rock music. As tight as a band can possibly be, they always deliver on stage. All the band members are incredible in their own right, John for his groovy progressive drum patterns, Clyde for the bass backing up the rhythm, Baiju for his carnatic shredding which really gives them their own identity, Deepu for his awesome progressions which give the solos their feel and Suraj for his amazing voice and crowd interaction. They are without a doubt one of the hardest working bands around and if they carry on this way, they’ll make it big in no time!”

Shreyans Jha (Null Friction)

“I admire their work and the fact that they go out of their way to research and find influences that most Indian bands would choose to ignore. And unlike most Indian artists, they definitely have a really unique sound – when their song comes on you can always tell that it’s Motherjane. Even though at times I have found their lyrics a bit disappointing, their music has always been embedded in the sounds of their motherland. They’ve done an amazing job of truly penetrating the small niche market that is Indian rock and in fact should be credited for expanding the market to never before seen audiences.”

Sairam Raman (Summerpint Junkie)

“I have always considered Motherjane as an example of epic tightness, especially their live performances. The guitarists Baiju and Deepu blow me and my fellow guitarist away every single time we listen to them and even though we don’t try and emulate their sound into our songs, we are definitely influenced by their skill, precision and the way they go about their pieces on the guitar. Also the fact that our band was premiered on TFS rockcast featured alongside the mighty Motherjane is obviously an amazing thing for any young band. As a band they have truly achieved an identity that puts things into perspective for a lot of Indian bands and the connection that they have with their fans is definitely inspiring.”

Sanjeev Thomas (Sanjeev T & the Rainbow Bridge)

“What appeals to me the most about Motherjane is Baiju and his incredible guitar work, probably because of the fact that I am a guitarist myself. Baiju’s carnatic style has me completely tripping and has majorly influenced my recent song as well as video release. Also having Eva Dowd in common between us benefits the both of us as artists and it’s the sharing that keeps us together as a family of sorts. Motherjane has been a band which has stuck through a long period in Indian Rock, through ups and downs. They are and always will be a great influence on musicians here and anywhere they play. To keep a band together is a very tough job, and when like minded musicians dedicate their lives together for music it will grow forever and I’m sure they will too.”

Siva Chandran (Founder of AVIMA & VIMA and Managing Editor of Voize.my)it is actually sontiago dobles of aghora group who made us discover the group

I belong to community where we rae fan of prpgressive music, mainly metal, and from the first album notes we just had a crash

it is actually sontiago dobles of aghora group who made us discover the group

“The first hint of Motherjane reached our aural shores through Eva Dowd, who submitted the band’s songs for the VIMA awards back in late 2008. I actually gave the band an immediate listen because for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how someone in Boston was promoting this rock band from India. Prog-rock wasn’t really my cup of tea, but I gave it a listen anyway and I’m glad I did, because I was totally blown away by their ‘spiritual rock’, their arresting music video visuals, the soaring vocals and the irresistible guitars that painted a whole new soundscape for me. And I’ve always been a sucker for bands with a message, and there was just so much going on in the heads of the band, especially Suraj. I spent days and nights dissecting the philosophy behind the songs, and that made me grasp their music even better.
Motherjane went into AVIMA 2009 as total underdogs, but deservedly walked away with the top prize after our global judges gave them the thumbs up who instantly felt that their music was extremely memorable and engaging. Motherjane upped the ante by playing at the Java Rocking land music festival in Indonesia, which allowed them to connect with a whole new audience.

Having said that, thousands of talented rock musicians go unnoticed yearly, but it was the sheer marketing and promotions drive of Eva Dowd coupled with the searing tenacity of Motherjane’s carnatic rock that made the band cement in the minds of the people. Many will call the music force of Motherjane and Eva Dowd as a stunning and astounding oddity. We call it destiny!”

Hari Amajaniac (Die hard Janiac)

“The first time I saw Motherjane live was at Rock Ethos two years ago. The last act to perform, their raw magnetism and Baiju’s guitar playing had me completely mesmerized from the beginning. Never before had I experienced a guitarist playing a solo like the one he played on ‘Questions’. Those 25 minutes of music were probably the most important of my life because they started my journey with the band, a journey that has helped me get to know not just five extremely talented musicians but also incredibly genuine human beings. Thanks to a common friend I had the opportunity to personally meet the band that night itself and was completely floored with their down-to-earth behavior. Here was one of the biggest acts in India sitting around and talking with their fans with no ego’s whatsoever.

Speaking of humility, an act of kindness from their side that I’ll never forget is the gig at Snehadaan, a home to HIV positive kids, where the band had initially gone for a promotional video campaign but ended up playing an hour long set resulting in a sea of smiles on the faces of the kids. Over the years, I’ve gotten to know them better and have shared a few memorable moments too. An incident that comes to mind is when they played at Opus on September 12th last year, the day before my birthday. They had just finished a gig at around 11:45 or so and I was with them at the venue when at 12 o’clock all the members of the band surprised me by singing “Happy Birthday”, which I can say is personally my best birthday gift ever. After two years of getting up every morning to Motherjane’s music, I can say from the bottom of my heart that to me Motherjane isn’t just a band; it’s a way of life.”

Russell Fries (Simi Valley, California)

“Motherjane’s music is, well let’s just say that it’s very moving. I really like their musicality, which is indeed original and earthy, but it retains the rock-n roll element. The fact that they are from India and that they have reached a fan base here in the U.S. is really impressive, even if it’s over youtube, myspace or facebook. Their performances are indeed intriguing and each member of the band adds into the beauty of the songs in their own way. If they come to the states I would definitely go see them perform live. I earnestly wish they come to California. I have recommended their songs to many of my colleagues and they have all loved the originality, the powerful vocals and the fine yet raw music. Motherjane is unquestionably worth the praise! I sincerely wish the band all the luck for the future and hope to hear many more songs from them. I hope to see them perform live. I wish their fan following spreads across nations and may they receive the recognition they deserve. Cheers!”

Marcellino Malonda (Jakarta, Indonesia)

“The way in which Motherjane manages to intertwine their ethnicity and contemporary style together in such a brilliant fashion, is truly admirable. Indonesian rock initially used to be influenced mainly by American rock, but after listening to Motherjane, people here are trying to maintain their culture through music. The band’s approach to song writing is very Indian and it basically teaches us to respect our roots and not be ashamed of our humble origins. With such a diverse collection of fan following, I believe that Motherjane have the potential to become the biggest band in Asia. I personally love the song ‘Tribes of Babel’ and identify with the lyrics completely, through which the band has had a positive contribution to humanity and has taken a step towards world peace. Lastly I would like to quote my favorite lyrics from the band themselves and say that Motherjane’s music teaches me ‘To celebrate all Earth while we’re still here.’”

Urska Grcar (Turjak, Slovenia)

“Last year when I was in India for the first time, I saw a Kathakali performance which I found awe inspiring, and later while surfing Myspace I found Motherjane and honestly speaking it was the Kathakali face paintings that attracted my attention. I believe they show their love for their homeland and promote India through those eye catching face paintings. Since then I have always wanted to see them perform live but all I have managed is to watch their videos online and am always mesmerized by their vivid stage presence. The way they connect with the audience is just amazing to watch.

The band actually influenced my liking for rock music and appealed to me with their interesting symbiosis of Indian rhythms and rock which give rock music a whole new perspective. ‘Chasing the Sun’ is my all time favorite song by Motherjane and I am in love with Suraj’s powerful voice.

Sadly I didn’t know much about Indian rock scene, but Motherjane has inspired me to explore more bands from that part of the subcontinent. Their music interests people in Europe a great deal as well, probably because of their ability to combine aggressive beats with exotic melodies which make their music suit the ears of every music lover.

I would just like to tell the band to keep up the good work, expand your promotion to other countries such as Europe, because I think you would be as popular here! Next time I visit India I will definitely try to catch up with your concert. Hopefully we’ll meet. Love you Motherjane!”

Sofiane Benidir (Blida, Algeria)

“I belong to a community of musicians here in Algiers where most of us are fans of progressive music, mainly metal, but from the very first notes of Motherjane’s album ‘Insane Biography’ we we’re hooked! We loved and deeply appreciated the uniqueness of their sound; the Indian aspect was the most original thing to our ears. Though we may be trained to hear distorted guitars, it was quite a treat to have such beautiful melodies native of their country. Their incorporation of local tones into the music showed their love for their land and inspired us to experiment with local sounds and instruments such as a ‘derbouka’ in our songs as well. They represent true rock n’ roll and my deepest wish is to see them perform here in Algiers some day.”

Hot on the heels of their highly coveted song for Amnesty International’s ‘Peace’ album, ‘Tribes of Babel’ and a dual win at Avima 2010 for the most popular act of Asia and best rock vocalist for Suraj Mani, comes some pretty interesting updates from the Motherjane camp. Sumesh Lai the former head of RoseBowl TV for years, who was the creative force behind two of the band’s videos ‘Chasing the Sun’ and ‘Fields of Sound’ when he was at Rosebowl, has left to take on the role of director at Motherjane’s record label Aum-I Artistes, where in addition to managing the label he will be also be responsible for creative content and will be working on live DVD productions of the band to be released in the near future. Also the band has already written 26 songs, out of which, ones that are to be included on the album, which is scheduled to begin recording in July and the title is yet to be determined.

Check out the music video for “Jihad” by Motherjane here

Article by Shikher Chaudhary

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

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

Berklee's distinguished faculty from Massachusetts was in Mumbai sharing their profound knowledge with Mumbai's budding musicians.

The Berklee College of Music based in Boston, Massachusetts has always been regarded as the premier institute specializing in music education in North America. Starting off as a school for jazz in the mid 40’s, Berklee soon adopted more diverse genres ranging from rock to bluegrass and even hip hop.

Study of theory as well as a practical approach to music combined with teachings on the working of the music industry provided its students with an unrivaled array of skills resulting in multiple honors over the coming years.

Providing degree courses in composition, film scoring, music business/management, music production and songwriting, the college has earned a noteworthy alumni consisting of greats such as Duke Ellington, guitarists Bill Frisell, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy and renowned producer Quincy Jones.

With two record labels and a radio station in its arsenal, the celebrated institute soon spread its wings to students of different nationalities, visiting countries around the world conducting clinics and auditions for interested musicians. Collaboration with Tabula Rasa music and Furtados brought this tour to Jamnabai Narsee School from the 13^th to the 16^th of February and along with it an army of Mumbai musicians looking to learn from workshops headed by some of the most distinguished personnel of the college.

Mock auditions along with a presentation carried out by Gojko Damjanic, the Assistant Director of International Admissions, provided young musicians from the city a relative idea on tackling future opportunities in their musical careers.

Day one of the program’s visit to India began bright and early, with sessions on how to approach auditions, first for rhythm instruments and later for melody instruments and vocals. These mock auditions along with a presentation carried out by Gojko Damjanic, the Assistant Director of International Admissions, provided young musicians from the city a relative idea on tackling future opportunities in their musical career.  A simple and down to earth explanation of the processes by teachers well versed in the matter provided those in attendance with substantial information.

The second day of clinics was hosted by what is commonly referred to as the ‘Dream Team’ of Berklee College including the likes of Assistant Vice President of International programs, Greg Badolato. An accomplished Broadway saxophonist in his own right, he presented a session on using traditional, western solfege techniques to develop the performer’s ear and assist with developing improvisation vocabulary. Accompanying Greg was Dan Carlin, Chair of Berklee’s film scoring department who in his sessions, demonstrated the entertainment industry’s increasingly rapid evolution of scoring styles, techniques, and applications in movies and video games. Following was Michael Farquharson presenting a session analyzing the use of modes in current pop music and at the same time demonstrating the use of modal harmony in original compositions.

A simple and down to earth explanation of the processes by teachers well versed in the matter provided those in attendance with substantial information.

Emmy award winning Carlin and Juno award recipient Farquharson along with Director of International Programs Jason Camelio certainly possessed the required credentials and convincingly provided the Mumbai audience with a lifetime’s worth of experience while grooming a new generation of talented, credible Indian musicians.

- Berklee was founded by Lawrence Berk, an engineer trained at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and veteran arranger with the CBS and NBC radio orchestras.

- It was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study and practice of contemporary music.

- With more than a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing more than 70 countries, Berklee is the world’s premier learning lab for the music of today and tomorrow.

- 68 Berklee alumni have received 184 Grammy Awards, including Donald Fagen ’66 of Steely Dan, Diana Krall ’83, and Steve Vai ’79

- 15 Berklee alumni have received 40 Latin Grammy Awards

- The composer of Simpsons, Alf Clausen ’66 who won the Emmy in ’97, ’98 was a student of Berklee

- Howard Shore ’69 won Latin Grammy awards for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2004) & The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2002)

Article By Shikher Chaudhary

Images Courtesy: Jack Thomas, Performers Collective School of Music