One music and fashion for me please, on the rocks.
That’s one heady mix that fits into the proverbial Siamese twins category and creates an impact far larger than one of them, standalone. Fashion is not just for the Bollywood bandwagon, nor for just the designers, stylists and the entourage that follows.
Someone recently said, music is the biggest indulgence and I never would have thought of that until that very moment. Until that moment, fashion was my biggest indulgence and I realised there is fashion in music and a musician without fashion is like a violin with one string kaput.
I had the joy and privilege of styling a friend of mine for the radio city freedom awards and her brief to me was simple. My clothes need to reflect my music. Easy peasy, I said at that point to keep her calm because I was pretty much holding back trucks in my tummy. A few hours of sleep later, I sat down and thought of her music and listened to it. Snap, it was just that. Simple.
This other time, I was invited to style a performance by the Wishbone factory for a jazz routine and little elements like veils, bow-ties and winged eyeliner made the choir look like they walked right out of the sets of the movie, Chicago. Fashion brings out the tangibility in music and adds visual appeal to compliment the sounds you hear.
(wishbone images here_)
Fashion represents a persona and a mood. I’ve always believed that and now the bond between music and fashion looks like it’s been glued together with industrial adhesive and the “want” to represent.
Picture this, lady gaga wearing a white chiffon skater dress and pumps while performing born this way. Born which way? Our way you mean? Just like all of us regulars. Too regular I would say.
Here are some musicians who truly dress to represent their music and the best part, it’s not forced, it’s who they are. (There are so many more who deserve a mention, if your favourites aren’t here, you should drop in a comment and let everyone know)
Raghu Dixit
(image here)
Monica Dogra
(image here)
The Ska vengers (image here)
Shakira (image here)
Avril Lavigne (image here)
Pink (image here)
Nicki Minaj (image here)
Parikrama(image here)
Before even listening, knowing what’s in store just by looking at the clothes, now that is music to my ears.
Losing her clothes for charity … Columbian pop star Shakira.
Having been a colleague and college junior of hers for a while, I felt quite ignorant because I didn’t know for the longest time that Aabha sang, and how! Most of the time, our conversations revolved around Kashmiri food, college and the poor road sense of everyone, but us. Her ability to take a chord, sing the daylights out of it and still have the energy to go to work the next morning, somehow came up much later. Such is the humility of Aabha Hanjura, the lead singer and vocalist of the band sufistication, who also is an independent singer in her own right!
As the only girl in her band, she gets to feature her quirky and straightforward self on 8Octaves as a woman who rocks.
You are Called: Aabha Hanjura
You play with: My band Sufistication and solo
Your role: Vocals
The other band members include Midhun Mukundan on keyboards, who also arranges the music, Ganesh Govindaswamy on percussions and sounds, Joshua Satya on guitars, Yadhunandan Nagraj on drums and Philip on bass.
EO: Let’s start where it all began. Considering you are a familiar household face, did Indian Idol help to make your journey as a musician easier and how?
Aabha: Indian idol was a wonderful opportunity for me considering I came from a small town and sang only in school functions and for my friends, Indian Idol put me on that big stage and gave me national exposure at the young age of 18. I met a lot of people in the industry, competed with some of India’s best talent and reaching the finals made me realise my potential as well. I can’t say it made my journey easier but yes it was a great first foot in the door.
EO: Tell us a little bit about your band and the kind of music you play for our readers to get to know you better.
Aabha: My band is called Aabha and Sufistication. We play modern versions of
age-old Kashmiri, Punjabi, Rajasthani and Sindhi sufi folk music.
We’re a young band full of energy the band members come from varied backgrounds so each member brings in his own sensibility to the music. The band consists of Midhun Mukundan on keyboards and also arranges the music, Ganesh Govindaswamy on percussions and sounds, Joshua Satya on guitars,
Yadhunandan Nagraj on drums and Philip on bass.
EO: What is the inspiration and thought behind your music?
Aabha: Kashmir! That’s where the base sound of my music is from, the valley inspired me to do this album I am working on, it’s called Aabha and the Sound of Kashmir, the single from which released (Kithe Nain) a while back. I am from Kashmir and I do hope to take the music of Kashmir to the world.
The thought is simple, to make good music & make it reach out to as many people as possible.
EO: Is it harder or easier in this industry as a woman musician?
Aabha: Not any easier!
EO: Since your music does not necessarily cater to the large masses of the youth, what are the biggest challenges you face?
Aabha: Alternative and Independent music in India is at a stage where acceptance is slowly but surely coming-Indie music, on the other hand, has its own audience. For me specifically making sufi music interesting & relevant for people across different age groups is the real task. My musical sensibilities are a blend of classical & modern and I approach sufi music in my own style.
I try and infuse a lot of today into yesterday; fusing rustic sounds with modern day sounds to reach a sound which appeals to one and all. By far, lots of youngsters have liked it. So far so goodJ
EO: Media house by day and recording studio by night, tell us more about that kind of busy lifestyle.
Aabha: It’s Maddening but fulfilling 🙂 I don various hats & do some major multi-tasking; I guess god made us women like that! From morning when I start work to the time I end my day with my riyaz at midnight, time flies between meetings, recordings, practice and shows.
I wish there were more than 24 hours in a day!
The lifestyle is sure busy yes, but that is how I am made. I have to constantly be doing something; I’m quite a restless soul at that. Music is calming though, when I’m in the jam room or the studio all the fatigue evaporates
EO: What is the best thing about being a woman musician today?
Aabha: The best thing is that I can listen to my heart, spread good music and people appreciate it.
Women across India in different fields are finding their feet and creating an identity for themselves which is such a healthy trend. It’s a great phase & time to be a musician in.
All I can say is, more Power to women who want to pursue their passion..!
EO: What is your biggest achievement or moment of pride so far?
Aabha: My biggest achievement? Hmm..that hasn’t happened yet 😉 Yes I’m ambitious! But if I have to put a finger to one such moment by far, it would have to be the day when I met India’s inspiration machine Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and presented some of my work to him. He heard it, appreciated & encouraged my efforts. It was unreal, humbling, inspiring & absolutely blissful to meet with a man the entire nation looks up to.
It was also extremely gratifying when my single made a TV debut with MTV recently. Like she said, her greatest achievement so far could be meeting our Ex-president, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and the proof of the joy lies in her cover picture, where she grins from ear to ear. Start off with an achievement so far, the best her fans can do is wait for more of these photo moments to come up soon!
It’s a rainy Wednesday afternoon, Im off from work and in the middle of an in-depth conversation with a friend on how I feel this interview may go. We both had our baseless opinions on the person we are yet to meet and whilst justifying why I used unicorn as an adjective to describe him, a subtle and unsure shuffling of feet is followed by an increasing buzz surrounding the graceful figure walking in, suitably dressed in a simplistic yet noticeable trench coat. That is when we realized Lucky Ali had arrived. Unlike many other seasoned musicians of his stature, there were no signs of haughtiness or hostility at being asked for never-ending photographs.
The first sound of a giggle broke out when he asked one of the staff members posing with him for a picture, “Kaun bola who Bombay jaa raha hai” and to the staff member’s prompt reply said, “Bahut Galti kar raha hai bhai” with a ‘been there, done that’ grin.
Without much ado, he proceeded towards us to finish the interview, which he wanted to be done with before the show. He had said to me before the interview started, “lets finish it in ten minutes.” He did not. He finished it in Nine.
Below are the excerpts:
EO: What do you love most about performing on home ground?
Lucky: “It’s the music basically and I love it more when there’s an interaction between the music and the audience. While It’s great performing in Bangalore because it is my home, I still love performing everywhere I possibly can so that the music can spread.”
EO: What influences your song compositions and the kind of playback tracks you choose to lend your voice to?
Lucky: “Playback tracks are just chance tracks, I don’t really go after them. When there is a track I have been approached for, I assess it first to see if I can sing it in the first place. Sometimes I really cannot sing a track because it’s too technical for me so I turn those down. As far as my own compositions are concerned, I generally tend to keep it to what I understand about life. What I write is my take on life and my understanding of it.”
EO: You’ve been in the industry for many years. In your opinion, what are the good changes the music industry has seen in this time?
Lucky: “I see a lot of talent pushing forward to create music and rooting for openness which is great. Also, now, people are more vocal and expressive and talk about things that weren’t openly talked about before my time. Technology, too has played a huge role in creating a music revolution of sorts. Cellphones came into India about 15 years back, which for us musicians was something crazy we were all a part of and its technology that helps people stay in touch, share music and connect making life a lot easier now than in our time.”
EO: With the launch of your album online and its availability on the internet for all users, do you thing platforms like facebook and twitter help you reach out to your fans and increase your fan base?
Lucky: “Frankly speaking, the music is anyways out there, its available online and users are welcome to download it if they wish to and that is all I want, for music to be accessible to everybody as freely as it was to me while I was composing it. As far as the use of social media is concerned, sometimes I feel if it is used just as a fan site, then it really doesn’t affect your day to day perspective but if you keep adding circles and friends, then people connect and music spreads. It has its pros and cons which is why, I personally am on facebook when I want to be and off it when I please.”
EO: Your take on the music scene in Bangalore
Lucky: “I have off late been introspective, ideating music so I havn’t followed most of the concerts or gigs in Bangalore but there are artistes few and far in between that I listen to and are really pleasing to the ears, only due to the quality in expression. There is truth in a lot of music that I follow and that makes me glad.”
EO: Do you have any favourite underground bands?
Lucky: “I havn’t been following up on the underground music scene but I’m sure there is a huge movement. I’ve unfortunately also heard some songs from bands which are, well, funny. One was called milao milao. I think, in a way, Underground music expresses things that normally wouldn’t come to the fore, or you wouldn’t sing in front of children which is why they are revolutionary and big in their own way. Now that you’ve mentioned it, I will look up some of these artistes.”
EO: There are lots of upcoming young singers in Bollywood and are making headlines. Do you think the freshness they bring is a threat to the older lot of singers?
Lucky: “Are there that many? I really don’t know because I’m not threatened by any of them and I hope I’m not threatening anybody either. I’m not part of any game, I’m only part of my own journey. I’m just here to do my own thing and create my own music and I care two hoots about any game being played and I work in isolation. While I like to meet my friends and socialize, I work by deriving from my own space and continue to do what I love doing irrespective of who or how many more artistes there are.”
EO: If it were upto you to revive pop music and independent albums, how would you go about it?
Lucky: “I wouldn’t try to change anything. Whatever pop music is there, will be there, the only thing that needs to be changed is often oneself and that’s what I like to keep doing and how I go about it.”
EO: A note on your upcoming projects
Lucky: “Right now, I have interests in agriculture and bioidenticals and apart from these, I always find time for music and art but I keep doing other things on the side as well.”
EO: Three things most people do not know about you.
Lucky: “So the thing is, I can be quite difficult sometimes. It might also seem very selfish but I like my isolation. Also, I have lots of children who’re settled in my heart and around me.”
EO: A note/dedication to bangalore’s music lovers.
Lucky: I’ll dedicate a song from my new album, Raasta Man called kuch to paana hai”
When I grow up, I want to be a Rockstar. Back in the day, Mum would smile at the enthusiasm and say, great but you need to finish your homework first. Thus, began the little child’s endless battle with algebra while dreams of becoming a Rockstar ended with a drum roll.
Rockstars were stereotyped as rebellious freaks and often revered but with the youth of our times, creative and ‘out of the book’ professions are on a dynamic rise. Rockstars have gone from being revered to respected, loved and worshipped.
We caught up with one such Rockstar, who had all the support from his family and was never forced into academics, instead his student life supported and gave platform to his dreams.
Sanam Puri, lead singer of the band, SQS and Samar Sanam, talks to us about his bands and the journey. The band, whose name was derived during a Times competition to hunt for the next ‘supastar’ band, stands for Samar, Quesh and Sanam, the first three members of the band. Later, the band included their talented fourth member, Venky for the finale of the competition. Now SQS consists of Samar Puri (Guitarist and lyricist), Sanam Puri (Lead vocalist), Keshav Dhanraj a.k.a Quesh (Drummer), Venkat Subramaniyam a.ka. venky (bassist and vocalist) and their latest addition, Rohan Abraham (DJ and percussionist).
The band was in the city recently to pay a tribute to Grammy winners over the years and while there was a lot to say in the interview, below are a few excerpts:
Q1. You earlier said you didn’t face any kind of contempt or barrier from your family and they always supported yours and your brother’s career choice. Tell us how they helped in the process and your journey until now.
Sanam: “My parents and teachers always supported us so I never really had to convince them about this. My mother, in fact, put Samar (brother) and me in Hindustani classical music when we were really young. Samar always had a keen interest in it, but I didn’t and was often forced by my mother to go for the classes. We gradually moved into western music where Samar picked up the guitar and once we moved back to India, our school, St. columba’s encouraged us since they were actively present in the music scene”.
“It’s only when I started winning competitions (and failing exams, he says meekly) that I actually started liking music. Winning made me happy and that made me want to pursue music since I didn’t want to study anyways”. In fact, Sanam even got admission in Kirori Mal College, Delhi because he was into music and the college has the best music society. “Fortunately I dropped out”, he grins, “within 6 months because opportunities outside of college started picking up, I joined the band Bandish, and started travelling a lot on tours”.
Q2. Which are the most memorable moments from your performances? For reasons good and bad.
Sanam: “I actually have two performances that I remember really, really well. I was doing my second show with Bandish in Chennai at Vellore Institute of Technology and there were around 12000 people in the audience and initially that freaked me out. While singing the song Saiyyan though, I got excited and in an adrenaline rush, I jumped off the stage. Now the stage was really high and when I tried getting back on stage, I couldn’t. I kept wondering how I’m supposed to get back on stage since there was no ramp or staircase leading up to it. To buy time, I ran between the crowds and sang for a while but when I made my second attempt to pull myself up; my zip got caught on a nail at the edge of the stage. I was pretty much left dangling there and I picked up the mic and continued singing. Someone had to come, get the nail out and pull me up. It sure wasn’t my intention to have everyone in the audience in split is”.
“The second show I remember was at Allahabad and during our first song it iself, I started running around on stage. I slipped because of the humidity and a damp plastic covering the stage, fell down and hit my chin on the keyboard”. With these bloopers, maybe he should stop running around or jumping on and off stages to which he promptly replied, “I can’t usually help it if there is so much of excitement and a huge crowds, I felt the pressure to perform well”.
Q3. Tell us about the balance between both bands, SQS and Samar Sanam.
Sanam: “Samar Sanam was always there. Later SQS started as a project for the Times competition but Samar and I had a lot of songs that we hadn’t released. SaReGaMa approached us and asked us to compose a few more songs like Paa hi liya, which we finished within a day and recorded it. We also used some previous compositions like Badalne Ke Intezaar mein in the Samar Sanam album. So while we are SQS, we are also Samar Sanam. We don’t neglect one band for the other and it is a good balance”.
Q 4. With Bangalore being a music capital and hosting various international artists, do you think there are more opportunities arising here for bands since it has been placed on the music map?
Sanam: “More international bands performing in Bangalore, while it is great, will not make a difference to the opportunities. The reason being that people like or listen to Indian bands for the Hindi music or the traditional Indian melodies. International bands perform here because the crowd is more in tune with western music than in any other city in India. The same crowd will not be attracted by a hindi band, which we are. All over the world, people know India for their hindi music, more than English and they will buy music which is original of the country because they have enough and more English artistes everywhere else. A. R Rahman, Euphoria and many others have found a way around this and relate to international audiences by collaborating and maintaining an Indian touch by way of hindi lyrics, instruments and the like”.
Q5. While performing in other cities, what do you do before or after gigs?
Sanam: “Well before a gig, we spend most of our time warming up, the band is very serious about warm ups and sound checks but we do have our fun on the sides as well. I have become habituated and before every gig I get nervous and tell the band that my throat is sore and I cannot sing.
After gigs, we prefer going home and sleeping but in Bangalore we have a lot of friends so we always end up at some after party. In Mumbai, we finish our performance and go home”.
Q6. The launch of both your albums, SQS and Samar Sanam, has placed you in a celebrity status of sorts. Have you felt the recognition from crazy fans rushing in for autographs yet?
Sanam: “I don’t believe in being a celebrity since there is no human touch to it, but yes, after shows we do have people from the audience coming in for autographs. Yeah that happens, I do not know why, but it happens every time” he says like it’s the most natural thing. “People in Bangalore though are quite undeterred because they like to chill, sit and watch a performance. They’re more of the salsa, jive and blues audience, more contained in what they do. In north India though, it is very entertaining for us, watching from the stage because everyone gets up and starts dancing. It is fun to watch them, it gets us kicked more and there is a transfer of energy each time”.
Q7. What is the thought process behind your compositions?
Sanam: “ There is always a long thought process behind a song with the exception of ‘On n On’ from Samar Sanam which we had to compose since we needed one commercial song for the album as well.
With the rest of the songs, there is always a communication about something we would like to say, or something we have experienced. Samar and I always discuss how things and situations need to change so as an example, Badalne ke intezaar mein Is about bringing about a feeling of change among the people and the world”.
Q 8. Which is your personal favorite song from both the albums and what is it about?
Sanam:” Our favourite songs would be teri aankhon se (from SQS) and Titli from Samar Sanam”.
“Teri aankhon Se is about this girl with the most captivating eyes. It is based on an experience”.
Titli was composed initially with only the melody and later Samar created lyrics for it. Titli is about female foeticide and neglecting the girl child. It is about this girl who is all alone because she has been left alone, yet she is not lonely and is still trying to move on with life by being happy”.
Q9. Out of all your gigs and interactions, which has by far had the best audience and why.
Sanam: “The best gig so far has been VJTI College in Mumbai and it was our first SQS gig. The crowd was unbelievable and they had this crazy energy. The best part was they knew some of our songs.
Another show that Samar and I had gone for, as judges will always be remembered because the last contestant sang hawa hawa from our album for us. It is always overwhelming when others know and sing your songs, it’s the most heartfelt reality”.
Q10. In the next ten years, where do you hope to be and what do you hope to achieve through your work?
Sanam: “SQS will always exist, it is permanent. All of us enjoy performing together; we are a completely in sync and get along beautifully. I personally will be singing for Bollywood, but as part of a band, we see ourselves bringing about a desire for change and hope to make the world a better place through our songs”.
Q 11. Getting tattoos of a band, fainting or standing hours on end with placards is what fans usually do for their favourite bands. Tell us about one such fan.
Sanam: “There is this girl from U.K , she is 15 years of age and she is one of our biggest fans. She got one of my pictures from my profile and edited it to make it look like I was straight out of the movie avatar. Earlier, we did not know her but we met her last year when she came down to Mumbai for the first time and now we are friends. Even when we met, she made a few sketches for us to choose from so she by far is our best fan”.
Q12. A dedication, any song, for the eight octaves users, many of whom will be reading about your band for the first time.
Sanam: “Eyes wide open by gotye, only for the lyrics. Take a listen.
From our album, Badalne ke intezaar mein, dedicated to everyone corrupt, everyone ill behaved and everything that needs to be changed”.
