With every year passing by, we are witnessing more and more colleges going through with evolving their college cultural fests. Earlier with performances by local artists, they turned to nationally acclaimed artists for gracing their fests, only for them to grow and have international artists rocking the pro shows. The trend started with IITs and has now being adapted by colleges across the country.
Dhanak, the annual cultural festival of Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) has been gaining more and more public attention, as it continues to grow every year. Entering its fifth edition, the festival is set to attract large participation from colleges all across India.
The ‘Pronite’ at the festival, has been a huge success in the previous editions with rock bands Faridkot (2010), Kaash (2011) and Indian metal heavy-weight Demonic Resurrection (2012) performing in the previous editions. This year the event is set to be even bigger with Danish metal quartet Cold Night For Alligators set to rock Trivandrum.
For the last few years Cold Night For Alligators have been making a name for themselves and catching the attention of fans with their energetic and positive live show. The band has played all over Denmark as well as in the UK, Belgium and Norway, always trying to give the audience the greatest experience possible. Although not looking like the stereotypical long haired, leather wearing metal band, make no mistake Cold Night for Alligators is all about heavy. Their music is aggressive, highly technical, melodic and has plenty of groove.
Although being associated with techcore/djent and certainly rivaling the best of what that scene has to offer, these terms alone do not do the band justice. With their combination of progressive death metal, atmospheric ambient and brutal technical hardcore they bring something completely unique to the scene. This eclectic approach is enjoyable to those who appreciate taking the time to delve into technical detail with music of a very high, as well as those who enjoy to simply bang their heads at metal shows. Either way, Cold Night For Alligators deliver the goods with the down tuned assault of an 8-string guitar and brutal vocals ranging from guttural growls to high pitch screams.
The ‘Pronite’ will take place on 22nd September 2013, at IIST campus. For further details log on to www.dhanak.co.in
All roads lead to Laxmi Lawns, Magarpatta, as the Pune leg of the NH7 Weekender Festival series kicked-off on the 18th of October,2013. Not belonging to Pune, which was the case with 80 percent of the people who attended the Pune NH7 Weekender, these were the things that I was expecting will happen when I reach Pune for the festival:
– Getting ripped off by an auto guy – Check.
– Landing up at a random ‘Friend’s Friend’s Friend’s place’ to spend the night – Check.
– Having an awesome 1st day – Check.
Yes, NH7 Weekender lives up to its expectations of being one of the best music festivals in India. Top notch organisation, beautiful sets and even more beautiful people (ok let’s put that on the top of the list J ).
The 1st day of the festival featured big names like Shankar Tucker, Blackstratblues and IndianOcean on the Dewarists stage with Reggae Rajahs and Ankur Tewari headlining the Breezer Dub Station and the MTS others stage respectively. The other stages remained closed for the 1st day. What are these stages, you ask?
Well these are just names given to each stage so that the sponsors remain happy 😉 They also helped in segregating the musicians as per their genres but that’s just a side reason J
The artists on my list for the day were: Siddharth Basrur, Shankar Tucker, Blackstratblues, Ankur Tewary & Indian Ocean (I am not a big electronic music fan as you might have guessed)
Sadly the Pune traffic and the sea of crowd wanting to park their cars and to collect their tickets did not allow me to attend the whole of Siddharth Basrur’s gig (who btw is awesome. Check out one of his albums here) but I was happy that I was attending my first Shankar Tucker concert.
Shankar’s set was good, but nowhere was it close to what I had expected. I direct my disappointment towards his sound engineer who turned a possibly brilliant set into a mediocre one. Having said that, it did get better later on as the set progressed with Shankar finishing his set with a very catchy garba song. Tucker’s stage presence and his pleasant smile was enough for the crowd to remember his brilliantly recorded videos and groove to whatever they could get from the sound.
A little disappointed with the sound but stoked to have seen Shankar Tucker live and getting to talk to him about his new album, which is expected to release starting of next year, I waited for my second most awaited gig of the day, Blackstratblues and they surely did not disappoint.
As soon as Warren, the brainchild behind Blackstrablues, hit the first note on his beautiful black strat, the journey began of a guy painting the most amazing mental pictures in the crowd’s minds and taking them on a melodious yet heavy, instrumental trip. His set had a good mix of new material like Folkish Three and Anandamide (featuring Karsh Kale on drums) which will be featured on his new album The Universe Has a Strange Sense of Humour that he is working on currently and old material like Anuva’s Sky and Ode to a Sunny Day which have now become crowd favourites. The set also had its share of funny moments when a cricket decided to perch right on drummer Jai Row Kavi’s chest while he blissfully blazed away on the drums, luckily the crew members where there to help him out while he shouted ‘Oh Fuck! Oh Fuck’ without actually missing ‘a fuckin’ beat in the whole process J All in all, Blackstratblues delivered the perfect set possible leaving the crowd shouting for more.
It was time for Indian Ocean next, while part of the crowd waited for the giants of the Indian Indie music scene to arrive on stage I shifted to the MTS other stage to watch the charismatic Ankur Tewari perform an acoustic set. The set had all the crowd favourites from ‘Mohabbat Zindabad’ to ‘Sabse Peeche Hum Khade’. In my opinion the guy is an awesome entertainer and knows how to get the freaking crowd going.
As he finished his high energy set, all hell was about to break loose when the mighty Indian Ocean decided to arrive on stage. Honestly, I was sceptical of Indians Ocean’s performance today because of a change in lead guitarist, with Nikhil Roa coming in place of their founding member Sushmit Sen who left Indian Ocean earlier this year to concentrate on his solo project The Sushmit Sen Chronicles. But, boy! Was I wrong!!! They were on a mission, they had a new sense of energy in them which clearly showed when they pulled off a song they have hardly played before, After the War. They didn’t stop there but went on to play a bunch of other very old ones which they never used to perform live. Obviously, their set could not have ended without the usual ‘Bandeh’, ‘Maa Reva’ & ‘Kandisa’ with Maa Reva obviously meaning drummer Amit Kilam jamming with the Pune crowd on the Khamakh. Now, I have seen a lot of Indian Ocean performances over the years all over India where the crowd, when asked to clap to a certain rhythm, claps on any random beat and any random tempo, but this was the first crowd which hit me with its rhythm sense. Everyone was so damn in-sync with the beat. The gig ended with Vijay Nair, Founder OML, announcing the closure of the bars, to the utter dismay of the crowd.
All in all, it was a brilliant day with some very good music.
Plan for the next day: Come early and check out the flea market and the other stages as well.
Day 2:
Day 1 was brilliant with great music all around; day 2 was supposed to be my day to experiment, chill out with a few drinks and explore the festival arena with just The Midival Punditz & The Raghu Dixit Projecton my must-see list. Having spent the night at a ‘Friend’s Friend’s Friend’s’ place as mentioned in my previous article, I set out for day 2 ready to explore. Top priority: check out the Red Bull Tour bus. What a beauty that bus is! The bus / stage, parked right opposite the Bacardi Arena, opened with a band from Pune called A Mutual Question performing a bunch of post rock / semi psychedelic songs to a receptive crowd of Pune-kars happy to see one of their own perform. This band, probably playing their first festival ever, just blew my mind off with their sound. The synth, the guitars, the bass – everything sounded so freaking good, I really wish they perform more in the coming years. Soon after their set, the Dewarists stage, which is probably half a Kilometer from the Bacardi Arena (Now you know why I say NH7 Weekender makes you lose weight ;)) was having Maati Baani perform next. Maati Baani is a Hindustani Classical / folk fusion / world music project spear headed by the wonderful and gifted Hindustani Classical vocalist Nirali Kartik and ably backed by her husband Kartik Shah on guitars and a lot of other very talented musicians on drums, saxophone, violin, flute etc. I was aware they are quite good, having seen a few of Nirali’s videos on Youtube, but I didn’t know they were so incredible. With each song, the set just got better and the whole crowd swayed with whatever Maati Baani had to offer. The set included a bunch of Rajasthani folk songs fused with funky guitars and very groovy bass lines, and also a very peppy French song fused with Hindustani classical vocals. Luckily I got a chance to speak to Nirali after the set got over and I tell you, she is the sweetest person on earth, entertaining everybody with their ridiculous / thoughtful questions and also posing with everyone who asked for a pic. I am sure you guys must have seen the ‘happiness is’ posts floating around, here’s one more – Happiness is to meet a wonderfully humble artist after a brilliant gig J It was now time for some Metchul Vaani from one of India’s top metal bands, Scribe. Now, I am not a huge metalhead, in fact I am the first one to look for the exit as soon as the growling starts but when it comes to Scribe it’s just not about the growling or the headbanging it’s the complete experience that I like. So, I made my way back to the Bacardi Arena (Yes, Yes the 5 Km or so walk) to experience Scribe. One song into the set and a moshpit starts, two songs in – vocalist Vishwesh orders for a wall of death, three songs in – a circle of death, need I say more! (Need to know what they are Youtube Scribe – wall of death) Amidst all this, the band got ticked off by some guy ‘wearing an AC/DC T-Shirt’ for which Mr. Vishwesh had some very nice things to say. I’ll try and transcript it for you ‘maa @#&*)$& behen %&&((@ beti %*(($$* g@#$%^&’ and it goes on. I couldn’t meet Vishwesh after the gig else you would have known the reason behind those sweet words. There’s one more thing that happened during the set – AN ALL-GIRLS MOSHPIT. NO COMMENTS I SAY 😉 With my head still spinning because of all the headbanging (and probably because of the drinking), I relaxed to the soothing sound of British folk rockers Slow Club. I also got some time to check out the flea market and the NH7 merchandise shop. Basically, I was just loosening up for the madness in store. I also got some time to watch Skindred killing it at the Bacardi Arena but had to run back to catch the Indian Electronica act The Midival Punditz. The Midival Punditz delivered a near perfect set playing mostly material from their new album slated to come out next year and also some of their old classics. The highlight of their set were the guest artists who were called onto the stage to perform with them from Papon in Naina Lagey re to Karsh Kale and Raghu Dixit in the Train Song to their usual set finisher the classic Bhangra Fever with Karsh Kale on drums.
Talking about Raghu Dixit, he and his brilliant band The Raghu Dixit Project were slated next. Well, this was probably my 12th or 13th RDP concert and let me tell you this; given a chance I can still watch them each and every day for probably a whole year and not get bored. That’s how unique each gig of theirs is. This night was no different with Mr. Raghu Dixit doing what he does best; rock the freaking hell out of the crowd. The new album ‘Jag Changa’ which, as bassist Gaurav Vaz rightly pointed out, has been announced in all the previous NH7s but they never really got the time to release it. The album is finally going to release next month and so it made most sense to play most songs from the album. But, as we all know the crowd is never going to leave Raghu Dixit till he sings his most popular song which shot him to fame, Hey Bhagwaan. What was interesting is that The Raghu Dixit Project for the 1st time in any festival was NOTshort of time and so the crowd’s request to play Ambar was also taken gracefully. The set finished with RDPs regular set finisher Mysore se Ayi after which Vijay Nair came on stage to announce a secret acoustic gig by Ankur Tewary and Nischay Parekh. Well if there’s a secret gig I have to attend that so I did and it was a lot of fun singing along to Ankur’s songs again. This set also featured this very non veg song call Naman Saraiya. Listen it for yourself. This ended another awesome day at NH7 Weekender Pune.
Plan for the next day: At least visit the EDM stages once!
It’s not every day that one gets to listen to a jazz album produced in India, so I was pleasantly surprised to get my hands on Nico which is Drift the Trio’s debut album. The trio consists of Reuben Narain on drums, Pranai Gurung on guitars and Sahil Warsi on Double bass. The thing that is most evident when you start listening to the album is the immense skill that each member has of playing jazz music, thus exhibiting their own musical experiences, be it the groovy bass lines played on a double bass, the intricate jazz drumming or the melodic guitaring. The simplicity in the sound and melody is one of the most attractive things about the album. The sound is so simple and well mixed that it makes it very easy for the listener to directly connect to the musicians playing. The only change in this characteristic sound is towards the end of the song called Envelope where the song almost gets pulled from Jazz into Psychedelia, but the melody of the song itself is so simple that the integrity of the album remains intact.
Another thing that I noticed about the album was the way it progresses with each song and takes the listener on an emotional trip inducing different kinds of feelings in him. While the first half of the album makes the listener experience mixed feelings, from a sense of mystery to a sense of sadness and includes the dark yet catchy Tune Tarantino, The second half of the album is mostly filled with happier and groovier melodies. Ten One and Not So Blue are songs you can instantly connect to and will get you grooving in no time. Elysian Fields, on the other hand, is one song that can make you feel so uneasy that in spite of not wanting to hear it again because of that uneasiness, you still press the re-play button. The album opener Quantime sets the mood for the rest of the album with an uneasy groove and an intricate jazz melody. The only downside to the song is the slightly extra stretched drum sequence in the beginning of the song, but you soon forget that once the melody kicks in. With instrumental songs you tend to connect the name of the songs to the kind of feelings they evoke in you when you hear those songs, to see if they match. The album definitely wins in this department as a lot of the songs are quite aptly named. Be it Tune Tarantino or my favourite song of the album, Feather’s Flight. Right from the 1st note to the 1st chord change to the time when the rhythm kicks in, you can totally visualise the flight of a feather floating in the light and smooth evening wind.
In a nut shell, the perfect album to listen to on a relaxed Sunday morning with a cup of coffee in your hand and a good pair of headphones over your ears.
S7 season has begun in earnest and the opening parties are curated for your Sunburn experience all over again. We are absolutely stoked to bring you the uber cool, globally renowned, much loved KASKADE that will start the mayhem and musical madness, with his first ever tour of India. Lock and load your dates for the- 23rd, 24th and 25th at Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai respectively. So when we get excited to present the giants of dance music, we are ridiculously awesomely happy to give you another must attend tour that features-Kaskade.
America’s #1 DJ in India
Ryan Raddon; popularly known as KASKADE is on his debut India tour as part of the Sunburn season opening parties. He’s been voted America’s No. 1 Dj by Dj Times & Pioneer Dj, reason enough to feel uplifted by his soulful, mind-numbing bass lines that throw the best of Electronic and Disco grooves right at ya. He holds twin residencies at two of the plushest clubs in Las Vegas- Encore Beach Club & Marquee. He features at some of the best festivals and clubs around the world. Kaskade brings you an unique experience with his Live show with his jaw dropping performances in front of gigantic LED Screens that show cases customized visuals synced perfectly to his music, while a complete awe-inspiring Lights show catches the audience in a spell binding juggernaut.
Get ready for Kaskade’s unique sound.
More-over, Kaskade’s talent encompasses the entire musical spectrum as he is a song writer/DJ/Producer/Vocalist. He has lent his own vocals to his brand new track “Atmosphere”. The new album “Atmosphere” releases on 10th September, in a special show-case gig.
Unique intimate experience at Pangaea
We introduce one of the most swankiest hot-spots in Delhi the spanking fresh Pangaea- that’ll be host to your KASKADE show in an intimate setting, pushing your night time celebrations to an exclusive high. The new venue is all set to host the opening season party in it’ss warm and cutting edge fold.
SunburnS7 – Redefining your dance music experience
The Sunburn experience gets an all time boost, as the aftermath of the crackling 6th season has still not diminished, and the magical hours of the 7th season come closer and direct near you. Always keeping to it’s true nature.
Special setup at Turf Club Hangar & Ezone Club
The Mumbai and Bangalore gigs will be cozied up with air-conditioned tents for a comfortable gathering and party hour. At once soothing and spacious. As always we thought of you first. Nothing will dampen your party spirits, no not even the rains. As we are outfitting the two outdoor venues in Bangalore and Mumbai with spacey tents that carry all one needs for the Kaskade show extravaganza. Sunburn Season 7 is only that much bigger and better.
We have put together all this for a glorious time, stunning and compelling. Our welcome present to all you loyal and most loved fans. Hours and hours of world class dance music now and forever!!
Originating from London, the DJ Duo was formed in 2005 and thus began the journey for them in the English electronic music scene. James Ford and Jas Shaw rose to fame with singles like “The Mighty Atom / Boatrace / Upside Down” on I’m a Cliché and “The Count”. The Remix/production kings share more about themselves, their music , their future plans with Eight Octaves.
Eight Octaves: You guys have always held a good record for being the awesome DJ Duo. On the contrary, how has it been different in comparison to your early four-piece band?
SMD: The difference is we’re not playing instruments… it’s a lot easier to DJ than to play live, less stuff to carry – the same is true for our current electronic live show too though. But they’re just different sorts of gigs, some elements better, some elements worse. You can’t really compare them objectively.
Eight Octaves: How was the response for ‘A form of change’? You had a lot of single releases last year including the hit ‘Seraphim’! What are the plans for this year?
SMD: Pretty decent response.. it was really just collecting the remainder of the tracks for the album session. We also released a live album earlier this year you know… and collaboration with Bicep. We’re releasing another single shortly, and have some more collaboration in the works.
Eight Octaves: How much are you able to relate with the set of audience while performing? Which was one of your best experiences?
SMD: Too many good shows to recount really… we really enjoyed playing in London recently, as we got the chance to play a long 4 hour set. We try and relate to the audience as much as possible..
Eight Octaves: How would you describe the evolution you see in your music, keeping in mind your first release and what you are currently working on ?
SMD: Our music has definitely got deeper, less noisy, and we hope a little more subtle. We’ve stripped things back, back to basics with the 808 and synths.
Eight Octaves: Well, according to some people we know, ‘Remix’ is nothing but just bringing out a different version of a hit song and basking in someone’s glory and eventually they are termed bad musicians who lack creativity. Do people approach you with projects, or is it the other way around?
SMD: Remixes can be very creative, it really depends on the artist. We usually get approached by artists asking us to remix them.
Eight Octaves: When it comes to DJing, how do you usually manage your music style?
SMD: If we have long sets, we tend to play weirder, stranger music to warm up, before getting towards the more dance floor techno.
Eight Octaves: If you had to pick between ‘The Mighty Atom’ (2004), Run (2008) and Seraphim (2012), which is your personal favourite and why? Can you share with us the ‘making’ of the same?
SMD: Probably Serpahim, but maybe only because it’s closer in time! It was fun finding that vocal (from Cilla Black) and using it to build the track around. The making of it was we stuck some drums and synth parts together around the vocal really!
Eight Octaves: What do you advice for young musicians? Some ‘On stage’ tips?
SMD: For electronic musicians, we always say – get one piece of gear and learn to use it really well. Onstage it’s hard to give tips for… do what you love, and be sincere.
Having won awards for individual musicianship as well as overall contribution to the Indian rock,the awesome foursome – the TAAQ- having completed tours at US, UK, West Asia, China and South East Asia are now all set to ‘Rock & Roll’ yet again this year as they will be heading to the Edinburgh Fringe this August accounting it to be their biggest international tour since their inception. Based out of Bangalore, Thermal And A Quarter will showcase a 26-gig stint at the tour and more specifically are concentrating on making sure to change the way Indian music is perceived globally; ‘Indian music is not just Bollywood music’. TAAQ is also working on three various facets for this fest, with ‘no popular songs’ being a part of the agenda. The band in their musical journey has achieved a lot of laurels; including an opening performance for Guns N’ Roses at their first-ever gig in India, performing along with big bands like Deep Purple, JethroTull, Megadeth, Machine Head and Greg Howe on various tours. All of us are aware of ‘Live TAAQ’ performances and their expertise in delivering deep, intriguing musical experience. With an experience of over 16 yrs in this field, TAAQ’s performance at Edinburgh is one we all do not want to miss for sure.
The Indo Gypsies, a 6 piece Contemporary Fusion/ Folk/ World Music band from Mumbai was formed in October 2011.Winning the India Fest Channel [V] Launch Pad – 2013; judged and awarded by stalwarts like Colin D’Cruz, Raghu Dixit and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is their recent feather on the cap for the band.The band evolved with an idea of fusing different genres. Amrutha Ananth of Eight Octaves had a chat with the band.
Eight Octaves : ‘Indo Gypsies’ – your name does sound unique. Does the ‘gypsy’ stand for some hidden tribal element? How would you define your kind of music? Indo Gypsies: Well, gypsies are renowned as travellers, having no location in particular, and not bound to any specific place. Similarly, we are not restricted to any particular genre, and love to play whatever fits the theme of the song. And “Indo” is just to indicate our Indian heritage. Our music would primarily be categorised as Folk/Fusion and World Music.
Eight Octaves : How much do you think a band member’s musical background influences the outcome of the ‘sound’ of the band? Indo Gypsies: In our band, all the members are from various musical backgrounds. And it really helps to create versatile compositions, with a blend of music from various parts of the world, ranging from Hindustani Classical, to Latin, Spanish, Arabic, Country Western and so on. We think every member’s output, based on their musical diversity really helps bring out an unique and non-monotonous sound to the band.
Eight Octaves : You guys have performed at many places. Which concert as a band do you consider your best and any memories that you could share with us? Indo Gypsies: No doubt in our minds at all. It had to be our opening act for the Legendary band Indian Ocean at the prestigious Shanmukhananda Hall, Mumbai. For the same, we were awarded “Tata Docomo Superstars of The Year”. It was our honour to have our performance appreciated by Indian Ocean. At the end, Susmit Sen told us “Indo Gypsies is a band to look out for.” It is a day we will never forget.
Eight Octaves : In a scale of ten, where would you place lyrics, sound of the band as a whole? What do you think makes the band a successful one? Indo Gypsies: We really don’t think that music can be rated. It is just an expression of our thoughts, and how listeners interpret them. The music itself tells the idea behind the song. The lyrics if present, further help convey the message of the song. All-in-all, it is just a band’s determination to never give up, and the constant process of bettering themselves that makes it successful.
Eight Octaves : How would you like to describe the change in the scenario according to the ‘liking’ of the audience? How do you think the way they receive music has changed? Indo Gypsies: It is well-known that in India, Bollywood music has always been on the top. However, nowadays, the tide of listeners is shifting to Independent music as well. People are heading out for concerts and music festivals. They are seeming to love listening musicians play live. The band scene is really growing, as there are a number of platforms for the bands to play, as well as for the listeners to enjoy.
Eight Octaves : What plans do you hold for this year? New experiments? Indo Gypsies: We are very happy to have a great start this year, winning IndiaFest Channel V LaunchPad judged and awarded by Raghu Dixit, Colin D’Cruz and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. We hope to play at a lot bigger music festivals this year, and also to compose more original tracks. We are working on adding various elements and exotic instruments to our next tracks, to bring our listeners a fresh and unique sound.
Eight Octaves : If you could name a musician who you think has made immense contribution to the music field, who would it be and why? Indo Gypsies: Well, there are too many legends who have contributed a lot to music. But as far as the Indian band scene is considered, if we had to pick just one, we believe Indian Ocean are its pioneers, and still at its forefront. They started at a time when the band scene in India was virtually non-existent, and really made it big globally. Their story is one which still inspires many new upcoming bands to rise up.
Eight Octaves : Do you have a “favourite song” you have ever written as a band? If yes, why? Indo Gypsies: We love all our compositions, as they are a part of us. But again, if we had to pick a favourite, it would be “Soldier’s Love”. This track tells the story of a soldier and his wife, as a conversation through letters. We believe the lyrics of the song are simple and touching, and the folkish tune gives the exact feel that we wanted. We are really glad this song made it to the 10 top-selling singles on O.K.Listen, and was featured in the compilation album “Best of OK Listen Vol. 1”, including tracks by Indian Ocean, The Raghu Dixit Project, Agam etc. Do have a listen!
It was an amazing weekend night filled with Music and Harley Bikes, and it got more amazing for Grey Shack who emerged winners of the “HARLEY ROCK RIDERS” contest held in Mumbai on the 12th October 2013.
Grey Shack who never fail to rock and roll the crowd are all set to head to Austria to play at the European Bike Week, 2014. The night was challenging as ‘Filharmonix’ and ‘Third Eye Destruction’ had a tough fight to contest for the ‘Harley Band of the Year’ along with Grey Shack! All the music lovers were ecstatic having witnessed some amazing music by Shaa’ir + Func, Junkyard Groove and Overhung. What else can we expect out of a night filled with kickass music and Harley Bikes 😀
For those who didn’t know, Grey Shack is a pretty new entrant in the music scene. Formed in 2007, their music is an assorted mix of Rock N’ Roll, Grunge, Funk and Blues! So basically, the versatile, Chennai-bees never conform to a particular genre and that by itself , we think sets them apart. Highly influenced by bands like AC/DC, Jet, RHCP, Thermal and a Quarter, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, the band always surprise their audience. As we all know, ‘To the winner go the spoils’. Harley Davidson will sure be riding with the band to Europe 😉 Eight Octaves congratulates Grey Shack for this amazing victory.
Rockstars and Divas are the modern day role models of the youth of the country. They become more than music they play, they become symbols of certain lifestyles, movements and missionaries of certain school of thought. Both are either made or arrive on the mainstage by the propulsion of their own work. These branches though convergent source from very different roots. One being a formal institutional route and another, a more underground and informal one. These paths also intertwine, with underground musicians joining major record labels and established artists opening labels of their own.
Indian Music has consisted of members of both paths working together since ancient times. Though historically, the formal way of reaching stardom has propelled more artists into stardom than the informal ones, in the recent past it has usually been a case of mixing of both in varying levels. Generation of talent from certain organisations has made people associate them to beacons of quality music.
Today the scenario is more diversified, conglomerated and segmented than even before. One school of thought is of the opinion that this is a natural evolution towards the development of music. Hence there are several spheres of music co-existing simultaneously today. Music performances today have gone beyond a purely sonic treat. A whole host of supporting activities go into making a Rockstar today. From Marketing agencies\PR activities to Merchandising and World Tours.
These activities, though aim at propelling talent to instant stardom across regional or national boundaries, the funding gone behind such activities has increased their ability to influence which musicians would be promoted and what they should portray increasingly over the past few decades. This has spelled various advantages and disadvantages for the music scene. Such a scenario has made it crucial for musicians to be aware of all these avenues and act accordingly as otherwise it would be someone else making these decisions for them.
Let us consider a band called Agnee which consists of lead guitarist Koko, drummer and percussionist Varun Venkit, bassist Rushad Mistry, drummer Jai Row Kavi and Michael Pereira as rhythm guitarist. Apart from making music and doing events, a major part of the band’s revenue comes from providing support to other activities such as t.v.shows, films, etc. The idea behind catering to such platforms was to showcase their music to a larger and more diverse audience. Recently, the band got the opportunity to contribute a Hindi theme song “Hello Andhero” for the Hollywood movie “The Avengers”, which is releasing on April 27th .
Certain music genres have not yet been able to achieve the popularity and revenue that engulf mainstream artists. Irrespective of whether by choice or not, Rockstars exist here too, just that they form a different strain of the same tree but pioneers and virtuosos in their own regard. They are looked upon and celebrated by their niche audiences. Hence, today a Rockstar can be a family man with two kids or a bald Buddhist monk, there is no limit to what they can be. Infact, it is they (musicians) who define what Rockstars are.
