Metal. Probably one of the most misunderstood and underrated genres of all time. On the other hand, probably the most diversified and secular genre of music to ever exist! Keeping all these debates aside, Metal is that one genre which connects to almost every person; some way or the other. Be it the lyrics, the music or the lifestyle; Metal has been gaining popularity all over the world as a medium of self-expression. From Thrash to Emo; Progressive to Death; Technical to Metalcore; Black to Gore; you name it, Metal has it. Such a wide range of sub-genres has contributed to the sudden rise in the number of listeners of the genre as well as the bands playing them. The same can be seen in the Indian music scene. There has been a significant rise in bands playing this genre, over the past few years (which lead to formation of groups supporting certain sub-genres, who can’t tolerate each other). The entire scene is still growing and is taking shape, hopefully one day it can be at par with international standards.
All through this month, Eight Octaves pays tribute to all the talented musicians of this genre who take that extra step to do something innovative and push their way through the ladder of success. Through Metal Mayhem campaign we will present their lives, struggles and a few secrets with the world. Because, in the end it is music that unites us all.
We, at 8octaves have been covering the music scene in and around India for a while now and in this period we came across alot of talented musicians and their eccentric personalities. These musicians have a history, a background behind their current position in the scene. Many of them have experimented in different styles and with different musicians. Whilst many solo musicians have tried their hand at playing with a band.
Each have had their share of positive and negative experiences making them to resolve to stick to one or other. We were fortunate enough to be told of some of these experiences.
Genre made a massive difference in what setup one played few years back. Today, technology and need for innovation has facilitated guitar & bass players to be producers (Squarepusher) and DJs to be part of bands (Incubus, Linkin Park) as well as allow mashups of various styles. So basically the parameters that restricted one from doing the other are dissolving and hence now it is more a personal choice than an obstacle that would make musicians choose to play in a band or not .
Pros & Cons
Rarely have we heard of Bands that have not been in an internal conflict. Right from the Beatles to the Spice Girls, each has been subject to their portion of internal discrepancies and these are just the famous ones. One can only imagine the number of great bands that might have been if they did not split before making it big. Even with these issues of sharing and adjusting one’s musical ideas and being on the same as the rest of the band, they have it easy on some other parts compared to solo musicians. One of them being making more music. It is difficult for even a dedicated musician to conceptualize, create, record, mix and master an entire album on their own. A musically focused band can provide the right mix of elements that can create the brilliance which individually one can only dream to achieve. Of course there are some who do both but very few have been successful in doing this.
Usually the case has been that as a project becomes more dear to the musician the other ones suffer ( Corey Taylor’s split from Slipknot to pursue Stone Sour more seriously hurt the band Slipknot to quite an extent).
One positive of a band is the osmosis of related tastes creates a sea of inspiration for all members to bask in and take their own quota of experience out of it. In fact, there are number of solo musicians as well who engage in such symphony with other musicians to bring forth something more than what they already have. This at times, does have its flipsides with a lack of co-ordination or non satisfaction of the direction of the symphony for some members of the concerto. It is debatable if bands can present better live performances than solo musicians. Important here also is the point about the acceptance and relevance of acoustic instruments vis a vis computer and electronic devices.
Even the management aspect plays a crucial role here. Producers and Managers have been known to keep bands together for ages. They can be like nannies which stop the band members from cracking each other’s skulls. Today many managers and crew are not aware of this role or only have a professional relationship which does not go beyond the studio or an event.
To make this article more of an open discussion, i would like readers to wherever applicable to answer the below questions
How was your experience in a band?
What is the biggest advantage of playing in a band?
What made you join a band and/or leave a band (if you left one)?
How is playing solo different for u vis a vis playing in a band?
What role and level of importance do managers have in today’s Music industry?
Photography has a long and rich history. Humans, since their existence, always wanted to capture a moment or sceneries. This can be seen in numerous ancient paintings, frescos from the French renaissance era, the stone carved monuments around the world, etc. But the sad thing was, not everyone could paint. Then in the early 1800’s the first successful working camera was invented, and that made life easy for many people. Through the years, as the camera technology evolved people started to get better and better at capturing moments and just like painting, photography became a profession too.
Photography is divided into many sub-genres, some of the most popular are – Candid, Fashion, Landscape, War and Concert. As the title suggests, I’ll be talking about concert photography.
Just like any other genres, concert photography is very exciting. For some, it’s getting to click pictures of their favourite bands up close, while for the fans, it’s cherishing those moments later on in life. No matter how good it sounds, there is an ugly side too. Contradicting popular beliefs, concert photography alone will never pay your bills. Most of the times they are only handed a press pass for the event, that’s the only payment they get. All of this arises as Magazines publish just a couple of photos and web portals don’t have budgets to spend on photos due to lack of advertisement to support such sections. Abhimanyu Ghoshal, one of the leading concert photographers in India says –
“Why not create branded tear-out posters of exciting concert shots or downloadable wallpaper packs (sponsored by a brand)? Win-win situation for everyone, I’d say”
That is a very good concept. Magazines, online portals and fans would really benefit from that.
Apart from this there is a misconception among people that to be a great photographer, you need to have the best camera in town. I’ve seen many invest in expensive DSLR’s myself, but photography like any other form of art comes from within. You have to predict the movement of the band members. Understand the lighting on the stage and adjust your shutter speed accordingly. Basically your equipment has very little work to do, it’s all you and how you capture the moment. You can use a point-and-shoot camera and click better pictures than a DSLR if you have the talent.
When asked about what they expect from the organisers during gigs, here is what the leading pros in the business had to say:
Abhimanyu Ghoshal –
“What I expect from organizers is that they understand that helping us out helps them get better publicity for their events.
So that means a properly sized press/photo pit (the area in between the stage and the audience demarcated for photographers – the wider the better for us to get more interesting shots), a clear communication channel (for accreditation and at the venue – a press desk and single point of contact is ideal) and a proper briefing to be given to all security/stage staff about the arrangements made for photographers.
From my experience, I’d say that DNA Networks handles press the best; they know exactly what we need and are very courteous.”
Sagnik Karmakar –
“Most of the organisers are helpful. I have worked with 90% of the organisers and I have good relationships with most of them, but frankly some are completely messed up.
For me, Infinite Dreams and Overture have been the best in terms of arrangement. I never had any problem with them.”
So the next time you see someone with a camera taking pictures in the pit, just give them some respect and a little space to work, they are humans too. The only reason they may not retaliate a bad behaviour is because for them their job is more important. They have promised some magazine or e-zine to provide them with the best pictures from the event and that is more important to them than arguing with the organisers. Maybe during the argument they might lose that moment which could have made their clicks unique.
Every time I think about the word “Underground” usually all sorts of dark and grim thoughts arise. It’s like one of those goons standing at the end of a dark alley, with some kind of a folding knife in their hand. Well that is somewhat the reality of underground bands too. They are the badasses of the music scene. They want no fame, no recognition and like to stay hidden in the dark alleys. Contradicting popular beliefs, underground bands are underground because they choose to be. Not because they lack talent. I’ve seen some bands, who have the potential to become one of the best in the country, but they choose to be underground because they want no part of that fame. It’s only the love of music that drives them.
Now that being said, the question that arises is – Isn’t it necessary to give them a bit of recognition for their contribution to the scene?
Well to start off with, every band starts as an underground band. They will perform in local pubs and maybe a few college fests to begin with. Then comes the moment of truth, the band has a choice to make – to carry on doing the pub shows and the occasional college fests or, make it big and perform in some national level fests, get recognized, maybe get an album deal and then tour the country. Bands taking the second option will be termed as mainstream thereafter. While the ones who choose to stick to the roots are the underground bands. So the bottom-line is if there were no underground bands, there would be no mainstream bands either, and hence no band good enough to represent the country in the International level (which India lacks at the moment). So it should be obvious to have some sort of an award ceremony to reward the best of the best.
But the thing is underground bands do not want such recognition. All they want is their music to be heard. Hence for them, the crowd turning up for shows is the biggest reward. No trophy or cash certificate can replace that feeling. But the current scene does not look promising at all. People don’t show up in local gigs, they never used to as a matter of fact. And with the rise of International acts coming to the country, the local gigs have dried up; as everyone wants to save money for the big events. This has resulted in cases were the bands are not even paid for the shows, as the turnout is so low that not enough revenue can be generated to pay the venue charges and the bands.
Only a few underground gigs are organised yearly. But of them all only Trendslaughter Fest and Underground Fest in Bangalore have a dedicated fan base in the country. Except these two, one hardly gets to hear about proper underground gigs, blame it on the lack of publicity or just a lack of management personnel to host a proper gig; nonetheless the number of gigs is very low. Though it seems other cities are catching up with Bangalore, most prominent of them all was the Ritual Ascension Fest held in Kolkata this year. It got a very good response for a debut event.
With such a bad turn out in general and lack of gigs, the existence of underground bands is at stake. Even award ceremonies can’t help them. The only thing that can be done is to have frequent mainstream-underground gigs. Most people will oppose this idea, but that is the only way these bands can get some exposure and retain the fan base. Something of similar sorts was seen during the first edition of The Mighty Riff, where Bevar Sea was seen sharing the stage with current crowd favourite – Inner Sanctum. The crowd response was good enough for a local gig. More initiatives like that can be taken to help the scene flourish.
Maybe a nation-wide underground fest may help too, different bands going to play in different cities. That would inspire some new bands to stay underground and not go into the mainstream because, the music scene is like the animal food chain; one link in the chain gets disrupted, the whole chain is broken. Hopefully the scene will improve soon and we’ll have a mainstream-underground harmony.
Talking of popular underground fests, Cyclopean Eye Productions presents Trendslaughter Fest 3rd edition, to be held on 10th of February 2013 in Bangalore. The fest will be headlined by Blood Division from Singapore. So if you are anywhere near Bangalore during that time, make sure you drop in, trust me you won’t be disappointed.
Of all the things a budding musician has to do to become an outstanding artist, sales would be the most surprising part of the list. Nowadays though, the sooner musicians get acquainted with this the better. Making a living from doing something you like is a dream of many but not all are able to achieve this. A career in music holds obstacles that would surpass those faced in much more difficult considered occupations
The cost of a deviant occupation is the risk of financial instability. This is further enhanced by the culture of worship of only the best in the business. So even though 12 bands perform at Independent rock festival very few people remember all of them.There has been a co-existence of a niche segment that appreciate and support quality bands. Even then many bands have to take the support of day jobs to clear their dues.
Lately support for new artists has been growing, either locally, nationally and even internationally. This has enabled musicians to take music up as a full time job. Bands such as Something Relevant apart from releasing their studio produced album have been on a UK tour. Psytrance producer Flipknot has played at festival across Europe.
At the same time, there exist musicians who have been forced to give up their instruments to make a living or support their loved ones as they are not able to sustain themselves with their music.
Major music company executives are of the opinion that apart from making and selling cds, they (record labels) need to engage more in promotional activity. Lately there has been a trend of cross polination, with musicians from different genres getting together to produce music (Korn & Skrillex, David Guetta & Rhianna).
Festivals and weekly performances in cities are essential for artists/bands and will play a deciding role in their sustenance in future. Some artists have been able to achieve sponsorship from equipment manufacturers to endorse their products. Musicians today have accepted the fact that a proactive approach is required, atleast initially to showcase one’s music. Bands such as Agnee have been able to create opportunities for themselves in the television arena. Though it might not be every musician’s preference, it has provided them to get their music to a larger audience as well as keep themselves going financially.
Creativity, riding the trend wave and ability to react spontaneously to the opportunities coming up are ways that can help musicians to form a place in the mind of the audience. Skrillex, a grammy dubstep producer has gained coverage not only for his music but also his hairstyle, him as a representative of the growing dubstep scene and also as a poser who has limited the scope for dubstep.
The Mayan End of the World Year saw a whole host of new things coming to picture on the Electronica music front in the country. Intrinsically connected with the nightlife, clubs and dance music culture Electronic music which encompasses a whole gamut of styles wherein there exist sub style in some, is becoming more organized, professional and good music is being released too making helping to balance against the counter mechanism of commercialization.
A whole range of new artists have come to limelight this year on the electronic front. Those who made it big last year still continue to present what they know to present best with the same support they enjoyed and more. India this year officially got a place on the Electronica world map with industry bigwigs from House, Electronica, Techno, Psychedelic Trance making an appearance in the country. What has brought about this change one can only guess. The fans of these virtuosos got what they could dreams of.
Even indian origin producers/djs are beginning to find the love and respect they deserve. Bandish Projekt, Nucleya, Dualist Inquiry, BBC, B.L.O.T, Sandunes, Hydropanic are some of the artists that caught attention this year. Psytrance Circuit saw a number of label coming up in the country namely Vantara Vichitra Recs. , Tribal Mutant Recs. and Jatadharya Recs. catering not only to music but also organization of events, decor and other related activities.
CDs does anyone buy them anymore. With the number of releases going up, it is likely that releases today would not hit massive record sales as they have historically. However, the opening of new avenues like bandcamp and flipkart has provided some relief at least to lesser known labels and independent artists to also be able to get providence for their efforts.
This year has been festival galore for various music styles. The major music festivals working on previous success have raised the bar of what music festivals in India could offer. The festivals have provided a platform mainly for Electronica musicians/producers to play their music in different setting allowing audiences to gain different experiences from the music which has otherwise been mainly locked to the club/pub/discotheque circuit. Remote locations are growingly being accepted and even celebrated by the music loving audience. Locations such as Coorg, North-east India and Rajasthan have been pinned on the map this year for possible party locations.
Nightlife in the country continued to remain in turmoil this year. It is unfortunate that many officials and media use events as a target board for gaining temporary success in their respective careers without considering the consequences of their actions on the entertainment industry as a whole. Except for crippling rules and regulation of various government based authorities, things have got a better in some cities and towns. Bangalore even though having strict regulations in place when it came to night time partying, has seen a hoard of events this year. Pune is becoming increasing popular for events. Various new venues have come up in various cities catering to events. It is hope that this encourages other venue owners to be more aesthetically considerate.
A number of internet radio stations too have been initiated this year catering only to electronic music. www.tenzi.fm is one such radio station. Various such initiatives are trying to showcase the beauty of Electronica and make it more accessible.
The buildup of niches is another phenomenon seen this year. Considering the magnanimity of the mainstream be it via Indian pop or bollywood, it is very difficult for there to be a parallel scene that works along similar lines at least when it comes to sponsorship, promotion and audience reach. A number of small groups have been getting together to build and support certain scenes that are dear to them. The ability of such groups to do this effectively (Ctrl Alt Del) has been a highlight of the year. Also however, many of the Indian youth have been bombarded with a whole bunch of Electronica which evolved in the west for over half a century, Such bombardment has made many stick to their specific styles rather than exploration of the variety out there.
Production quality of music has become top notch in the country. Many producers have undergone certified training to make this happen while some artists choose to outsource their material to international mastering studios. One expects the scene only to grow from here, it would be interesting to see how and which styles will rise to prominence. Currently in Electronica, House music dominates most of the nightclubs with Dubstep and Techno trying to get there. Psychedelic Trance has always been a fifty-fifty scene when it comes to love for the genre. A number of successful events has made the scene look a little less grim for those involved.
As we reach 2013, Electronica is likely to be part of any music junkie’s playlist. It is hoped that the regulators would lift some rules to support the movement and have better quality music.
2012 has been a phenomenal year for India in terms of music. With loads of International acts, from almost every genre, coming to the country and giving their fans a glimpse of their icons. For rock and metal fans, it has been a year to cherish. Starting off with Progressive masters Opeth, the badasses from Richmond-motherfucking-Virginia : Lamb of God, what seemed to be a pretty shabby first half of the year was soon changed to a well-orchestrated(well, maybe not) chaos among organisers to bring in the big names all at once. Hence the last half of the year saw Thrash pioneers – Kreator, Slayer, Megadeth; the master shredders – Children of Bodom; Revolutionists Korn; Guitar legend Carlos Santana; Rock n Rollers – Guns n Roses; Environmental specialists Gojira; Legends Testament and to end it all up the new sensation in the scene, with their impressive new album this year – Periphery, to name a few. If I’m correct, the last half of the year saw more bands than the number of bands who have visited India in the past 5 years.
And now the question arises –
Is India turning out to be the next Japan?
Do bands prefer India over other countries in Asia, or were they too scared of the Apocalypse theory and wanted to visit every country possible?
No matter how promising the scene is turning out to be, there is one ugly part in the story – crowd turn-outs. As the organisers announced their plans on bringing the bands, one by one, some people like me were confused to choose which one they would like to attend(I was broke as well as confused, but that happens to all college students).
So, why this kolaveri? (That word means Angry Rage in Tamil). Well the answer can be linked to the fact that Bangalore, the main hub of these concerts, got a big blow when Palace Grounds – the venue for these concerts, was declared a no-concert zone by the current government. The first major victim – the inaugural Bangalore Open Air. Supported by Wacken Open Air, this was the best thing that could happen to India. We got our own Wacken!! And to top it all, Kreator was headlining it!! Like all concerts, the proposed venue was Palace Grounds. But due to the regulations, they were forced to shift to a different venue – a cricket ground of a college, which was far from any civilization. Though the organisers made ample efforts to provide everyone free transport from Palace Grounds to the venue, the distance of the venue from the main city made many skip the concert. Sad scene, reports say there were just about 2-3k people in attendance.
The Palace grounds restrictions meant everyone had to search for a new venue, but that was not easy. No convenient venue was available within city limits, so everyone had to venture to the outskirts. As if this was not enough of a head-ache, some geniuses thought –
“How about hosting a concert clashing with another concert?”
And the first example – Megadeth performing on the same day as Children of Bodom.
My first reaction to this was – “Are the organisers smoking garden grass instead of weed?”.
Seriously speaking, why the hell would you bring two popular bands, clashing on the same day and screwing up your own income from the concert? Answer – competition and possible elimination of rivals. Megadeth was performing in Delhi, at the very same grounds where Metallica cancelled their show last year. Mustaine would have been happy to take up the opportunity to say – “I’ll do what they couldn’t”. And they did perform; in-front of a crowd which was 1/8th the normal turn-out you would expect in a Megadeth concert. Children of Bodom were in Bangalore the same day, and luck didn’t favour them that much. Pretty dry weather in the first two days of the event, but on CoB’s day, it was raining like hell. As if the rain gods were having their periods. In the end, both turned out to be fails.
The second one example – Testament performing on the same day as Gojira, in the same damn city.
I agree India has a big issue with Old School and New School supporters, they just can’t stand each other. But this was ridiculous. More so because the Gojira concert was announced around May-June, and it is obvious that the intention of the Testament gig organisers were to eliminate the debutant event management firm. Joe Duplantier, frontman of Gojira, when asked what he felt about this, said –
“It sucks man. It’s totally fucked up. How the fuck did that happen?”
What turned out in the end was a super failure of both the concerts.
Apart from these, the fans are exhausted. That could be seen clearly during the Harley Rock Riders III show. A free show it was and the turn-out? Not more than that of a college fest.
If things go this way, we are not looking at the next Japan. It will be the next Hiroshima in the making (in terms of total black-out of concerts). Everyone would love to see International bands performing, but not if you jam up the calendars like this. Give the fans their space, work out a sort of a concert window to find the best time to host them (I’m sure you guys are better at Mathematics than me). And please no clashing of dates, it sucks when that happens. Hopefully 2013 would be a better year. Keeping my fingers crossed.
The comprehensive listing of all the concerts in 2012
If you had told me in the beginning of the year that pop was going to hit India like it did, I would have told you to find something new to smoke. But now, I would probably want to borrow whatever inspiration struck you as this year has been a mighty one. If the industry settles and decides not to have show-after-show, the year 2012 will stand a benchmark so to say, “Man, that was a year!”
And boy, did we have an enthusiastic one. You would think that with the sheer number of acts hitting the country that people would run out of dough to buy the hefty passes but no. They didn’t. They got more enthusiastic and if possible, richer!
It all started for me with David Guetta. I was always a fan of Guetta, following him like a good Wolf-Pack member and obviously when news spread that he was coming into town, I had to find myself a contest that would give me a pass. And that I did, meeting Guetta backstage et all. It was a mind-blowing experience. Guetta got up onto the console and jumped as the sea of a crowd knew every word. It was incredible. I went home that day feeling that I had attended the concert of a lifetime only to find myself checking when the next acts were arriving in my lovely city. And there they were, the many MANY acts coming down.
Following the Guetta head rush were a bunch of metal acts that I didn’t find myself drawn to. The occasional Kailash Kher would troop in and though a fan of his voice, I again didn’t find myself too interested. The interest flared again when I found out that Enrique Iglesias was in our side of the globe. Returning after his Anna Kournikova hand-holding at the last concert, Enrique sought out his loving fans to see if they had taken to the techno spin his music has started to take. Long gone was the Latin flavour, though the concert did see him play some of his older hits. Another success our city witnessed.
Following him was when the pop meter went soaring, though kicking off with an act that had the entire city waiting. The GOD of the guitar, Santana took the stage with a crowd so mixed; it made your head spin. Oldies and younglings gathered together to swoon to Santana strum as his wife tore up the drums. But following that hit of a concert was an act that didn’t do as well. Though he has an ardent fan following, not many came out to see Sean Paul in action.Having grown up grooving to his music, it was a little hard not to admit that I wanted to listen to him live. But as many said, it would have helped if you managed to rope in a beau: the music was not something that could be enjoyed with a group.
What was enjoyable as a group was Above and Beyond. A concert that had its fans waiting eagerly, it didn’t disappoint, being called a concert that was one big, long party! Dancing and drinking, this was like Guetta reloaded. Which brings us to the curiosity generating Simple Plan. Expected at Mood Indigo this weekend, the concert is rumoured to be quite a bust in the making. But it has opened up the idea that smaller acts could come down to India and be successful. As demonstrated eloquently at the NH7 Weekender. So here is hoping to an awesome year of pop followed up by another. Provided we all survive the Norah Jones.
The year was probably 2007 or 2008; I used to be a DJ then. So one day I was just chatting with my mentor and good friend DJ Sam about why is it that Kolkata gets no international acts (the only recent act then was Joe Satriani performing there, and it was a pretty bad turnout). He promptly said – “It’s because Bangalore has escape routes, just in case of an emergency”. I had never visited Bangalore till then, so I was forced to accept what he said. Then in 2010, I came to Bangalore for the first time. While coming to the city from the airport, I caught a glimpse of the majestic Palace Grounds. That very ground where the Gods of Metal – Iron Maiden performed. At that time, that quote from my friend struck me again. So while referring to “escape routes” was he talking about the placement of Palace Grounds on the very road which leads to the Airport? Well I never asked him about it, so basically I still don’t know what he was trying to say. But yes the question still remains, why Bangalore over any other city in the country? What has this city got to offer which no other city does?
Well, my first gig experience was in 2011. The inaugural Trendslaughter Fest it was. The first time I’ve ever been to a proper Metal show and of course, the first time I got to know the difference between mainstream and underground bands. It was great to see so many people having similar tastes as mine gathered in one place. Then it was time for 23rd of April, 2011. The band I idolise – Cradle of Filth, was here to perform for the first time. As stoked as I was to attend it, I was equally curious to be in Palace Grounds for the very first time in my life. That day was memorable in all its rights and has a special place in my heart, for obvious reasons. But amid all this excitement, one thing struck me a few days later – the crowd mostly consisted of people from the North-Eastern states of India, and I’m talking about 60% of the crowd. And the consequent gigs that followed after this – Metallica, Opeth, Lamb of God, etc. all had the same story. Some people actually travelled for around 50 hours by train, then bus, just to attend the show
So, if majority of the crowd here are travelling more than 2500 kilometers just to attend a show that goes on for 10 hours, wouldn’t it be better if the venue was shifted somewhere close to them?
Whatever be the reason, there is one thing that can be seen is regardless of where the crowd comes from, there is a communal harmony between each and every single one attending the concert. For example – During the Opeth concert, I was in the first row. It was Theorized who were performing most probably, and the barricades gave away. Well we all know what happened in Delhi when such a situation happened during the Metallica concert. But to our surprise, not a single person misbehaved, in fact, we were all picking up the barricades and holding it while the organisers were scrambling to arrange for alternatives.
Though these days Mumbai and Noida are catching up with Bangalore in terms of hosting International gigs, but Bangalore still gets majority of the share. So I decided to do a little Sherlock Holmes thingy to find out the reason and asked the pros about this. Here is what they have to say –
I asked Mr. Sahil Makhija a.k.a. Demonstealer what makes Bangalore so special among the event organiser. He says –
“I think Bangalore works mainly because the entertainment tax is lower than most other metros. Honestly it was always between Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. Mumbai has high entertainment tax and lack of open air venues, Delhi had a few but from what I hear permissions and general ‘VIP’ entrance is always an issue and Bangalore seems to be the most favourable to organizing events due to the low entertainment tax. Also I feel Bangalore is known for its rock and live music culture as opposed to Mumbai/Delhi which are seen more as ‘party’ oriented.”
Riju Dasgupta a.k.a. Dr. Hex, when asked the same question, said –
“We, as Albatross, love playing in Bangalore because it’s the only part of the country that we’ve been to which has a dedicated old school audience. Rock n’ roll is part of the culture to a great extent, in the way people dress, they talk and they behave. This is apart from the economic reasons of course. The taxes, etc. that is.”
Well so the escape route theory doesn’t stand true then, it’s about taxes and a problem with the preference of the people living in the cities then. The crowd here prefers more of Rock n Roll is clear to me from my personal experience with the city. And the party oriented crowd in Delhi and Mumbai is understandable from the great night-life there, which is not so alive here in Bangalore due to certain political restrictions.
To help me demystify the fact a little more, I asked Mr. Vikram Bhat, the legendary vocalist of Dying Embrace, about it. He says –
“Honestly I have no clue why it is a haven!”
Well more or less the fact is clear that entertainment tax has something to do with the selection of the venue (two out of three people said so, and this is a democratic country, hence I go with the majority). But I wasn’t done yet.
Well while I was on this case, I caught up with Mr. Jack Doolan; member of UK based Metal band – Cypher 16, who concluded a multi-city tour of India recently, and asked him about what he felt about playing in Bangalore and other cities of India. Here is what he says –
“For us Bangalore is where things really started to move in India. We played in TGIOF back in 2010 with Lacuna Coil and got an amazing reception, despite the fact that we were added to the bill only around 10 days before the show. Fans might remember the ridiculous Wall of Death that ripped the tent apart and we were pretty astonished that it was so ferocious even up on stage. Since then we’ve played the city several times and we’ve just always loved the atmosphere, as well as meeting the old fans, many of whom are now good friends too.
I think that in terms of logistics Bangalore is probably a little better when it comes to organising big shows than some of the other cities in India and that can play a big part when International bands are looking to come and play in a country. The Metallica show was a good example I think of this.”
So the escape route theory stands defeated. No questions asked. The main reason for organisers choosing Bangalore it seems, is due to the low entertainment taxes, while the International bands performing here prefer the good logistics system. Regardless of the reasons, true fans will never fail to show up in a concert. No matter which part of the country they belong to. There will be fights among genres, and arguments among sub-genres, but the spirit of music is what stands out from everything else at the end of the day.
Well writing this article has been a good experience on my part, trying to answer a very common but usually ignored question. Learnt a few things about the scene in the process. Hope you had as much fun reading it as I had trying to write it up. Keep the spirit of music flying high. Cheers
Did you know there is a documentary coming up based on the Underground Bhojpuri music scene? That too, in particular to the migrants based in Mumbai?
TitledBidesiya in Bambai, this venture seeks to highlight the fact of how music is helping the Bhojpuri community find a sense of identity for themselves (those who live in Mumbai). Surabhi Sharma, a well known documentary film maker is the brainchild for this project too. Sharma with this documentary aims to bring to light the tiff between amchi Mumbaikars and the city’s migrants, and the thriving industry of the Bhojpuri underground music on the other hand which thus has resulted in churning the best singers being used even for films! Bidesiya in Bambai follows the life of two singers: a taxi-driver chasing his first record deal and Kalpana, the star of the industry.
With male singers dominating the Bhojpuri music domain, it is not to be forgotten that the Bhojpuri music in the city of Mumbai is more of the well-liked kind, broadly classified into religious songs, songs with heavy sexual undertones, and songs that talk about leading a life like a nomad. The performances are largely attended by men and are very interactive, involving a lot of interaction with the audience. The director’s interest in Bhojpuri music began during her work on her 2008 film Jahaji Music: India in the Caribbean. Having spent atleast the last three years researching on Bhojpuri folk music and that is when Bhojpuri migrant’s city became visible to her and the locations started imposing themselves on her recordings. There was a show in Thane, in a new slum settlement, where local leaders kept trying to boost people’s spirits. Her extensive research has taken her to every nook and corner of the city . Infact , even she herself has attended concerts held in slums, in single-room houses, on open grounds and during the Chatthh Puja. As she was documenting various performances, she was able to tap a very famous Bhojpuri singer who was recording an album in her studio at Adarsh Nagar in Andheri. The place was once the centre of the Bhojpuri music and video production before it was demolished. Despite these setbacks, the music continues. Such is the scene of Bhojpuri music in Mumbai.
‘Music’ as such has been very central to the Bhojpuri culture as such and in a way helps the community connect and more establish the clan as a whole in the city. But one should remember that their deeply hurt sentiments of chiding by the Mumbai residents has what made them flourish in the underground scene? This is when the question rises? Why is there a partition in the country even in terms of music? With a variety of music that is sung state – state when is the time going to come where one type of music will be accepted throughout? Music has no divide was what we were thought; but with the need to bring up such lost traces of music in itself shows how the lack of acceptance throughout lets it sink in the graph of music as an art.
Will this documentary in a way help the migrants? Are amchi Mumbaikars ready to welcome a change? Let alone that, will such a documentary backed with such good research and hard work from the director be accepted and allowed for screening in the State? With politics and films and social issues being clubbed together, it is time to think what is the current underground music scene in India? Thus the debate of politics over art continues. And well for all the documentary lovers, this is one that you should keep a tab on.
