The progress of various aspects of our life has made some things better and some things worse. Such too is the case for broadcasting of music. The progress has created many platforms for artists signed-unsigned, established-unestablished, commercial-underground on the other hand, commercialization or promotion based selling of music has deviated the exposure balance i.e., 80 percent of the music most people hear is 20 percent of the music actually released and similarly 80 percent of the music is heard only by 20 percent of the total audience.
Internet has been the blessing or curse to fall on the music industry in the nineties that has and is constantly restructuring the way things are done in the various activities related to this scene. Be it promotions, showcase audio, sell merchandise, events, communication with musicians and various other support operators of the scene, etc. After the fall of Music Channel popularity due to replacement of music by advertisements for non-solely music based activities, packaging of music with other no related products or services and reality show – many took the internet for their music dosages. With downloading being rampant, a clampdown on the downloads has been brought about atleast to some extent. This made it difficult for the non-computer savvy audience to hog on all the music they could ever want. However, news things come up. Platforms like YouTube and Vimeo have not only allowed users to share their favorite music but also post videos of them. Being free to use, it has attracted post from the wacky to the corporate. With easy ability to share these videos, it has become of the most powerful too to get your music across to a large or/and diverse audience. Bob Dylan’s cover Friday by Jessica Black / Kolaveri Di by Dhanush is examples of this motion.
The user based nature of these platforms allows the creation of various peer groups. Also the widely used Like button, the comments have allowed real time feedback. Linking of these into various social networks so that one can share it across various circles has further enhanced the scope of activities that can be done. Now one can upload or view the gig that happened last night in your local area or on the other side of planet with possibility of Hi-Quality viewing as well. It is possible to showcase music that does not require a massive video budget at the same time not keep things dull. A number of information based services have sprang up within these platforms offering a whole range of tools that could not have been possible via MTV. At the same time, many users are making videos similar to those that are presented on music channels such as top tens, album samples, musician interviews, ethnic music, etc.
Youtube, a Google Inc service has taken the world by an unexpected storm. The user based video sharing platform which is now integrated into the whole gamut of Google services on offer is creating quite some ripples. With millions of views from remotest corners of the world, YouTube is becoming a household term. Even the term ‘youtube it’ or ‘youtubbing’ have crept into the Vocab. Google Inc, has grown to be one of the biggest most successful companies in the world and with a considerable repute to across all communities except probably China.
There may be an issue in this free sharing tool as well. Apart from the government/political cases Google has to deal with on a regular basis (for more info), This platform becomes an open ground for anyone and everyone wanting to showcase their stuff. Though this is the point behind the tool, there is so specific parameter than can be specified to filter the good from the not so good. This could a) not give enough attention to some brilliant works of the art that could have been the ‘Monalisa’ of the year b) make someone ignore the good stuff because of the stuff that one does not like. This tool like its predecessor would probably good through the same scrutiny other went through. It is expected that as smart mobile phone usage becomes common and routine, this tool would be catering much more to the general audience rather than now where only those who have the technology and know how to use it can make use of it.
Disk Jockeys, those elusive masters of ceremonies have been playing usher to keep the soundtrack of our lives going for decades and in return have been showered with everything we have to offer. The role of the DJ has varied from with place, time and context. From being manager of an event schedule to building the mood of one, from holding and maintaining quality equipment to being aware of the contemporary grooves of the scenes, DJs do a lot.
Technology has turned the world on its head, and many of its inhabitants are try to get accustomed and adapt to it. DJs too have undergone a similar faith. The digital age has ushered in new tools, new methods and new skills. Critics have found this to be an attempt to do far too much in far too little amount of time with far little amount of lab testing. The various glitches of these systems have created embarrassing situations in lives of many DJs.
Nonetheless, the new technology has created convenience and also redefined the approach of many individuals in this profession. Well known producer/DJ, Fatboy Slim aka Norman Cook, also took to these modern tools after much pursuit of his crew. Norman revealed in an interview that though these tools are technologically advanced, he is much at home with his old tools that included Atari, the Akai S-950 and the mighty 303 sampler.
Some of the new toys made available to the modern DJ are CDJ with touch screen enabled displays that play almost all formats, USB Mixers that would give you control over your digital work station better than analog mixer along with the scratch function, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth enabled controllers giving greater performance freedom, and virtual emulations of unaffordable analog gear (Korg Analog Synths).
What DJS do with this would actually now define their abilities as compared to earlier when it was more about being able to get the music pumping. Laptops are soon becoming a preferred choice among DJs. Could this spell an end to CDJ manufacturers such as Pioneer and Gemini? It is all upon the preference of the DJ says DJ Aar, a Mumbai-Delhi based DJ. There are many DJs who find better sonic results from analog gear compared to the digital. The ability to have a control over too many parameters could spell disaster if the user is not well prepared with his stuff.
Automatic beat matching, harmonic synchronization, free music over the internet, portable music devices has made it easier to be a DJ and also made the professional DJ useless. DJs thus now need to work towards presenting something special for their audiences be it knowing their audiences well, having a uncanny knack to harmonize mind bending tunes one after another like an AK-47, flawless ease in use of various tools at hand or a combination of them and more. Some DJs have taken the next step in sound presentation with active participation in the creation of music as it plays. Thus, adding greater thrill to the performance. Performing with like-minded or totally different background based musicians is another way of adding additional flavors into the mix. Shirsh Malhotra, a classical violin player finds himself jamming/performing with DJs at many events. Jazz, Lounge, down tempo music is blended with live instruments to create a lively performance. It would be interesting to see what innovative DJs do in future. Mash artists such as z-Trip and Bit Meddler have been making creative funky electro pop music with almost nothing compared to what is available today. Scratch artists such as Qbert, Dj Flare, X-ecutioners and Mix Master Mike too, have created a niche for themselves with the Scratch movement since early nineties. Though there is no matching vinyl scratching its digital cousin continues to strive closer [Try Vestax-Spin]. Whatever be the case, the era of transition is on for the DJs – Watch out to what your DJ might do next!
How much do you know about the person behind the 2005 chart topper “Bulla ki jaana”? Always known for his BINDASS music, here’s 8OCTAVES you bringing more about him.
Rabbi’s music has been inspired by Rock, Hard rock as well as Sufi and Punjabi folk music. His favourite musicians include Bruce Springsteen, Sahotas, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, and Jimmy Page. Rabbi, who had been active in the music industry for quite some time since the 90s, composing jingles and such, achieved superstardom practically overnight, with the release of his debut album Rabbi in 2005, all because of one catchy number – undoubtedly “bulla ki jaana” is the one!!
The broadest classification possible for his music is rock, his lyrics Punjabi, his video bereft of belly buttons. His songs flit from Bryan Adams-ish light to Leonard Cohen-esque darkness. He sings Simon and Garfunkel in an autorickshaw. An ardent fan of rock himself, his tribute for MJ is always close to his heart, he says-MJ’s death was a moment of deep sadness for me. At first it was unbelievable, but then when the sorrowful news was confirmed, it seemed like a personal blow to me even though I had no first hand interaction with the God of Pop Music. Not only a singer, but Ahead of the MCD elections, Citizen Journalist Rabbi Shergill even found out what are the problems faced by the residents of Delhi. Moreover it is a surprise for all of us that this talented artist is also a part of A.R.Rahman’s core team and is directly or indirectly behind the awesome ARR’s musical numbers we are glued to until today!
Looking back to past, we understand that Rabbi’s father was a Sikh preacher and his mother, a college principal, loved Gurbani kirtan. Rabbi was “very, very influenced by Sikh literature. He grew up reading Gyani Gyan Singh, Kabir’s dohas, Shiv Bata and would have long discussions on poetry. He was listening to rock music and Punjabi spiritual music. It all comes together combusts. Getting to know more about his entry into the music industry, His first demo impressed world music producer Jawahar Wattal. Sony Music wanted to sign him on. He had differences with Jawahar.Sony then put him on to K J Singh, the man who would produce his debut eponymous album. The two worked on a new demo. Sony backed out. Knocking on doors began again. Rabbi met Minty Tejpal, brother and business partner of Tehelka Editor in Chief Tarun Tejpal and that is exactly how Rabbi made his mark with “Bulla Ki”. Following this, Rabbi came out with a second album, Avengi Ja Nahin, in 2008, showcasing his maturity in song writing while covering darker subjects. One particular number that stood out from this album was ‘Bilqis (Jinhe Naaz Hai)’. Let us wait and watch what he brings out to us with his newest album. ‘Ganga‘, one of his newest songs on his upcoming album.
” Rabbi himself has been called “Punjabi music’s true urban balladeer”. It’s the great reality of urban India is all we have to say – Punjabi rock it is!
Commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music, the Oud has a rich and diverse story. The Oud is readily distinguishable from its cousins by its fretless charecteristic and smaller neck.
It has many characteristics similar to other string/plucked instruments. What sets it apart is its lack of frets; this helps users to play slides and vibrato with ease. It usually has eleven strings with the strings converging towards a tapering neck. In order to prevent the pegs from slipping, the pegboxes are bent at a 45-90⁰ angle from the neck to create the necessary tension. The Oud generally has one to three sound-holes, which may be either oval or circular. Strings are generally made of nylon or gut, and are plucked with a plectrum known as a risha or mizrap.
Oud (Arabic: ʿūd, Assyrian:ܥܘܕ ūd, Greek: ούτι, Persian: بربط barbat, Somali: cuud or kaban) is one of the most popular instruments in Middle Eastern music. Its name is derived from Arabic for ‘wood’. Historically the instrument has been found among the Sumerians, Akkadians, Persians, Kurds, Babylonians, Assyrians, Greeks and Egyptians. According to a legend, the origin of the instrument was inspired from the shape of the bleached skeleton hung by a tree. According to musicologist Çinuçen Tanrıkorur today’s Oud is derived from the kopuz by Turks near Central Asia.
Apart from the shape and construction what sets Oud music apart from other string instruments, is the tuning used for the instrument. The most common string combination is five pairs of strings tuned in unison and a single bass string.
One end of each string is attached to the bridge of the Oud in a specific manner to ensure that it does not slip when it is under tension. The order in which the strings are attached to the bridge and the tuning pegs is shown in the diagram below:
Some examples of tuning the Oud are:
Arab tuning:
The most common Arab tuning is (low to high):
D2 G2 A2 D3 G3 C4
Turkish tuning:
One of the most common Turkish tunings, also known as the ‘Bolahenk’ tuning, is (low to high):
C2 F2 B2 E3 A3 D4
Similarly different tunings are used depending on personal taste and style. The Turkish-style Oud has a brighter tone than its Arab counterpart. The secrets of Oud playing were traditionally transmitted orally, from master to student with very little of this information written down. Infact there is no comprehensive book available in English on how to play the oud. A noteworthy book on the Oud method is the “Ud Metodu (Gelenekle Gelecege)” by Mutlu Torun, dealing purely with the Turkish tradition.
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.
The pioneers of fusion rock genre in India, how many of us actually know about this band?
Indian Ocean, the album, was recorded in Calcutta and, despite the crummy mikes and sizzled sound recording the band was on a high. They had recorded an original album, almost entirely instrumental, rare outside the world of Indian classical music. The future looked boundless; anything was possible. EIGHT OCTAVES gives you a glimpse of the hard-hearted band, INDIAN OCEAN.
Way back in 1984, before most Indian Ocean fans in college concerts were even born, Sushmit met Asheem during a concert. He was a fan of Niharika – a Bengali band Asheem played tabla for. They hit it off right away. Asheem was taken up by Susmit’s guitar-playing and his vision to evolve a new sound. Susmit, in turn, learnt the nuances of rhythm from Asheem – not the basic 4/4 beat, but the mysteries of chhand and jhonk and taal. Facing their own set of hurdles and undergoing major changes in the members of the band,one of the hurdles even being the death of the co-founder Asheem Chakravarty (In December 2009 the band lost Asheem to death. In October, after suffering a heart attack he was hospitalized in Doha where he was in coma for a brief period and recovering well. On December 25, 2009 he died in New Delhi due to a cardiac arrest). The band stands strong today with Amit, Sushmit, Rahul and no permanent replacement for Asheem though. However, they have brought Himanshu Joshi to fill in for Asheem’s vocals and Tuheen Chakravarty for tabla and other percussion which Asheem used to play.
FEW REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENTS Indian Ocean’s fourth album Jhini was released in 2003, along with the band’s first music video for the title track. The band was nominated as MTV’s Artists of the Month. The album also won the AVMax Award for the best produced album of 2003. Recently, the band has moved against the lines of record labels. They released their latest album 16/330 Khajoor Road online for free. The main reason for this move was the frustration over negotiating contracts with record companies and fighting over copyright issues. They have turned to concerts and sponsorships for generating revenue rather than playing in the hands of record labels. For a brief amount of time they had the sponsorship of Johnnie Walker. They are also a part of the world’s first Music Personalisation Initiative named DRP (www.divineraaga.com) as one of the five ‘Featured Artists’. Moreover, their collaborations include playing for artists impromptu and live on several occasions (Shubha Mudgal, L Subramaniam, Rabbi Shergill, Kailash Kher, Kazutoki Umezu ), but want to explore more formal compositional collaboration.
The band continues to perform and compose, and have taken the help of several friends and musicians to fill in for Asheem. It seems quite probable that the sound of the band shall change with the departure of Asheem, but it is impossible to predict what direction the band will go in. So the band goes on, hoping to continue making good music!
“Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you’ll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you’re gonna be rewarded.” – Jimi Hendrix
Some people think of them as rockstars, some as hippies. Some see them as musicians while some think that they were just born to be noisy. Guitarists have always been judged differently but one thing which everyone will agree is that guitar has become one of the most crucial instruments in the music industry today. Whether it is blues or jazz, rock or metal, this gleaming instrument is being employed everywhere with various technologies assisting to mould its sound. Today about 20-30 percent of college going crowd in our country picks up this instrument and goes through with learning it; some taking it up seriously and some just doing it to impress the girl next door.
Being a guitarist myself, I have jammed with lots of other guitarists, playing different genres and the diversity has always interested me. Guitarists have evolved from playing blues in the early years of the twentieth century and have taken different directions to create huge number of genres which we all listen today. Guitars have remained the same six string instruments with a wooden body (mostly!); what partitions the genres is the man who plays it.
We’ll be going through various stages of evolution of guitarists in my next few articles. This one features the wild blues artists from the 30s-50s. So let us see how our ancestor guitarists have fabricated a path for the kind of guitarists we see today:
30s-50s – The Era Of Crazy Blues
This was the period which introduced us to the likes of Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Link Ray and lots more. Although blues manifested in the late 1800s, it wasn’t until mid-thirties, that it acquired a whole new character. It was the time when the delta blues guitarist, Robert Johnson, came up with his landmark recordings like ‘Kind Hearted Woman Blues’ and ‘Cross Road Blues’ based on simple 12-bar blues progression and absolute soulful vocals. His contribution paved way for all the upcoming musicians and genres and he is most often regarded as the most important blues musician that ever lived. In fact, he is honoured by every guitarist that you come across as blues is the root of every kind of music you hear today.
Muddy Waters was another influential guitarist from the 40s whose music incorporated elements from R&B, blues and jazz with added drums to develop rock ‘n roll. His tracks ‘Mustang Sally’, ‘I’m The King Bee’ and ‘I’m The Blues’ are considered as big influences for Rock ‘N Roll and The Rolling Stones were named after his ground-breaking track ‘Rollin’ Stone’. 1950s saw the increased use of electric guitars, often played on overdrive. Elmore James is one such guitarist, who is known as “the king of slide guitar”. He is recognized for his famous track ‘Dust My Broom’ which displays effervescent slide guitar harmonies play on a his unique amped tone. Another prodigy from the 50s would be Link Wray, who introduced power chords to rock music with his track ‘Rumble’ and without him, we would never have had experienced heavy metal or hard rock.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAVan Halen
While we talk of blues we should not forget the two people whose songwriting and guitar skills have been perceived by many to be revolutionary: BB King and Chuck Berry. These two have majorly influenced rock music by coming up with structured songs and sophisticated solos which incorporated frivolous bends, slides and vibratos. These two legends have had a career of over 60 years and are still active.
One more checkpoint which was crossed in this era was the invention of sweep picking by jazz guitarists Chuck Wayne and Tal Farlow in the 40s, which later turned out to be one of the most famous techniques used in solo playing.
This particular section reminded me of a quote by Keith Richards from The Rolling Stones: “If you don’t know the blues… there’s no point in picking up the guitar and playing rock and roll or any other form of popular music.”
So do you!?
60s – The popularization of band culture
As we proceeded towards the sixties, we witnessed a flourishing culture of bands. Formation of bands influenced guitar playing at a very large scale. While playing in a band, a guitarist has to come up with definite progressions and a fixed song-structure; this led to introduction of “guitar riffs”. One of the very first and most popular commercial bands would be The Beatles, who I believe need no introduction. The guitar works of “Fab Four” constituted various influences from rock ‘n roll, pop, rock, psychedelic and ballads and inspired formation of a lot of bands like The Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Cream, The Yardbirds etc. Their songs were mostly based on simple scales, often utilizing the very basic major and minor scales in their songs, for e.g. ‘Love Me Do’, ‘P.S. I Love You’, ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, ‘I Should Have Known Better’ and many other uncountable hits.
Another ace from the era whose name was promulgated all over the streets of London as ‘God’ is Eric Clapton. Clapton is considered as one of the most influential guitarists of all time. Having played for bands like Cream, The Yardbirds and Derek and the Dominos, his musical style was influenced from a variety of music ranging from blues and reggae to rock and mellow jazz. With tracks like ‘Layla’, ‘Crossroads’ (Robert Johnson cover), ‘Wonderful Tonight’ he fabricated a route for classic rock bands with his unique tone selection and solo playing which had total distinctive arpeggios and licks. And another member of the Club 27, Jimi Hendrix was the master of overdriven guitars, often played on high amount of gain and volume. With his inverted right-handed guitar, he not only popularized the use of distortion but also displayed skilled usage of wah-wah pedal and developed the technique of feedback. His music heavily influenced heavy metal, psychedelic rock and acid rock.
70s and 80s – Classic rock and heavy metal
In my opinion, seventies and eighties were the two most revolutionary decades in the history of music. With boom in technology and development of so many techniques in the 60s, guitarists had ample resources to bring reformation in the music industry, especially in rock. In the seventies, the legendary Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin contributed a lot to hard rock, progressive rock and heavy metal. His compositions often incorporated blues licks and progressions embedded in a rock ‘n roll wireframe. He popularized the use of double-neck guitars (12-string and 6-string), used various kinds of effects (in the famous song, ‘Kashmir’ played in Open Dsus4 tuning) and even used a violin bow with a guitar. With masterpieces like ‘Stairway To Heaven’, ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’, ‘Whole Lotta Love’, he’s not doubt one of the most heavy contributors in the history of rock music.
Talking about effects and technology, Pink Floyd were the most advanced in their time and even today, their records are praised by engineers all around the world. David Gilmour often placed long and well-structured solos in each song and probably made “guitar solo” a key feature in a rock song. Pink Floyd were also one of the first progressive bands along with Rush and Deep Purple. With proper smooth distortions, a lot of guitarists took lead guitars to a whole new level. Eddie Van Halen, one of the most influential lead guitarists, introduced his signature tapping technique with the track, ‘Eruption’, which is now picked up by every metalhead today. He also pioneered the use of movable bridge. Earlier tremolo bars were used by guitarists but that was just for vibrato purpose; Van Halen initiated the use of Floyd Rose to create various effects like dive bomb and pitch shift.
Seventies also introduced us to a phenomenon called heavy metal. Black Sabbath, the pioneers of heavy metal, were formed in late 60s and released their first album in 1970. Tony Iommi is often regarded as creator of heavy metal for his boundless ability to compose riffs. Palm muting and power chords were some of the notable entities that can be observed in his compositions. Another band who pioneered heavy metal is Iron Maiden. Their songs assimilated similar entities but with more speed and complexity. Although the songs were pretty heavy, the real chugging heaviness was brought into music by a band called Venom. Their music fused large amount of intensity with heaviness which influenced the immediate subgenres of metal like Thrash Metal, Death Metal and Black Metal.
In the beginning of 80s, metal started spreading like a virus and within a short span of time, a lot of bands were formed. Bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Kreator and Sodom came up with alternately picked intense palm-muted progressions and some really fast solos. James Hetfield of Metallica popularized down-picking of riffs instead of alternate picking to give a more neat sound to a riff. It can be noticed in their trademark song, ‘Master Of Puppets’, all throughout. Soon these riffs transformed into more complex and deeper progressions and they were coupled with harsh vocals to form Death Metal. Chuck Schuldiner of Death is known as “The Father of Death Metal” and is of the most influential people in metal industry. Though most of early death metal bands were based on Thrash Metal, a band called Cannibal Corpse chose to make the songs more complex and more brutal with a lot of technicality and they often use low-tuned guitars to get a deeper and heavier sound.
90s and later
After incorporation of a lot of techniques and expanded use of guitars from blues to all these genres, people continued to use these techniques to come up with innovative music. Kurt Cobain combined simple power chords to make some powerful and intense songs. The songs, in spite of being simple, influenced a large bunch of punk rockers to form new stuff. Metal kept on expanding with coming up of genres like Melodic Death Metal, Groove Metal, Power Metal and Neo-classical Metal and still escalating to form totally new styles of music. Alexi Laiho from Children Of Bodom uses classical scales to compose music and construct his solos and is one of the pioneering forces in Melodic Death Metal. Progressive Death Metal band, Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt uses a lot blues and mellow jazz elements in his songs along with groove laden heavy riffs to give the listener a totally different experience.
Guitarists today have made a perfect balance between technicality and melody. They tend to go towards more progressive and heavier sound that include polyrhythms and odd time signatures. Many artists have started to use low-tuned guitars in order to achieve a heavier sound. The sound is becoming more and more processed, especially with an explosion in digital sound processing.
Guitarists in India
India has grown so much in these years. Earlier a music concert was something that happened once in a blue moon but every city in our country is becoming a host to these concerts and it is becoming tough for us to even keep a track of all of them. With such an expanse, a lot of people have started to learn guitars and a number of bands are being formed and many new things are being offered here. Going back in the 90s, Parikrama is one of the earliest bands in India. It was founded in 1991 and its music constitutes of beautiful guitar melodies drawing influences from the likes of Pink Floyd (post-Waters era) and Joe Satriani, with an exemplary essence of Indian Classical Music. Another band which formed around that time is the rock band Indus Creed which displays gracious guitar melodies and some marvellous solos. Their sound is also very much influenced from progressive artists.
One of the most recognized guitar players in the Indian scene is Baiju Dharmajan, who is famous for his work with the rock band Motherjane. With tracks like ‘Fields Of Sound’, ‘Maya’ and ‘Soul Corporations’, the band demonstrates a strong influence of carnatic music, with guitar melodies often sounding like Indian classical pieces. Another guitarist from the Indian rock scene is Warren Mendonsa. He has worked with Zero in the past and is currently working on a solo project named as Blackstratblues. His music incorporates elements from blues, jazz and rock ‘n roll and his instrumental work is widely recognized by people all over the country.
Apart from them Amyt Dutta, known for his works with his band Shiva in the 1980’s, is one of the most respected Indian guitarists around. He is often regarded as one of the most innovative guitarist in the Indian scene. R. Prasanna is one of the leading Carnatic guitarists in India. He is only the second guitarist to take the Carnatic classical stage after Sukumar Prasad. He is a graduate from the prestigious Berklee School of Music, Boston and he is the founder and president of Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music, India.
Coming onto metal, Dying Embrace is one of the earliest underground extreme metal bands in India. With Black Sabbath as their main influence, their guitar riffs often sound like typical Sabbath tracks played on heavier distortion to create a more skull-pounding sound. Another band from Bangalore is the Old School Heavy Metal band, Kryptos who have received international recognition and is one of the most respected bands in the country. Nolan Lewis and Rohit Chaturvedi, being the guitarists, draw influences from Kreator, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, and often come up with harmonized guitar melodies.
A lot of bands have been formed recently and we can witness a lot of commendable guitar work by them as well. Guitarists tend to achieve that modern, heavy and progressive sound that exhibits nice amount of dynamics. Although there is a lot of constructiveness in the compositions, there is no variety being offered. Guitarists often end up using 7-string guitars unnecessarily and have developed an extravagant addiction to groove. It’s only rare that we get to witness a death metal band playing the music in a way it was meant to be.
The way guitarists have evolved truly surprises me and within just a few decades they have moved from simple 12-bar blues to polyrhythmic progressions; the plain sound of an acoustic guitar turned into digitally manipulated mechanical noise. But I guess that’s how our sound has evolved and it was meant to be. Is it good or bad is a question for another day, but for now, we can always go back to listening to what we want to and the variety is seamless.
Here’s a sneak peek about THE MOST TRAVELED INDIAN MUSICIAN in the world. He has travelled to over 189 countries as of November 2008. He has performed at various International events notably including the Opening Ceremony of 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. He has received an Honorary Doctorate for designing a unique Musical Instrument now known as the ‘Bentar’. He uses his powerful testimony & Music as tools for reaching out souls in every corner of the globe. Yes, we are talking about DR.BENNY PRASAD, the walking miracle (as the doctors call him ) ; who suffered from severe asthma which required him to take cortisone steroids from which he developed rheumatoid arthritis, 60 % lung damage and an immune system regularly failing him, which threatens his life even to this day.
Benny’s first guitar was a 12 String Reynolds made in Calcutta, India. It was a second hand 20 year old guitar which his grandmother Late Mrs. Leela Rajarathnam had purchased for Rs. 1000 (22 USD) given it to him as a gift (1995). Benny treasures the guitar and the early experiences a lot. Every time he plays this guitar he is humbled knowing where he started off and where God had brought him to. Benny Prasad has performed on this unique guitar to many Presidents, Parliaments, Universities and even prestigious events such as the Olympic Games-2004, FIFA World Cup-2006, Military World Games-2007.
He believes that God’s power brought the most powerful change to his life. His achievements include performing before the crowds of the 2007 MILITARY WORLD GAMES, 2006 FIFA WORLD CUP and the 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES. In Jan. 2008 Benny was given a Hon. Doctorate for designing his guitar (BENTAR) as well as for his travels as a musician spreading the Good News to the needy and hopeless.
His debut album was called “I Surrender All” which was released in July 2000.He played the acoustic guitar and is accompanied by 10 violins, 4 violas and 2 cellos. His last music album “Tribute to the Unknown God” was released in 2008, a unique project that Benny had been working for about 4 years. A combination of Old Classic Hymns which Benny re-arranged with a combination of Jazz & Indian Classical in its musical style. His experimental nature is exposed with the usage of various instruments like Duduk, Saxophone, Double Bass, Various kinds of Flutes, Violin and many kinds of Indian string & percussive instruments etc in this album.
6 years, 6 months and 22 days- that’s how long it took him to traverse the globe, performing in 250 countries along the way. His story is most inspiring- one of overcoming odds and ailments of the highest order and then proving to the world that music knows no limitations, no boundaries and no setbacks. His journey has taken him to the Athens Olympics and the Military World Games, where his performances have captured the imagination of millions the world over. Well-known for creating his own set of customized instruments, one being a 52 stringed guitar, Benny Prasad is one performance to look forward to.
As a rock star, I have two instincts, I want to have fun, and I want to change the world. I have a chance to do both. -Bono
India is generally seen as the birthplace of revered classical music traditions such as Hindustani and Carnatic music. What a lot of people don’t know about India is that there are plenty of rock and metal bands that play original music in English, especially WOMEN BANDS!
If you’ve lamented the dearth of women-fronted rock bands in the city music circuit, here’s your chance to rejoice by listening to these four “women” rock bands. These four bands, which cut across genres, all fronted by women vocalists, promise to woo the audience. The metro city-bands like Shaa’ir + Func (Monica Dogra), 3 Guys And a Girl (Shazneen Arethna) and Love Kamikaze (Sudeepta Sanyal) have definitely turned heads in the rock music scenario. Joining the army of women is Swedish rock artiste Sophia Jannock. Personally, I think it’s a brilliant concept to promote women-fronted bands and have them perform at one gig. I believe that it’s fascinating to bring women artistes together on a common platform. The response has been great across cities and I feel it’s an amazing experience even for the audience to get to see not just one, but many bands led by women.
We can even take the case of Zeb and Haniya, Pakistan’s first all-women rock band, are as far removed from the rock musician stereotype as sunlight from strobes. The Lahore-based duo, originally from the Taliban-infested North West Frontier Province, missed the opportunity to perform at an event in Chennai just after the 26/11 terror attacks.
Talking about few women in the rock scene in particular, Natasha Chowdhry, she emerged as the Growling girl, an awesome Vocalist just like her inspiration ‘ANGELA GOSSOW’. She joined the metal circuit when she was about 15 yrs old. Trained Operatic Singer, Trained Dancer, Song writer, Trained Guitar player, she also enjoys playing the Keys .Her Benchmark includes The Last Dimension which is her own project. Currently she is a vocalist with “Hypnotic Sunday”.
A singer and composer by profession, Monica is yet another feather in the cap for the rock scene. In 2005, she formed the electro-rock group “Shaa’ir+Func”,(as mentioned above) along with guitarist Randolph Correia. In 2007, they released their first album New Day: The Love Album, followed by Light Tribe in 2008 and Mantis in 2010. She also sang a song “Dooriyan Bhi Hai Zaroori” with Vishal Dadlani in the film Break Ke Baad.
The Indian rock scene with women being a part of it is on the rise. The enthusiasm that surrounds rock gigs in the Indian cities and the new magazines and the pubs (including the Hard Rock Café) coming up have more and more sponsors sitting up and taking notice.
What may surprise you even more is the sheer variety of cultures that just come together and explode, opening myriad avenues for experimentation and hybridization in the rock music scene. This is bound to happen, after all, with the country’s tradition of classical and folk music and their great exposure to the rock music legends of the West, Indian musicians have a diverse heritage to call their own. We all are aware of the rock scene in India. But do we really know women’s presence in this field? With the support of magazines such as the Rock Street Journal and more recently, Rolling Stone India, more and more of these bands are coming into the limelight.
Although underground is nowhere near being Mainstream, it is heartening to see the kind of support the Indian audience is capable of providing. This support is more than evident at rock fests happening in the major cities. Great Indian Rock , Independence Rock, Campus Rock Idols and the June Rock Out are a few of the best known. These festivals see a lot of talented bands doing their stuff live forever increasing crowds of enthusiastic young Indian rockers and metal-heads. The possibilities are endless because there is still a possibility. But the thing is, there’s always a possibility. Moreover, Rock music has got so industry-heavy. I think now that the industry is changing so dramatically, it now opens the door for more people. There is much to be said about the contemporary Indian rock and metal scene; providing a comprehensive overview in one place is difficult, and I can only call this an introduction. We are yet to wait and watch the “Women who ROCK”.
In the recently held Grammys Apart from Adele winning a lot of awards and it being a long show, Skrillex won 3 Grammy awards. Skrillex a popular Dubstep artist has been a sensation over the last year with more than a million hits for his tracks on YouTube. He has also collaborated with well known bands like Korn on their album “The Path Of Totality”. This marks the entry of Dubstep into the mainstream arena.
Dubstep has its roots primarily in the South London underground music movement. By around 1999, UK had a number of genres springing up across various regions. Electronica was a major aspect of it. People subscribed to different styles such as 2-step, Breakbeat, Garage, Drum n bass and more. Producers incorporated various urban elements into their sound. Various producers were experimenting with elements from disparate sources leading to further sub genres. In such an atmosphere, producers like Kode 9 and DJ Mary Anne Hobbs started pushing a new style of music. A kind that was a blend of overwhelming basslines and spaced out drums with cold sonic textures and occasional vocals in the form MCing or sampling. ‘Warrior Dubz’, compiled by Mary Anne Hobbs could be the first compilation that featured such genre of music. A number of producers released in this genre notably among them were Benga, Pinch, Skream and Burial on labels like on labels like Tempa, Tectonic, Hessle Audio, Immerse, and Hyperdub.
The term Dubstep comes from two very distinct styles of music. The ‘Dub’ part comes from the Jamaica where instrumental versions or doubles of various tracks were taken for playing a style that could be characterized in its purest form to be a subgenre of reggae. They were used mainly as a canvas over which producers would add various effects and elements. The popularity of reggae and Jamaican music in UK introduced use of dub in the UK music scene. The ‘step’ part probably originated from the 2-step scene in UK. 2-step is a close variant of UK Garage scene, which is primarily an offset of the Chicago Garage scene which has various elements of House music in it.
The music created was mainly urban with melancholic undertones. Sounds from all across the spectrum were used with Atmospheric textures and an uncanny space with massive sub bass content. Soon the scene grew and artists like Skream who knew the scene to be a small underground scene where travelling all over Europe for gigs. As the scene grew producers from various part of Europe too , such as Martyn from the Netherlands began releasing music with the same characteristic elements of Dubstep.
From the period 2003 to 2007, Dubstep saw a steady growth across Europe and slowly rise in audience across Northern America. Each region saw its own adaptation of the genre to an extent. American producers created their own variant of Dubstep also known as Brostep. It emphasized more on heavy mid range sounds. Purists of the genre have criticized this style however widespread popularity in the North American continent greatly contributed to get Dubstep to the spotlight. Fueled by internet popularity in 2011, Dubstep has reached new heights. Dubstep remixes of popular mainstream tracks has helped it to reach people who would not generally listen to such sounds or groove to it. With global recognition now, Dubstep might well be the next big thing.
