Lists - 8octaves Music

December 19, 2012

December 19, 2012September 19, 2022 Shubangi Sundar

2012 – The Year That Was – Best Concerts

Top 8 Concerts to hit India:

India witnessed an epic number of concerts this year. And fortunately for the nation, most concerts turned out to be a whooping success. From selling out tickets a month into announcements to happy fans lining up in small crowds to enjoy legendary bands play, most concerts had more ups than downs. However there was something that eight of these concerts had that just made them tip over the already music heavy iceberg.

8. Ziro Music Festival: With a line-up that made you more than curious, this festival was one of those that had you itching to know more. So after availing the passes and making your way to the amazing Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh, this concert does not disappoint. Showing the multi-talented Indie culture of the country, this year’s Ziro highlighted The Vinyl Records and Lou Majaw in much splendour. And the turnout was one that complimented the bands. The crowd understood the music and being an insane indie fan myself, I can’t say I blame them.

7. Above & Beyond #TATW450 Concert: As mentioned earlier, a diverse set of people arrived in our fabulous country to perform. This showed off one thing for sure. The country had the ability to manage e a concert ticket for its genre of choice. This was witnessed at the A&B concert. A loyal fan base showed up at the Jayamahal Palace in Bangalore to show support and enjoy the mind-boggling party that would be Above and Beyond. And the sheer magnanimity showed through in the sound and light work, which reflected an international standard.

6. Enrique Iglesias, Live in India: When most people heard that Enrique was coming to town again, there was a surprising enthusiasm. But nothing could beat the shrill echoing cries of that 14-18 crowd that Enrique seemed to have tapped into. Personally, I am not sure even he knows the effect he has on those girls. Spilling in from school to Pre-University alike, this concert featured a much younger and female crowd. One that knew his every song, every beat and, of course, every abs movement.

5. Slayer, Live in Concert: Most of the concerts happened towards the end of the year. But one of the few that was anticipated since the beginning was Slayer, Live in Concert. The metal community came out by the hoard to watch this act take the stage and the chant one more would not leave the air as the concert ended. The band was everything and more than expected leaving fans with the hope that the band enjoyed the concert as much as the listener urging them to return soon.

4. Children of Bodom at TGIOF: Though the gods rained down on this parade, the music never stopped. And neither did the enthusiasm for the crowd or how much they enjoyed themselves. The large crowd that has gathered the Beer festival kicked it up a notch the minute the band hit the stage. The music was right, the beer was right, the mood was right. Everything came together perfectly at TGIOF, making this concert one of the memorable ones and taking TGIOF to a whole new level.

3. Eristoff Invasion with David Guetta: A concert of a lifetime, this was true meaning of phenomenal party. And you know it’s a success when the artist himself jumps up on the console and bounces up and down. The crowd knew every song, Guetta played every hit. Known for being one of the happiest DJ’s, one can see why this guy has manages to crawl his way into people’s hearts. One can also see how he manages to control the Rio festival crowd that continues on for more than ten km. Hands down, one of the most amazing EDM presentations to hit our country.

2. NH7 Weekender, Bangalore/Delhi/Pune: Yes the entire country’s music loving community tends to join hands and come together for NH7’s Weekenders but justice is served one you see the many bands on the many stages. A concept that generated excitement now draws a loyal crowd as it saw this year, featuring a new and old but always interesting line-up of bands that’s have a high element of quirk.. This year’s line-up at the three cities saw Testament and Megadeth set the stage ablaze, something that will stick in everyone’s minds for years to come.

1. Carlos Santana, Live in India: A concert that witnessed the old and the new of Bangalore come out to groove, there was nothing quite like the sight of the crowd at the Santana Concert. It was pure beauty. Generation witnessed this musician together. People came down for the concert just to honour the legacy of music passed down from their forefathers. The concert showed off how beautiful India can be as a musical culture and it didn’t hurt that Santana rocked the stage for three hours only to break to watch his mesmerising wife tear up the drums.

December 18, 2012

December 18, 2012September 19, 2022 8octaves Music

2012 The Year That Was – Best Bands

CLOWN WITH A FROWN: The Bangalore alt-rock band earned a slot for themselves at the Bindass Fully Fantastic Stage at the Bacardi NH7 Weekender 2012, Bangalore where they triumphed over their rivals Hungry, The Scratch Cards and The Indus Valley Project. The band consisting of Pramod Pratap (percussion), Abby Bec Attavar (vocals), Abheet Anand (bass), Jonathan Reuben (guitars, vocals) and Reuben Jacob (guitars). The band won Strawberry Fields ,the 2012 edition of the annual NLS (National Law School) rock competition. They were among the five finalists, which included Bangalore progressive metal band Orchid, Mumbai metal act Anthracite, Chennai alt-rockers The F16′s and Bangalore rock band The News.

PARVAAZ: Bangalore based blues/psychedelic rock band comprising of Khalid Ahmed (vocals, guitars, lyrics), Kashif Iqbal (guitars, various instruments, lyrics), Neil Simon (bass) and Sachin Banandur (drums) was formed in 2010. This year the band released their debut EP Behosh. The band’s lyrics mostly in Urdu and Kashmiri have developed a sound for itself.An unique sound of their own, the band plans to release their full time album soon.

SOULMATE: The band is comprising of guitarist Rudy Wallang and vocalist Tipriti Kharbangar have played over 500 gigs in various clubs across the country and abroad as well and this year the band sure did reignite the ‘Blues’ in India and have taken it to a whole new level.The band Shillong-based Blue Rock band also opened the show for legendary guitarist Carlos Santana at F1 Rocks concert in India on October 28.

INNER SANCTUM: Chintan and Michael, the founder members of the band supported by Abhinav, Tejas and Gaurav went on an opening spree this year.The band even headlined IIM- A ‘Chaos 2012’ and IIT- Chennai ‘Saarang 2012’. They have headlined for everyone! Slayer, Metallica, Cradle of Filth, to name a few.

ZYGNEMA: Mumbai thrash metal monsters Zygnema joined Eccentric Pendulum, Providence and Abraxas for the loudest evening at the Rolling Stone Metal Awards 2012.This year has been amazing for the band as they played WACKEN OPEN AIR at Wacken, Germany on 1st August 2012, Indo-German Mela at Palace Grounds, Bangalore on 24th June 2012. Moreover they also emerged as winners Of Wacken Metal Battle- INDIA Winners of Wacken Metal Battle- Mumbai Leg Headlined Rolling Stone Metal Awards 2012. To top it all,the band also headlined Bandslam at Medicaps, Indore on 22nd March 2012 and also headlined Resonance at Terna College, Nerul on 14th March 2012.

THERMAL AND A QUARTER: The band which describes its music as ‘Bangalore Rock’; a sound as unique and layered as the fast-growing city of its birth toured the US playing in New York, Dallas, Seattle and many more. The band even got a feature spot at the 2012 Mosaic Festival, Singapore. The band also launched their fifth studio album, 3 Wheels 9 Lives this year. The band also opened for Guns N Roses on the 7^th December 2012 for their first ever Indian gig.

EKA: After having won the Best Group at ArtistAloud Awards 2011, this year has been a year of tours for this band. In total now their concert numbers have increased it to 2100 concerts in 15 countries and have recorded over 100 songs in various capacities. They have managed to take their style ‘Swatantra Rock’to an all new level in 2012.

SKYHARBOR: This year accounted for band’s first Album release, ‘Blinding White Noise : Illusion & Chaos’ on April 23rd, 2012 worldwide via Basick Records to glowing praise from fans and press alike. The band followed up the launch with an epic live performance in support of LAMB OF GOD on their 2012 world tour, where they were joined by vocalist Dan Tompkins and played to nearly 10,000 people. October 2012 was be a landmark moment for the band this year, as they travelled to Europe for the first time to play an exclusive EU show at the Euroblast Festival alongside SCAR SYMMETRY, TESSERACT, JEFF LOOMIS and SYBREED.

RAGHU DIXIT PROJECT: One of India’s best contemporary folk bands and currently, India’s biggest cultural export Rahu Dixit also made an appearance at TED Global 2012.They were also with Jools Holland with none other than Robert Plant this year. Raghu Dixit also played for an illustrious audience; none other than Queen Elizabeth II. It has indeed been an awesome year for the boys from Bangalore.

INDUS CREED: They released their album ‘Evolve’ this year. Originally called Rock Machine, the band also featured in the famous music show – MTV Unplugged.With a unique sound associated to their music, 2012 was an amazing one for this band as they ‘evolve’d yet again. Hands down best sound, best songs, overall superbly awesome band, hence, they are worthy of our number 1 spot!

August 28, 2012

August 28, 2012September 17, 2022 Abhiraj Ghosh

8 Things You Should Know About Manifestator

Keeping the high spirits running from Witchgoat’s interview(hyperlink please), here are 8 things you don’t know about the Black/Thrash demons from Sri Lanka – Manifestator:

They all love porn
They collect porn
They all share porn
Wartek loves HD porn (X-ART), Softcore 70’s French porn, Home Made Porn, Rape porn, Bondage porn and Artistic Twisted Porn
B.W.G loves Art Porn, HD porn, Amateur porn, Asian Porn,
Nuklear Toxicator loves any type of porn that he can get his hands on specially milf
Khaoshova loves Japanese porn, Violent porn, Milf porn

Without porn none of them can live

March 11, 2012

March 11, 2012September 12, 2022 8octaves Music

Women Who Rock in India

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”.

May 10, 2011

May 10, 2011September 12, 2022 Fidel Dsouza

5 Things to Consider While Buying a Guitar

5 Things To Consider While Buying A Guitar:

It could be the funky groove in the song. Or the catchy riff in the chorus. Could definitely be the powerful solo building the crescendo. For whatever reason we have, we can no longer deny ourselves the passion. The decision makes itself: to finally get yourself that guitar, or that keyboard, or those drums or that blues harmonica. It’s an awesome feeling, expecting to give life to your favorite songs with your own hands. To feel what it must feel like, to know and play the notes and chords, and produce sweet, sweet music.

guitar, electric guitar, strings — Photo by WolfBlur on Pixabay

But the journey must start somewhere, like it did for a friend who asked me to accompany him to purchase a new acoustic guitar. We walked into an impressive music store in Bangalore to look for a companion for his lonely fingers. Music stores today stock an intimidating lineup of instruments and accessories ranging across all levels of musicianship and are increasingly digital and sophisticated compared to instruments of yore.

Acoustic guitar repair service, Cleaning the acoustic guitar, Close-up

We looked at some good brands and he quickly decided it was up to me to find the right guitar for him. I list here some of the key factors I considered while picking his acoustic guitar:

Guitar Body: The three popular types of guitar body constructions are Classic, Dreadnought, and Jumbo. Technical specifications to distinguish them across various brands are beyond the scope of this post. But simply put, they indicate the size of the guitar body. This directly impacts the tonal qualities of the guitar. Larger bodied guitar have a better bass response as the resonance cavity is larger. Smaller bodies are usually more “trebley” in nature. If you like playing solos, then a guitar with a cutaway allowing access to the higher range of frets will interest you. Purists claim the missing chunk of wood will adversely affect the tone. The counter argument is that the upper bout is structural in function while it’s the lower bout that is acoustic.
Wood: Materials used in constructing the guitar body/neck affect the timbre or quality of sound. The tonal signature of an acoustic guitar is heavily dependent on the wood (density, strength). As opposed to commercial wood, quartersawn logs are used. The top surface of the guitar, traditionally called the soundboard, has spruce/cedar wood ground to 1.5 to 2 mm and fixed in place with tubular bracing. The vibration of the soundboard transmitted via the saddle resonates in the cavity. For the back and sides, hard woods like mahogany, walnut and oak with their distinctive grain and color make for a good guitar. The fingerboard usually has ebony/rosewood glued over the neck. Nowadays though, it’s not uncommon to use alternate material like graphite or carbon fibre for the back, sides and neck.
Action: Upon holding your first chord on the guitar, your left hand starts becoming aware of the kind of effort required to fret notes. This may be rendered more difficult if the ‘string action’ is set high. This simply means the space between the fretboard and the strings parallel above it. The thumb rule is that the string height at the 12th fret should be around 3mm – 5mm. Further tweaking is subject to personal choice. What I did notice at the store was that the saddles are much higher than they should be. I would suggest removing it and filing down the opposite side to set it right. Medium gauge strings are the best for acoustic guitars allowing for greater sustain and a crisper tone.
Craftsmanship: It’s difficult to discuss this since all guitar brands nowadays get manufactured in China. There is still something to be said about the way guitars need to ‘feel’ the minute you hold one. In my opinion, this is the single most important factor deciding a guitar’s quality.
Electronics: Almost all guitar brands come with an onboard pickup for a premium. The electronics will allow your acoustic guitar to be plugged in via a 1/4″ jack sending a signal to a mixer for a live show as opposed to mixing it live. Let this be the last of your concerns while picking up a guitar, if your intention is to learn. The flashy tuner and three-band equalizer may not be the first thing you need to occupy yourself with. Although it’s a direct passport to join a band later!