Alter Echoes

If the word alternative is seeping into the Capitals most visited nooks and crannies,its not without reason.

Written by Pallavi Pundir
July 20, 2012 03:00 AM IST

3 min read

If the word alternative is seeping into the Capitals most visited nooks and crannies,its not without reason. In the past few years,exploring whats not mainstream has brought out many independent spaces musicians,artists and people from other creative fields from Delhis underbelly. So,23-year-old Delhiite Satyarth Singh had a massive task at hand a year ago,when he sat at alternative spaces,listening to various independent musicians who haunt the nocturnal music scene in Delhi. By February this year,he had his script ready,which has now resulted in Echoes : A Film on Music,Passion and Technology a 30-minute documentary featuring five indie bands and how their music was received in the city.

The film,to be released under the banner of Singhs production house,Lights on Film,explores the work of five artistes who are known for their frequent gigs in Delhi: electronica band Dualist Inquiry,Jamaican ska-jazz-hip hop-punk group The Ska Vengers,audio-visual collective BLOT,Kolkata-based art rock band Space and electronica duo Teddy Boy Kill.

This story requires a subscription

Select a plan and use IE10 code to get 10% extra off

POPULAR

EXPRESS EDGE

Daily ePaper access

Premium stories & archives

UPSC Section + UPSC Essentials Magazine

Premium stories & archives

UPSC Section + UPSC Essentials Magazine

Starts at ₹133/month

Best for UPSC aspirants

This story requires a subscription

Please Select A Plan

POPULAR

EXPRESS EDGE

Daily ePaper access

Premium stories & archives

UPSC Section + UPSC Essentials Magazine

Premium stories & archives

UPSC Section + UPSC Essentials Magazine

Starts at ₹133/month

Best for UPSC aspirants

The film is about indie musicians who are doing incredibly well abroad,while the Indian audiences are finding it hard to accept their genres of music. For instance,electronic music will probably take about 10 years to settle with the listeners taste. Then there is reggae,ska and ethnic pop that are picking up pace in the music scene here, says Singh,who took four months to complete the film.

Singh,along with the films editor Brijesh Birua,set out to shoot the bands while they performed at various clubs such as Blue Frog,The Living Room,Out of the Box and Cheri,over a period of two months. They also interviewed some of these artistes at their studios,homes and even outside the club washrooms. I had initially planned to speak to more bands,like Menwhopause and Vinyl Records,but their gig dates were either clashing or their schedule was very tight. For instance,Stefan (of The Ska Vengers) spoke to me outside a club bathroom, Singh says with a laugh.

I wanted the film to be short and crisp because,firstly,its my maiden venture and also because I wanted to see the reaction of the people. If its great,then there could be a follow-up,with musicians from other cities, adds Singh.

The film will be screened in Delhi,Mumbai,Bangalore and Pune soon.