Electrified!

“It’s fast and it’s danceable,” says Anil Seth,an ad professional by day and a party animal by night. We are a nation of dancers. If it doesn’t make us jump up and shake our booty,we don’t like it. Music,for us,is more about celebration and letting go of inhibitions,and that explains our predilection for thumping and percussion heavy music,which further explains ‘why electronica’. With a change in demographics,excessive downloading and regular clubbing,electronica is coming out of the ‘House’ coat,the traditional haunts – clubs and lounges,and into the main scene. Artists like Jalebee Cartel,Teddy Boy Kill,Midival Punditz and Mukul Deora are coming out with electronica albums in the next few months. “Until a few years back,electronica was very niche. It catered to a select audience who had exposure to international music,in a few major cities like Mumbai and Bangalore. And while it’s still not as popular as Bollywood music,it’s certainly making its presence felt,” says US-based musician Karsh Kale.

City’s Hari Singh and Sukhmani Malik,part of the Electro Qawali Project,feel that the niche no longer remains so,mainly due to greater exposure to world music trends. “It provides a wide range of experimentation,and it’s all about creating new forms,ones which are different from the other,” syncs Hari. Meanwhile,Rohit,Zorawat Waddali and Sameer of Chakra Vu are firing up the night party scene with electro impact. “This part,we are more into a fusion of sufi and electronic music,” Sameer’s all charged up with the new software than produces sound like no other. For singer Shubha Mudgal,what makes electronica so successful is that it is very accommodating. “If a classical or folk singer is singing,a DJ can perform at the same time and you’ll get a unique sound.” Mudgal put this theory into practice at music expo Baaja Gaaja,which she conceived along with renowned tabla player Aneesh Pradhan. The event saw DJ Gaurav Issar spinning vinyl with classical artists like singer Devaki Pandit and flautist Rakesh Chaurasia.

Piping hot,that’s how French band Masaladosa defined their music when they came for a performance in town. In a Bharat darshan,the three,Pierre-Jean Duffour,Brice and Franck have been travelling and recording sounds of India in their mobile studio. “This is further used as samplers,and fused electronically,” they’re already out with their their album,Electro World Curry. In fact,their music draws its influences from diversity of cultures,the subtle alchemy of Indian music and Jamaican grooves,delicately spiced with electronica.

The musical roots go years back,to the time of Herbie Hancock. “We’re basically recycling the old stuff,adding the zing factor,” smiles Goapu. “It’s a software-based music,and works best when produced with live music. Electronic music is big and growing….even jagran and bhangra bands are using it,” points musician-composer Arjun Sen. But he cautions,“If you don’t have the knowledge of how an instrument works,you will never get the right effect. The actual process still demands creativity,and the use of human mind is paramount to produce that stunning sound.”

(With Pooja Pillai)