Unplugged melodies

One wouldnt have thought that there was much lacking in Indias non-mainstream music scene.

Written by Pooja Pillai
September 18, 2009 01:15 AM IST

3 min read

One wouldnt have thought that there was much lacking in Indias non-mainstream music scene. There are many more concerts and live performances than before and many more new performers in genres as varied as rock,electro-pop and jazz. The audience has grown as have the record companies that are actively pushing non-film music. All would seem well to the casual observer. But then,Uday Benegal is hardly that. When the former frontman of pre-eminent rock outfit Indus Creed,returned to India from New York a year ago,he immediately spotted lacunaethere was hardly any focus on acoustic and semi-acoustic music.

In the west,theres a huge following for singer-songwriters like John Mayer and Amos Lee whove established themselves in the acoustic music arena, says Benegal,When I came back to Mumbai,I saw that while more people are into rock and electronica,very few are into acoustic music. Thats when I thought of holding a series of concerts to address this specific gap. The concert seriesTuborg Acoustic Adventureswhich took off on Wednesday evening at Gadda da Vida at the Novotel,Juhuis actively being pushed by Benegal and Rolling Stone magazine as a monthly platform for unknown talent as well as established names. We would love for well-known musicians to come and perform. Ive spoken to my old friends like Ehsaan Noorani and Sanjay Divecha whove expressed an interest to perform with us. But,he insists,the spotlight will be trained on upcoming singers-songwriters.

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

To those who think Acoustic Adventures is similar to MTVs iconic Unplugged series,Benegal clarifies,On Unplugged,bands used to perform acoustic versions of their electronic music. Wed like that as wellif a Pentagram wants to perform acoustic versions of their songs,well welcome them. But were really focussing on encouraging musicians whore already performing acoustic. The genre really doesnt matter as long that parameter is met. The vibe should be relaxed. The inaugural show featured Benegals new band Whirling Kalapas,which hes formed with former Indus Creed colleague Mahesh Tinaikar,and also performances by singer/guitarist Nikhil DSouza and Pune-based singer Gowri.

The future of the series depends on how well the show goes down with the audience in the coming months. Were starting in Mumbai,but we really want to take this to other cities like Pune,Bangalore and Delhi,discover talent there and also introduce them to music from this city. In the course of that,if someone approaches us to produce a TV show based on the concerts,well be happy,but its really too early to tell.