Tags:
Journalism of Courage
When bob marley meets Rajasthani folk and blends into rock, you get a sound that8217;s distinct, earthy and unpredictable. You get a taste of The Raghu Dixit Project8212;a colourful pop act that has been winning audiences in concerts across the country for some time now. In April last year, it impressed Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravijani the Vishal-Shekhar duo enough for them to swing an album deal for Raghu Dixit, who started the band in early 2006 and is its sole permanent member.
8220;That happened when Vishal-Shekhar saw my performance which was a solo gig in Mumbai. Ironically, I had decided that was going to be my last attempt at going to any record label. But things turned out well when Counter Culture Records decided to release the seven-track compilation,8221; he says. 8220;The album will be distributed by HMV and will see an international release.8221; Raghu Dixit, releases on February 26.
That was till he hit on the idea of The Raghu Dixit Project. 8220;Since holding a group together and keeping all its members happy for them to work towards the same goal didn8217;t work too well in the past, I decided to collaborate with artists as and when they were available,8221; says Dixit, who has experienced musicians like Bruce Lee Mani from Thermal and a Quarter8217;s and Mohan from Agnee among many others onboard for the shows. Bassist Gaurav Vaz and drummer Shiva are constants in his shows though other fellow musicians are spread across the country, some in Kerala and Chennai. So how do they manage the practice sessions? 8220;Exactly, we don8217;t,8221; he jokes.
Dixit has strummed magic as the opening act for the Bryan Adams concert in 2001 and been featured on Radio 21, Europe8217;s hottest RBTF FM radio station based in Brussels in 1999, with his band. As The Raghu Dixit Project, he has performed at the Big Chill Festival in Goa and opened for the Lycra MTV Style Awards 2007. Dixit is looking forward to other shows like the Eastwind Festival in Delhi from February 22 and the Sama Festival in England later in the year.
Dixit8217;s music is a medley of many influences and languages8212;from the folksy tunes of Mysore se aayee and Hey bhagwan or the bi-lingual country folk of Mumbai. The lyrics are in Hindi, Kannada or English, the melodies simple but foot-tapping. 8220;It8217;s an interesting crossover of sounds and mostly fun music. The songs are honest and very heartfelt which is good and works well with people,8221; says Bruce Lee Mani, vocalist and guitarist, Thermal and a Quarter, who has played with Dixit at several gigs.
Dixit, moreover, is foremost a performer and often takes to the stage in his colourful lungis. 8220;I8217;m not a musician to play for myself and I don8217;t believe musicians who says that their music is for themselves. If that is the case, they might play in a closed room. I8217;m a performing artist who plays for my audience. I like to play and compose music that the common man can understand and enjoys listening to,8221; says Dixit. It8217;s a quality that makes his music ideal for crossing over from the concert circuit to the mainstream pop scene.
Dixit8217;s tryst with collaborations doesn8217;t end at musicians alone. Even lyricists are a part of it. 8220;My Hindi vocabulary ended with two songs, Mumbai and Mysore.., which I wrote. After that, a lot of my friends wrote for me. Now there are other lyricists who are write for my compositions,8221; says Dixit, who has not only done playback singing for a few films down south but also composed for a couple of Kannada films like Psycho and the forthcoming Just Maat Maat Hali.
Is Bollywood the next stop? 8220;I take a long time to pick up someone else8217;s melody so I don8217;t know how many music directors would be willing to hire the studio for an entire day,8221; Dixit says before adding on a serious note, 8220;But I8217;m not closed to the idea of singing for Bollywood.8221;
