All Fixed Up

Ashutosh Phatak has a lot to thank the worldwide web for. 8220;I8217;d say that tools like MySpace and Facebook are fantastic,8221; he says, 8220;I8217;m practically an 8216;Internet illiterate8217; ...

From Mumbai to Austin8212; singer-songwriter Ashutosh Phatak has come a long way

Ashutosh Phatak has a lot to thank the worldwide web for. 8220;I8217;d say that tools like MySpace and Facebook are fantastic,8221; he says, 8220;I8217;m practically an 8216;Internet illiterate8217; when it comes to using these sites, but I have to admit that they8217;ve been very helpful to give musicians some much-needed exposure.8221; He speaks from experience. Ashutosh Phatak, who sings as Ashu, has been invited to perform at the South by Southwest SxSW Music festival in Austin, Texas, one of the largest music conferences and festivals in the world. 8220;The organisers heard my music on my MySpace page and I guess they liked what they heard,8221; he says.

Before he flies to the US in March for the SxSW festival, Ashu is doing a mini-India tour which starts at the Blue Frog, Parel, on December 10. 8220;I want to make sure that Sigh of an Angel is heard by people. I8217;ll be giving them more than just a gig8212;we8217;re also going to be playing videos of the songs. Basically it8217;s going to be a whole visual experience as well,8221; he says. He has ambitious plans. 8220;Eventually, I want to produce a 20-song rock opera, which I8217;ve already written, and release it as a big show, something like Cirque du Soleil,8221; he confesses.

The Mumbai-based composer is one half of the composing duo Ashu-Dhruv, who have scored music for movies like Bombay Boys and White Noise. His solo album, Sigh of an Angel, has become an underground hit and the video of the single Fix Me is making a mark on VH1 India. And while talking of the Fix Me video, which has a slightly insane-looking Ashu staring into the camera and singing in ominous tones, he gleefully reveals that he shot the entire video in one night using his web-cam. 8220;I intended to post it on my MySpace page,8221; he says, 8220;I wanted it to become a viral phenomenon on the Net. But when my friends saw it, they loved it. They told me not to change a thing and even VH1 picked it up, without altering anything. I guess that8217;s because the craziness in it goes so well with the lyrics.8221;

The lyrics are the most important part of his songs, the singer-songwriter informs. 8220;My songs can be divided into two categories 8211; one that speak about personal relationships and the other that speak about my relationship with the world.8221; Fix Me talks about world leaders, from Hitler to Bush, who seek to dominate the world, mostly as a result of their own insecurities. 8220;But there8217;s a little bit of that in each of us,8221; he adds.