Live Wired

Wednesdays are a different world at the Orchid Lounge. It8217;s the night when Hari and Sukhmani take their place behind the bar and serve a cocktail of music...

Wednesdays are a different world at the Orchid Lounge. It8217;s the night when Hari and Sukhmani take their place behind the bar and serve a cocktail of music, one that puts a mute on the visitors8217; volume and entraps your senses with a sonic spell of electro-classical lounge music. If played well, that8217;s the effect live music can create, and on hearing this, city hotels are plugging in bands and musicians for the right feel and ambience.

8220;I8217;d been on the look-out for singers and musicians for long now, but not the usual orchestra ones with re-runs of old numbers. That was the difference I saw in Hari and Sukhmani, their sound is original, they are young and know the pulse of the crowd,8221; Priya Jagat of Orchid Lounge in Sector 34, floored by their 8216;electro classical lounge music with a touch of Sufi8217;, has signed the two for Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. 8220;Change is always good, and when you have a regular clientele, you want to give them something new, so I kept it to three times a week,8221; Jagat adds that now Chandigarh has a crop of technically sound young musicians who are ready to experiment, making the scene quite alive.

Tune into Hari Singh and Sukhmani Malik, and the two are romancing the music. When she sings and he plays, it8217;s like they are having an affair with the song, such is depth to their art form. Their USP: Indian Lounge, croons Sukhmani, who enthralled the 8216;audience8217; with her rendition old Punjabi numbers like Kali Teri Gutt and Chhalla. 8220;It8217;s what we call fusion of Sufi, classical and Punjabi folk,8221; she8217;s grown up on these, has trained in classical and wants to revive this dying music. 8220;We were nervous, but when we played, people stopped and listened. The point is, they want to hear what they can relate to,8221; the two have broken down the technicalities and intricacies that weigh classical music down and come up with mixes and medleys in their own style. While Hari, a producer, musician and DJ who has dabbled in musical genres like Indian electronica, Sufi electronica, electro house, and psytrance, is busy building a repertoire of songs, Sukhmani8217;s on the prowl for poetry, that of Bulle Shah, Baba Farid and Kabir. 8220;Her personality comes out when she sings, I on the other hand, sit back pull a few chords twist a few knobs and enjoy my drink,8221; amuses Hari, who is also a classically trained musician, vocalist, audio engineer with an extensive experience in the field of music. 8220;Our live music is completely original, and we compose and lay out our own music,8221; Hari, being a live sound engineer, and Sukhmani, having been on stage countless times make sure that the sound quality is always at its optimum. The smart thing, which was missing earlier, is that the two use latest equipment and software. 8220;Macintosh laptop using the latest version of ableton live, a midi-controller and a soundcard,8221; smiles Hari.

Check out the other venues in town, and there8217;s a live wire in almost every hotel. The Rodrigues, oldest and longest surviving band continues its live gigs. Sanjeev Kumar regales visitors with soft ghazals at Western Court in Sector 43, while Parminder and Jagdeep sing and sway to old numbers at Hotel Mount View, so does singer Rohina. On popular demand, Fun Republic8217;s food court has been alive with music and lyrics for more than a year now. Even Taj Chandigarh has a Philipinno band, Emotions making people dance at the Lava Bar. 8220;Live music8217;s quite a rage and hit, so we8217;ve kept it alive,8221; says Taj8217;s Executive Chef and F038;B, Neeraj. 8220;Music is food for ears. A great ambience coupled with light classical is the trend,8221; points of Western Court8217;s Group GM, Rajeev Kakar. 8220;It8217;s all on public demand, and these guys get Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 as tips!8221; adds Kakar. In the circuit for more than three years now, Parminder and Jagdeep keep getting requests for old Hindi and Punjabi numbers. 8220;For most people, the background music or a DJ translates into noise, they prefer live music because they get to hear what they like,8221; says Parminder.

Conventional sound can sometimes be a little jarring. For live music to be charged, it has to evolve. May be that8217;s why Hari and Sukhmani chose electronica, it8217;s limitless. Sing along8230;