Narrating Music

Indian’s are born storytellers,” says lyricist Neelesh Misra,“It’s in each one of us to narrate stories. The love of Qissagoi,or the art of storytelling,is what binds us all together.” It’s this tradition of Qissagoi that Misra,along with singer Shilpa Rao and composer Amartya Rahut,seeks to bring back with the launch of their new album,Rewind: Nine Lost Memories. The launch,that will be held in Mumbai,today,will be accompanied by a live performance by the trio,which has named itself Band Called Nine.

The band got together through their common need to look for a music project that is off-beat and offers a lot of creative freedom. “Usually,when you compose music for a project,there’s a brief that you have to stick to. Here,after hearing the initial idea,I was given a free hand to come up with my kind of music,” says Rahut,whose melodies have featured in commercials for Godrej,McDonald’s and Cadbury’s Perk. He was introduced to Misra by Rao,an award-winning singer,whose singing credits include Khuda Jaane from Bachna Ae Haseeno and Mudi Mudi from Paa.

This is perhaps the first time when the concept of Qissagoi has been merged with music in an album. “The art of storytelling was once very strong among us. But slowly,people stopped paying attention to it,because cinema became a popular medium of entertainment. But there still remains a thirst for new stories amongst all of us,and that’s what we tried to do with this album,” says Misra. When music company SaReGaMa approached him with the idea of backing a non-film music album,the concept clicked immediately. The trio went on to create an album that narrates the story of a man,looking back on his life with nostalgia.

The concept has already been tried out by Misra,when he launched a radio programme,Yaadon ka Idiot Box,along similar lines,early this year. “Listeners from across India and even Pakistan,love the show,” says Mishra. He adds,“I’ve already played the songs from our album and they’ve all received a great response.”