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Music videos shouldnt be curbed for portraying reality: Anindo Bose of Advaita
Updated on: 17 March, 2017 12:07 PM IST |
Advaita, the eclectic fusion based band from Delhi has been enthralling its avid fans since 2004. As one of four Indian bands to be selected by renowned producer John Leckie who has worked with the likes of Pink Floyd, George Harrison and Radiohead, the band’s kitty boasts of two songs compiled and released by the British Council. Since then Advaita has been redefining the independent scene for Delhi and India at large.
Anindo Bose, the founding member and keyboard player of the band, pens a few thoughts about creative expression and the evolving genre of folk, in the below editorial.
Your popular song ‘Mo Funk’ was used in a movie starring Amitabh Bachchan. How important is mainstream recognition in your opinion?
Anindo: I think for most artists, having their compositions featured on the commercial screen is like a dream come true. We all want our music to be featured in a film, and still retain our sound and identity as a band. So it definitely felt great to be featured in a movie that had Mr. Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar in the same shot. It’s quite a pivotal part of the film. As a result, a lot of people got to know about the band instantly and it got us good reviews for the song. I feel such features are the fastest way to get across to the larger masses.
You are also a part of Friends and Linger. Recently a video released by the collective titled ‘Miss You’ depicted same-sex love and it received an A-certification from the Censor Board. How independent do you think is the independent music scene really in terms of creative liberty?
Anindo: To clarify, I&39;m not a permanent member of their band. However I had recorded and mixed another song of theirs called &39;Head held high&39;. Though I wasn’t directly involved with the video, I admire and support the cause that Friends of Linger stands for. Music videos have worked well in the past in bringing about change in the mindset of people.. So they shouldn’t be curbed for portraying reality.
Since Advaita has always promoted the use of traditional folk, how do you think can aspiring contemporary musicians be enlightened about traditional folk, if they wish to take the folk music route?
Anindo: I would like to correct you there, we are different from traditional folk rock bands. On the other hand our core sound has traditional classical compositions/bandish with contemporary instrumentation. It is our focus on unique arrangements and our detailed production that makes us stand out. Such East-West collaborations have been on for a long time now starting with the Beatles etc. I think more and more people are listening to originals composed in the independent music circuit. People are actually aware of all kinds of music that bands are composing/performing. So they want to know more about how we fuse different styles of music. We’ve seen that younger budding musicians or college-going students generally listen to something that is very accessible or easy to listen to, the style does not matter. For us, it was never a question of blending two forms of music just for the sake of it, it just happened to be that way since three of our band mates were from the Hindustani classical background and the rest of us played western instruments. At the end of the day we are just complimenting composition with our instruments and voices. Most of us have only heard Hindustani compositions in the pure traditional domains but when we hear it with a contemporary feel to it, I feel it is more relatable to young people. So it inspires younger people to look more into Indian classical music in general. Lot of people have time and again told us that they started listening to classical music after hearing our concerts and realized the beauty of our traditional compositions. That means a lot to us.
Lastly, having performed as a part of Shadow and Light at the Radio City Freedom Concert in Delhi, what’s your take on the ‘Sounds of the Soil’ initiative by Radio City Freedom Awards 4.0?
Anindo: It’s a great platform to showcase independent music. We certainly felt good to be part of its Delhi leg. When such awards specifically recognize different styles of music, and independent acts, I think it’s a great step forward to encourage quality song writing. It also helps to change the general mindset of the audience and their ability to appreciate independent music. These kind of platforms give a lot of encouragement to the newer, younger generation of musicians to write their own music and confidently perform them to a live audience. We are grateful that a reputed radio channel like Radio City is helping put something of this level together. It is commendable. Pavithra and I as Shadow and Light performed a duo set at Antisocial Delhi and Faridkot played thereafter. Pavithra also collaborated with Faridkot for a track. I played keyboards for a song I had written with IP almost a decade ago. It was quite nostalgic performing together after so many years of having written that song. To top it all we had the Grammy-nominated Stanley Jordan in the audience. He had heard of Shadow and Light through our friends at Teamwork Arts and specifically came to watch us since he liked our songs online. Our fans can expect a collaboration between Stanley & Shadow and Light very soon.
The above editorial was compiled as an initiative for the Radio City Freedom Awards 4.0.