India Rock-and-RolI - Page 2

For Indian rock

Dogmatone Records hopes to make Indian rock into a saleable and marketable proposition

PHOTO: BHAGYA PRAKASH K.

READY TO GO Dogmatone is dedicated to promoting rock and is keen on spotting talent A lot has been done to promote Indian rock over the years and now there is yet another attempt from the city. Bands are often faced with the prospect of having no outlet to release their music but now four IT professionals have gotten together to do their bit for Indian rock. Sunil Anand, Varun Rajagopalan, Ramprakash and Shyam Prasad have gotten together to form Dogmatone Records, which exclusively promotes and sells Indian rock. For starters, they have released the label's first CD, The First Mutiny - Dogmas of Indian Rock, which features numbers from bands around the country. The idea to form the label began because the quartet were quite avid followers of the local rock scene and decided to do something to promote Indian talent. "In the beginning we used to wonder how there isso much talent and nobody to promote it. A band like Parikrama gives its music away free over the Internet. We thought why not make this music into a mainstream saleable proposition. It led to a decision. Every other genre of music in the country has a support set except Indian rock. We wanted to create that foundation," recalls Anand. "If you try to sell music it loses creativity. Worldwide rock bands are very marketable, but in India that situation is not there. It is more likely people have heard of Himesh Reshammiya rather than rock," adds Varun. Priced at Rs. 100, none of the music in the CD is copyrighted as of now. Bands such as Vertigo, Moonstruck, Exodus, Pralay, Grungy Morphins, Demonic Resurrection, Kastadyne, Scream of Silence, Night Train, Hunger, Indian Breves, Cassini's Division, Enthrall and Kradle O' Beats were asked to contribute. The label, however, plans a major thrust in promoting Indian rock in a big way. "The CD is just a sample of the talent that is out there. We don't want to promote just the CD but also gigs to promote the music and we might even have events at pubs around Bangalore. To create awareness, bands must know that we exist," says Ramprakash. Dogmatone is a fully registered record company and pays its taxes. A distribution network for the CD has been set up and Purplebeast Studios is being used for recording and remastering to give a professional touch to the CD. "There is not much professionalism in Indian bands. Nobody has a manager. There should be a guy responsible for the affairs of the band," points out Anand. There was no problem it seems with music stores offering to display the CD. They were happy if the record company was registered and all the taxes were paid. Space has also been offered within the premises of some stores for bands to perform and promote their music. The label is dedicated to promoting rock in local languages and is keen to spot talent early so that it can be signed up. "We are attending a lot of the Indian rock gigs that are happening such as URock and Freedom Jam. We receive many demo tapes. But college bands are a problem because they lose that passion after college. We need bands that are serious about their work." The First Mutiny - Dogmas of Indian Rock is available at all Music World outlets.

ANAND SANKAR

DESI roots, FIRANGI music

Oliver Sean is another young musician from Goa who is all set to capture the music world

GOA HAS produced a handful of impressive musicians in the recent past — Remo Fernandes and Abbey — who have gained nationwide fame. In fact, Goa is known for its catchy folk tunes such as "Maya Ya" and "Maria Pitache" that inspired both the above-mentioned musicians. Now we have another artiste from that sun-kissed land who is all set to make waves on the Indian music arena. He is Oliver Sean, sporting long hair, of Italian and Portugese-Goan descent, and sings rock, blues and country music. Sean began singing at the age of four, strumming the guitar at the age of eight, and started writing lyrics when he was 11. Having secured a scholarship from his school as the most outstanding student in music, he attributes his inclination towards singing to his musical family (his late uncle Victor Alvares, was a legendary bass guitarist in Remo Fernandes' band, The Microwave Pappadums) that gave him exposure to various facets of vocalisation and sounds. Before going solo with his debut album, I Like It (Times Music, CD, Rs. 195), Sean was part of bands such as Knights, India, and Cloud 9 during his late teens. Later he went to California and joined the Recording Institute Of Technology (part of the Musicians Institute of California), where he learnt about the technicalities of composing and mixing. He has also performed at the prestigious Mick Jagger Center (a platform for young musical talent), and travelled across U.K. and India. Today Sean owns two recording studios — in Goa and Dubai. Though Sean has written, arranged, and composed all the tracks in I Like It, the Oliver Sean Band comprises of Sean on vocals, guitars, and keyboards, Assumption Nunes on drums and percussion, Vency Dias on bass guitars, and Prakash Naik on Indian percussion. The music is a concoction of rock, blues, and country music. In fact, long before the album was released, the band began performing at beach concerts in Goa, and earned a huge fan following. The band members believed that they should concentrate on making their own music, and not undermine themselves by singing cover versions of popular songs. The lyrics in I Like It speak positively about love and happy life, and one can feel Goa running through all that talk about the beach and summer. The title track is rendered in a typical rock style, and takes a different turn, with the introduction of tabla. It is amazing to hear the tabla seamlessly blend in with the guitar. "Tonite", on the other hand, reflects a blues groove set to some impressive acoustic guitar accomplishments. "Turn Around" oozes with attitude and projects the naughtier side of Sean. "Nicole", comparatively, is more soothing and balladic in nature. "You & Me" appears in two versions, including a soft unplugged one. On the whole, Sean's vocals are energising and happy, and the Indian percussion makes a lasting impression on the listener. Oodles of attitude, energy, and imagination — that's Sean's music for you. Well, what else can we say, except, We Like It!

A. VISHNU

T he capital had a handsome musical experience this weekend. Delhi may not get the biggest international musi- cians but it surely did get to see some of the brightest upcoming acts from the Asian region. The SAARC bands festival was noth- ing short of a hit. The three-day concert was held at the lush Central Park in CP, which worked beautifully as a venue. The ambience was truly inter- national and so was the concept. As the fest started around four each afternoon, the audiences got to enjoy not only great music but also some sprawling moments in sunshine. The festival was inau- gurated by the external affairs ministet: Pranab Mukherjee. It's easy to say that the fest was a complete eye-opener to so mind- mine of talent that lies in the SAARC regions. The genres too were a good mix, so while there was a spellbinding Indian Ocean, there were also a spacey Midival Punditz and popular favourites Strings (Pakistan) along with Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy playing Bollywood favourites. Aryan Band (Afghanistan), Abhaya and the Steam In- juns (Nepal), Bangla Fusion Band (Bangladesh) and East India Company (Assam) were hugely appreciated. The rest of the Indian bands too for sure made us all very proud. Encore soon?

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