BETWEEN THE WORLDS of classical music and Bollywood pop, there is a wide spectrum of music being performed in India, such as jazz, rock, pop, fusion, urban folk, both original music and cover versions.

 

Through the years we have had some great performances, solo as well as group, which have through concerts found new dimensions to their own music. To name a few we have music groups, like Artistes Unlimited, Bobby Cash, Bhoomi, Cactus, Euphoria, Indian Ocean, Just Us, Mrigya, North East Express, Orange Street, Parikrama, Silk Route, etc. Some of these groups have got good response from the television viewers and have gone on to cut albums and CDs.

 

The great pop stars, like Mike Fay from Delhi, Usha Uthup and her sisters, Pam Crain and Louis Banks, ruled the alternate pop scene in 1970s, and Calcutta was known as the capital of rock and pop. As power ebbed out of the city so did the corporate bigwigs and along with that the support for gigs and concerts. The annual pilgrimage of the jazz greats at the St Paul’s Cathedral, Calcutta, ceased due to lack of support and with that came the end of an era. The clubs which gave a platform to young musicians to hone their act were flooded with the demand for more ethnic music and Punjabi pop, and bhangra came to rule.

 

Simultaneously, brash music companies like Magnasound, Sony Music and Virgin Records made a foray into the pop field, but instead of focusing on talent and a new sound they looked at music as a sales vehicle. As a result the spate of taxi-driver type releases as a marketing gimmick took over as did a slew of Daler Mehndi clones. The original music producers, like Jawahar Wattal who were instrumental in finding new talent suffocated under the weight of their own egos and disappeared unsung and unloved even by those who they had created - the unkindest cut of them all.

 

HMV and Times Music entered the fray supporting new sounds, like Indian Ocean and Desert Rain yet not believing in the strength of their sound and certainly not supporting it with any marketing, and rarely paying royalties. In spite of the lack of support, musicians from across the country straining to find their voice began emerging - Indian Ocean, Mrigya, Silk Route and Euphoria from Delhi, Cactus, Bhoomi and North East Express from Calcutta and Amit Heri from Bangalore were a few who worked away by creating an unusual sound.

 

In one particular case, the then manager R&B for Sony said to the manager of Indian Ocean, ‘Their music is boring. If they do some bhangra rock we will look at signing them on as a favour.’ The same was voiced by one of the most famous R&B heads that did not think that Indian Ocean would work. Well, the band worked hard and it took them 16 years to get there, but now they play for thousands of their fans from Wellington, New Zealand, to New York, USA.

 

Euphoria has always been able to capture the popular imagination with great collaborations with Shubha Mudgal, as was Bombay Vikings. Fresh sound, great lyrics, a good style and super presentation combined with great videos, the ultimate marketing tool provided them rocking audiences and standing up to the onslaught of film music - always the big brother of entertainment, backed by record sales, large budgets and often incredible marketing efforts.

 

With the booming economy of India, the demand for club events, product launches and sponsored gigs grew through the 1990s creating an opportunity for bands to come into their own. Ethnic sounds especially Punjabi that had enthralled millions of Indians worldwide found competition in regional sounds from Bengal. The resurrection of traditional folk sound gave birth to Bhoomi, which was followed by Cactus.

 

Much still ails the independent musicians and in general the music industry. With film music dominating 95 per cent of the market share, if not more, the fragile balance is at a great risk. Music companies have bled due to piracy and have by and large stopped investing in pop albums even that of Indian Ocean. Euphoria band just about manages to hang in there though their latest album has created no great ripple. The only recent success has been of Rabbi Shergil, first recorded by Tehelka Music, which laid untouched and unsold as Tehelka went through major crises. Four years after the first recording, they sold the album to Phat Phish and Rabbi made history. His brand of heart-felt Punjabi sufi from the soul, which took him to the stardom.

 

It is the platform like the Friends of Music in 1995, the Great Indian Rock Festival, and more recently the Café Morrison that provide the all important platforms needed for any healthy music development. These platforms provide opportunities to various known and unknown artistes to perform live in their fields of expertise. They provide an occasion to share artistes’ experiences, achievements, inspiration, magic moments, disappointments and dreams through a friendly conversation. Coming together of mature audiences to enjoy music, their informal interaction with the musicians, their candid critical and positive analysis, are all important for an artiste.

 

Though music portals are creating new avenues for musicians to publish their body of work, be it for a niche audience or for mass appeal, this has still to find takers in India. Distribution and a revenue model still remain issues of concern. Electronic sound may have eased the pressure and costs on individual musicians having allowed them to sample and create as required, but outside of the odd club night there are no takers for their brand of music.

 

What is required are more opportunities for new bands to perform, more money to underwrite concerts, a willingness to support a new sound and not clone the already successful and an audience which is mature enough to accept that there is joy in listening to something fresh and exciting.

 

 

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