Tag: music

Sidhu Moose Wala : ‘New album is for my biggest inspiration’

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 16 June 2021
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Spotify has always been a great platform for artists who wanted to take their music across boundaries…Siddhu interacts with Siddhi Jain.

International music sensation and Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moose Wala has dropped his new album MOOSETAPE on Spotify, which includes close to 32 singles, with one new video every week. The artist collaborations in the album include those with DIVINE, Bohemia, Raja Kumari, Stefflon Don, Tion Wyne, Morrison, Blockboi Twitch and Sikander Kahlon, among others.

Going by his popular stage name Sidhu Moose Wala, Punjab-born singer and songwriter Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, says that “Shubhdeep to Sidhu Moose Wala is a journey made by (his) fans”. Known to the world for a style completely different than his Punjabi music contemporaries, Sidhu gives his insights on the new album. Excerpts:

Your music and performance often lay on the intersection of pop and rap and is very different from what most contemporary Punjabi singers are doing. How do you create what you create?

To be honest with you, I am someone who has always composed, and written songs based on my life incidents from the time that I was a child. This includes experiences that my family, friends, or I have been through, or even those that my village ‘Moosa’ has seen. Maybe that’s the reason that the audience listens to it, relates to it, and loves it.

You have dropped a new album on Spotify. Tell us about it and the multi-artist collaborations in it.

My mother is my biggest inspiration. This album is close to my heart because this is for my Maa and that is the reason I had decided to release it on her birthday. Whatever I am is because of her. It was always my dream to release an album, and the opportunity to work with Tion Wayne, Bohemia, DIVINE, Raja Kumari, and Morrison, all of whom are great artists, has been fantastic. It was amazing to make music with them and have them feature in my album. It is not an album that was composed overnight. I have gone through many sleepless nights to make it possible.

What are your thoughts on platforms like Spotify revolutionizing how one listens to music, and audio at large?

Spotify has always been a great platform for artists who wanted to take their music across boundaries. Their reach all around the world is phenomenal and it is commendable that they push every artist to find their right audience. They are doing great work.

How do you think streaming helped the popularity of Punjabi music grow, and what role do you think it plays in finding your audience?

I believe that Punjabis are in every corner of this world; wherever you go, you’ll find them. Earlier, they were able to access music from home through cassettes, Walkmans, and CDs, but from the time streaming was introduced by Spotify, every artist and their music has the power to reach anywhere. The fact that platforms such as Spotify can take your music to 178 countries and help you reach a newer audience with its unique playlist curations, is exceptional. Millions of listeners around the world are able to consume music seamlessly because of streaming services like Spotify.

You have a highly engaged fan base on multiple platforms (YouTube and Instagram), how do you feel about that?

Shubhdeep to Sidhu Moose Wala is a journey made by my fans. The love they have shown over these years is overwhelming and has always inspired me to make more music. I hope they keep showing their love like this forever, so that I can keep reciprocating in the form of my art.

What’s keeping you busy these days? What’s upcoming?

So far, only a few tracks from MOOSETAPE have been released, so I am waiting for my fans to listen to all the songs over the next few weeks. The love and affection of my audience is something I treasure and reading their heartwarming comments for the album on YouTube and social media is keeping me busy. At the same time, it immensely inspires me to write more for them.

ALSO READ-London Singer Ashwini Kane to launch new patriotic song video

Amandeep Singh : Punjabi music is making waves

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 6 May 2021
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Singh recently released a new party song titled “De-Daaru” by Indian music label Bullman Records. The party song rejoices friendship and living moments of happiness, says the music label…writes Siddhi Jain.

Without any language barriers, people love hearing Punjabi music. Punjabi pop music artist Amandeep Singh, better known by his industry name Deep Money, says that Punjabi music is making waves and is well-accepted in Bollywood and among Bollywood lovers. “In fact, we see most of the Bollywood songs using Punjabi lyrics nowadays,” he tells.

Deep Money debuted in 2011 with Yo Yo Honey Singh with the single ‘Dope Shope’ and says he has had a challenging music career. He is known for his work on ‘Race 3’ (2018) and ‘Veerey Ki Wedding’ (2018), among others.

“With god’s grace, I achieved big things after my first single. These days Punjabi music is hitting the charts globally. In every Bollywood movie, there is at least one Punjabi song. In the coming days, Punjabi music will break more records,” says the ‘Heeriye’ singer.

Singh recently released a new party song titled “De-Daaru” by Indian music label Bullman Records. The party song rejoices friendship and living moments of happiness says the music label. Directed by Ashish Rai, AD Deepak Taggar and produced by Sabby Airy and Aishwary Tripathi, it was released in late March and is gaining popularity.

Says Deep Money: “I hope the song comes up with the new party wave as it’s a hip groove along to number.”

“The pandemic continues and we have seen people stuck inside their homes for months now and people are getting frustrated with the same boring life, not able to go out or party or have fun. Luckily we’ve got a vaccine and everyone is aware of all the precautions to be taken. So, we have come up with the new party song as a gift to help them groove through the months to come. Though people are facing so many tensions, they should relax and enjoy their life following all the guidelines imposed by the government,” he said.

Punjabi pop music is often accused of glorifying alcohol consumption and the objectification of women. When asked his thoughts on it, the Punjabi singer who has recently worked with Isabelle Kaif says: “Punjabis are fun-loving and believe in making people happy. If we talk about glorifying alcohol in Punjabi music, we intentionally indicate that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade, which means to always cheer your life no matter what you’re going through.”

Positive impacts of soothing music on baby

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 26 April 2021
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She found when mothers sung lullabies, stress levels dropped not just for the baby but for mothers as well…writes Siddhi Jain.

Music is the greatest therapy in the world. Music plays an important role in developing a child’s growth, brain development, even before birth. Listening to music when a kid is in the womb is not only be soothing to the mothers’ mood but also has a positive influence on the baby.

By 24 weeks, as the babies ears form and develop, they have been shown to turn their heads in response to voices and noise in the last few months of pregnancy and can recognise their mother’s voice, native language, word patterns, and rhymes, says Furtados School of Music.

The early years in a child’s life can be termed as the “prime time” for his/her young developing brain. This intense period of brain growth and network-building capacity happens only once in a lifetime. As parents, this period of brief but unique opportunity is extremely important to encourage and facilitate the formation of brain circuitry in our infants, it adds.

Benefits of simple and slow music

The English word lullaby’ comes from the lala’ or ‘lulu’ that are sounds made by mothers or nurses to calm children. These are sung in our most intimate spaces as our days come to a close, these songs hold far more than their function. As situations change, lullabies help to establish safe spaces for children.

Today, amid changes driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, lullabies endure as an especially important way to preserve tender moments between parents and their young children. It is like a safe spot where the child feels its mother’s warmth and belonging. A familiar tune or music or song becomes like a session of music therapy.

There is a growing body of research on how lullabies help soothe both the caregiver and child. Laura Cirelli, professor of developmental psychology at the University of Toronto, studies the science of maternal song. She found when mothers sung lullabies, stress levels dropped not just for the baby but for mothers as well. In her most recent work, she found that familiar songs soothed babies the most.

How does this impact children?

Language acquisition, or learning to speak, is natural for most babies, in other words, they learn language simply through exposure and play. Studies have shown that exposing your baby to music can speed up the process of learning to speak and help them to master complex language concepts.

Marking this as an extremely important part of the growth of a child, Angela Mee Lee in association with Furtados School of Music has recently launched its new course ‘Moments of Music and Magic’ that helps develop and stimulate the child’s brain through music. This is a mother-child bonding course that brings out the best of the child. The course is available on their website www.fsmbuddy.com.

Also Read-‘Equal parenting has more profound impact’

Tags baby, music

Bollywood Lite Blogs

Rahman: Not thinking something is the best way

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 19 April 2021
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To come to this place, it took quite a while because there are many risks we’ve taken. So for me, it was like a 100 times that kind of energy and responsibility…Rahman speaks with Puja Gupta.

Legendary singer and composer A.R. Rahman says that sometimes not thinking something is the best way to deal with a writer’s block.

One method to break through a musician’s block is, “Something which I think most of the time is physical, not biological. Just as the body needs rest, the mind also needs rest. And sometimes not thinking something is the best way through. I always take my car out and listen to the music, see how people would listen to it in their car; how it would sound on FM. These connectors I personally try out.”

Speaking about his upcoming movie “99”, Rahman said he embarked on a fantastic, path breaking journey right from the start.

Having demanded every bit of his time, effort, energy and patience, he shares the challenges he had to overcome to finally release the movie for everyone to see on Twitter Spaces, “Actually since I’m heading the team, and as the producer and writer who ambitioned this project, I felt this sense of responsibility. Honestly, sometimes when I do music videos, I feel like for many music videos and many songs I only almost finished them and then I wouldn’t have the time and I’d just leave it and move on with my life. So in this film, I said to myself that thought should never come to mind, no matter what happens, I’m heading the team, I’m heading their aspirations, so I have to fulfill this especially since they’ve all trusted me as the team leader. I knew I should bring the ship to the shore, the way we envisioned it and even better.”

He added, “To come to this place, it took quite a while because there are many risks we’ve taken. So for me, it was like a 100 times that kind of energy and responsibility. Moreover, I wanted this movie to have its own voice and it does. It has the collective voice of this whole team.”

While he expressed his love for music and how the movie came to be, Rahman also revealed how he and the crew embarked on their quest for the right actor for ’99 songs’ and eventually landed Ehan for the role.

“We wanted somebody who could play beautifully, who could sing. We wanted the sky. And, of course, for that you need to give time. And music doesn’t come easily. It’s like penance. So there are amazing actors who would have been nice but then we thought will they have that little bit of experience in music and will they have the time to learn music. So we felt like it’d be better to get a new cast altogether where we can nurture someone, and we went through almost 750 to 800 auditions and we found Ehan in the process.”

Adding Ehan became part of the ’99 songs’ journey and the work he put in to take it up.

“We had to change the beginning a bit because initially it was supposed to be a 20-year-old Beatles fan with round glasses and big hair. But then the moment we saw Ehan, I looked at him, and I could envision him, after the movie, acting in bigger movies, maybe even in an English movie. We took the decision to nurture him and prep him for this role. We sent him to Hollywood to learn a bit of acting; he was also in KM Music Conservatory for a year or so, that’s been the journey and I feel good about it. He worked on it.”

Also Read-Rahman grieves loss of Rishi, Irrfan

Tags 99, AR Rahman, music

Food Lite Blogs

Good Food Good Music

The outlet is now launching their new menu, namely “Local Favorites”, a dual affair of starters and shareable food. This menu features some of the immensely popular Indian dishes with a touch of American flavour…Writes Puja Gupta.

Hard Rock Cafe has always been popular among music lovers for its Rock ‘n’ Roll theme and outstanding in-house gigs. Bringing forth the idea of ‘good food and good music’, it has launched a new menu.

The global player slotted in at the prime spot of Kolkata in Park Street half a decade ago, creating a buzz among the city-folks. The cafe has an extensive menu that includes American delicacies like burgers, sandwiches, flatbreads, etc.

The outlet is now launching their new menu, namely “Local Favorites”, a dual affair of starters and shareable food. This menu features some of the immensely popular Indian dishes with a touch of American flavour.

Vanita Bajoria, Director, Hard Rock Cafe, Kolkata, says: “Our main motto is to ensure that our clients have a plethora of options to choose from when they open the menu. It is the first time Hard Rock Cafe Kolkata is adding indigenous flavors to its menu. We are hoping for a good response. We have many foreign customers who visit Hard Rock Cafe regularly. It would be a great opportunity for them to try out local flavours while chugging their favorite beer.”

Dishes like Khandari Paneer Tikka Pomegranate Molasses (robust spice marinated paneer tikka with pomegranate molasses glaze, served with jungle sauce and kachumber), Paneer Tikka Masala (roasted paneer Tikka served with makhani sauce on a bed of jeera rice), Rosemary Chicken Malai Tikka (cream and rosemary tikka served with jungle sauce and kachumber), Chicken Tikka Masala (roasted chicken tikka served with makhani sauce on a bed of jeera rice), are a few of the major highlights of the freshly curated menu.

The new menu brings to one’s plate the amalgamation of two different gastronomic cultures across the ocean.

If you want to go for the framed choice of delicious protein fillings in your diet, this menu offers several delectable dishes like Fish and Chips, Spicy Chicken Drumsticks, Non-Veg Kebab Platter, etc.

Lata Ji’s spiritual magic for music lovers

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 13 April 2021
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Singer Lata Mangeshkar. (File Photo: IANS)

“There is such richness in the poetry of the great saint and to have Lata Didi bring them to life through her voice is indeed a marvellous way to reach out to a wider audience,” he added…reports Asian Lite News.

India’s all time playback legend singer Lata Ji entered into an other exciting project. Lata Mangeshkar has launched her Marathi album “Bhavartha Mauli” on the occasion of Gudi Padwa.

The album is a collection of 10 devotional Marathi songs, introduced and sung by the veteran singer and composed by her brother Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar. The songs are based on the works of Marathi saint and 13th century poet Sant Dnyaneshwar.

“It is an absolute honour and a privilege that I am able to present the poetic works of the great saint and poet Sant Dnayeshwar to this generation. Through this album called Bhavaarth Mauli, my brother Hridaynath and I have made a humble attempt to introduce each of these poems by a commentary explaining and unravelling the spirituality and essence of the poetry,” Lata Mangeshkar said.

“I hope the audience has the same beautiful spiritual experience listening to these beautiful compositions just as we have had in bringing them to you,” she added.

Lata Mangeshkar (ANI)

Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar said : “Working on the album Bhavaarth Mauli, which is a compilation of the immortal compositions of Sant Dnyaneshwar recorded by Lata Didi and me more than 50 years ago, and now being present ed anew, embellished with a commentary by Lata Didi herself, has been a humb ling experience for me.”

“There is such richness in the poetry of the great saint and to have Lata Didi bring them to life through her voice is indeed a marvellous way to reach out to a wider audience,” he added.

“Bhavaarth Mauli” released on the Saregama Marathi YouTube channel and on music streaming platforms.

Also Read-Legendary Singer Mangeshkar Still Feel Young

Tags album, Lata Mangeshkar, music

Lite Blogs Music

‘Stage performance teaches you humility’

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 8 April 2021
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It’s been a huge learning curve for me, I have learned how to set up a small studio at my residence with the help of my recording engineer at the studio…Usha Uthup speaks with Siddhi Jain.

“Stage performance teaches you humility, dignity and honesty and makes you realise that the only reason you are up on stage is because of the audience and their love for you, art and entertainment,” says legendary playback singer Usha Uthup. The 1947-born artist tells that performing live for an audience is an “exhilarating experience”.

Uthup, in a recent collaboration with Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts (SaPa) India which was founded in 2007 by violinist L. Subramaniam and Bollywood playback singer Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam, took a masterclass on the tips and intricacies of stagecraft. The popular artiste and singer broke down the elements of entertaining on stage.

In an interview with us about life in lockdown and performing on both the real and virtual stages. Edited excerpts:

What has been your most prominent learning during the lockdown?

Throughout the past year, I think I have worked the most through the lockdown. It’s been a huge learning curve for me, I have learned how to set up a small studio at my residence with the help of my recording engineer at the studio. My team has helped me with the nuances of Zoom and other online communication platforms. I have been connected to people through phones and video calls.

Another thing that I have learned and what the pandemic has taught us is to be global citizens. It has increased our horizon to think and care for people outside our social circle. To be careful and mindful of our deeds and how we impact people around us. I have also realised having a routine and being disciplined helps and is what has kept me going. I start my day by chanting mantras and taking a walk in my home. Post that I continue with my singing work.

The concept of the ‘stage’ took on another form during the pandemic, with the computer and mobile screen turning into stage for artistes across genres. Your thoughts on this digital stage?

During the lockdown, I was able to adapt to the digital stage seamlessly through the help of my team Gautam Basu, Somresh and Rinta. Through the lockdown, even though the stage shows couldn’t happen, I was able to connect with my audience through the 6-7 songs which I recorded in my home studio and released them on the social media platforms. The response has been humongous and shows the kind of love the audience has for you as a singer. It has also helped me to be a Global artist through my work. Plus the digital stage has not only boomed for performances, but also for online learning. Through SaPa India, I am able to conduct this masterclass on Stagecraft where people can learn about posture, stage manners and other nuances which can be used not only for live shows but for virtual shows as well.

You had mentioned during the lockdown months that getting on a stage to perform would not be possible for some time. Are you happy that the entertainment and cultural spaces are opening up?

USHA UTHUP (Wikipedia)

For 51 years of my career, I have performed on stage for numerous shows. It’s an exhilarating experience of performing for the audience who are right in front of you and the musicians right beside encouraging you with each verse of the song. The stage performance teaches you humility, dignity and honesty and makes you realize that the only reason why you are up on the stage is because of the audience and their love for you, art and entertainment. So yes, it’s great we can go back to such ways of entertainment, of course keeping the Covid-19 precautions in mind. I’m looking forward to doing shows again.

Also Read-Nihira composes, fuses Hindi lyrics with authentic Cuban music

Please tell us about your association with SaPa India

Kavita has been a dear friend of mine for years and I have such high admiration and respect for both L. Subramaniam and Kavita Subramaniam. And it’s great that they have a brainchild like SaPa, an academy, which is training children as young as 3-years-old. And I am so grateful to them for including Stagecraft as a subject. It’s one of the most important aspects of being an artist apart from technical knowledge, regular practice, among others. And I’m very thankful to them for giving me this opportunity to take the masterclass. It provides an awakening to people that no matter how good a singer or an artist you are, what would you do if you didn’t have the right kind of stagecraft to perform. Because entertainment is a serious business indeed.

Apart from this masterclass, I am also designing and launching a self-paced course with SaPa India to be released shortly.

About your upcoming plans..

I have released about 6-7 songs with videos. The only difference between me and the other artists is that I don’t actively promote them through digital platforms like Instagram and YouTube because I’m not very well versed with such mediums. And my work is not just in Hindi films, but I have done songs across Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil as well. My latest project is now with SaPa India.

‘Saina’ is a special project’

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 19 March 2021
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Today, as the biopic of ace shuttler Saina Nehwal is ready for release, Amaal is “nervous and excited at the same time”…writes Samarth Goyal.

Lockdown was surely a period of creativity for most of the artists .Composer-singer Amaal Mallik is thankful for lockdown in a way. It gave him time to create the score of “Saina”, particularly the anthem song “Parinda”.

“Honestly, it was a bit frustrating at times, but it did give me that time to experiment with the music. I wanted to, for example, do something different for ‘Parinda’, since it is the anthem for the film. It was only possible during lockdown, because the film had gotten delayed that I got the time to work on it and that’s when I decided to work with Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra for the film. Overall, the four years didn’t really mean that I had to change the sound a lot,” he says.

The music took four years to be completed. Mallik admits that was “frustrating”, but at the same time was totally worth it “because I got the chance to work with Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra”.

Today, as the biopic of ace shuttler Saina Nehwal is ready for release, Amaal is “nervous and excited at the same time”.

“I am really nervous and excited at the same,” he laughs as he talks over the phone. “It is a special project and everything was really done with a lot of passion. I am really looking forward to seeing how people react to the music in the film,” adds Mallik, who has not only composed the songs in the film, but also created the background score.

This is the first time that the 30-year-old was asked to create a background score for a film. The process, Mallik says, helped him create his songs even better.

“It was a really big deal for me that I got to work on both — the songs and the background score. How it helped me in creating songs was that I knew what kind of music would accompany before and after a particular song. So I knew the exact emotion, the exact soundscape, and that really helped me a lot when it came to the songs,” he says adding that creating background score is not as easy.

Also Read-‘Artistes Tune Inwards To Look For Influence’

“It (background score) is a challenge for sure. I remember learning a lot of things about background music from Salim Merchant sir (of Salim-Suleiman composer duo), and he told me the importance of silences. Sometimes, silence conveys more about a particular situation than music, and understanding that part of background scoring is very important,” he says.

“In a movie like Saina, which is a biopic on one of the biggest athletes in India, there are many highs and lows. The approach, to create music cannot be linear. You have to make music that is not only inspiring and passionate, but also real,” he adds.