Jill Scot, Sting....make way

To listen to Shefali Alvares, you’d have to get into the space of that tremendous energy of a powerful yet subtle croon with a tinge of hard mellowness in her voice. If that makes sense. If not, then go by her myspace profile of a volatile, passionate singer. You’d have to take her word on that, seconded by many of her musician peers.
Having grown up on the laps of music, Alvares has been performing with musical luminaries like her dad, Joe Alvares and Louis Banks, Karl Peters and Loy Mendonca. “My Dad is one of the strongest forces in my life. However, after all these years, he’s too strong a personality — overwhelming with his power as a musician. That’s why now I’d rather be on my own, so I dictate what I do. But his influences and all of his friends that I’ve performed with, are a never ending source of inspiration,” She says.
Ask her about her musical sojourn as a strong young female singer-songwriter and she replies with the ease that just somehow seems to come so naturally with a drone, “My music is my headspace — what I am, who I am. It’s my search for the self. It’s been a lovely joyride and I really wouldn’t have discovered anything in me I don’t have music.”
And that’s also when you learn to play down asking questions about artistic influences because the response could go something on the lines of, “I love Sting, Jill Scott, Portishead, Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, Joss Stone, Ray Charles, Leela James, Frou Frou, Seal, Jamiroquai…..” You get the drift.
She was the youngest performer at the international Jazz Yatra held in Mumbai and has performed at the prestigious Johnnie Walker Club Event, all over India, and of course mention must be made of her performance as a part of that event for the Royalty of Nepal. And as with influences, achievements dole out a longer list when it comes to this soulful lady. Having done the rounds of almost every live music place possible, ticking off the performance sheet should come just as easy. “ The live music scene is going berserk and it’s just fabulous the way it is shaping up. It wasn’t as big when I started out first, and now you see all these young and talented acts coming up. I’m floored. Let’s see where that heads but right now, we couldn’t have called for a better moment. I love live music. Studios could sometime make you sound so different but then you have to do it because you need to put your music out,” she says.
Shefali is currently working on her album, which should be out by November 2008. Her repertoire includes Blues, Jazz and Funk. Jazz, R N B, Rock, Retro, Pop, Semi Classical Opera, Funk, Lounge, Experimental Fusion and Hip-hop. Leaves you qi\uite breathless by the end of it.Currently gigging with her own band, Distil Soul, featuring herself on vocals, Lindsay Dmello on drums, Jarvis Menezes on the keyboard, Mahesh Tinaikar on the guitar, Floyd Fernandez on the guitar and Kenneth Rebello on the bass. Quite an eclectic bunch, the members of Distil Soul are distinguished musicians who have played with many renowned musicians from across the globe. She performs with her band Thursday night at Zenzi in Bandra. Audiences should be reveling to funk and blues with jazz and r&b thrown in here and there. We could peg on to her Indo-Nepal fame. Or just be floored. Your take.

Spreading the word online

American rockers Nine Inch Nails are currently streaming their new album online, ahead of the CD’s commercial release. The latest band to promote their new album with a free track are the Icelandic group Sigur Ros.
Current musical trends in the west point to artistes giving their music away for free, trading some record sales in the hope that they’ll get more exposure from offering downloads. Motorhead, 3 doors down, Radiohead — to name a few. Perhaps it’s their own take at declining music sales. It’s now beyond industry knowledge that legal, conventional music sales have been witnessing a tremendous slump. In their own partaking in this relentless fad fuelled by illegitimate downloads, Indian bands have taken to the internet with a vengeance.
While every major label is trying to get a revenue share from every conceivable source to compensate for declining sales revenue, musicians are taking to streaming options like MySpace as never before. “Traditional music labels held a virtual monopoly on music by controlling distribution channels. Artistes had little chance of ‘getting discovered’, who’d normally have edgier and funkier music to display. The whole online download and streaming portals have reshaped the music industry by enabling a free, direct-to-consumer solution for artistes and listeners,” says Randolph Correia, lead guitarist of Pentagram and Func of Shaair+Func. Pentagram streams songs from their albums on their website.
On the other hand, Delhi rockers Parikrama have been pioneers of sorts in the case of streaming music online, starting it up way back in 1997. “It’s evolved into such a form of media, part entertainment and part communications. So effective are websites at connecting with fans that it could change the dynamics of the music industry. With Parikrama, we do not want to restrict ourselves to releasing just CDs. No albums have been a hit for a long while now and knowing western music doesn’t entail much money, the Internet is a valuable marketing tool for musicians,” says Subir Malik of Parikrama.Check Junkyard Groove who opened for Megadeth in bangalore; Incubus and Robert Plant in Dubai; Themclones who featured in an interview on BBC Radio and the likes. All of these artists have gained a lot of exposure via the Internet (read: Myspace). With so many potential pairs of eyes and ears at your fingertips, it is becoming a necessity for any musical artiste — whether signed and selling or unsigned and hopeful — to get online.

Eastern Promises

With rampant commercialization propping up uninspiring sounds, somewhere in this avaricious world of contemporary music, a few intrepid individuals from the north east of India continue to dedicate their lives to the creation of original sounds.
“Love of music. Love of life.” In the words of Lou Majaw, a musical icon of sorts, who’s been living a life dedicated to music much beyond commercial interest. Here in the city all the way from Shillong with his band ‘the Great Society’, they enthrall audiences at Henry Tham with a heady and folksy blend of Rock, Reggae and Blues.
“Of course we’re excited to perform in Mumbai,” says Lou, whose world-weary yet laid-back attitude can addictively rub off on you that easy. “ We play with no pre-conceived notions, no expectations. We give what we have – our love for music. Inspiration or not, if people can take back their experience here and channelise that energy into something, all’s well,” he adds.
Completely aware that western music yields little financial reward in India, these individuals inspire a generation devoid of musical direction. Achieving cult-like status across a major part of Northern and Eastern India, these group of friends have evolved to endear to an audience that loves music for what it is and what it represents. “ Our music is a celebration of music’s own power that we’ve learned to love, respect and admire. It’s our voice – our thoughts and feelings, our experiences and the trauma that we’ve had to face. It’s our contribution to music. We love what we do,” says Lou.
Lou's dedication and zeal to follow his dreams can be seen in the Bob Dylan Birthday Concert, which he has been organising for 34years. “The concert is held every year on 24 May, celebrating Dylan's birthday. We don’t have any sponsors. It’s just a group of fans and friends of Dylan's music that pool in with the funds to get things going,” says Lou.
Crusaders in an effort to keep good music rolling. Keep them coming.