Sound Lab Mumbai from BorderMovement on Vimeo.

produced by Sourya Sen and Naman Saraiya

While the Sound Lab in Mumbai technically kicked off on Saturday February 7 and stayed quite low key through most of the weekend, it was the following week that really saw the project truly come into fruition. Until February 13, visitors of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, an annual multi-cultural offering in the heart of South Mumbai got to witness an experimental, unrehearsed workshop on electronic music production akin to the inner workings of a studio.  …

In the 21st century, electronic music and the technology that comes with it has advanced in leaps and bounds. The advent of various commercially available digital audio workstations (DAWs), software synths, emulators and other virtual studio technologies (VSTs) have now transformed the way music is made. Bringing the capabilities of music production right down to the producer’s bedroom has made it affordable and accessible to the normal (curious) Joe. Of course, some purists would argue that digital music production sounds mechanical and computer controlled compared to using analogue machines and hardware. Analogue machines impart a feeling of warmth and originality to the sounds themselves . …

Details have been announced for the next edition of Sound Lab set to take place in Mumbai from 7-13 February at Gallery MMB. This chapter will also feature a very exciting performance by Berlin outfit, Perera Elsewhere.

An initiative of the Goethe Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Mumbai, Sound Lab is an intensive workshop of analog and digital music production that aims to connect contemporary musicians from South Asia and Germany. The workshop is curated and co-hosted by Border Movement, and this edition will feature six selected participants who will work together at a provisional studio set up at Gallery MMB. …

Though he’s only recently ingratiated himself in the Indian circuit, 28-year-old Sohrab Nicholson is as wary asmostexperienced artists his age tend to be – he’s explicit about which parts of our conversation are off record and which are off limits completely. …

We had the opportunity to hear a first edit of ‘Rise Up and Run’, Monica Dogra’s recently released solo single, many months ago. The mix was still a bit rough, but the track’s relentless power and urgency, borne on the back of Engine Earz’ pounding bass drum and handclaps and Ms. Dogra’s insistent alto, were unmistakable. But something about the tune didn’t quite click with us on that brief first take.

What was missing was this video. …

A much needed platform that shines the light on India’s burgeoning youth. And they know curation. I caught up with Mandovi Menon, one of the co-founders of Homegrown on her inspiration, discoveries in the alternative music scene and the vision for Homegrown. …

At 28, Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla have both already been integral parts of Anand Gandhi’s critically acclaimed Recyclewala Labs project Ship of Theseus. Ranka co-wrote the production and Shukla, otherwise an award-winning short film director in his own right, played the lawyer Cārvāka (a character with obvious parallels to the ancient rationalist philosophy his name stems from). Perhaps then, it was an inculcated instinct to train the cinematic lens on situations of interest that led them to record the journey of India’s most prolific mass movement in decades. …

“I’m just this kid locked in his bedroom, happy playing around with DSP units,” the elusive suburban Mumbai artist we know only as Sean (he releases music as the Ebullist and Synthetic Lying Machine) tells me revealingly in a first ever interview. “I’ve exchanged my social life for modular programs.”

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In an electronic scene whitewashed with mainstream antics, it’s hard to separate the ‘counter culture’ from the proverbial black and white. Which is precisely why the Flux Initiative hopes to flood our streets with the good word… ” flood them with colour”.

Varun Patra, a 21-year old newfound DJ from Mumbai, understands that his title won’t be much to brag about anytime soon. It’s 2012 and there’s a DJ around every corner of the city, all of which are ‘pioneers’ in their own right.

“Even if you try to shift your sets around and put new genres on the table, people are always quick to classify your style into some broad category” he broods. “Which is why we try to stay one step ahead.”That’s when Varun sought camaraderie – spinning with close friend Paloma Monnappa – the twowould adopt the moniker ‘AlgoRhythm’ and throw down their favourite indie/nu-disco tunes at a reserved nightspot in Mumbai, Cool Chef Café. …

A  Jewel Lost
Around 1851, India lost its most prized jewel. A behemoth of a diamond–105 carats post cutting–that shone like a hundred moons upon an inky sea. The Moghul era’s Kohinoor diamond, or the ‘King of Jewels’ as its homonym came to be known, was no stranger to repeated repossession. Violently looted time and again by mercurial rulers who tended to suffer devastating defeats soon after, it suffered its pitiful fate silently. In case you’re wondering where this dissertation-esque speech on some ancient stone is leading you, I promise, I have a point. …