December 2020 issue | Page 30

What did you do musically through lockdown ? Did you release new music ?
Lockdown started with almost 8-10 of our concerts in March and April getting cancelled . But since we didn ’ t have much of an option , we tried to take it as positively as we could . I ’ d been long wanting to take a summer break and spend time polishing my skills and practicing with a focus . I spent a lot of time doing that at the beginning of the pandemic . Gradually , I started writing some new music as well as finalising the production of songs already in the pipeline . We ’ ve released 3 new tracks ( Fanaah , Jee Le Zara and a live version of our song Aashayein ) and have few more lined up over the next few months .
Challenges you faced when recording your songs / making new music
We haven ’ t been able to get together as a band for jams or rehearsals , so the music writing process has decelerated a bit . For the first few months , of course , all the recording and mixing stalled completely . As we all learned to adapt over time , we figured out a way to do our mixing sessions remotely .
How do you think the music scene can recover from the pandemic hit ?
As sad as it is , we ’ re really on our own . Although it ' s wishful thinking , I strongly feel that the government needs to step in and provide some relief not only to the music community but the artist community in general , especially those who make the majority of their revenues through social gatherings and events . Also , solidarity is the need of the hour - musicians need to stand together and help each other sustain and grow - even the simple act of sharing a song of a friend ’ s band goes a long way and shows that you care .
Since the majority of musicians make 90 % of their income from live events , we ’ ll need to cautiously watch and hope the situation gets better soon and if needed , push the government to allow drive in concerts and things like that .
What can we look forward to from you now ?
As for us , thankfully we ’ ve found time to finish a lot of songs that had been in the pipeline for a while - so we ’ ll continue to release them over the next few months , reach out to as many people as possible and hope to grow our following .

Varun Rajput , Founder

ANTARIKSH

The Score Magazine
28 highonscore . com