GAJENDRA PURI GOSWAMI
Epidemy
Melody:
Music & Gigs In The
Time Of Coronavirus
"The root cause of the sickness that plagues us is
humanity's greed.... when I look outside there is
peace....while the voices create chaos in my head.
Humanity's hubris has come to an end."
These opening lines from New Delhi rapper Prabhdeep's
latest single - Pandemic - accurately resonates the voices
of many who think that the havoc caused by Covid-19 is
a dreary revolt by nature against humanity's widespread
exploitation. The theory, of course, is an exaggeration of
puritan environmentalist ideologies, but the song itself is a
deeply reflective reaction to the danger that looms large. This
reflective outcry has been consistent with desi musicians
across the board who despite suffering major financial
losses due to cancellation of gigs have displayed immense
humour, intellect and ingenuity amid the ongoing crisis.
The boredom of sitting at home and ridiculousness of
administrative response became the first inspiration of
inventiveness. Gigs got cancelled and there was an absence
of clarity as to when things may get back on track, and, amid
the chaos came a viral video - Go Corona, Corona Go - which
sparked a host of producers to create a whirlwind of humorous
music flips featuring audio from the video. The wheel was
first turned by producer Sanaya Ardeshir aka Sandunes using
her MIDI Controller who also nominated other producers like
Mumbai based DJ-producer Nathan Thomas for the challenge
via instagram. Soon after around 10 producers including
Yung.Raj, Brij Dalvi, and OceanTied posted similar flips of
the clip in a variety of genres from their home studios.
But of course it would take a lot more than instagram flips
in the longer run and it was time for not just artists but
producers to display a zealous response to in order to keep
the audiences engaged. What followed was a torrent of live
streams, workshops, online festivals, and bedroom gigs that
put on display the vibrancy and spontaneity of the homegrown
music industry with a cascading flow. On March 21, The
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Alipore Post hosted a unique day long festival hosted via
Instagram Live featuring music performances from Raunak
Maiti, singer-songwriter Ditty, Shantanu Pandit, Jeevan and
Mathew Antony among others. Madness Jams also launched
a new talent hunt contest - Curfew Jams - to give budding
artists a new platform to showcase their creativity by sharing
videos of their original content. A few hand picked selections
from these were promised a spot at one of their next gigs and
performed live on their instagram channel. Vetaran band
Indian Ocean hosted a live gig via Bigbadwolfdotin's Facebook
channel on March 26 and indulged fans in an AMA (Ask Me
Anything) session on their Instagram handle the previous
day. NH7 Weekender took everyone by a grand surprise
when they decided to host an impromptu 3-day festival via
their Instagram handle from 26th - 29th March featuring
heavyweight NH7 alumni like Marty Friedman and FKJ
including a host of homegrown heroes including Nucleya,
Parekh & Singh, and Raja Kumari amongst others. Reggae
artist Delhi Sultanate will also play a two-hour strictly vinyl
audio session, live on Boxout.FM, from March 30 to April 1.
A wave of benevolence and philanthropism also rushed
through the music industry in this humanitarian crisis. A
lot of it was of course targeted to aid small musicians who
were at a loss of livelihood due to the ongoing lockdown.
Firstly analog synthesisers developer Moog and Japanese
manufacturer Korg decided to release their digital apps - Mini
Moog Model ID and Kossilator - for free to help musicians
keep busy. Similarly Spotify has decided to launch a $10
million relief fund via music charities like PRS Foundation
aimed to aid musicians and communities in need of financial
relief. The crisis at large is a deadly one and the battle
to overcome it is long. The music community's response
to that is not just heartwarming but gives us fortitude
and resilience that is imperative in overcoming it.