MEERA C
Right from my early phases in singing , I ' ve been really lucky to have got to oppurtunity to team up with several legends of the industry and also learn a lot of things from them . I ' ve learnt a lot from stars like AR Rahman , KK , Sunidhi Chauhan , Akriti Kakar , etc .
You ' re one of the youngest sound engineers in India . What ' s the story behind that ?
From the beginning I ' ve had great interest in music & in singing / performing them , to be specific . But during my 10th std I got exposed to the field of Sound Engineering through workshops and a few online videos , that I got to witness . The process of how a film song is made , right from scratch to interpreting your ideas and making a full fledged song really caught my interest . By then I had also started doing a few public performances / shows in Bangalore , w . r . t my singing . I also understood that learning sound engineering in depth would help me improve my singing skills on the whole . With the beginning of my plus 2 , I had made a decision to pursue sound engineering , professionally in future . I got myself educated about the different instititutions offering Sound Engineering in Bangalore , though there are a very few of them . In between all this , I started doing well in my singing , started doing a lot of individual shows in Bangalore . I also the 12th std pressure coming in with all the entrance exams . Eventually , I decided to do a degree at Audiolife School of Sound Engineering located at J . P Nagar , Bangalore . I also got a govt . merit engg . seat at the BMS college of Engineering for a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management . I did both these courses simultaneously everyday , one in the morning and the other one in the evening . That was one hell of a phase where I ended up really stressed every single day . I used to travel about 50 kms everyday and did most of my studies while commuting .
But the Sound engineering lectures were more of a stressbuster , because it was full of music and sound . At my sound engineering instititute I got to learn the various aspects of making a song which involved composing and producing , music arranging , recording , mixing & mastering and Post production . I was made aware of a few industry-standard DAW ' s like Pro Tools , Logic Pro and Cubase in complete depth . The classroom experience was also great as I had people who were atleast 10yrs older to me , as my classmates . Every student was given assignments , wherein he / she had to make their own song , mix and master it and that was evaluated on various parameters . Earlier this year , I wrote my Final examinations , both theory and practicals for the degree in Sound Engineering . The results were announced in April , making me one of the youngest , certified sound engineers of the country at 19 !
Today , I have my own recording studio called Albatross Studios where I compose , record and mix music for my own projects and also for a lot of clients . I compose short jingles , ads and covers . The course has also tremendously helped me shape my singing career in the right way .
Tell us your most memorable music story .
There are several memorable musical moments . It happens everytime I get into my studio late night and work on a few projects . I get completely immersed into a song and that makes me feel really good . That time well spent in the studio , makes it really memorable for me . But the most memorable moment for me , was from the recent concert that I did in Dubai . During the month of January , I was invited to Dubai to perform at concert with several stars from Bollywood like Sunidhi Chauhan , Badshah , Zarine Khan , etc . Those 30 minutes spent on stage in front of about 7000 people cheering for your songs was indeed the MOST memorable event for me .
You ' ve worked with a lot of top notch musicians . How did that come about ?
Right from my early phases in singing , I ' ve been really lucky to have got to oppurtunity to team up with several legends of the industry and also learn a lot of things from them . I ' ve learnt a lot from stars like AR Rahman , bollywood singer KK , Sunidhi Chauhan , Akriti Kakar , etc . But what deserves a special mention was my meeting with singer KK . He ' s been my favourite singer from the first and looking at how he is as person , made me a bigger fan of him . He was extremely humble and also gave me a lot of guidance and tips . I ' ve had the golden chance to perform his most-awarded song " Aashayein " with the singer himself , here at Bangalore . Truly a moment to cherish !
Does age matter much in the music industry ?
Yes it does matter and in a huge way . I ' ve seen a lot of people , some from the industry too who discount your talent because of your young age . A lot of people , chose the other over me , just because of the fact that I ' m really young . What I truly believe is one must look at a person ' s talent , his work and his achievements before judging him , keeping aside the ' age ' factor . A lot of courses , institutions have an age limit , not only the in the field of sound . I personally think that one must not be deprived of anything , when he capable of doing it , just because of the age .
How supportive are your parents of your involvement with music ?
My parents have been really supportive throughout my journey . Infact , my inspiration has always been my Parents , who wanted me to do what I like and have been supportive in all my activities related to Music . It is because of their encouragement , that I ' m doing so much of Multi-tasking and yet doing well in my tasks .
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