The Score Magazine - Archive June 2015 issue! | Page 26

Tell us about your association with Qyuki. How did it
come about?
We were doing a studio session with Ranjit Barot when we saw this
guy shooting us while we were recording one of Ranjit's songs- like
a behind the scenes kind of thing and this guy was really impressed
with us and our sound and told us about Qyuki - that they're into
digital marketing and maybe we should come in to meet his Boss
the very next day. So, we went in the next day and met with Samir
Bangara co- owner of Qyuki Digital (co- owned by AR Rahman
and Shekhar Kapur) and Sagar Gokhale- Head of Content. As
Artistes we were desperately looking and hoping to find a company
who believed in our Talent and wanted to support us and that is
EXACTLY what Qyuki offered us. A platform that would support
us as Artistes not just digitally, but with regards to producing us
as well - both Audio and Video. We were in a state of shock and had
to pinch ourselves to believe that a company like this ACTUALLY
existed! We immediately took up their offer to manage us digitally
and the journey so far has been wonderful and tremendous. The
collective efforts of Qyuki and us have put RaagaTrippin' on the
global map. Fans who write in not only comment on how great our
audio sounds but also on how fantastic our videos look. We work
together on the initial stages- the creatives for the videos and other
aspects pertaining to it like make-up, clothes, accessories, And
Qyuki takes over from there with their amazing and hardworking
video & production team churning out one amazing video after the
next for us.
How did you guys come together? Tell us the story of
RaagaTrippin!
The 6 of us have been friends long before we got together as
RaagaTrippin'. Some of us used to perform in choirs together and
over the years started working together doing studio sessions as
backing vocalists. Before we got together as RaagaTrippin', some
of us had a small old style Acapella setup called Soul Revival
[without a beatboxer] and Alan (Beatboxer with RaagaTrippin') had
his own Beatbox troupe called BoxyTurvy. About 4 years ago on
the 15th August, both groups were performing at a Charity Event
which is when Gary (Vocal Bass & Tenor with RaagaTrippin') after
hearing BoxyTurvy had an idea of fusing the two groups together
where Old Style Acapella meets Beatboxing. It was an interesting
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yet challenging thought and most of us were nervous at the time
about pursuing this idea. In a way, you could say the 'IDEA’ of
RaagaTrippin' was born that evening. But it wasn't until June
2012 that we came together and emerged as one group under the
Vocally Versatile & Creative Umbrella that the world now knows
as RaagaTrippin'! Alan received an offer to provide an Acapella
arrangement of a Bollywood Track and in turn have a music video
produced for it and aired on TV for free. It was a great opportunity
& a fabulous platform and he immediately called Thomson (Lead
Harmonic & Vocal Percussions with RaagaTrippin') who put forth
the idea to Gwen, Keshia, Gary & Suzanne and so we decided to
come together for this one project. As we started preparing and
rehearsing for this Project, each of us fell in love with the Sound
of the group and the way our voices came together, making a
Bollywood song sound so amazing with ONLY our VOICES. The
idea of getting back to our gospel roots, but being able to present it
in a completely modern way was way too cool, challenging and fun
to walk away from. So, we decided to pursue RaagaTrippin' further.
And today we're so happy we did!
*NOTE: Gwen, Keshia & Suzanne also perform Lead, Harmonic &
Vocal Percussions with RaagaTrippin'
You've done covers for Megan Trainor, The Lion
King, and more. How do you usually go about picking
your covers? Is there a classic that you’re itching to
cover?
Our cover songs are selected on the basis of the trending Billboard
lists or most watched online or popular radio hits and generally
songs that we as a group really enjoy singing. This helps us
narrow down and shortlist the songs we'd like to cover and then
have everyone select the top 5 and then make a final list. Suzanne
arranges all of our song