MUKESH AMARAN
ALBUM ARTicle :
ARU
Arundathi Manakkad is Aru , the brains behind some of the most interesting music posters that invite you and I to get up and go watch the performance . A visual layer to music is always an important , although commonly unnoticed aspect that has always been a constant . From the album art , the poster design , Visuals down to the photographs of the performance adds value to the product itself which is music . Aru is one such person in the music scene who has taken her liking for music and visual art to create some amazing artworks .
Like many of us science students , Aru was expected to be an engineer of sorts . But Srishti school of art was where she ended up . She credits the course to have helped her think differently which she considers her biggest take away from the course . Aru has also been in touch with music for a major part of her life . “ My dad would try to teach me Carnatic music with a harmonium every Sunday since I was 5 , I hated it , I always wanted to dance ! I remember I picked up the violin in school only because I wanted to miss class !”, she comments on her initial stages of getting into music . But she slowly started to get into music and by 17 got a guitar by saving up and has been making some music ever since . “ It seemed wondrous and out of reach . I decided to save up money and I bought my first guitar , since then I ’ ve been making small bits of music here and there ”, she comments .
Aru is a story teller of sorts . A listener , who is highly intrigued by how the music community works and what each artist has to offer . Stories of artists and their music finds deep appreciation and emphasis in Aru ’ s work . “ I listened to the music these musicians played , over many times , watched them play live at SoFar whenever I could . I tried to understand them as artists and I picked out one or two elements that stood out for me that had something to do with them as people or their music and I emphasized this in my art . I try to make the subject interesting to me . If I ’ m asked to make an album cover , I listen to the music over hours , ask questions to the artists and create a narrative in my mind This narrative helps me see a story in my mind and I start fleshing this out .” Says Aru , on the process she undergoes before creating .
Armed with a very detailed illustrative style but with spontaneity , Aru looks for a story while she creates any kind of artwork . Her posters and artwork are definitely worth high praise and has been raising the standards of the music scene as a whole . Like I always say , the scene grows when every single aspect of it delivers some high-quality art and not just music alone .
The Score Magazine
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