Mural , I created a piece called ‘ Young Sun ” as a tribute to the violinist Balabhaskar and I offer that piece as a a tribute to all the great musical geniuses we have lost in recent times .
“ Kerala to Munich " commemorated a cultural milestone . How do you approach collaborative projects differently from your solo works , and what ’ s the most important lesson you ' ve learned from collaboration ?
Yes . The song Kerala to Munich was special as it was created to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Kerala Samajam in Munich . What made it even more special was the amazing collaboration with noted music producer Vivek Radhakrishnan , V3K and Moeha . When I first got the offer to compose music for the occasion , I reached out to Vivek and Moeha as they have been a great duo of experimental musicians themselves and brought to the track a broader musical sensibility that gelled well with the core melody of the track . Rather than approach it as a conventional distribution of effort , we collaborated in an organic manner , jamming over tunes and coming up with combinations that would finally become the final version . My sense of collaboration is drawn from the idea that creativity is an open domain . While creating solo ambient works derives from the solitary emotional space , collaboration , opens up a whole range of possibilities . The one important thing for a collaboration to work is to view your collaborators as equal partners in the creative process . End of the day , what matters is how the creative talents and ideas merge towards creating the final output . Further , one needs to remove unproductive mindsets and comparisons while collaborating , as it facilitates an opportunity to continuous learn and evolve through the process .
During the pandemic , you contributed to not-for-profit ambient compilations around the theme of social isolation . How did creating music in such a turbulent time affect your emotional state and creative process ?
Much credit to the contribution to the pandemic releases goes to ambient music producer Varun Desai who marshalled ambient music producers in India for the Social Isolation series and Dhruva Balram who conceptualized the “ AAJ Tak “ compilation as a charity for Covid . As I look back at that time , I saw the Covid period as an opportunity to create ambient music more than ever . The isolation albeit an unsettling one , was perhaps the perfect moment to contribute to the emotional well being of people through peaceful music . In fact , when I was invited to contribute to the compilations , I was intrigued by the fact that ambient music had found a new audience that sought an oasis to forget the glim nature of the period that was . This motivated me , to create more pieces . The silence and calm at that time , unwittingly made me a lot more productive in creating new works , so much so , that music remained my refuge .
Ambient music is often perceived as niche or meditative . What ’ s one common misconception about ambient music that you ’ d like to debunk , and how would you introduce it to someone unfamiliar with the genre ?
Ambient music is fundamentally music that is non-intrusive and offers a pleasant experience to the listener . In the words of the founder of the genre Brian Eno- “ Ambient music is intended to induce calm and a space to think .. It must be as ignorable as it is interesting ”. Unlike popular music that demands listener attention , ambient music is more like an oasis in the desert . The most common misconception about ambient music is that it ’ s quite boring and lacks variety . The truth couldn ’ t be farther . Ambient music encompasses a wide array of styles that it borrws from including classical , jazz , techno and world music . The difference lies in the way the instrumentation and tones are treated , and therein lies all the beauty . This is the kind of music that fits into a wide array of settings including art installations , movie soundtracks , meditation and live music events .
With projects like “ Play-Bar ” at Blue Tokai Cafes , how does curating music for specific spaces challenge or inspire your approach to ambient soundscapes ?
The PlayBar project was a curation effort by Pagal Haina Records with
Blue Tokai Cafes . The goal was to get café lovers visiting Blue Tokai to listen to the Indian independent music producer diversity . Further , the goal of the PlayBar project was to get people to listen to music that exists outside the mainstream , while promoting the indie musicians . While I was not involved in the curation , I believe , such efforts play a humungous role in taking independent music to listeners , who otherwise may not tune into such music . That said , creating music for public spaces requires one to paradoxically forget about the space and focus more on isolating oneself as the sole listener . As most ambient music creates a sense of solitude , the process of creating music for spaces is not quite different from creating music for ones own listening , in my experience .
If you could create a live ambient performance in any location in the world — without restrictions — where would it be , and how would the environment influence your performance ?
I feel that ambient music creation is an organic process . Unlike other musical styles , it is rather difficult to replicate ambient music as a live performance , unless you have the opportunity to focus on specific elements of the track , rather than its entirety . Further , the music creator and listener should engage from a non-judgemental space . This would allow for the music to take precedence over human bias . That said ,, if I were ever to create a live ambient performance , I would perhaps do it on a hillock in the midst of lush green forests anywhere in the world . My sense is that ambient music is more about the internal environment we carry as humans , and less about the external environment . However , a peaceful external environment , would be a cherry on top , enhancing the experience and relatability of the ambient performance , manifold .
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