score would be a manifestation of the character ’ s inner thought process , emotions etc . He alludes to an example of the break-up scene in Love Aaj Kal . Now , there are two different characters investing different types of emotions in the scene and the score had to vividly communicate the different types of emotions . Thus , for the male character in the film , he created a score coded by snythpad to evoke tension . For the female character , he created a score coded by the harp melody to evoke pensiveness . He also had to embed a common underlying theme that would subtly surface throughout the scene .
What do you think of the contemporary music landscape compared to the early 1990s ? How has your music evolved to adapt ( or has it evolved agnostic of the industry ) ?
At a tender and very early age , he was keen on music production . He credits the Dil Se album for fueling the flame within . He recalls how he used to dissect the various layers of the songs and score and reproduce the parts on his keyboard . He had an innate , or perhaps an acquired ability , to accurately reproduce melodies . Apart from being a child , he also took up formal keyboard lessons as well as training in Indian classical music . Production then , perhaps , leveraged slightly different tools than what production uses in contemporary times . The inevitable evolution of production owing to upgrades in tools was accompanied by an evolution of sound as a whole . As the sound evolved , so did the overall musical taste amongst the audience and it was imperative to cater to that . These days , he reckons that there is more attention given towards and more investment directed towards production . There is more space to incorporate more detail . You don ’ t need external samplers or workstation keyboards anymore . The software is more sophisticated and rather allencompassing . You can now easily add more layers and elements to a song and make it more dense if need be . Further , there are more tools for automation - for example to ensure precision and accuracy in volume .
Who or what inspired your music and how has that changed over time , if it has ?
Of course , unquestionably he takes this opportunity to give his accolades and appreciation to the omnipresent AR sir . AR Sir ’ s work had inspired him to really understand the nuances of production . It was also AR Sir who had advised him to consider studying music production at Berklee College of
Music , which he eventually did ! At the age of 10 / 11 , he started to listen to John Williams and subsequently a lot of 20th century classical music . Other pioneers in the field that had influenced him were Hans Zimmer , John Powell , Jerry Goldsmith , and MIchael Giacchino . He started programming at the age of 11 using the Cakewalk pro audio software . His interests then diversified and he started to indulge in more rock and jazz . He was inspired by the likes of Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree . He also went through a phase of listening to IDM . In fact , he had started a band along with his uncle ( Mr . Chintan - a songwriter , producer as well as a founding member of one of the biggest rock bands in India ( Parikrama )) called NePhunk . He beautifully captures the essence of the band in his soundcloud bio as a band that was ‘ strung together by nephew & uncle - a band built over many years of family-dinners , basement jams , Pink Floyd , and AR Rahman ’. He refers to the content as genre defying , soulful , sublime and melodic soundscapes often grand in flavour .
Do you make independent music ? What is your perception of the indie music scene ?
Ishaan is a huge advocate and fan of independent music . He strongly believes it should be a separate industry of and on its own . He definitely flirts with the idea of putting his own compositions out there and feels if he were to put out his independent music , it would be in a hybrid genre of electro-orchestral .
You predominantly work on scores for all types of films . What type of scoring is the most difficult ?
First and foremost , scoring is definitely more intense , more laborious compared to songs and thus by default is vastly underrated . Creating that signature theme or cracking complicated concepts can take up to weeks ! ‘ It is analogous to a marathon as opposed to a short sprint ’ he says . In fact creating scores for web serieses that span numerous weeks can be even more taxing . He believes that the most demanding score would be for comedy and animation projects . He alludes to an interesting conundrum he normally faces when scoring for comedy films and that is ensuring that he scores with a serious tone .’ You shouldn ’ t score in a rather ‘ funny ’ way ’ he says . For example , during a comedic dialogue , the score should be subtle yet impactful . The score essentially should only be conspicuous by absence .
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