SHREYA BOSE
film scoring world . As was the case with Marty Friedman , there really wasn ’ t any reason why the prominent composers who work in film here , who have their pick of people to collaborate with , would want me to get involved with film scores unless they specifically wanted my sensibilities on their project .
In a way , it actually makes sense , because one of the things I ’ ve heard a lot about my music is that there ’ s a very cinematic element to it , a ‘ visual ’ feel to the music , so to speak . So for me , the transition from composing music for music ’ s sake to composing to picture was a very seamless one .
In conversation with
KESHAV DHAR
Even though he is most known as a pioneer of progressive metal in India , Keshav Dhar is a man with his finger in many pies . Having created the avantgarde prog anthem maker Skyharbor out of his bedroom , he established his excellence early on in the scene . Subsequently , he has gone on to make music with Marty Friedman ( yes , THAT Marty Friedman ), produce and mix for a multitude of Indian and international musicians and even tiptoe into composing for Bollywood .
The musical polymath caught up with us to talk about navigating the lockdown , composing with Clinton Cerejo , albums he would recommend to aliens and his 10 Commandments of making good music .
What was it like , co-writing music with Marty Friedman ?
It was very intimidating at first , till I realised ( and he emphasised ) that he literally wanted me to do my thing the way I would write a song of my own . Being a producer , when I work with other people I tend to go into my “ how can I get into this person ’ s head and think like them ” mode , but he made me feel really very comfortable .
It made sense , because there really wouldn ’ t be any reason for someone like him , who could literally pick anyone from the world to work with , to approach someone like me unless he really wanted my specific sound .
Tell us about your most fascinating collaborations till date . Fascinating is a subjective term , but I really feel like Vishal J . Singh ’ s guest appearance on the Skyharbor song ‘ Celestial ’ was by far the most ear-to-ear smile-inducing collaborative moment I ’ ve had yet . That guitar solo was pure magic . To me , it really is one of those once-in-a-blue-moon performances where every note is exquisite .
How does one transition from face-melting Skyharbor solos to composing for Bollywood films ?
This may sound surprising , but Skyharbor was really the reason for me getting a foot in the door in the
All it really took was to learn the ropes and techniques specific to film scoring , which I ’ m still learning with each new project . In terms of a shift in mindset , not so much . In fact , I ’ ve been told often that a lot of both my bands ’ songs could easily fit into films .
What do you look for in a " good song "? Something memorable , something that makes me want to rewind and press play again once the song ends . Above all , I need to feel something . People might think the opposite of a good song is a bad song , but to me the opposite of a good song is a boring song .
If a song makes me groove , I like it . If it makes me laugh , I like it . If I think it ’ s awful , I ’ ll still appreciate it more than a song that just passes me by and makes me feel nothing . There can be technically stunning music that bores me to death .
A large section of Skyhabor ' s fans found the band via the internet . But then again , streaming and piracy have bitten into artists ' incomes . As someone who has been part of the phenomenon , do you see a viable solution to the dilemma ?
This is not something that people want to hear , but honest to God I cannot stress enough how important it is to NOT have financial expectations from selling your albums or your singles , at least for the first 5-6 years minimum , maybe even more .
You are in all likelihood only going to set yourself up for disappointment and end up quitting . To put it bluntly , there is no way we can control peoples ’ tastes .
The Score Magazine
38 highonscore . com