MUKESH AMARAN
ALBUM ARTicle:
MIHIR RANGANATHAN
M
ihir Ranganathan is our album art artist of this
month. Another example of how intertwining music
and exposure to arts from a very young age could set
you free and make you a little bit more liberal. Having gotten
into arts, trying to imitate his father and by watching tons of
cartoons, Mihir first ended up as an arts guy in an advertising
industry. Mihir credits this phase to having helped him view
art in a commercial way as well. A crucial takeaway for many
artists of today who miss out on creation due to the lack of
knowledge about the commercials.
Like a lot of us enthusiast, Mihir explains that the music
was always a backbone to his creation, throughout his life. A
constant background score, a theme to his life. “The music is
different with the ups and downs of course. What I listened to
in college and after, helped shape the person I am. The music
I listen to definitely influences my art. For example, how can
you look at the cover art of Iron Maiden's 'Killers' and not feel
inspired?”, he says with passion. Although Mihir got to the
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guitar at a later point in life, he is one half of the acoustic duo
called “Duality” alongside Manoj Sreekumar.
Post his initiation to album arts through Skrat’s Bison, Mihir
had felt comfortable to take on Madrascals. “ The process
itself was quite smooth. I think Amrit Rao quite liked the
dark yet cartoony-not-comical style I had used on 'Bison' and
believed I could pull off something that was overall dark yet
tongue-in-cheek. The cover art is filled with situations and
scenes that appear across the album. The Album has a larger
theme with each song forming a piece of the conceptual
puzzle.”, says Mihir. A key ingredient in the process of
concocting this piece was the discussion about the lyrics with
the band and the freedom provided by Amrit and the band to
interpret them to fit the style.
As like any other field of creation, a lot of study and hard
work is spent creating a piece that translates someone else’s
art to the closest form. Mihir is one such dedicated individual
who connects with it emotionally on multiple levels. If you
think it can never be a great piece of art, see for yourselves.