Exciting new steps

It's been an exciting month till now. I am currently working on a project of recording live events of performances of different artists, once in a month. So far recorded two months' of concerts and this month, i.e. June, we have decided to work on the release of the recordings as EP. It is decided that we will make an EP out of the performances we capture and release it on monthly basis.

This month's performance was of Kolkata's rock star Rahul Guha Roy and a new young singer, Tina Majumdar on Tagore verses. Rahul performed with his usual repertoire of Dylan, Young and Morrison classic rock numbers and his originals. Its always a pleasure recording this guy, as you don't need to clean up the recording too much. He knows his stuff well so there's always a finishing touch in his performance, you know what I mean, its not raw. One interesting thing is, I got to record one of his unreleased single, which I will not name now.

Tina was a surprise package altogether. She quite well shined alongside the band in and out, singing loud. Heh! It rhymed.

Now its a time to release the EP, so I was brainstorming on the design ideas and it struck my mind. Why not go old school and use my long forgotten sketching skills. I dusted off my old sketch kit and started on the designs. Drafted some 10 designs, proofed them, did a desktop photography of the chosen one, worked on photoshop for titling and colouring, and voila it was ready in 3 hours or so. Here's the EP release poster.

Keep checking soundcloud.com/amuzeonline and you will get the latest release updates there. You can also follow us at facebook.com/amuzeonline

Some musings of our own

The most important thing of my life has always been doing what I love and saying what I feel. I can not suppress my feelings and fake emotions. This creates a problem. But this never seems to upset few people around me, who are always pampering and accepting me as I am.

I have felt a lot of things going around me when I was a kid, so I started writing or rather documenting my emotions, as my father would say, "At your age every kid thinks that the whole world is spinning in a wrong direction and you are only right person to have corrected it". Hence writing to my own self started. I am not a writer or never was, but could somehow managed to place those fragments righteously.

Sang songs, painted my mind out and had musing once or rather many times to keep my heart away from bursting out.

Rahul Guha Roy is one person I never knew before, but seen many times in television and rock mag's covers. A rockstar from Kolkata, Rahul would say, "You know whenever I talk to people like you I feel people like you live in a different universe where musicians are researchers and actually practice all day rather spending time getting a perm done on their hair or hunt shops down for a good-looking amp". I wondered, then its true that there are plenty nut cases like me around.

Yes I do live in a world like that, because my childhood was spend reading books and listening to music and not swallowing text books and vomiting on answer sheet. Yes I was always a bad student, average is an overstatement for me. My father was ever supportive to as I was. However, I never failed in any test as in every subject I used to find something useful to read and that helped me through my real life. However, don't think that a father being supportive meaning he would not want you to trod the most trodden road.

Yesterday, I was invited to a jamming session for an upcoming event called Songsters and Musings of Tagore, which I am supposed to document. It is going to take place at the platform named Moonlight Festival which I and my friend Jaya had established earlier this year. I was stunned to see what's going to happen at our next show on 14th June (Saturday). I would request all of you to take an evening off and come to the show 'cause I bet that you had never heard something like what I heard while they were jamming. One of the best progressive representation that can happen with Tagore's verses.

I had an opportunity to meet this awesome rockstar a month before during a live concert in Cafe Caramel, Ballygunj, Kolkata. If you want to read about it, go to this link:

http://arijitphotography.blogspot.in/2014/04/a-long-pipe-dream.html

Another youngster I heard is Tina Majumdar, who is equally talented and promising. I wish her good luck for the next show and I bet she would amuse the crowd alike our rockstar.

While jamming we were constantly discussing about the music scene of our city, how the culture and taste of music has evolved in Kolkata. It felt like my good old days of thunder, where I used to play with rock bands, cover songs and shout at the system. I never had long hair, a tattoo or mohawk. But was definitely an outcast in my family. Reprimanded for having a band, not aspiring for some IAS or CAT test. Even suspected to have some psychological issues because I used to take in reverse orientation when asked about life's goals. Time has changed and it probably changed my thoughts or rather made me more matured, but I am still a rebel. I don't want to be stagnant. I never quit my passion even when there were times I din't have a farthing in my pocket. Thank you Rahul Guha Roy for reminding me of who I am or rather where I belong. Its been ages that I talked about music and those days of madness with someone and never had any idea, even in my wildest dreams that it would be you Mr. Roy.

Rock is invincible.

P.S. You very well know that I am not flattering you.

Here is a sneak-peak to the jamming. Keep checking for the teaser.

Update from 10.06.2014:

The teaser trailer of the show is posted on Youtube. Please go ahead and check it out.

http://youtu.be/Wh79qSqkGA4

A long pipe dream

Its a dream come true for me to record Rahul Guha Roy and that's also solo with his signature Jamaican take classics like 'Knockin' on heaven's door'.

The opportunity came as a sudden crimp on the shirt. I almost spilled my drinks (read coffee) when Arkopriya offered me with this. She is the director of the organisation who is organising a live event series called 'Live In' in Kolkata for last 2 years showcasing talents and enabling audience of this city to enjoy different flavours of music, starting from RockNRoll to Indian Classical music.

On 9th of April the Rock N Roll star Rahul Guha Roy was at Cafe Caramel, along with his wand with which he had cast a spell on me. Ever since I heard him and his band during early 2000 in GIR compilations, I was surprised to find him not taking the route taken most in your country by most of the musicians. He would take a song and mould it such that you will find yourself listening to again and again and wonder if you were even listening to right track for so many years.

I recorded his entire performance with 'Studio On Wheels' and managed get a cut of one of my favourite song.

Listen to the track here:  https://soundcloud.com/acfmuze/knockin-on-heavens-door

Recording an awesome guitarist is difficult

Yesterday I recorded a guitarist on my 'Studio on Wheels'. It was an awesome experience as it was mainly acoustic guitar with no percussion. It is difficult to record an acoustic instrument, but I did it anyway and the result was as expected. It was because my hours of preparation and presets I created while playing my own guitar and creating sound presets for acoustic guitar. The bottom-line is, artist liked it. But what is most difficult recording is an awesome guitarist who cast spell with each of his licks.

Shouvik Dinky Deb is a guitarist from Kolkata and well known for his improvised blues-jazz style of playing. He is an awesome musician and a very interesting person. Smokes like an engine and loves to eat 'Shondesh' (a Bengali sweet delicacy). His choice of chord progression can even at times make veteran engineers think of alternative ways recording his performance. If the artist is good, then you will feel enchanted while cruising through his music. You will not want it to stop.

What I did was to record a small demo piece we were working was dual injection technique for his acoustic guitar. I took one line out from his guitar pick-up and inserted it as instrument injection in AI. Another input was done by capturing the sound with a LDC mic. Other licks and an electric bass was recorded as an instrument injection.

The good thing about working with good and balanced musicians is they know what they are doing and in a way they also make you drive to that same track they are running. So you will also feel within their loop. There will be no lost in translation kind of thing.

Believe it or not, but our 3 and half minute track was recorded in just 1 hour, dot.

Hat's off to Dinky.



Update on 28.04.2014
Listen to the track and leave your comments.
https://soundcloud.com/acfmuze/jamming-1

Recorded flute for the first time

I recorded flute for the first time and I fumbled. I think it was a complete injustice to the artist I recorded. Since Soumyajyoti left for his South Africa tour, hence I would not get another chance of recording him until he returns on 7th next month, I guess I have to live with this recording till then.

I would have done it in a different way if it would have been now.

Awaiting.

A month zipped passed by

January was indeed a busy month for me, and a fairly interesting as well. Also we had the first big live recording production for aMUZE on 25th. The second week of the month went like crazy.

I had shoots starting from 15th and it went on till 22d. Within this time, I had to travel to Jaipur for a quick assignment in Le Meridian & Fairmont Jaipur. Left on 20th early morning and came back on 22nd of January.

Had final rehearsals with the gears settings and artists on 23rd evening. Also saw the theatre for the first time where aMUZE is going to produce the live music session.

After all is done, now I can't wait to see the results of all these. Though it was tiring month, but still it paid off well 'cause the boy's gotta eat right?