Category Archives: indie-music

Amabilis Insania

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I have been neglecting The Waste Land for a while. For example, I have this long post planned about our very own Jyoti Babu since he entered the hospital for the very last time. And even now, when he has passed away and his earthly remains have been dissected for the greater good of Science, I have not been able to find time to write about him, or rather my impressions of him. I do have excuses galore, such as work, life etc. But the best excuse I have is this other blog that I have been working on – its called Amabilis Insania - and its about Music. For an introduction I quote the complete About page here:

Amabilis Insania is Latin for Pleasing Madness – which to me is what Music stands for. Music drives us to rapture or despair far greater than most of our own experiences are capable of – insanity, in other words. But it is an insanity which we crave, which pleases our senses, which makes life worth living. Music is such an abstract and subtle thing – a certain waveform of sound that finds resonance in us – tweak one note and it will be useless noise. Amabilis Insania is dedicated to that thing!

Anyone who knows me will tell you how big a part of my life Music is, even though I can’t create any. To say I love Music will be one of the understatements of this century and the last! Consider this – in the age of magnetic cassette tapes, I had around a thousand to a thousand and a half of them (which were ultimately given away for five Indian Rupees a kilogram by my parents when they sold the old apartment and moved!); the era of compact discs kind of passed me by and I could manage a meagre four hundred which I still possess; in this new millenium of the ubiquitous em-pee-three I already have over nine thousand of them and that number keeps going northwards each passing month! Now that I have you convinced, let me move on…

My Insania started quite late, only in my teens actually. Though I was touched by Music probably since the day I was born – the melodies out of my mother’s sweet voice and the musical nursery rhymes tape that my father brought me from England included – I was totally unaware of the vast ocean of Music that existed across the seven seas. A friend of my adolescent years introduced me to some new forms for which I am forever in his debt. It was the spark that ignited this fire – the fire to listen and discover Music. And it’s still burning…

At this point I would like to confess an embarrassing secret! For all my love of Music, I can’t play any. I can tolerably sing and may even have been a self-professed karaoke king of Jakarta! But when it comes to plucking strings, banging skins, blowing wind or pressing ivories, I have no skills – zero, zilch, nada! People ask me, do I play any music? And my answer has always been, no, I listen!

Regarding my tastes in music, I love Jazz, but I also love Blues and Rock. Even though I do not understand much, there are a few Indian Classical Ragas and Western Classical pieces I hold dear. I discovered Indonesian Gamelan during my two year stint in Jakarta and it grew on me. I might even listen to some Electronic Music when I am in the mood. And I am not embarrassed to admit that there are even a few Pop or Bollywood tracks which I enjoy! For me, first and foremost, it is about the Music and how I react to it. I don’t care about the labels and the sophistication. It has to move me, up or down. Period!

Now to come to the raison d’etre of Amabilis Insania. Another friend long, long ago had remarked that I should make my career in Music – not really in playing Music, but something that revolves around it – a radio DJ for instance. Now, on the wrong side of thirty, I do not harbour such illusions any more – Life happened to me while I was still making plans. But recently I realised that I could at least share some of the wonderful Music that I know and some that I discover – some greater benefit from what is purely a private affair. If you hear something new here and it touches you in some way or if you hear a long-forgotten tune and it revives some dusty memory, I can be glad that, even though I did not create it, at least I helped someone find it and in some weird way we shared a moment.

So, my dear friends, as usual I look for your indulgence! Do visit it sometimes, listen to some tunes, leave your impressions – and above all provide some encouragement to this otherwise dull and meaningless life of mine! ;)

Amabilis Insania

Listening for change…

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I am listening to “Playing for Change”. Let Mark Johnson tell you what it is before I do!

Playing for Change is beautiful! It is about the power of music. It is about the power of people. It is about the power of humanity. Simply put, “Playing for Change is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music”. Please be a part of it.

Anyone who knows me will tell you how big music is a part of my life, even though I can’t create any. I love Jazz, but I also love Blues and Rock. Even though I do not understand much, there are a few Indian Classical Ragas and Western Classical pieces I hold dear. I might even listen to some electronic music when I am in the mood. And I am not embarrassed to admit that there are even a few Michael Jackson tracks which I enjoy! For me, first and foremost, it is about the music and how I react to it. I don’t care about the labels and the sophistication. It has to move me, up or down. Period!

And ‘”Playing for Change” did more than that! It made my eyes moist at the lost opportunities of the human race.

Playing for Change began a decade ago, the brainchild of Grammy-winning music producer and engineer Mark Johnson. “I was in a subway in New York on my way to work, and I heard these two monks playing music,” he recalls. “They were painted head to toe, all white, wearing robes. One was playing a nylon guitar, and the other was singing in a language I didn’t understand. There were about 200 people who stopped to watch, didn’t even get on the train. Some had tears in their eyes. And it occurred to me that here is a group of people that would normally run by each other, but instead they’re coming together. And it’s the music that brought them together.”

For ten years Johnson and his team travelled the globe, with a single-minded passion to record little-known musicians for what would become Playing for Change – its name evoking the coins thrown to street musicians as well as the transformation their music inspires.

They have come a long way since then and have had artists like Bono, Keb Mo and Manu Chao contributing to their cause. They have a double album out now. You can buy the CD online, or if you are in the US or Canada(Prasun, I am looking at you!), you can even buy the MP3 album. I have already ordered the CD just before posting this! What better convincing could I ask for than the fact that the primary musical inspiration for this movement has been Bob Marley! As they clarify,

If there is one musician in the world who has been the musical inspiration for Playing for Change, it is Bob Marley. He created music that allows us to feel good while we examine the struggles and importance of uniting as a human race. His music can pick you up when you are down and raise you to a level of consciousness and understanding that brings peace of mind and heart to millions all over the world. “One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain.”

Even if we can’t play, let us at least listen… for Change!

(Last words – I wanted to thank Kanya, on whose Facebook page I first discovered Playing for Change.)

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[UPDATE: My favourite from this site has to be this, featuring Bono:

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Smoke Fish

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A few posts back I told you guys about Jamendo. Here’s the first post on a band I discovered over there.
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Smoke Fish is a French band comprising of Shay on guitar and keyboards as well as handling the vocals, Jonathan on guitar and keyboards, PY on drums and Jean Se on bass. They cite David Bowie, Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jeff Buckley, John Lennon among others as their influences. There music is pop-rock. They have an album called Mary up on Jamendo and I have decided to feature my favourite track from that album on this post. Most of their compositions, though quite varied in approaches and styles have one thing in common – a healthy stress on melody, which is a good thing and ignored by many bands more often than not!
My favourite track after a few listens has to be a long drawn out (it is almost nine minutes long), beautiful song called My Eyes. The song is characterized by the haunting piano refrain and the distorted vocals. It even has a short spoken-not-sung section in the middle. The guitar solo towards the end, though not technically grand, blends in perfectly with the song which should be seen as an example of tight song-writing above anything else. That is the best quality of this song – it is greater than the sum of its parts. No virtuosity here, but a mature song nonetheless.
Listen to the song by clicking the play button or right click on the link and download the mp3. Its released under this Creative Commons license.)
Also found a video of them performing live. The first part of the video is My Eyes and the second part is my next favourite from this album called Cigarettes & Family.