I don’t really need to introduce Sindhuja to any of the music-blog-hoppers. She is a wonderful singer and a perfectionist in music. Audio India has posted an interview with her today. Go check out the interview. Excerpt below.

What do you dislike the most about music blogging?

Apart from the usual gripe about people not following “netiquette” or not being frank while leaving feedback etc., the one thing I feel is that blogging (or any kind of performance for that matter) makes you more audience oriented and so you tend to focus less on your own growth as a singer. I saw that happening to myself. When blogging was new to me, I would crave for comments on my blog- I think that’s natural. It became more of “how will people like this and how many comments will I get?” rather than “how well have I actually sung this and how better can I get at this?” For a time, singing for me became synonymous with recording and blogging. Rather than spending an hour practising, I’d spend the time recording an easy number, mixing and putting it up on my blog. And that meant instant “success”. Getting encouraging feedback sometimes made me complacent.

I think its very important to be ambitious and keep pushing your limits. I don’t really regret all of that though- its all part of growing up. I don’t deny that an artist always needs an audience- I agree with that 100%. In fact, through the blogging medium itself, friends have pointed out flaws in my singing that I might have missed myself and I’m really thankful to blogging for that. But at the same time, I believe an artist shouldn’t get too lost in display of talent and miss out on doing a reality check on herself from time to time- realize her limitations and work on them diligently. Or may be all this applies to just me… :-/

So here is the interview that aired on Manorama News channel today at 2:30 PM. Those who missed it can watch it on TV tomorrow at 5 AM and 9:30 AM. Let me know how it is.

Part I:

Part II:

Thanks to Divya and her mom for uploading the YouTube video.

Could you please share any unforgettable musical moments or concerts that you had?

An unforgettable musical moment for me was when I sang in front of Yesudas when I was in High School and he was sitting right next to me while I stood in front of the mike. Was I nervous!!! But as soon as I was done, I got to talk to him and I vividly remember him being appreciative and saying “take care of your voice, please start learning classical music, don’t eat ice-cream!!!”

Singing with Abhijeet in Kansas I would say would be the most unforgettable concert for me.

Vidyu needs no introduction to those who have been frequenting to music blogs. Read rest of the interview with Vidyu at Audio India.

Continuing the series of interviews with music bloggers, Audio India has posted an interview with Meera Manohar. Check it out at Audio India.

You do live shows with your band. What are the challenges of singing on stage?

Live shows are way so different than studio/home recording. The thing I love most about stage shows are the vibrancy and on the minute improvisation opportunities that comes with it. Of course, no retakes whatsoever–so one take, and either you make it or break it Getting a feel for the pulse of the crowd/listeners is a challenge and might even change with every other song in a live show. Stage shows are tough, extremely enjoyable, and a very beautiful experience. Learn so much with each and every show that I do. [Read more...]

In the second part of “Meet the Music Bloggers” interview series in Audio India, we have Azam Khan – a talented singer from Pakistan. Read about his interesting musical journey so far.

Check out this interview (courtesy: Asianet) with Prof. Rodney F Moag, who has been teaching at the University of Texas, Austin. See how he speaks Malayalam with ease, considering that he is a foreigner. Check out his profile at Kerala Tourism website. He is also a country music performer. See his music profile at his music website.

(Thanks to Uma for the link)

[Today's is a guest post by K K Moidu].

An hitherto unknown Sara Raza Khan of Pakistan was in the limelight recently for her participation in the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009, where she lost but impressed all, writes KK Moidu.

Teenager Sara from the city of gardens, Lahore, Pakistan, is the first Muslim girl to take the big leap by competing in a musical reality contest like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009, in spite of stiff opposition from people of her community.

Although, Sara didn’t win the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009 trophy, her mind-blowing and soulful performance will surely take her a long way. Her great voice and expression not only placed her among the top eight contestants in the prestigious contest, but she also won plaudits from all corners. Sara was eliminated in Episode 37, on Nov 7. She talks about her dream to become a legendary playback singer. Here are some excerpts:

Who was the first to recognise your musical talent?

My lovely mother recognised my musical talent and motivated me. My best music teacher Sir Abdul Rauf, encouraged and supported me by training me in classical music.

What is your background in music?

I have no musical background, I am the first girl in my whole family to learn classical music. I want to be successful with my God-gifted talent.

I started learning classical singing just two years ago from Sir Abdul Rauf, a teacher at the prestigious Al Hamra Arts Council, Lahore. After a month’s training from a sincere teacher like Sir Abdul Rauf, I got a chance to perform in front of General Pervez Musharaf, former president of Pakistan. He appreciated me a lot and also invited me to his birthday at the President House. After that people started recognising me, I got many opportunities for anchoring, singing and also performed in many live shows on different TV channels.

Tell us about your selection to Sa Re Ga Ma Pa?

Legendary singer Ghulam Ali Sir selected me for the audition of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa from Lahore as the only and first girl from Pakistan (Pakistan Ki Beti which now known as Pak Ki Mallika).

What were your relatives’ and neighbours’ reactions to your participation in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge?

Well! Reactions of my relatives were a mixture of positive and negative comments. But the majority were extremely happy and excited for Pakistan Ki Beti, and now in Pakistan, people are excited and warmly welcoming me. And one more thing, my country is also very happy that it appreciated me and motivated me a lot.

What was your experience in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa like?

It was really awesome, superb, outstanding, mind-blowing history. Ya, it was! Because I just dreamed to be in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and when it really happened, I thank the Almighty and the audience for their prayers.

Tell us about the judges and audience?

All the judges of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2009 are very sincere, talented and motivating persons. They all are very successful in their fields and I want to work with them.

Audience! wow! I think that it’s really very astonishing for me that the audience from all around the world loved me, appreciated me and blessed with their votes and prayers. I was very attached to my viewers and I am taking a lot of beautiful memories back with me! The way the audience chanted my name, took my autographs, also wrote plenty of mails to me and all these memories always make me emotional. I pray to God that all the viewers always love me and remember me! I am sure that today all India Loves Me!

What do you plan to do now?

My future plans are to learn more classical music, be a great playback and live show singer, to earn a lot of respect and be one of Allah’s favourites.

What is your biggest dream?

My biggest dream is to be a great singer and earn money and fame to make my elder sister the happiest woman in the world. I also want to help those strong women, who are divorced and are alone with their little babies at a young age.

[END]

Today’s is a guest post by K K Moidu, who is working in The Gulf Today newspaper published from Dar Al Khaleej Group, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. He reports Entertainment news, local news and writing cinema features, profile, movie reveiws, Television programmes, artistes interviews etc. In this post, Thilakan, one of Indian cinema’s finest actors, speaks to KK Moidu about his personal experiences in showbiz.

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A two-time National Award winner for film acting, Surendranath Thilakan, was in town recently to receive an award for his lifetime achievement and contribution to Malayalam cinema at a star-studded AMMA Award function held at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. This rare honour came at a time when the thespian is facing a boycott from those of his ilk following a war of words. An acclaimed actor, known for speaking his mind, Thilakan has just chosen to ignore the industry reaction but alleges that the actors’ guilds were being used to safeguard the interests of a few people. He has said this before and in September, except director Thulasidas and some small-screen artistes, none of the Malayalam film industry personalities attended his daughter’s wedding. But even his detractors cannot deny the fact that he is a brilliant actor.

In his own estimation, the creative freedom that film-makers give him has helped him breathe life into the characters he portrays. Osteoarthritis has imposed physical limitations and he has fewer assignments now but he still managed a national level special mention performance in 2007 for Ekantham. Even the film technicians’ guild, MACTA, made an exception recently and honoured him though he is not a technician. His boundless talent is likely to bring him into reckoning once again. In an acting career spanning over five decades, he has gifted the audience many memorable characters. The first screen character he portrayed in 1973 mouthed famous lines from Shakespeare’s works like Hamlet’s words “to be or not to be.” He fondly recalls the dialogues as well as each frame of that film. In the climax, after both the character’s father and sister die, he wonders aloud “Two deaths for one love, so how many deaths for love since the beginning of the world.”
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Those of you who have been frequently visiting this blog would have read my post on Dinesh Ghate, the man who is on a mission to honor the musicians ignored in the film music industry of India. Dinesh runs a magazine that celebrates the musicians who worked in the popular songs whom we never knew about. I had a chance to have an email interview with Dinesh (thanks to Pradeep for his help with this) and here it is.

Q] What is the idea behind Swar Aalaap? What made you take this initiative to introduce those unsung heroes of the popular music to the public?

I am a musician right from the childhood. I always listen to the good old songs and apart from the singers, I have been thinking about the music part that has created the magic mood of a song. So when I became a musician (playing Octopad) I wanted to give credit to the legendary artistes who were instrumental in the songs. Also with the help of Swar Aalap, the musicians come in contact with each other through out the country, because music is a universal thing.

Q] How did you go about collecting the names of those musicians who were not even mentioned in the original credits?

As I’m regularly doing music shows, everybody knows about Swar Aalap and that has made it easy for me. Now a days senior musicians also give good response and information. And I am always busy with searching for original musicians.

Q] How is the response from the film music industry? Do you think this would make them rethink about giving proper credits to the solo instrumentalists?

The response has been very good from across the country as well as abroad, but not from music industry here.

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