Sky is the limit

Not long ago, if it was a successful and popular Indian music band, then it had to be from one of the major metros. The bands, shows, competitions,

all happened only in the bigger cities while music lovers from smaller cities and towns were left high and dry, and much of the talent was mostly left untapped.

Thanks to the increased avenues of showcasing the talent and social media, the talented artistes from smaller cities are surely gaining in popularity. These bands are increasingly making waves at larger events and there’s only more to come

A vibrant and an electrifying ambience rented the air at Aloft Hotel, Cessna Business Park in Bengaluru, recently. It was an evening filled with music - a gala event – the finale of ‘Aloft Project Star, Amplified by MTV’, a talent hunt competition.

Music is engraved in the DNA of us Indians; what with the various influences that we have imbibed from across the world, it has only become richer.

As you come to expect from such contests, the mood was quite upbeat and the thrills and nervousness associated with it were riveting. Bands from pan-India, who had gathered, went about their sound checks and tuning of their instruments to give their best shot at the coveted trophy; and what stellar performances they were!

Over the years, the stereotype of a band emerging successfully out of metros is slowly being erased. A case in point is this event where the major share of the finalists had their roots from smaller towns like Dehradun, Nashik and Agra. Only two of the final contestants came from Pune and Mumbai respectively.

One of the reasons for the transition is that the spaces to showcase music have increased drastically in the last couple of years and more and more bands are making a cut towards recognition.

Devoting passion, time and effort, they hope their hard work will pay them off one day. Dreamed and focused, these youngsters have a message they want to share – talent has no boundaries.

Walking shoulder to shoulder with the major cities, the music scene in small towns is growing. There was a time when only a few bands dared to feel the heat and pursue their passion. Earlier, only people from metros used to take this leap of faith.

It is hard to make it big here as very few companies promote talent, but this does not deter young musicians. Today, youngsters across the country are daring to follow their passion and aim to pursue their career in music. The band members pursue different careers and battle unique challenges but one thing that unites them all is music.

With the advent of technology, it has become easier for musicians to garner more exposure. Nowadays the gadget frenzy youth are recording their original compositions and are uploading them on social networking platforms and are harvesting accolades.

Taking a cue, Aloft Hotels in collaboration with MTV, conducted a national level competition titled ‘Aloft Project Star, Amplified by MTV’. In this edition of music talent discovery competition, the artistes uploaded their videos of original compositions and five bands, which garnered the most votes, were given a chance to battle it out in the final.

A total of 350 bands participated in the competition and more than half a million online votes were received. The contest aims to identify and support the hottest emerging music artistes throughout Asia Pacific, with three competition clusters.

The 15-week competition kicked off on May 22, garnering close to double the number of published original music video submissions from aspiring music talent compared to the inaugural edition last year.

Fans lent their support by voting for their favourite music videos, with voting numbers skyrocketing over 20 times compared to last year’s, to more than half a million and there was more participation from smaller towns in India. The contest was exhilarating even as in the end Pune-based band ‘Run Pussy Run’ emerged the winners.

“We are absolutely thrilled that we won the competition. It is the first time we have participated in a competition, and winning it has been the most encouraging and rewarding experience so far. More than anything, it was humbling to meet the other participants who were very good,” shared the band members, lead singer Gowri Jayakumar, drummer Abhishek Debsikdar and Anjo John, who was on bass.

Nashik-based alternative folk rock band ‘Veda’, earlier performed at MTV Coke Studio. The six-member band was one of the finalists and was among the most voted bands in the competition.

“The gap is decreasing by the day and many people from small cities are gearing up to pursue their passion. Earlier people used to migrate to bigger cities to achieve their dreams, but these days with matured technology the whole world is the audience.

Nowadays it does not matter where you are from but what you do is more important,” says Shrikanth Nair, lead vocalist of the band, who is also programming head at Radio Mirchi, Nashik.

“The productions houses who hunt for talent should also venture into smaller cities. There is a lot of talent in the interior India. Any kind of audition is only held in bigger cities; this should also change,” he adds.

Sylvio Olvin, one of the finalists in the competitions, is a 19-year-old student from Agra, and he aspires to be a professional musician. He is not leaving any stone unturned to pursue his endeavour.

His song “Bachpan” garnered many accolades in the competition. “I got to know about this competition through a website and I participated in the contest last year too. However, I was rejected but this year I was lucky. Competitions like this bridge the gap and provide opportunity for people from small towns,” says the aspiring musician.

“We were impressed with the quality of work submitted and the increase in the number of entries and votes received shows us the amount of fresh music talent out there and the extent of public support for them.

The competition has given these young performers a chance to shine and they are definitely the ones to watch out for,” shares Paras Sharma, Vice President, MTV, Viacom International Media Networks Asia.

Music has always defined a culture, ones thought and inspiration. While the music scene in India is rapidly improving, there is still a long way to go. New territories are being unearthed and the bands who jump on to this bandwagon and discover connect with the tribe of music lovers, will surely earn laurels.

By:Navin Pivhal