Get your groove on
4 May 2014 8:05 PM GMT
This summer, India is all set to groove to the original sound of India’s home grown music talent as Vh1, India’s premier English Entertainment Channel and Seagram’s 100 Pipers come together to provide music lovers an inimitable experience in the form of 100 Pipers Vh1 Sound Nation.
The event will witness 28 artists and bands perform at 23 gigs over a span of 10 days starting on 2 May, all culminating into the India’s premier music awards night on 11 May. Some of the artistes in the Delhi chapter are - Dualist Inquiry, Nucleya, Arjun Vagale, Midival Punditz, Parikrama. We spoke to few of the artistes this week and shall be speaking to a few more in the week to come. We kick off the series with Midival Punditz. Read on...
Tell us about you. How did you start off?
Gaurav and I started off in 1998. It took us a couple of years to form as a band and decide what kind of music to play. By 2008 and 2009 we decided we will play classic folk based and electronic music. We signed our first international record with Six Degrees Records, San Francisco. In 2002 our first album was out.
What was the first big break for you?
Signing our first international record with Six Degrees Records, San Francisco. Then, one of our songs was selected for the movie Monsoon Wedding. We got a lot of media coverage since there was a huge buzz around the film. Then we collaborated with a very well-known band ‘Tabla Band Science’ for a tour in USA and Canada.
Tell us a bit about your music, what do you think defines you
It's very simple. We make music which resounds Gaurav and me. There are no formulas to making our music. No intention. Its music made from the heart. We don’t have any strategy that this kind of a song worked once lets follow a similar pattern to make all the other songs a hit. We make music only based on what our heart says.
How easy (or difficult) is it to make a mark in the music scene? What do you think about the main issues are?
It's not just about how difficult it is. Its about being original and having an original style. Many musicians get inspired by other and make similar music. There is too much of copying these days.Everybody should have their own signature style. Musicians end up sounding like other musicians because they often get lost while getting inspired by others.
What songs top your playlist right now?
Depends from time to time. But, mostly it is Apparat, Radiohead and One Thousand Others. It’s a big list of music on our playlist.
What suggestions/advice would you have for newbies in music?
Make honest music and make what is coming to you naturally. Do not copy.
Food and old friends
Connaught Place never goes out of the list of 'cool hangout spots'. The quintessential heart of the Capital houses some of the best restaurants and we went to check out Life Caffe that has been there for 10 years now. Never heard of them? Well that is precisely why the management is all geared up to change the game. Located conveniently in B Block, the cafe can be accessed from the inner circle (Hotel Corus entrance next to Cafe Coffee Day) or from the lane that runs next to Castle 9.
What struck us about Life Caffe the very moment we walked in was the fact that they have a spacious outdoor seating option that is not a regular feature in CP. While most restaurants in CP have outdoor seating options on the first floor, Life Caffe offers it to you on the ground floor. With the IPL season on, the cafe had a screen put up for the match and we chose to sit outside - it is the perfect place to chill with friends on a summer evening.
The cafe has some great offers for Happy Hours so make sure you ask them before you order. With a fully operative bar and some great food options Life Caffe is definitely a spot you can pick if you are around CP and looking for food and drinks.
The Prawn Salt and Pepper and the Chilli Garlic Basa get the thumbs up from us and a must try is the Dahi Kebabs - they were excellent. The chef pointed out that they have a variety of cuisines to offer and their oriental dishes and kebab platters have been eternal favourites (they have been around for ten years remember?). Feel free to ask them to suggest what you must try.
A lovely apple pie wrapped up the meal for us but this is one place that makes it to our list of nice, relaxed joints in CP. A meal for two (with alcohol) without taxes comes to about Rs 1200 - quite fair we say! Head over.
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