For the show must go online

CHENNAI: Predictions penned down by the Mayans led a huge part of the population to believe that the world was going to end in December 2012. When we lived to see another day on December 13, 2012, we changed the narrative to ‘end of the world as we know it’. Whether it proved to be true for eight years ago, it certainly holds good for present times. Since the virus and the lockdown it’s ushered in, the world of arts and lives it sustains have not been the same. Deprived of work and removed of possibilities, artistes and performers have had to improvise and innovate — even amid a global crisis — just to stay in place. Ticketed e-concerts, interactive live sessions, quarantine experiments and challenges, virtual tutorials and online lessons — musicians are trying their hand at every medium. To surprising levels of success at that! Yet, what started off as a makeshift module is now turning out to be the way forward — what with the virus being still at large, vaccines, medicines and herd immunity miles away.

Grab the opportunity
Armed with the pressing need to change and a seemingly willing audience, musicians step up to walk the tight rope — balancing the need to put food on the plate and stay true to their work. Turns out, they are not so unfazed about future prospects. Certainly not the young ones, who seem to look at the online medium as a blessing in disguise — albeit with its own set of pros and cons. Ashwath Narayanan, an IT professional who doubles as a Carnatic musician, finds e-concerts to be not just safer but also a soughtafter option, considering these turbulent times.

“Chennai has been the hub of Carnatic music and the Margazhi music festival. Artistes are trying to keep up their confidence by utilising screen presence to the maximum. We have also realised how powerful Facebook and YouTube can be as streaming and broadcasting platforms to reach a large audience. They have configurations that enhance the quality of music as well,” explains Ashwath, who has participated in a few paid e-concerts and fundraiser events recently.

Ashwath has more than just personal performances in mind. He is working on a mobile application that will allow artistes in different locations to collaborate for online programmes without glitches or time lag in the performance. Like Ashwath, there are many musicians who’ve been able to expand their horizons and tap into their latent potential effectively, with all the extra time in hand. Srihari Jagannathan, vocalist and song composer of Chennai Street Band, is all set to launch his debut EP with two songs titled Intezar and Pon Nira Maalai.

“We have had to cancel a few musical tours but we do not want to lose hope. All the members are scattered in different parts of the country, yet we jam together through Zoom when time permits. This is the best time to attempt something new; things that you have been procrastinating. I invested in a mini studio and microphone to record my songs at home. I started working on content for more albums. We need to be prepared with enough new music, if and when things bounce back to normalcy. There’s plenty of content on social media and it can burn you out. I want my music to calm my fellow artistes and not pressurise them. Always remember that no two people work the same way,” says Srihari positively.

Creative outlet
Siennor, a performing artiste, has been doling out new singles during the lockdown; almost one every two weeks on all audio platforms. Some of his releases such as Poruppu and Unnai Dhan have garnered appreciation from his followers. “I’ve gotten quite used to live sessions on Instagram since the beginning of the lockdown. If you are somebody with a good number of followers, then it makes sense to go live; otherwise, it may not always be effective.

I have used this time to write lyrics and compose music. Many musicians like me have started releasing original content, which they would otherwise have held back for paid shows. The trend is shifting towards embracing originals,” says Siennor, who also composed a song Corona - COVID 19, three months ago. Many musicians have been able to channel their creativity in the right direction, given that they have had fewer distractions from their outside world.

For violinist Shreya Devnath, this solitude came in the form of a self-imposed quarantine after her foreign tour in February-March. She used the two weeks she was stuck at home to develop some original music and meaningful content. “I composed Checkmate and Farmer’s Song to cherish the relationship between nature and humans. My partner Praveen Sparsh, a mridangist, and I took part in a global festival featuring artistes from 11 countries. Another project called A Carnatic Quartet that featured artistes on a violin, nadhaswaram, mridangam, and tavil also received a great response among followers. Most importantly, the lockdown has given me the time to take online tutorials for students, and also improve myself,” she narrates.

Rediscovering priorities
If you think young musicians are the only ones making their online presence felt, think again. For senior artistes like Vainika Jayanthi Kumaresh have been doing a commendable job in reaching out with their music to global audiences. The lockdown has offered her some much-needed respite from a hectic travel schedule, back-to-back concerts, and long hours of rehearsals. She tells us that she has never stayed home for more than three consecutive days in the past 20 years.

While she has managed to stay home during the lockdown, she has kept herself quite busy. “Senior or junior, every artiste uses the online medium based on his/her goals and needs. One of the first few projects I started working on is Cup o Carnatic, a fun series where I played the theme songs of series and movies such as Game of Thrones and Harry Potter, on the veena. This is to cheer up school and college children and also expose them to various aspects of Carnatic music.

We want to establish a connection with Gen X. The response and requests have been tremendous and encouraging,” says the musician, who has performed for the HCL concert series, Samarpana and an organisation in the US. “I also want to create an online portal where we can reach out to more people who want to perform online. I may not be tech savvy but I’m learning. Combining with a few artiestes, we raised money for artistes struggling to make ends meet. I want the beauty of this 2,000-year-old instrument to reach every nook and corner of the world. Whenever I feel unsure, direction-less, or scared, I play the instrument and it lifts my mood instantly. This is the time when we need to spread positivity and be there for each other,” she says.

Accept, learn, embrace
Seasoned performers have been reinventing themselves and coming out with fresh ideas. Violinist Karthick Iyer, founder of the band IndoSoul Live, is embracing the shift of working from home and spending quality time with family. He introduced a violin technique course that is now taking on its second batch. The instrumentalist has also had a lot of time to experiment with new kinds of music. “We miss performing on stage, and the physical presence of the audience in huge auditoriums. As much as visible cues help to discern the body language of listeners, so do comments on social media platforms. It’s not going to be the same but this change isn’t bad either. Sometimes people want to see the real person in you.

They respect your honesty and also appreciate things with raw edges. For instance, people love it when I play from my balcony. They feel I’m one among them,” says Karthick, who has been working on a new studio venture for the past seven months. He also released the song Charukesi Circuit in collaboration with Carnatic guitarist Vishnu Ramprasad. There are more collaborations lined up. For others like him out there, he has a word of advice for times of doubt and defeat. “There will be creative blocks for a day or two in a week. Do not judge your thoughts or ideas. Go with the flow.

Even for aspiring musicians, there’s no substitute for a regular approach to work on social media. It’s a grind in a lot of ways. Processing and planning an idea, putting together the content, collaborating with musicians... but you will strike a balance eventually,” he suggests. While many aspiring musicians succumb to social media pressure, Pravekha and Tharun of Otha Sevuru, an indie band, have used this time to hone their skills by merely observing what their fellow musicians have been up to. “Now is the time to learn, and consume as much information as possible. I’ve been learning music production and jamming online so that I don’t lose touch with the art. The music scene is changing. Newer channels and platforms are available for us to explore.

There’s plenty of possibilities and probabilities that we can bring in,” says the duo who has planned for a storytelling concert next week. Though the work-from-home routine may not have brought in much by way of lifestyle changes for most artistes, it does given them more time to hone their skills it would seem. Singer Vandana Srinivasan has been keeping herself updated about the technical requirements that come with presentations, learning to use software to avoid glitches, and learning to use new apps to up the quality of music output. “The lockdown has given me the time to do some serious introspection and self-evaluation and think about what I want to do in this journey,” recounts Vandana.

All-inclusive?
While these artistes and their ilk have found such success, things have not been as conducive for independent music bands and performance artistes from other genres of music. For Nejm, a hip-hop artiste, the lockdown has been a rollercoaster ride. She lost her job, gigs, and went through a mental turmoil. “There are two kinds of artistes in hip-hop. Those that need the creative circle for energy and those that can produce content on their own. Hip-hop is not the kind of music that can be pulled off virtually. You need people to cheer you; the environment plays a big role and that’s how underground battles work,” she says. She had to push herself to come up with two original songs and it’s not as simple as it sounds, she assures.

Her debut single called Queen talks about her struggles as a young musician. “I have it only in audio format as I couldn’t shoot the video under these circumstances. It’s in the final stages of production and stuck with the producer. I feel incompetent when I see other artistes uploading compositions regularly. I’ve been taking part in a few online hip-hop challenges. I’ve also registered for a programme called Asli Rap Star. Right now, we’re all struggling for money,” she narrates. People of the folk and traditional arts also seem to have trouble adapting to the newer times. Arunothaya J, a parai artiste, has not been able to touch her instrument in the past three months. “Parai gives out a loud noise that reverberates for a long time.

It’s not possible to take online classes or perform in the virtual space. If we do so, the neighbours complain. Many rural artistes come to the city looking for festivals and opportunities to perform. They are financially hit. There are no funeral processions like before, wiping out another venue of work. You learn the instrument to perform; when there’s no scope or platform to perform, then what’s the point in taking tutorials? My heart sinks every time I pass by my parai. Very few artistes have uploaded videos online or performed online. Most of them don’t know that such an option even exists,” she points out.

Money matters
A developing problem plaguing the online medium is the culture of unpaid work. Weekends are bustling with concerts and live sessions. While artistes are contributing to the welfare of rural art communities through fundraisers, a few have been selective with their approach to e-concerts. “Anything that’s free is not valued. I’m apprehensive about how things are going to be when the situation gets normal. People shouldn’t get used to free performances.

Artistes are finding ways to survive and cannot be exploited in these times. This is our profession and we deserve to be treated with dignity and selfrespect,” declares Vandana. Artistes are in constant need to be productive and sustain themselves. As much as we go gaga over the shift to online platforms, technology has created a divide between performing artistes — between the one have access and the ones who don’t.

“A few of us are privileged to use it effectively while the rest are struggling to recover from the monetary loss due to the cancellation of shows and concerts. These platforms need to be inclusive to all. I don’t think it would be fair to call it the ‘new’ normal when things are still hazy for many struggling artistes out there,” says Shreya. We may not have all the answers yet but it’s time we get started. Perhaps, these musicians may lead the way for what’s to come.