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India’s Azadi With Record Labels

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FWD Life India’s Azadi With Record Labels

The new and independent record label!

Text: Devika V Menon   Photos: Various Sources

You’re known as the ‘New Independent Record Label’. How does it feel?

We’re part of a few. There a bunch of new independent records labels who are doing some amazing work – like Consolidate (run by Rahul Giri aka _RHL) in Bangalore, Knowmad Records by Aazin and Kumail in Mumbai, Dasta and Jwala as well. The attention we’ve gotten is appreciated, but it also brings with it additional pressure (to match the audiences’ expectations) and we hope we can step up to the plate and deliver.

You’d partnered with Saavn to release Prabh Deep’s track. What gave you the idea to do so?

Saavn is one of the biggest music streaming services in the region today. They get what we’re trying to do, and it provided us with a good platform to promote Prabh’s music on. Internationally, such deals (for exclusive premieres, etc.) are common and we’re glad there’s a company that’s trying to bring that culture and support Indian independent artists here.

If you were to name three favourite tracks that you’ve discovered, what would they be?

As someone who’s covered this space as a journalist, I’ve been really impressed with a lot of artists in the region, especially within South Asian hip-hop. There’s a lot of unreleased Prabh Deep stuff that I know is going to stay with me for life. I think ‘Mere Gully Mein’ by Divine, Naezy and Sez is an important landmark for the genre and is a timeless classic. ‘Jawaab De’ by Faris Shafi in Pakistan is another one. The third track would have to be ‘Sura Target’ by a group called Jalali Set from Bangladesh.

What is your take on political music?

It’s incredibly important. Music and culture have always played a pivotal role in any social / political movement. It allows people to register their dissent against the issues facing their community and society at large. In India, we have an incredible history of political music that’s been lost or erased. From the freedom struggle to the Naxalbari movement, there’s always been a cultural element associated with these movements. It’s important to document and recognize them because it represents a voice that we usually don’t get to hear in our country. Today, this music comes from hip-hop artists across the country (from Kashmir, Imphal, Delhi, Mumbai, etc.) and groups such as Kabir Kala Manch and the Relaa Collective and it’s important that we listen to what these artists are trying to say because they represent a section of our society that is experience conflict, poverty, and injustice. These are the voices we’re trying to help and amplify.

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Ashwin Bhaskar I Making Waves In The K-pop Universe

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The limelight is nothing new to the 27 year old Singer-Songwriter Malappuram native, Ashwin Bhaskar who went crazy viral last year for his insane dialogue remix – Perfect Ok. He is back and is making waves in the world acclaimed K-pop music universe as well.

Ashwin has released a cover collaboration of the Korean hit single Tattoo with the original singer herself – AleXa and is racking up raging views. The music video currently Trending #24 on YouTube Music is a huge shoutout to all the K-pop die hard fans right here in Kerala and we couldn’t be prouder!

Watch it here:

Checkout his music on Spotify and his latest single Story In A Nutshell.

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The Upcoming and Released Album Calendar

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It’s nearly impossible to keep up of everything that’s coming out each year, with more music being released every year. The options are seemingly unlimited, ranging from pop to hip-hop to alternative to K-pop to country, not to mention vinyl, re-releases, and collectible editions.

Check out these upcoming and released Albums-

Sept 3-

Drake, Certified Lover boy

Sept 10-

Diana Rose, Thank You

September 17-

Daughtery, Dearly Beloved

September 24-

Diddy, Off the grid Vol 1

October 1 –

Lady Gaga and Tony Bennet, Love for sale

October 8-

Lala Lala, I Want the Door to Open

 

Words by: Malavika Venugopalan

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The Musical Journey of Adheef Muhamed

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The 15-year-old boy, who won first in Urdu recitation at the 47th Kerala State Kalolsavam from Trivandrum, is now waiting for his upcoming Tamil movie track release, mesmerizing many.

Playback singer, Adheef Muhamed with his new release ‘Vidhooram’, found his passion at a very tender age through various school curricular programs like singing Mappila pattu and Urdu recitations. Later the baby steps he took as part of having fun during school days, turned to a passion driven career with his magical voice behind many songs mumbling on many lips.

Adheef came into limelight with his viral cover of ‘Mukkathe Penne’ which was released in the year 2014. The friendship bond between the friends and culmination of talents has made the cover happen along with the band ‘Elayappam’ featuring Nipin, Vishnu, Ebi, Sanu, Ramkumar. ‘Pazhamthamizh paattu’ was the first cover from the band, with an entirely different mood with Arabic arrangement. Their cover songs were more captivating to the audience during that time, and that paved the way for many other opportunities for them.

“During break times, we used to go to a nearby tea-shop to enjoy our tea break in between the jamming sessions along with discussions, and ‘Elayappam’ was the snack we all used to order unanimously which later became the name of our band. It was also a realization of how food and music were connected,” he said, reminiscing the initial days.

Adheef being the first person to suggest this name for the band had a genuine connection to the title, as it was closely knitted to their friendship and life.

His last independent work named ‘Goodman’ was an experimental track which was released before the pandemic as a visual treat. He gives the credit to the amazing crew which consisted of the lyricist Vinayak Sasikumar, DOP Venu Sasidharan Lekha and the wavelength they have in terms of unique output of the track.

Talking about his works he says “The future is all about independent music, which I knew right from the beginning, and I was always interested in collaborating with different talents and that’s how the beginning of my official YouTube channel happened. ‘Muthu Nava Ratnam’ is a song which is closely gelled with my family since it was the song my mother used to sing for me to sleep. And I always wanted to do a cover version of the song as it’s very much relatable to us”.

“I don’t compromise on video as I believe it’s an important element in every track of mine and I give 50-50 efforts to both audio and video. I strongly believe that the visual element was one of the main reasons the song has got its reach, although the song itself has its essence of magic no matter what the visual was.” he added.

‘Maraigirai’, a Tamil track released in the year 2019, is a familiar track with 12 million views in YouTube trending even now with a huge fan base. When asked about the success of the song Adheef says.

“For me success is the impact the songs have on people who listen to them. I happened to talk to a person who was a survivor in life, who told me once that ‘Maraigirai’ helped him throughout his healing process which made me happy, and I think responses like these are the true definition of success for me.”

He says, the places or people surrounding him were not into a professional music career and he is grateful to himself and to the evolving process along with the band, in trying out new things and this drive was the push for stepping onto the next opportunity.

“I never dreamed about becoming a playback singer and I’m very content with whatever I have right now and I’m grateful for all these opportunities I got, and the path I have come across.

I have seen both the phases of Malayalam cinema, where becoming a playback singer was a difficult opportunity, and the current scenario where many talents are finding opportunities in movies and they are growing through different digital platforms in the social media.”

Adheef has sung in many different languages. “The pulse of Malayali audiences are different from other industries in terms of acceptance” he remarks.

The fast phase of the growing Malayalam music industry with upcoming talents can be seen everyday with many drastic changes. As time goes by, I think there might not be typical song sequences in the Malayalam movies. As a drift comes in the making of the movie the growth of independent music can also be seen evidently” he says.

Sharing about ‘Vidhooram’ and its happiness

 

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A post shared by Adheef Muhamed (@adheef_muhamed)

“This is the first time I’m approaching something like this track which is very much ambient, and I’m experimenting with a low base tone in my singing. I’m getting many positive responses for this track” he said while talking about his recently released Independent track ‘Vidhooram’ by Ryan Biju Sam and mixed by Abin Paul.

Out of the box thinking and understanding the pulse of the audience is what makes Adheef Muhamed different, and drives him to go ahead with his passion.

Check out his new Tamil track from the movie ‘Lift’ named ‘Hey Bro’ starring Kavin and Amrita Iyer, Music by Britto Micheal.

Words by: Anjali Ram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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