So many emotions sort of wrapping around each other like a pantone pallet madly separating and connecting to form other colors/emotions within the same. Been moving faster than my mind was prepared to and wondering about the nature of my being and whether or not it's "rock star style" to not sit with your thoughts at least for a little while every day. Because that's why we do what we do, right? In order to communicate something. I've been observing other artists quite a bit in recent times, and struggled with vibrations and been floored by their illuminations the same.
I love the stage because it represents something completely unique. The events that take place in that space, with those minds, with that sound banging against those walls, being received by those ears is something that will never take place in the same way ever again! Live is so spectacular because of the relationship of an active translation. Music to ear...visual to eye...
I wonder why other people love the stage...what moves them...
In dance, there is a term called authentic movement. Why authentic as opposed to just movement?
the definition of authentic
1. Conforming to fact and therefore worthy of trust, reliance, or belief: an authentic account by an eyewitness.
2. Having a claimed and verifiable origin or authorship; not counterfeit or copied: an authentic medieval sword.
3. Law. Executed with due process: an authentic deed.
4. Music.
1. Of, relating to, or being a medieval mode having a range from its final tone to the octave above it.
2. Of, relating to, or being a cadence with the dominant chord immediately preceding the tonic chord.
5. Obsolete. Authoritative.
[Middle English autentik, from Old French autentique, from Late Latin authenticus, from Greek authentikos, from authentēs, author.]
authentically au·then'ti·cal·ly adv.
SYNONYMS authentic, bona fide, genuine, real, true, undoubted, unquestionable. These adjectives mean not counterfeit or copied: an authentic painting by Corot; a bona fide transfer of property; genuine crabmeat; a real diamond; true courage; undoubted evidence; an unquestionable antique.
ANTONYM counterfeit
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Am just sussing out some thoughts. Don't know really why I'm writing this...but, maybe if you have some thoughts or get the yarn I'm knitting with, perhaps you can just help this conversation along.
I've never been in a position where I have been so close to what I've always wanted and am currently feeling many things that I had never anticipated. Feeling the flip-side if you will. I am tremendously grateful for the intensity of the emotions that I'm feeling and hope to channel them into songs. Think of the "true story of what was" by Ani DiFranco
"BECAUSE REAL IS REAL
REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU SAY
REAL IS REAL RELENTLESS
WHILE WORDS DISTRACT AND DISMAY"
blessed be
progress
life
and the swing of things
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Hit!
No, I'm not talking about the song, I'm talking about the number of hits this blog is getting every week! Thank you guys for reading, it's good to know that the blog is serving its purpose.
Now, I know I've said this before but I'll say it again, because I love repeating myself, the new Shaa'ir + Func album is scheduled for an April release. I've been listening to the album on loop for a really long time now and seriously, you guys don't know what you're missing. so, I'll give you an idea. My favourite song goes a little something like this.
boof boof shack boof shack waaah waaah clink clink waah clink clink. chugga chugga chugga. wooooooooooosh waaah wooooooosh clicliclic. ding ding ding.
Now that I have put my job on the line for you dedicated Shaa'ir + Func fans by shamelessly leaking the song online, I'm going to continue hoping I don't get sued, since I do not have any money and/or material posessions to give away anyway, but you get the idea (I'm sure you do). most of the songs are, what have been described as, Shaa'ir + Func's london and New York experience being reflected directly by the new songs they have written. They're more upbeat, more energetic and will make you go woooooooooah! as soon as you put the cd into your cd player/discman/whatever. Needless to say, take care of your cds when you eventually buy them.
Also, an average sized bird tells me that the cds will be available for sale across pubs in Bangalore when the album is released. Now, the sources aren't very reliable so please try not to send me death threats if that turns out to be a rumour. Also, do not knock on my door and run away, it's really annoying. Anyway, with a whole lot of effort, the cds will be available for purchase soon, so you don't have to go through too much trouble to get yourself a copy.
In related news, S+F are planning a tour across mother earth, so if you missed the Blue Frog gigs you can just fly down to London or Somalia or something and catch them there. it's that easy!
Stay tuned for more updates, leaked songs in t.e.x.t. format (rumoured to be better than mp3) and mindless rants. by me.
Lots of love to you, (<--- this is learned from S+F, it sounds more original than "peace out")
Kalhan
Now, I know I've said this before but I'll say it again, because I love repeating myself, the new Shaa'ir + Func album is scheduled for an April release. I've been listening to the album on loop for a really long time now and seriously, you guys don't know what you're missing. so, I'll give you an idea. My favourite song goes a little something like this.
boof boof shack boof shack waaah waaah clink clink waah clink clink. chugga chugga chugga. wooooooooooosh waaah wooooooosh clicliclic. ding ding ding.
Now that I have put my job on the line for you dedicated Shaa'ir + Func fans by shamelessly leaking the song online, I'm going to continue hoping I don't get sued, since I do not have any money and/or material posessions to give away anyway, but you get the idea (I'm sure you do). most of the songs are, what have been described as, Shaa'ir + Func's london and New York experience being reflected directly by the new songs they have written. They're more upbeat, more energetic and will make you go woooooooooah! as soon as you put the cd into your cd player/discman/whatever. Needless to say, take care of your cds when you eventually buy them.
Also, an average sized bird tells me that the cds will be available for sale across pubs in Bangalore when the album is released. Now, the sources aren't very reliable so please try not to send me death threats if that turns out to be a rumour. Also, do not knock on my door and run away, it's really annoying. Anyway, with a whole lot of effort, the cds will be available for purchase soon, so you don't have to go through too much trouble to get yourself a copy.
In related news, S+F are planning a tour across mother earth, so if you missed the Blue Frog gigs you can just fly down to London or Somalia or something and catch them there. it's that easy!
Stay tuned for more updates, leaked songs in t.e.x.t. format (rumoured to be better than mp3) and mindless rants. by me.
Lots of love to you, (<--- this is learned from S+F, it sounds more original than "peace out")
Kalhan
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
LONDON madness
This is the London portion of my madness diary from our touring abroad
____________________________________________________________________________________
LONDON BABY!!
Our flight was TERRIBLE. But (sigh) at least we have each other and all of our precious instruments. We hop a taxi down across the River Thames to our Elephant and Castle Flat.
To my delight, I find that our building is quite beautiful, with a KOI pond in the Courtyard, a well-equipped gym, and an indoor swimming pool. Life has rare moments when it throws you a bone and rewards you, this was one of those rare moments. Our flat was sweet, just enough space, and after a few adjustments and setting up our London studio, we were ready to party.
Randolph and I were very excited that it was common place to drink beer on the streets of London town. Simple minds...simple pleasures.
And then what happened? Yes, Glastonbury. Glastonbury was magic.
It was magic, and mud. It was magic, mud, music, cold, rain, and a test to help you arrive at the stuff you are made of. Randolph had a few days of rehearsal with the Midival Punditz prior to our departure on a lovely tour bus equipped with TV's and beds...I especially liked the bed part. So I slept the entire way and didn't really notice any scenery, until someone started shouting, "we're here! we're here!"...
I was much too out of it to slap whoever it was, though I was in my head, I promise you. As it were, it was impossible to sleep while the van was jostling around like it was driving through an earth quake. The ground was already slushy from the rain it was getting the week prior to the festival. Something you should know about Glastonbury is it is the largest European festival EVER, held on farm land in the town of Glastonbury. It was said to be a land where spiritual energy ley-lines converge, thus giving this land an elevated vibration. The festival can only be held every other year, as the owners of the land wish to allow the land adequate time to regrow and heal itself. For the duration of the festival, an entire city is built, with towns and stages, food and recreational activities...
The Midival Punditz featuring Randolph, Karsh Kale, and Vishal Vaid, both of whom I know from NY and are dear friends, played the Jazz-World stage at Glasto. The Jazz-World stage was one of the best stages at Glasto, in my opinion. It was as big as the Main-Stage, and people who shared the stage included the likes of Rodrigo y Gabriela (love them) and Amy Winehouse. Needless to say, they rocked their gig. The crowd loved them, and Randolph as always, brought it with his style and funk on stage. I reunited with good friends Nerm from the Shiva Soundsystem and Shane from the D'Archetypes. Such good guys those ones are. Randolph also played with the Shiva Soundsystem on the BBC World stage. We hooked up with the Bandish Projekt for a bit, and we all shipped off to see Bjork. I had to push up to the front.
I so respect and admire Bjork's work. Her spirit has informed much of the work I do. It was my first time seeing her live and she was by far the high-light of my Glastonbury experience. 
The thing to remember about all of this, is that it was raining the ENTIRE time, it was also extremely cold, and there was no shelter. So that's what I meant by us really getting to know what stuff we were made of. I'm a tough bitch!
Another highlight was when Randolph, Nerm and Dee (ShivaSoundSystem), and Reju (one of the head producers on BBC Radio1), used our artist passes to get into the Pendulum live gig in the Dance Tents. They were mind-blowing! We climbed onto the gates separating us from the sardine packed audience, raised our hands in the air and danced for a solid hour. All our necks were sore after that. It was lovely...
Backstage was always a party for artists with booze and food 24-7, so we spent a lot of our time back there, hanging with NOISIA, Annie Mac, Bobby Friction, The Foreign Beggars, whose drummer we ended up using for our gigs in London, Shiva Sound System, and the D'Archetypes. We dominated, drank brandy and cokes to keep warm, and danced around in our gumboots, paying no mind to the splashing mud and our frozen finger tips. We prayed to the party gods to keep us healthy and warm! Other artists we got to see are Timo Maas, Iggy Pop, The Chemical Brothers (visuals were astouding), Lily Allen, Adam Freeland, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and countless independent artists who left us inspired.
After Glastonbury, real world stuff sort of set in. Things like working on our next record, cooking at home, and staying fit, occupied our days
...until we began rehearsing for our first UK gig at VIBE bar on the famous brick lane. The event was called the Super-Sonic Buddha. We played our set after which Randolph and Nerm took over on decks. Our drummer, Praveen Mukhi (of foreign beggars fame), was tight and solid after only a few rehearsals. I retired to the bar where I met Rocky, former drummer from the Asian Dub Foundation. After a couple of rounds, he expressed an interest in having Shaa'ir and func play at a couple gigs with his current project entitled RockID.
Randolph and I agreed, and added another three gigs to our London itinerary. Shaa'ir and func gigs in London included appearances at The Cuban in Camden, The Spotlight event at the Paul Robeson Theatre, Sound in Leicester Square ( same stage as Jamiroquai ), and The Institute for Contemporary Arts festival. Next was the Big Chill festival. Memories from Big Chill Goa came flooding back to me and I was immediately psyched in a good way. Goa was so amazing. Plus, it was actually ALMOST warm in London at that point and we were nearing the end of our trip. We had written a good chunk of our next record, become good cooks, done a few radio spots
on Radio1, made really good friends, and played some banging gigs in London. Big Chill was sort of our last hurrah. And we were off.......!
We arrived to the camp grounds after a lovely car ride with our dear Shane from D'Archetypes. Our good friend Tiku, aka Tyrone Fernandez, of Bombay Black fame, was down from India and came with. We lost him in the first hour, and Randolph and I just decided to explore on our own. After glancing at the lineup, I was most excited to see Bonobo. I love his record...an amazing sound scape that really takes you on a journey. Also, Shlomo and the vocal orchestra was down...his set consisted of a choir of beat-boxers creating a full on set that lacked absolutely nothing. It was dope. The entire Counter Culture Family was down from Bombay for the festival. We all had our own little Indian town in the Campsite. Randolph and I also popped into the only tent that sold CD's at the entire festival. It was there that we bumped into Ma Faiza, who then insisted that we give some CD's over for them to sell in the tent...after only five minutes of our record playing, we had sold two CD's and signed some autographs. Definitely some synchronicity there. That night, Randolph and I wondered to the body and soul tent, where we found a very GOA-like tent, full of musicians jamming. Some people recognized us and invited us on stage to jam. Of course, we did.....good fun was had by all. People are so open and loving at these festivals. It really gave me a brighter fire to burn for India and future festivals there. As a people, our culture is so colorful and warm...Indian festivals are coming in abundance, I felt in the earth between my toes. It's on.
Day 2 at Big Chill offered us a real highlight. We hooked up with Ojos De Brujo (which means wizard eyes), backstage after they dropped a wicked set on the main stage. They are such a dynamic band, with such a happening blend of authenticity and innovation. We really enjoyed meeting them. We rapped about similarities between their experiences being an alternative band from Barcelona and us guys from India.
Back home in London, we got one last call to collaborate on a track with the legendary Sam Zaman from State of Bengal. We went to his house over the span of a week, and wrote and recorded an extremely beautiful song. It was my first time meeting Sam (Rand and he are friends), and I can truly say, he is a wonderful artist and human being...he also has the best chai and ginger biscuits on earth!
I hope that you all will hear the work that we did sometime soon.
As a last and final farewell to the gorgeous south-bank that we lived a short walk from, Nerm, his partner Sangna, Dee, Randolph, and I had the most monstrous Mexican Meal with overflowing pitchers of Cuba Libres (Viva la Revolucion!) which then ended at an impromptu secret rave underneath the Waterloo bridge. We could run to the water (which was toxic), or dance the night away with our heads tilted upwards catching the visuals projected on the underbelly of the bridge. What fun.
Alright then, back to New York.
____________________________________________________________________________________
LONDON BABY!!
Our flight was TERRIBLE. But (sigh) at least we have each other and all of our precious instruments. We hop a taxi down across the River Thames to our Elephant and Castle Flat.
To my delight, I find that our building is quite beautiful, with a KOI pond in the Courtyard, a well-equipped gym, and an indoor swimming pool. Life has rare moments when it throws you a bone and rewards you, this was one of those rare moments. Our flat was sweet, just enough space, and after a few adjustments and setting up our London studio, we were ready to party.
Randolph and I were very excited that it was common place to drink beer on the streets of London town. Simple minds...simple pleasures.
And then what happened? Yes, Glastonbury. Glastonbury was magic.
It was magic, and mud. It was magic, mud, music, cold, rain, and a test to help you arrive at the stuff you are made of. Randolph had a few days of rehearsal with the Midival Punditz prior to our departure on a lovely tour bus equipped with TV's and beds...I especially liked the bed part. So I slept the entire way and didn't really notice any scenery, until someone started shouting, "we're here! we're here!"...
I was much too out of it to slap whoever it was, though I was in my head, I promise you. As it were, it was impossible to sleep while the van was jostling around like it was driving through an earth quake. The ground was already slushy from the rain it was getting the week prior to the festival. Something you should know about Glastonbury is it is the largest European festival EVER, held on farm land in the town of Glastonbury. It was said to be a land where spiritual energy ley-lines converge, thus giving this land an elevated vibration. The festival can only be held every other year, as the owners of the land wish to allow the land adequate time to regrow and heal itself. For the duration of the festival, an entire city is built, with towns and stages, food and recreational activities...
The Midival Punditz featuring Randolph, Karsh Kale, and Vishal Vaid, both of whom I know from NY and are dear friends, played the Jazz-World stage at Glasto. The Jazz-World stage was one of the best stages at Glasto, in my opinion. It was as big as the Main-Stage, and people who shared the stage included the likes of Rodrigo y Gabriela (love them) and Amy Winehouse. Needless to say, they rocked their gig. The crowd loved them, and Randolph as always, brought it with his style and funk on stage. I reunited with good friends Nerm from the Shiva Soundsystem and Shane from the D'Archetypes. Such good guys those ones are. Randolph also played with the Shiva Soundsystem on the BBC World stage. We hooked up with the Bandish Projekt for a bit, and we all shipped off to see Bjork. I had to push up to the front.
I so respect and admire Bjork's work. Her spirit has informed much of the work I do. It was my first time seeing her live and she was by far the high-light of my Glastonbury experience. 
The thing to remember about all of this, is that it was raining the ENTIRE time, it was also extremely cold, and there was no shelter. So that's what I meant by us really getting to know what stuff we were made of. I'm a tough bitch! 
Another highlight was when Randolph, Nerm and Dee (ShivaSoundSystem), and Reju (one of the head producers on BBC Radio1), used our artist passes to get into the Pendulum live gig in the Dance Tents. They were mind-blowing! We climbed onto the gates separating us from the sardine packed audience, raised our hands in the air and danced for a solid hour. All our necks were sore after that. It was lovely...
Backstage was always a party for artists with booze and food 24-7, so we spent a lot of our time back there, hanging with NOISIA, Annie Mac, Bobby Friction, The Foreign Beggars, whose drummer we ended up using for our gigs in London, Shiva Sound System, and the D'Archetypes. We dominated, drank brandy and cokes to keep warm, and danced around in our gumboots, paying no mind to the splashing mud and our frozen finger tips. We prayed to the party gods to keep us healthy and warm! Other artists we got to see are Timo Maas, Iggy Pop, The Chemical Brothers (visuals were astouding), Lily Allen, Adam Freeland, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and countless independent artists who left us inspired.
After Glastonbury, real world stuff sort of set in. Things like working on our next record, cooking at home, and staying fit, occupied our days
...until we began rehearsing for our first UK gig at VIBE bar on the famous brick lane. The event was called the Super-Sonic Buddha. We played our set after which Randolph and Nerm took over on decks. Our drummer, Praveen Mukhi (of foreign beggars fame), was tight and solid after only a few rehearsals. I retired to the bar where I met Rocky, former drummer from the Asian Dub Foundation. After a couple of rounds, he expressed an interest in having Shaa'ir and func play at a couple gigs with his current project entitled RockID. Randolph and I agreed, and added another three gigs to our London itinerary. Shaa'ir and func gigs in London included appearances at The Cuban in Camden, The Spotlight event at the Paul Robeson Theatre, Sound in Leicester Square ( same stage as Jamiroquai ), and The Institute for Contemporary Arts festival. Next was the Big Chill festival. Memories from Big Chill Goa came flooding back to me and I was immediately psyched in a good way. Goa was so amazing. Plus, it was actually ALMOST warm in London at that point and we were nearing the end of our trip. We had written a good chunk of our next record, become good cooks, done a few radio spots
on Radio1, made really good friends, and played some banging gigs in London. Big Chill was sort of our last hurrah. And we were off.......!
We arrived to the camp grounds after a lovely car ride with our dear Shane from D'Archetypes. Our good friend Tiku, aka Tyrone Fernandez, of Bombay Black fame, was down from India and came with. We lost him in the first hour, and Randolph and I just decided to explore on our own. After glancing at the lineup, I was most excited to see Bonobo. I love his record...an amazing sound scape that really takes you on a journey. Also, Shlomo and the vocal orchestra was down...his set consisted of a choir of beat-boxers creating a full on set that lacked absolutely nothing. It was dope. The entire Counter Culture Family was down from Bombay for the festival. We all had our own little Indian town in the Campsite. Randolph and I also popped into the only tent that sold CD's at the entire festival. It was there that we bumped into Ma Faiza, who then insisted that we give some CD's over for them to sell in the tent...after only five minutes of our record playing, we had sold two CD's and signed some autographs. Definitely some synchronicity there. That night, Randolph and I wondered to the body and soul tent, where we found a very GOA-like tent, full of musicians jamming. Some people recognized us and invited us on stage to jam. Of course, we did.....good fun was had by all. People are so open and loving at these festivals. It really gave me a brighter fire to burn for India and future festivals there. As a people, our culture is so colorful and warm...Indian festivals are coming in abundance, I felt in the earth between my toes. It's on.
Day 2 at Big Chill offered us a real highlight. We hooked up with Ojos De Brujo (which means wizard eyes), backstage after they dropped a wicked set on the main stage. They are such a dynamic band, with such a happening blend of authenticity and innovation. We really enjoyed meeting them. We rapped about similarities between their experiences being an alternative band from Barcelona and us guys from India.
Back home in London, we got one last call to collaborate on a track with the legendary Sam Zaman from State of Bengal. We went to his house over the span of a week, and wrote and recorded an extremely beautiful song. It was my first time meeting Sam (Rand and he are friends), and I can truly say, he is a wonderful artist and human being...he also has the best chai and ginger biscuits on earth!
I hope that you all will hear the work that we did sometime soon.
As a last and final farewell to the gorgeous south-bank that we lived a short walk from, Nerm, his partner Sangna, Dee, Randolph, and I had the most monstrous Mexican Meal with overflowing pitchers of Cuba Libres (Viva la Revolucion!) which then ended at an impromptu secret rave underneath the Waterloo bridge. We could run to the water (which was toxic), or dance the night away with our heads tilted upwards catching the visuals projected on the underbelly of the bridge. What fun.
Alright then, back to New York.
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