In the third and final part of a series on India's regional musicians, Chandrima Pal interviews Indi-electronica duo Midival Punditz on how they have come up with a working musical formula in a Bollywood-obsessed nation.
What DJ Rekha did to Indi-electronica in the United States, the Midival Punditz have done in India. Their gig diary now includes performances at prestigious venues across the world, collaborations with international names like Sting, Norah Jones, Anoushka Shankar, Zakir Husain and Shankar Mahadevan, and a dedicated and burgeoning fan following.
It started very differently for the Delhi duo of Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj.
The year was 1998. Two boys were busy designing flyers, organising sound systems, inviting people for what was called Cyber Mehfils. They managed to get the crowd in and up on its feet with their blend of electronica, pop, classical and folk, but didn't get paid for their hard work until the third gig.
"We were young and adventurous and did not really think about the outcome of the event or the money aspect," says Raj. "We really only wanted to play. That attitude worked well for us."
With their blend of the popular (read Bollywood), the acquired (read electronica) and the quaint (classical and folk), Midival Punditz seems to have come up with a working musical formula. Especially when you see independent artistes crying foul over how Bollywood has monopolised popular imagination.
Raj decodes the secret, "We do believe Bollywood has a strong hand in depicting the kind of music the masses in India listen to. Much of the music coming out of the Indian film industry is quite sad and formula-based. However, there are a bunch of really talented and forward thinking folks too. They allow for cutting edge and unique music to be produced."
The Punditz have worked with the likes of Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Mira Nair, Salim Sulaiman, and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
"When we started making music, it took us something like two years to discover and home in on our sound," says Raj. "We were experimenting ourselves and the audiences could see that. A lot of kids were sick of the standard remixes and the Bollywood scene. They were looking for something fresh and raw; so were we. So, they came on board our journey almost instantly."
Punditz draw their influences from as diverse sources as "Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Underworld, Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Old Bollywood film music, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen."
Their latest album Hello Hello pays a tribute to Led Zeppelin, with an adrenaline-pumped version of Four Sticks.
Another name associated with the Midival Punditz is Karsh Kale. Says Raj, "Karsh had initially come in on the album to do tabla and drum sessions on a couple of tracks. But as we were recording these tracks, we started working on the overall direction of the album with him. By the end, he was involved in almost every track and assumed the role of a co-producer. The three of us work very well together since we have been friends for a very long time and we are always pushing each other artistically."
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