Listening to the Mambalam Sisters one evening, I was struck with inspiration - why not visit them? I was in See-people-when-you-can mode for a few weeks, and this interview was the result of that mental state (eh?). Chatting with them was surprisingly easy; my preconceived notions of uptight musicians stuck with their art was rather thrown out the window. What was more, they were eager to share things with me too.

As I push the gate open in a quiet street in Mambalam, the sound of music falls upon my ears, a young voice beginning the slow, steady ascension into the higher reaches of music. Twilight is falling around the tree-covered house, and I witness a scene of domestic clamour as I step in. A young girl is busy practicing music for the evening, while others run around with their homework, or eager to play.

Though everything else may appear shallow and repulsive, even the smallest task in music is so absorbing, and carries us so far away from town, country, earth, and all worldly things, that it is truly a blessed gift of God.

- Felix Mendelssohn

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I was more than excited to get a couple of passes for the Live Life concert that ARR was performing on, on Saturday, courtesy of the Marg Construction group. I have travelled quite far to catch a good concert and Rahman has been evading me for a bit too long. It was good to catch up with his performance, live, right here in Chennai.

This is essentially going to be a post to “seendify”, all those who didn’t make it :)
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If you are anywhere near the Elliots beach, go visit the Chennai Sangamam. Actually, if you are not anywhere near Elliots beach, move your posteriors to somewhere near Elliots beach, and then visit the Chennai Sangamam. It’s only on for 2 more days.

I had a blast today, sampling Virudhunagar kotthu parotta and drinking Jil Jil Jigal Dhanda. But the real fun was when the music started. 2 hours of exhilarating street art, from Silambattam, Therukkoothu, and Singara Melam (Chendai Kottu) and even some Jazz Carnatic electronica from Susheela Raman.

The Therukkoothu from Thiruvannamalai was hilarious and took some earthy digs at contemporary society. It featured Lord Yama, a comical man who is about to be taken by aforementioned for a ride on a buffalo, and strangely enough, Veerapaandiya Kattabomman as well.

Let me present a sample dialogue from that street play.

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I have been thinking for a long time whether to invest my money on CAS - Conditional access system or DTH Direct to Home television . Been missing some nice cartoon channels for my son.

Very recently I had been to my native place (Thrissur, Kerala) and checked out the number of channels in the Television. Whooping 100 and odd channels, Including the pay channels at a price of about 150 INR (Indian National Rupee) per month. Where as we pay 100 INR with limited channels and excluding the PAY channels. (some channels purposefully blocked due to competition, some times)
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Here is a simple review of my latest and greatest gadget, the MICROSOFT ZUNE…!
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Took me a while to get my thoughts in order about all the events I had attended/heard about, and give a precis of what exactly happened during Madras Week 2007. Most events were interesting, some were repeats, while a few were outstanding. Be warned, you’re in for a long post.

In the beginning, it was a gathering of a few like-minded friends who cared a great deal about the city. Then, it grew to a series of meetings. More came to know of what transpired during these sessions, and signaled their interest to join. In 2006, it exploded into existence as one of the most happening occasions - and now it is the premier event of Chennai, eclipsing all else in August to the point of exclusion, with more than 60 events happening all over the city, put together by a number of organizations and Chennai-lovers. Le Madras Week, 2007.
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Chennai’s fans of classical music have a treat coming their way. Courtesy, a fund raising concert organised by Tamil Maiyam. An evening in the company of the enchanting vocal cords of Bombay Jayashri and Shubha Mudgal. At the Music Academy, on August 30 at 6.30 pm.

For more details on the event click.

Just a reminder folks. Freedom Jam Chennai, a day of live music, is happening tomorrow at Buck’s Theatre, YMCA Nandanam. 3 pm onwards.

Land up.

You’ll be introduced to genres and bands you’ve never heard before. And a few others you’ll never want to. You see the whole 7-note extravaganza is FREE, and the bands aren’t paid either. So any motley crew with guitars and a drummer who can keep time are likely to take stage.

From what I’ve seen of earlier editions in Bangalore there’s bound to be a generous sprinkling of heavy metal. But if you have the strength of ear to get past them, I promise you will discover a few diamonds.

It’s an amazing effort this, on the organisers’ part, to unearth the city’s unheard of musical talent. So, do drop by, and if it’s any help, entry costs nothing.

Let’s face it, not all the music we enjoy today comes out of a music store. There are hundreds of independent musicians out there who are putting out original compositions without the assistance or support of record labels. And thanks to the Internet and an ever expanding underground music network, it’s reaching our ears. One such stage, which started off as a casual Sunday jam in Bangalore in 1996, has now become a regular annual event. The Freedom Jam.

And the good news is, it’s now in Chennai. It’s a platform for musicians to display their wares, fans to appreciate it and a chance for one and all to engage with the music community in the city.

The Chennai edition of the Freedom Jam will happen at Buck’s Theatre on Aug 19, 2007.

There’s a whole day’s music in store, and the entry is free. The performers don’t charge either. If you’d like to participate, here’s the mail id to which you must send your profile too.

freedomjamchennai@gmail.com

Today, I was at a shop in Adayar (near the Ananthapadmanabhaswamy Temple), buying books when I noticed this new state-of-the-art kiosk at a corner. I was clearly surprised. I didn’t expect a kiosk in such a small shop. I went over to it trying to figure out its earthly purpose in that shop. And guess what? It’s our own Indian version of Steve Job’s (read Apple’s) iTunes.

Just for some background on iTunes… It was a innovative business model for selling music introduced in the United States. This is how it works - If you own an iPod and liked a particular song in some album. You can go to the iTunes store and buy that song online. It gets downloaded into your music library and synced with your iPod. You pay for only the song downloaded and needn’t buy the entire album. You can even walk into a iTunes store and buy songs.

Now, the ADD (Anytime Digital Downloads) kiosk is just that! Only difference is that it does more than downloading to an iPod. It writes out a CD with the songs downloaded. So, this is how ADD works - You go to the kiosk. Check out the albums available. Browse through them, Search through them. Listen to the song and if its what you want, add it to your list. Once you have added all the songs, the kiosk will write out a CD of the selected songs in mp3 for you.



The songs are priced at attractive rates. The prices of some songs ranged from Rs 5.00 onwards. I think this is a wonder system. And its instant. You come, you hear, you buy and walk away! I can imagine many of you thinking - “So, whats the big deal? I download mp3 from the internet free of cost!” Well, this is LEGAL. All the songs are priced and copyrighted. You are buying the songs. This is not piracy. Downloading mp3 is. I guess that does make a difference! :) This is taking the music business to the next level.

And the icing on the cake is that the innovators behind such a beatiful idea are from Chennai - Giri Trading Agency Private Limited

Some FAQs from their site -
http://www.giritrading.com and http://www.addkiosk.net

Q. What’s ADDKiosk ?
A. addkiosk.net is part of GIRI network. As Distributors of various labels in India we are looking forward to distributing Indian Music all over the world and also distributing music from all over the world in India. We have also developed an innovative new concept called ADDKiosk (Anytime Digital Downloads - Kiosk). This Kiosk is installed in our showrooms and various musical cultural centres, and public places such as Airports, Cinema halls, Grocery stores, Shopping Malls etc. The response in India is already overwhelming for the ADDKiosk. You can download music, (videos, wallpapers and ebooks - coming soon) into CDs, Mobiles, USB devices and IPODs. We are in the process of exploring the possibilities of setting it up all over the world.

Q. What’s Giri Network?
A. Giri Trading Agency is a treasure house for Hinduism, Indian culture & tradition. Music Cassettes and CDs on various themes like Sanskrit, Vedic, Mantras, Tantras, Devotional, Carnatic Classical Music, Puja Rituals, Prayers and Religious discourses are released under the banner ‘Gitaa Cassettes’. GIRI has showrooms in various parts of India where you can find the ADDKIOSK too.