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Indian Composer Ricky Kej's latest album Divine Tides nominated for a Grammy

Thursday, December 9, 2021:


Former Grammy winner Ricky Kej has been nominated yet again for a Grammy, along with American Musician Stewart Copeland for their latest album ‘Divine Tides’.


Divine Tides was directed by Lahari Velu and produced by Lahari Music.’ The album contains nine songs and eight music videos.


Ricky’s music is mostly cross-cultural, but not without a strong hint of Indian music. He won a Grammy in 2015, for his album ‘Winds of Samsara’. Stewart Copeland, who has won the Grammy five times previously, is the founder and drummer of the legendary British rock group ‘The Police’.


Ricky is the youngest person from India to have won a Grammy honor. He is also the fourth Indian to do so.


To read Ricky Kej’s biography, click here


To read Stewart Copeland’s biography, click here


To know about or listen to the album DIVINE TIDES, click here


Other posts from Anish Parmarthi

Celebrity Artists in India too are Earning Triple through Blockchain powered NFTs
Anish Parmarthi Added 1 year ago

- Written by Aparajita Dey


It is evident that Blockchain technology has a disruptive presence in global technology. The fact that the system of Blockchain, which was primarily used to enable Bitcoin transactions, is now being implemented in other domains of the digital ecosystem, is a testimony to the fact that Blockchain is going to be a force to reckon with.


In India alone, 56% of Indian businesses are moving towards blockchain technology, weaving it deep into the fabric of their transactions. Most of the adoption seems to be coming from the banking and financial sector, but the fact that the Indian Government itself is making use of this technology for land title registry, vehicle lifecycle management, farm insurance, and electronic health record management, spells out a golden future of blockchain technology, especially in the industry that needs it the most…. The Indian creative industry.  


Yes! Blockchain technology is applicable even in the creative industry. With its cryptographic hashing and use of NFTs, blockchain can be used by creators to leverage their creations to their full monetary value. In other words, with this technology, creators can get paid every time their content is used by some other creator, without worrying about platforms eating up part of the earnings.


What are NFTs?


In simplest terms, an NFT is a digital art that holds a certain amount of value, and can be owned and collected by a person. Think of a digital drawing, or a GIF perhaps, that is one of a kind, and only you own it. You may not be able to hang it on a wall, but only you will have the original piece on your hard drive.



The picture above is also an NFT, a one-of-a-kind digital art piece. In due time, it will become a valuable piece of art. When it increases in value, you shall be able to sell it for its price in value, just like any other sale and purchase of historic artwork.


How big is the NFT market going?


Answering this question is like answering the Bigfoot question- is it or is it not really there? No one can say.


Some people think that NFT is the future of art collection, and it is going to get bigger. While others say that NFT has had its big boom already and is now over. It depends on which expert you ask.


What we can say for sure, is that NFT sale and collection is completely legitimate and people are actually buying and selling, for sure, including famous people.


In 2021, Musician Grimes sold around $6 million worth of digital artworks in an auction on Nifty Gateway. One of the main pieces of her collection (out of ten), fetched around $389,000 alone.


In another instance, the Founder of Twitter, Jack dorsey, sold one of his tweets for just under 3 million.


William Shatner has sold Shatner-themed trading cards (one of it is an X-ray of his teeth).


Someone bought the digital artwork of a cat named Dragon, with chestnut coloured eyes, and body of the color of cottoncandy, for $172,000.


Are there examples of Indian celebrities who have dabbled in NFT?


Many Indian celebrities are buying and selling NFTs now, including Bollywood Actors. Here are some examples of Big-League Bollywood celebs who have traded in NFTs.



  •   1.  Amitabha Bachchan


Amitabha Bachchan sold his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s poem 'Madhushala' in his own recorded voice as NFT Collectibles in November 2021. Another part of that same collection was his signed poster of Sholay.


  •   2. Salman Khan

In October 2021, the Dabangg actor teamed up with Bollycoin, a Bollywood NFT marketplace, to launch his NFT collection.  Through Bollycoin, he launched 200 NFTs based on his hit film Dabangg, 42 out of which were scenes from the film.


  •  3. Rajnikanth


In July 2021, Rajinikanth launched NFTs based on his 2007 Tamil action blockbuster film ‘Shivaji The Boss’. For this he partnered with Singapore-based NFT Marketplace Diginoor.io

This NFT collection featured 17 NFTs, which were immediately sold out.


  •  4. Kamal Haasan


Influenced by Amitabha Bachchan, South superstar Kamal Haasan, too, launched his NFT collection.

Kamal Haasan launched his NFTs through celebrity NFT platform Fantico. His NFT collection features 100 to 1000 NFTs based on movie posters, souvenirs, avatars of his film and persona.


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A R Rahman is all set to join Team Le Musk on the Cannes Red Carpet as part of the Indian delegation.
Anish Parmarthi Added 1 year ago

23 May, 2022:


AR Rahman, the Indian Icon who has scored not only some 500-1000 movies like Slumdog Millionaire , 2.0, and Tamasha, but also captured the hearts of millions of people with his versatility in the regional musical traditions of India. 


The acclaimed music composer and recipient of several international awards is all set to walk the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival for his Directorial debut, Le Musk. Rahman joined the Indian delegation at Cannes alongside Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur.

 

The maestro’s directorial debut Le Musk, screened at Cannes XR, in convergence with Marché du Film, as part of the 75th Cannes Film Festival.

Rahman was accompanied by other cast and crew members, Guy Burnet, who plays a guitarist in Le Musk, and Ravindra Velhal, an executive producer and VR technology director for Le Musk.


Le Musk is all set to hit the screens soon. With cinematic surrealism, this film will be a showcase of the union of technology and cinema. Several other big artists like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Mame Khan and Ricky Kej also joined the delegation.


After a long and incredibly successful journey as a musical maestro, A. R. Rahman has ventured into direction with Le Musk, a film of an enchanting essence and fresh perspective to it. 


Rahman walked the red carpet with British actor Burnet, who has carved a niche market for himself, with films such as Mortdecai and Pitch Perfect 3 and television shows such as The Feed and Ray Donavan. Velhal, who also walked the red carpet alongside Rahman, has the expertise of two decades in technology due to his stint with Intel. He has also mastered cinematography in Hollywood with films like Spider-Man: Far From Home, Dunkirk, Save Every Breath and FirstMan.


Le Musk is a tribute to the musical genius of and footprints in cinema left by A. R. Rahman. 

Through the eyes of Le Musk, a completely new angle of cinematography is being explored with VR and realistic narration. The film was screened at Cannes XR on the 20th of May, 2022. 



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11 year old Nishaad Shah's debut album wins Grammy
Anish Parmarthi Added 1 year ago

Wednesday, May 25, 2022: 


New York-based Indian singer Falguni Shah, known by her stage name Falu, won a Grammy Award for her soulful album 'A Colorful World' in the best children's album category. Her own son, Nishaad Shah, was a part of this album and was also present at the event. The eleven year old was very proud of his mother and himself for winning this award but at the same time he was nervous as well. 


While this Grammy is special for many reasons to the Shah family, it marks a beautiful milestone for various cultures within the US. The album has found an audience in everyone from an immigrant Gujarati household in Jersey City to a mixed-race Puerto Rican home in Harlem. The album and the family have received a lot of love from everywhere around the world, especially from proud Indians. 


Nishaad reveals that he was extremely anxious to go on the stage, even worrying about accidentally dropping the trophy. However, he was also very excited to receive the honour. He aims to become an astronaut when he grows up, while pursuing music as a hobby as well, just like his dad. The 11 year old Beatles fan also derives inspiration from Lady Gaga and Olivia Rodrigo. He revealed he was looking forward to both his mother’s and Lady Gaga's performance at the Grammys. He considers Music the food of his soul and never wants to give up on it, even amidst his space aspirations. 


Having worked hard to juggle both studies and his passion for music, one advice that Nishaad shared with his fellow kids is "Try your best and never give up on your dreams''. He says the balance is mostly fine but sometimes it can get hard to practice during weekdays due to school work. However, he makes sure he practises his music on the weekends. 


Nishaad’s mother encouraged him to do a mini chilla where he sat in one place and sang one raga (yaman) for four hours continuously for forty days during the previous summer. It was a very different experience for him as he had to learn how to concentrate on one scale and improve on it for four continuous hours. After doing chilla he realised that he was able to apply that level of focus in school too, motivating him to work harder. 




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Milind Tulankar opens The Maitri Project's first monthly series with his exquisite Jaltarang
Anish Parmarthi Added 2 years ago

They say the divine can be found even in inanimate objects. But Milind Tulankar proves that you can even hear the divine in them.


Opening the first monthly series of The Maitri Project’s new season, the Jalatarang Maestro demonstrated to us what the unique symphony between science, art and nature can mean and achieve.

The Jaltarang is a unique and ancient instrument. It is one of the oldest instruments which is said to have originated in our own Indian subcontinent. The instrument is actually sets of china or porcelain bowls filled with water; the player produces the music by rhythmically beating the bowls with two thin bamboo sticks. Each bowl can be tuned to the desired frequency by varying the quantity of water in it.

With a beautiful rendition of ‘Saare Jahaan Se Achchha’, Milind Tulankar, who is a well-known Jaltarang Vaadak in Indian art scene as well as one of the most revered and influential figures in the Indian classical music industry, explained why the Jaltarang is a cure for all fatigue- our bodies, just like the Jaltarang, are seventy-five percent water. The vibrations that make the melody in a Jaltarang are made by water, which on touching the various focal points of the body, feels a connection towards the water within our own body and responds to it.

“Jaltarang is an instrument that requires personal assembly. You cannot go to a music shop and buy a jaltarang. To possess it, you will have to shop in a number of crockery stores. .. You may find the do, re, mi at one place, the la, si, do at another and end up waiting for the fa, so for three months. The wait is for the right-sized bowl that matches your tone. .. You have to be patient in creating your jaltarang,” says Milind Tulankar

Playing a range of melodies, from the humble classical composition ‘Paayal Jhankaar’ to the modern, iconic signature tune of the Raymond Men’s clothing brand, Tulankar demonstrated how the liquid form of this instrument is the actual reason for its versatility and flexibility. It suits any kind of music, whether it be classical or contemporary. Doesn't matter how tired you are, it always finds a way to soothe you.

The scientific workability of a divine instrument such as the jaltarang was lauded by the audience too.  “Your collaboration (Milind and Ganesh) reminded me of the iconic duo Ustad Ali Raakha and Zakir Hussain. In fact, today, you have beaten them,” said Alok from Canada.

“I cannot express how very happy I am to see the little details that I see, which demonstrate your devotion towards the jaltarang. The way you fill the water, tend to the bowls, it almost looks like a priest praying to their God,” said Anusha, an audience member to Tulankar.

As wonderful as this instrument may be, it stands on the verge of extinction too. It is astonishing that Indians spend thousands of bucks each year to buy newer and newer, more westernized instruments when music can be fetched from simple everyday things around us. A is known, there is no greater symphony than that of art and nature.

Tulankar Ji realizes the importance of the Jaltarang’s preservation. He not only promotes it throughout the world by just playing it. He also loves innovating it too. Over the years, he has experimented with the various substances that he can use to improve and tune the Jaltarang to produce even more intricate results. This includes using alternatives to bamboo sticks, like plastic sticks, adding cable wires to the end of the sticks, using plastic cuboid coasters for the bowls instead of using wooden coasters like his grandfather used, etc.
His efforts are praiseworthy, and will probably go down in history, but that is not enough. We need to realize the importance of indigenous instruments like the Jaltarang, the Ektara, the Dotara, the Udukkai, the Shehnai, the Tanpura, and various other such instruments that are fading into oblivion. This can only be achieved when we start promoting them on an elementary level. The need of the hour is to introduce these instruments in schools and colleges and organize free training for people who wish to learn them.

The performing arts industry needs to re-introduce the beauty of instruments that were fashioned out of simple things, at a time when resources were limited. The focus should be on the universality and relevance of those substances even to this day.

Treading on this approach, Match My [Talent] has promoted this message about the upcoming set through various means. With organic ads on Facebook, Google and Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, through teasers and trailers on YouTube cultivating the mystique of this innovative instrument, and via chat rooms of Clubhouse, and of course, the amazing work by the team at Match My [Talent ], this campaign has reached out to a whopping 15 K people. The #Jaltarang is not going to lose its name just yet.

The Maitri Project has been quite instrumental in bringing to the fore such artists who have impacted societies and the global performance industry with their talent and their art. In line with an auspicious beginning of the first monthly series of the new Maitri Project, the team at Match My [Talent] also guarantees a truly unforgettable monthly series too.

How do we say that?

Coming up Next: Shweta Sinha is one-half of the indie-pop band Two-Seater Melodies. She is a singer and songwriter drawing influences from acoustic pop, rock, indie, soul and folk rock music .
Apart from covering classic songs, she also creates her originals songs and EP, which are available on several platforms.

Catch her live on The Maitri Project on July 10

Next in Line: Soumitra Thakur, acclaimed Sitar Instrumentalist and a student of Ustad Rashid Khan, who has performed at several shows and concerts around the country.

Catch him live on The Maitri Project on July 25.


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