We Went to an Industry Event for Musicians

I like to believe I’m a music nerd—so being asked to travel to Chennai for IndiEarth XChange 2018, a trade event for independent music, film, and media—was quite exciting. It was held a couple of weekends ago at The Park, a hotel that was built upon the ruins of the historic Gemini Studios (that had produced many wet dream-worthy gems for our grandfathers' generation), a quintessentially Chennai establishment.

The two-day festival, although mostly focused on music, is quickly becoming a significant event on the cultural calendar of the city, since it comprises conferences, workshops, performances and a film festival.

While talks like “Shaping A Different Future”, “Navigating The Intersections Between New Tech, Multimedia, and Creativity” and “Large Scale Experiential IP Building In India” (that used VH1 Supersonic as a case study) were all very fascinating, they were largely industry-focused and felt like I was attending a fun yet hardcore college crash course for independent musicians. Independent music in India is at such an interesting period, and listening to the industry’s attempts at understanding and navigating the changes in this very dynamic landscape was very illuminating.

But what I was really looking forward to were the technical music-focused workshops. I attempted to build my own synthesizer, learnt the basics of music production using Ableton Live 10 (a popular music production software), and then sang along in a session of polyphony singing conducted by Reunion Island vocalist Bastien Picot, amongst other super nerdy music things.

Bear in mind that I was in a room full of trained singers and accomplished performers, and was attempting complex vocal exercises and free-style melodies. It was very great to see how different styles of singing, be it Western classical or Indian, came together to create a unique yet coherent sound signature each time we tried it. I learnt how respectful musicians are of each other even if they are strangers, by never attempting to take over but always serving the composition. I enjoyed myself, but I’m not sure the same can be said of my participants, thanks to my skills (or the lack thereof).

I even walked into a workshop on the art and craft of songwriting but I’m not a poet/musician and I know it, so swiftly walked out. There were also sessions on “Mental Health and Creativity for Musicians: Finding a Balance”, “From Pitch To Publish: The Journey of Making a Content Piece” (conducted by VICE Content Head Samira Kanwar) and “Working With Analog Synths and Your DAW”, which even I found too nerdy.

There were also, of course, music performances over two beautiful stages once the evening set, which went on till midnight, a great mix of local and international artists such as Bastien Picot, Pierre Nesta, Musa Mashiane, Chennai-based Oorka, folk legend Shubha Mudgal and rising rap duo Seedhe Maut—and I got to hang out with the latter. I guess that's the beauty of such intimate fests—you have that much more access to people whose work you admire, something that can't even be considered at larger fests.

All in all, I walked away understanding the rigour that goes into being a musician. Romanticising the idea of waking up with a tune that magically becomes a superhit, or having groupies sing along to every line during your gig on a country-wide tour, is superseded by reality that involves a shit ton of hard work and diligence. I can now at least perform basic vocal exercises for my unsuspecting colleagues. Maybe they’ll enjoy it more than the singers seemed to? Worth a try.

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