The Extraterrestrial Metal Band: GWAR

While shocking fans and audiences is a tactic that may work most often in music, it has worked in favour of the heavy metal band Gwar for sure.

Say what you will about their Satanic-looking masks, gnarly R-rated-Jim-Henson-warrior outfits, and strapped-on penis appendages – no band has ever made monster metal like Gwar. Then again, when a band essentially creates its own genre from scratch, they really don’t have much competition.

The Soul of Afro Jazz: Manu Dibango

The coronavirus pandemic has taken away a lot from all of us – a lot of us have lost our loved ones and even icons from various industries. The music industry lost one such figure – Manu Dibango, a saxophonist from Cameroon whose 1972 single Soul Makossa made modern African music a clear presence on Western pop charts, died in a hospital in France. He was 86.

Although Soul Makossa was named after makossa, a Cameroonian style of music, and its lyrics were in the Douala language of Cameroon, Mr. Dibango’s worldwide hit was an internationalist piece of funk.

Interview: “Mental health is an especially important topic for us” ~ Madame Ur Y

We managed to catch hold the super talented Madame Ur Y from Tijuana for an interview with us where they throw light on their musical culture, aspirations, issues close to their heart and how the socio cultural fabric of the society influences them.

A Journey Back In Time: Monsoonsiren

While a few Indian indie music enthusiasts may have heard of him, Bengaluru-based Monsoonsiren aka Nathan Menon is probably one of the quietest and most mysterious artists to have hit the scene till date.

I’d heard him way back during my regular music journalism days when his first album, Creature Hum was critically reviewed and appreciated. And then again, his music brought back some really fond memories during a drinking session a year or so ago. Monsoonsiren belongs to a wave of artists who created something memorable enough and then ghosted the circuit.

A Riot Of Colours & Melodies: Lido Pimienta

Wholesomeness is something that is rare to find these days when it comes to artistic creation. A lot of artists these days may either be adept at music or they may excel at performance, or otherwise. There are a few artists, however, package themselves in a manner that each aspect of their artistry is wholesome and upto the mark.

Lido Pimienta’s artistic character is such that it engages and amuses in a way that there is no way to falter for her. Her audiences will have no scope to get disengaged or bored even for a minute as her music and visual repertoire are nearly exceptional.

Jazz From Japan: Takuya Kuroda

Jazz might not be everybody’s cup of tea, and it might be a little mind boggling for everyone, not making it palatable as such. But there are some artists who make the genre easier for us to digest and enjoy.

Japan’s Takuya Kuroda is a jazz trumpeter is a forward-thinking musician with a bent toward mixing post-bop and adventurous soul-jazz. While his compositional abilities are top notch, he has managed to push the boundaries of jazz by retaining what one might call, the essence and simplicity of jazz.

The Paganini Of Double Bass: Renaud Garcia Fons

One could say that the classical music scene is saturated – there have been enough number of artists who have accomplished whatever could possibly be and there has been plenty of exploration done in this space. But yet, there are some artists who are trying their hand at innovation, learning and creation in this genre, without compromising on the essence of what classical music is. One amongst them is the Parisian upright bass player, Renaud Garcia Fons.

Blending Literature With Rhythm: Mukt

While music-making is a process in itself, blending it with other art forms can be an uphill task if attempted at. The challenges can be numerous, especially that of maintaining the integrity of both art forms. Ahmedabad based band Mukt has effectively made a successful attempt at this by exclusively delivering literature through the medium of fusion rock.

Crossing Cultural & Musical Boundaries: Shye Ben Tzur

In a world divided by borders and biases, music has become a language and a tool that blurs all boundaries and binds everyone together. No matter what religion you believe in or rituals you follow, music isn’t determined by any of it. I think that is the beauty of music – that it goes beyond these cultural barriers and enables us to see this universe as one, single element.

Shye Ben Tzur is one such artist who has managed to hop across cultural divides and border and instead, amalgamate them through his creation. Though his roots are in Israel, Shye also lives in India and has studied the Indian classical tradition of music. If you listen to his work, you will see influences from both cultures blend seamlessly as the vocals are in Hebrew, Hindi and Urdu.

Beauty In Duality: Naiza Izumi

Gender is a broad subject on which usually there is no real consensus. A few of us choose to turn a blind eye to it, a few of us are really charged up about it while most others don’t have an opinion regarding it. However, for Naia Izumi, gender seemed to form the crux of his identity as a person and even a musician.