October 06, 2007
"Write a Line in Hindi." Or not -- Shaair and FuncMusic
Via Nirali, check out Shaair and Func. Shaair (think “Shayr”) is a desi girl who grew up in the DC area; Func is a Goan from Mumbai who grew up listening to Metallica. What you get when you mix the two is something that sounds like this:
She reminds me a little of Nikka Costa… what do you think? The best part of the profile at Nirali for me were these paragraphs:
And so began a relationship—”We fell in love with each other’s person first,” stresses Dogra—based on the mutual desire to make accessible music, free of the pressure to impose a contrived “Indian” sound (think twangy sitar solos and misplaced tabla beats). “Before I met Randolph, producers would be like, ‘Write a line in Hindi’,” says Dogra. “I can’t even speak Hindi! I’d listen to it and think it was so insincere.”
Give their debut CD a listen, and it’s obvious that Shaa’ir and Func are staying true to their mission of keeping themes universal. “We want to pave a better way for the next generation of not just Indian kids, but kids the world over who want to put out an idea. They can do it without having that ‘Who are you?’ pressure on themselves,” explains Correia. It’s increasingly apparent that the two are committed to their goal as they sing about everything from illegal-alien ancestry to the downsides of long-distance love. (link)
A video with higher production value than the one above is “Oops”. Lots of eye candy, but I’m not feeling the song as much as “Hit,” which I linked to above. Another one to check out is “Government,” a spoken word poem over music.
amardeep on October 6, 2007 12:31 PM in Music · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
She DOES sound a bit like Nikka Costa! Thanks for this, Amardeep :) I guess it reopens our conversation on the "responsibility" of ABD artists to "D" forms.
It'll be interesting to hear what else they come out with.
Glad you liked it, Camille.
What did I say the last time we had this discussion? I forget. Today my feeling is, if you feel moved to bring in desi elements, go for it. If not, don't force it.
That said, I do find it interesting when certain traces of hybridity find their way in at unlikely moments. Falu does that sometimes, and there are some surprises in the music of Arthi Meera (who I profiled several months ago). But those are singers with an Indian classical background. Shaair seems to have been bred on a diet of pure western pop, punk, and funk. And her partner, albeit raised in India, seems to be aching for power chords, not ragas.
the drum & bass version of "hit" has been one of my favorite songs of the past few months. Always great to see some of the hometown crew come up with something really, really GOOD.
That is a nifty song. Thanks!
I'm digging the sound
I like it ! The song and the backstory. I'm glad they didn't try to force desi musical elements in.
Pretty enjoyable
I actually don't remember what you said, but I do remember us talking about whether Arthi Meera ought to have "Hindustani" elements in her music given her training in classical Hindustani music. Personally I am in the "there is no responsibility/obligation to rep a 'desi flavor' if you don't want to" camp.
Nina, I'm with you on "Oops" -- I actually was really unimpressed with the song and the visual. I also thought it was strange; maybe because I couldn't follow the lyrics I didn't understand the context? I guess I find it a little surprising, also. I might be reading too much into the interview, but if you don't want to "sing a line of Hindi" because it seems inauthentic, then is it also inauthentic or cliche/exotifying to use a multi-arm visual? Maybe I'm overthinking things.
I dig, I dig I so dig!! And this song definitely has what it takes to be mainstream. One thing that should be mentioned is that Correia was the guy who started Pentagram (Nirali mentions this). Pentagram was a huge act in the desi rock scene for a few years (along with Parikrama who apparently recently opened for Iron maiden in the UK) and won a few prestigious rock contests along with MoodI appearances (the IIT Bombay fest). Another dude who reached some amount of fame from Pentagram was Vishal Dadlani (remember the music from Pyaar Main Kabhi Kabhi - Woh Pehli Baar, etc) and a VJ on MTV for a brief period.
I think I went to school with her older sister (if her older sister's name is Anjali).
Here they are singing live, and My Pet Dragon is also interesting.
Chica is hot and their sound definitely has what could take them towards mainstream.
Btw is it just me or does Shaa'ir sound a lot like a hybrid between Alanis Morrissette and Björk on 'Oops'?
Damn, what a great groove!
Ooh, just found their murdochspace page ...
the song "oops" songs like cher.
she is going to become a superstar in the gay community.
Hey, director of the "hit" video!! The 1960's called and they want their special effects back.
The song is good though and she is pleasent to look at.
this is terrible. so she doesn't want to contrive an indian influence or be referenced by her indianness yet she still wants to talk about its nonexistent influence in their mediocre music.
that said, I still fantasize about mixing up 60's filmi music with hc punk.
loving the sound... and shaa'ir's voice. i think i'm developing a girl crush on her.
Catchy song. My 2 1/2 year old daughter was here when it was playing and she started dancing to it. :-)
Your blog is nice. I think you should add your blog at BlogAdda and let more people discover your blog. It's a great place for Indian bloggers to be in and I am sure it would do wonders for your blog.
SM so much bigger than blogadda. :-)
Randolph / Func is the producer for Pentagram, one of India's first rock bands. More recently I saw him as judge on Channel V Launchpad
Talking about Channel V Launchpad one of the bands there was decibel). Listen to Naagin - the Lady Cobra (not the most inspired of titles no doubt but a great song)
I have been in love with Shaair and Func for months now. They are nothing short of amazing, and I hope to see them live at least once.
this song is slowly becoming famous.. some ppl still neva heard of it..but once they do..they r addicted... can i get a download of dis song
23 · Lurker said
Oh for fuck's sake, they are not one of the first indian rock bands. They're just 15 years old! You clearly have never heard of the likes of The Savages, Indus Creed. But then again, screw all of them.
Check out Avial, an alt. rock band with indigenous folk influences from the heartland of Kerala. They rewrote the rules of Indian rock, by singing in Malayalam, which is probably the most stiffest language ever to put to music. Buy their album for here on [link]www.musicyogi.com[/link] and their music [link]myspace.com/avialmusic[/link]. I don't give a fuck what you guys think, get this, a life-changer.