I review soprano Joanne-Marie D'Mello and pianist Kumi Matsuo

Nigel Britto

Maurice Ravel’s Cinq Melodies Populaires Grecques was a worthy opening to the evening. It isn’t so hard to figure out why this set (Five Greek folksongs—translated to French) is so popular—the bunch of  short, pithy pieces not only set the right mood but gave a strong indication of what was to follow. Joanne-Marie D’Mello, the London-based Goan soprano, took full advantage of the depth and varying textures of Bach, Schubert, Rodrigo, and Verdi, which were part of the repertoire she presented at the Kala Academy on Saturday.

It may not have been the best day to have the concert, what with the abundance of weddings that come with every December. Add to that a next-door concert by the far more popular tabla maestro Zakir Hussein, and only a filtered bunch of the most dedicated western classical fans made it to the hall. A growing, and healthy, trend of Goan music lovers to encourage the state’s own rising stars ensured that the concert was, considering the exclusivity of its genre, reasonably well-attended, and all who made it got their time’s worth.

Ravel’s five short songs gave way to Ernest Chausson, the French romantic composer whose lack of prolificity was compensated by a generally high standard, and whose pieces reach the repertoires of only the most capable. It was pulled off with aplomb, after which the soprano left the stage to give pianist Kumi Matsuo her share of the limelight.

If there were any questions about the credentials of the relatively-unknown pianist, the Japan-born demolished them with a vengeance; at times the ivory-tickler even overshadowed the home girl with her brilliant interpretations of Bach’s Italian Concerto in F Major and later, Schumann and Liszt. During the solo segments, her knack of exact enunciation and the way she created multidimensional textures along with the demanding yet luscious left-hand trills, while making the whole process look incredibly easy, was particularly impressive. The haunting Jeux d'eau by Ravel was also handled expertly, the sound of sprinkled water coming cleanly through the piano.

The post-interval session started with Cuatro Madrigales Amatorios, by Joaquin Rodrigo, who became one of the most popular composers of the 20th century due to his most famous work, Concierto de Aranjuez, which forms standard part of any classical guitarist’s repertoire. After this was another display of pianistic virtuosity by Matsuo, who this time round tackled one of the stunning Grandes estudes de Paganini, the No.6 in A minor (piano adaptation of the 24th Caprice). Paganini's caprices are known to be among the most technically challenging frontiers in the entire western classical spectrum. Yet, despite Liszt removing some of the outrageous complications that are hallmark of the Italian's original violin works, the masterfully-rendered rapid finger-histrionics were clearly visible for all to see.

The last soprano-piano segment started off with Gluck’s Che Fiero Momento, but what opera show can there be without Verdi? Nanette’s aria, from the opera Falstaff, perhaps came a bit late in the evening, but the soprano was probably at her best here. The scaling voice soared rapturously over the aria’s long phases, distinctive of golden Italian opera, and which continued in Donizetti’s Norina’s Aria from the opera Don Pasquale, which formally ended the show. But the enthusiastic crowd would have none of it.

The duo performed a total of three encores, each time vociferously egged on by the excited audience. The elitism of the main concert was brought down in stages, first with Schubert’s popular Ave Maria, which is as much a trademark to D’Mello as Puccini's Nessun Dorma was to Pavarotti. Next came O Holy Night, but when even that wasn’t enough, the crowd was asked to join in the final song.  Now, you don’t usually see Japanese people doing Konkani songs, but that’s precisely what happened, when the duo burst into Adeus korcho vello, which quickly went from solo to group song, as the appreciative audience felt that the right way to end a pleasant evening was with a Konkani classic.

This article was first published on The Times of India, Goa, in its edition dated December 13, 2010.

Malhotra set for YouTube orchestra debut?

Shirish Malhotra a step away from spot in collaborative online orchestra

Nigel Britto

The world’s first collaborative online orchestra, the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, might soon have an Indian member. Shirish Malhotra, a prominent Mumbai musician who happens to be a son of Aldona, has made it to the finals of the massive project, beating thousands of participants from all over the world. This is the second edition of the orchestra, which, once finalized, will play at the prestigious Sydney Opera House in Australia next year.

The roots of the YSO can be traced back to 2008, when leading video-sharing site YouTube invited musicians from different cultures to upload clips of them playing their instruments to serve as audition tapes; these were then perused and filtered by an expert panel, which selected the best contestants and put their names out for public voting. These tapes were then viewed by over 15 million people, who voted for the best in each category and thus selected the members of the orchestra, making it the world’s first truly democratic western classical orchestra. 96 musicians from over 30 countries converged at Carnegie Hall, New York in April, 2009, for a sold-out performance. Famous American conductor Michael Tilson Thomas of the San Francisco Symphony led the pack, and the show also included a special arrangement by iconic Chinese pianist Lang Lang.

The second YTSO, the calls of which were given in October this year, raises the stakes even higher. The project now partners with giants of the classical music world, among whom the Berlin Philharmoniker and London Symphony Orchestra deserve special mention. Also, in addition to the audition videos, musicians this time were also given an opportunity to demonstrate their skill in improvising, as the piece being planned for Sydney, Mothership, by Mason Bates, relies on orchestral improvisation to complete it, and this was one of the criteria based on which some of the finalists were chosen.

Malhotra, whose place in the orchestra now depends on public votes, has played in several leading orchestras such as the Symphony Orchestra of India, Bombay Chamber Orchestra, Sangat Festival Orchestra and the Sri Lankan Symphony Orchestra. He’s also involved in several other musical projects in and around Mumbai, and sometimes trains under Goan flute instructor Susan Badyari. Sackadoodle, as his YouTube avatar goes, appeals that people vote for him.

“It’s great to get this far, and I hope India votes to send me to Sydney”, he told TOI from Kolkata, where he’s participating in a classical guitar festival; “I really want India to make a mark in the international classical music scene and this will be a huge step in that direction”, he adds. The largely self-taught flautist also plays classical guitar, saxophone and violin, and describes himself as an instrument whore. "You give me an instrument, I'll get a tune out of it", he says. Malhotra is also passionate about old Lambretta scooters, and after classical, he loves Brazilian samba and jazz, a preference he attributes in full to his Goan roots.

This article was published in The Times of India, Goa, in its edition dated December 13, 2010.

Half an Oasis is not a Mirage

Oasis have split. What will the repercussions be?

Nigel Britto

The millions who have been crying their hearts out since Brit-pop band Oasis broke up last year have reason to rejoice. Liam, the younger of the Brothers Gallagher who formed the crux of the band during its golden years, has finally given us a glimmer of what his new band, Beady Eyes, might sound like when they release their debut album sometime next year. The band's first track, Bring the light, was made available as a free download on November 10. Verdict ? Well, for starters, Liam's much-hyped Beatles influence is evident right at the beginning and continues throughout. Second, it's a clever response to the weird situation he finds himself in post the split: anything that sounded like Oasis would get attacked, and anything that did not sound like Oasis would get attacked. Bring the light is a good balancing act, yet a few fans on web forums trashed it, palpably still angry with Liam for forcing big brother Noel to resign. Numerically and statistically, there's not much difference between Oasis and Beady Eyes. 

Liam is backed by Andy Bell, Gem Archer and Chris Sharrock, who formed the rest of Oasis. The only missing link is Noel Gallagher, the vocalist and lead guitarist who quit the band after a major backstage tiff last year, in which he allegedly had his guitar broken by Liam. The incident heightened the rage against the younger Gallagher, oft-despised by fans and observers for his swagger, alcoholism and drug-fuelled tantrums. 

The release of Beady Eyes' single and their decision to make it a free download is unlike anything Oasis has done before. It might also raise the eyebrows of people who doubt Liam's ability to single-handedly manage the show. The first listen to Bring the light reveals a few things straight up: lyrical portions that could sometimes be described as clichêd (Baby hold on, baby come on), a stolen guitar riff (ripped from the Beatles' Everybody's got something to hide except me and my monkey), Liam's Lennon-ish voice and a Billy Preston-like piano accompaniment. The song is about a relationship that's thriving because it isn't perfect, and the tune is built around a Beatlesesque rock 'n' roll riff. 

But, there are a few pleasant surprises. With U2 producer Steven Lillywhite on board, there seems to be a marked change in the music. There's also more space for individual musicians to display their talent, and younger brother Liam seems to be enjoying himself (at least in the video). Another good thing is that with the band's debut album expected sometime next year, things can only get better, since Beady Eyes is made up of accomplished musicians who've been in the industry long enough to know not to give out their best track for free. In addition to the download, the song was also released as a limited edition 7" vinyl single. All 4, 000 copies were sold the day they went on sale. 

A pertinent question arises: what can Oasis fans expect from the band's forthcoming album? Observers are expecting a deep nod to the Beatles. Yet, Lillywhite says the album will be nothing like Bring the light. "The rest of the songs are very varied, " he said on Twitter. Liam, too, has big plans, including playing at England's historic 100 Club. "( I) fancy playing again there with the mighty Beady Eye, " he wrote, referring to London's oldest venue for live music where he had played with Oasis in 1994. The Club, which is facing closure because of high rentals, is the centre of a high-profile campaign to save it, with backers including Mick Jagger and Paul Weller. 

Liam also has good support from Alan McGee, who first signed Oasis to his label, Creation, in 1993 and was responsible for propelling them to stardom. Apart from slamming fans for criticising the band, he also wondered how it was possible to condemn a band after just one tune. "Let's hear the album, " McGee recently told a music website, adding that a band that has a frontman like Gallagher and guitarist like Andy Bell (" right up there with Jimmy Page" ) can't possibly be a bad band. Beady Eyes recently announced their spring tour starting March next year. In all probability, the album will be released soon thereafter. 

Looking back in anger:

Formed in 1991 by Noel and Liam Gallagher, Oasis is one of the leading bands of the Brit-pop revolution. Largely seen as the most legitimate successor to The Beatles, the band has sold over 70 million records. During the initial years, the Gallagher brothers dropped Lennon's name in practically every interview. The band's popularity waned during the late nineties but they returned with a bang in 2005 with their sixth album, Don't believe the truth. 2008 brought the landmark release, Dig out your soul. 

From day one, there was friction between the brothers and after their 2008 hit, there was hectic speculation that Noel would go solo. The breaking point came in Paris, where the brothers had a nasty brawl that left Noel with a broken guitar. A few hours later, Noel wrote that he had quit Oasis, the band for which he had written iconic songs like Stop crying your heart out, Live forever, Don't look back in anger, Wonderwall, Cigarettes and alcohol and Slide away.

This article was published in The Times of India's Crest edition dated November 27, 2010.

Moshers unite

Put those metal detectors away. The metalheads are descending upon Panjim tonight

Nigel Britto

Goa’s small but dedicated metal community has a rare cause for celebration. An all-star line-up is expected to take the capital city by storm this weekend. Most of India’s best metal acts, as well as popular bands from Europe and America, will set temperatures soaring and necks breaking as they hit the stage at Gymkhana grounds for a potent dose of pure, unadulterated mayhem.

Headlined by American prog-metal pioneers Cynic, the show will also feature Cyanide Serenity, Hacride, Leaves’ Eyes, as well as desi metal legends like Demonic Resurrection, Infernal Wrath and thrash-metal pioneers Kryptos, widely considered India’s best metal band. ‘It’s the first time we’re playing in Goa and hope metalheads come out, chill and enjoy themselves’, Ryan ‘Maiden’ Colaco, the band’s drummer, told TOI.

Metal is not a genre associated with Goa, with most fans inclined towards electronic dance music, but Demonic Resurrection vocalist Sahil Makhija sounds optimist about the ‘engineering crowd’, which makes up the bulk of the audience and practically the entire moshpit during every metal concert in Goa.

A scarce commodity in Goa, the state has churned out precious few metal bands, as opposed to the numerous DJ and ‘wedding bands’, which are more commercially viable. The spinal cords of Goa’s metal movement are the annual rock fests of colleges led by BITS-Pilani’s ‘Waves’ and GEC’s legendary ‘Happenings’, which have in the past featured some of the times’ leading metal bands. Thus, it is no surprise that the weekend’s concerts are set to widen Goan audience participation in the conference, which has been lacking so far. Many Goan metal fans, such as Kadesh D’Souza of Embers of a Perfect World, see the concerts as a ‘golden oppurtunity’, but in the same breath grumbled that no Goan band is on stage.

The weekend’s gigs are concluding part of the Indian Music Conference, which commenced on Wednesday and features over 200 artistes from all over the world. The event is conceptualized by a Delhi-based company to bring unheard and distinct genres together on a common stage. Also, the event gives upcoming musicians the opportunity to perform and interact with more established names in the industry. Refreshingly, though Bollywood is part of the event, it’s not the main focus, which goes to independent artistes and bands.

‘We just can’t avoid Bollywood’ says singer Shibani Kashyap, who describes herself as ‘independent’ and not Bollywood. She lamented the fact that non-film music in India doesn’t get sufficient recognition, a fact agreed to by Italian-Canadian crossover singer Natalie Di Luccio. “It’s great to bring independent music to the big stage’, she told TOI after performing her wildly-popular, accented rendition of ‘Tu jaane Na’ in Arpora. Wednesday’s inaugural concert included TAAQ, Bandish, Mrigya and the wildly popular Parikrama, the kings of Indian rock who have spent over two decades resisting attempts to get them to go commercial.

The IMC, apart from completely breaking down barriers between musicians and fans (off-stage, wide-eyed young fans could meet their favorite musicians), also provides a good networking oppurtunity for people associated with the industry. “Bands that are successful today are the ones who know to market themselves in today’s climate”, said US-based producer Ashish Manchanda during the inaugural session at Arpora on Thursday. The event is likely to be an annual event in Goa like IFFI, with the main problem of the organizers being how to choose among the plethora of artistes that want to play on the IMC stage.

This article was first published in The Times of India's Goa edition on November 19, 2010.

Londonstani and Harlem

Shobana Jeyasingh, 53, is one of England's most sought-after dance choreographers, and the company she leads has redefined dance in Britain.

Nigel Britto

It's a homecoming of sorts. It was over two decades ago that a wide-eyed Chennai-born girl left for London. She got a degree in Renaissance studies from the University of Surrey, but it is her mastery of Bharatanatyam rather than Botticelli that has made her famous.

Today, Shobana Jeyasingh, 53, is one of England's most sought-after dance choreographers, and the company she leads has redefined dance in Britain. This week, Jeyasingh will add India to the list of countries (US and most of Europe) she has already wowed. Her compelling choreography and the technical brilliance and dazzling diversity of her eight dancers will be on display in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Jeyasingh has chosen her pioneering works Faultline and Bruised Blood for her India round. Faultline is based on Gautam Malkani's book Londonstani where the characters are disaffected, violence-prone Asian youth. "It is a response to the unease that I felt in Britain after the 2005 London tube bombings when it was difficult to be young, Asian and male, " Jeyasingh says. It features the Indiaborn British soprano Patricia Rozario singing live. If this combination of art styles is unique, the second, Bruised Blood gets quirkier, as do the contemporary costumes her dancers don. It's about the Harlem riots of the 60s and will feature world champion finalist beatboxer Roxorloops performing live.

"I have long been an admirer of Patricia's voice. In Faultline I was looking to create a tension between the historical and the contemporary, " says Jeyasingh, who was awarded the MBE in 1995 for her services to dance. The dancers in her multinational troupe - they come from Spain, Vietnam, Italy and Finland - are drawn on the basis of their own ethnic dance languages, giving the troupe a stylistic depth that few others have.

The underlying theme in all Jeyasingh's productions is social integration. Although she has lived in Britain for almost 30 years now, India pops up like running stitch in her work. "However, " she says, "art also connects just by being itself, despite geographical and cultural differences. If I didn't believe that I would not have gone to study Shakespeare in Britain as an Indian nor would I see so many pizza restaurants in India. "

Soprano Rozario, an OBE who is India's most famous western classical export after conductor Zubin Mehta, first met Jeyasingh eight years ago in London. "I was impressed with the fact that she integrated elements of Indian dance into her contemporary dance creations, as well as commissioned contemporary composers to write the music for her dances and has live musicians performing it, " Rozario said on the phone from the UK. Jeyasingh attributes this to her heritage. "I guess my history of migration, the deep influence of Indian dance on my kinesthetic literacy and the dynamics of a city like London where we are based, all add to it. "

In 22 years of dancing, Jeyasingh has learned a thing or two about the industry. She's positive about the fact that audiences have matured. "I think there's more of an audience which is willing to be stimulated and questioned by the new rather than be reassured by the things they recognise, " she says. However, she recognises the problems of a choreographer-led troupe at face value. "It is still difficult to start and maintain a dance company. However, I think it is easier now to gain credibility for the contemporary in dance. "

She also feels market dynamics play an important role in the evolution of dance. "You can't ignore its ubiquity, " she says. "But it's an artiste's choice, where they place themselves in relationship to it. It also depends on where the financial patronage of the artist comes from. In Britain, there has been a tradition of state funding for the arts since the last century. However, this is set to change and the market will play a much more dominant role than it has done now. " In order to help young dancers understand the nuances of the industry, she will also be holding workshops and talks in Delhi (November 10) and Mumbai (November 15).

Finally, with such variety at her disposal, how does she piece a work together? A choreographer, she replies, is like a poet or writer but one who has to make up her own language to write the story or poem. "The dancers supply the words and the sounds. Their different backgrounds mean they supply a variety of words. It is then the task of the choreographer to make a coherent language out of these diverse sounds and write the story. " Thus, in the final work, the elements may hardly be recognisable, but they will all have contributed to the story. "All the dancers work together like colours in a painting. They are mixed, blended, layered, painted over, etc, so that finally the viewer sees the picture and not the individual brush strokes. "

This article was first published in The Times of India's Crest edition on November 6, 2010.

Holy Headbangers

Nigel Britto

Ever since the sign of the horns, also called the cornuto, was popularised in the late 1960s by Anton LaVey, the late high priest of Satan, maniacal fans of metal music have vigorously punched the air with it. Add to that the metal bands' morbid-sounding names, untamed hair, outlandish black attire and blood-curdling growls… No wonder metal is considered to be straight out of the flames of hell - or headed there.

Sound Check:

Take Blood Covenant, a Chennai-based band. Fits the description perfectly. Morbid sounding name - check. Wild, unruly hair - check. Black attire - check. Blood-curdling growls - of course, check. And they play black metal, the most violent form of music there is. The screaming lead vocalist Eddie sounds like an enraged bull. Drummer Brijesh pummels the kit with a ferocious double bass played at the speed of light. Blood Covenant groupies always form a mosh pit at gigs. Into this arena of frenzy, the metalheads jump, headbang, thrash about, crowd-surf , body-slam . Would Satan be proud of them? Keep guessing...

Move over to Mumbai. You find Met Basar and New Hope Order. To Bangalore, WhitenoiZ and Crucifix Guide. To Mizoram, Magdalene. To Goa, Celestial Portal. To the normal, reasonable person, these bands would look and sound like the American death metal bands Slayer or Deicide.

Until you analyse their lyrics. Hellish images fly out the window when you hear Celestial Portal screaming about "breaking free" and "choosing the light" . Blood Covenant looks like it walked right out of LaVey's The Satanic Bible but actually growls about the New Testament. WhitenoiZ is a radio frequency sans barriers, and 'noiZ' spelt backwards reads 'Zion' - the Promised Land. It's quite clear. On the quiet, Christianity and metal have happily married. Hell's bells!

The First Riffs:

It started out with Stryper. In the seventies, this California-based glam metal outfit became the first faith-based band to break into the mainstream. Famous for throwing Bibles into the audience, the band led the way for a movement which is sometimes called 'heaven metal' . To Hell With The Devil was the very popular, platinum-selling , Grammynominated album of this band that took its name from the Biblical phrase "with his stripes we are healed" .

Now, 25 years later, bands like As I Lay Dying (metalcore, US) and Mortification (death metal, Australia) - whose members describe themselves as Christian - are pretty much at home on the mainstream circuit. Mark Abraham of WhitenoiZ says, "Rex Carroll or Chris Impelliteri are as brilliant as Van Halen or Yngwie Malmsteen, but lesser known because of their genre." Carroll is guitarist for the Chicago-based Christian metal band Whitecross. And heavy-metal guitarist Impelliteri was rated by Guitar One magazine (2003) as the second-fastest shredder ever, ahead of Mr Big's Paul Gilbert and Swedish neo-classical metal pioneer Malmsteen.

The evolution of any faith-based movement is often impeded by doubting Thomases, and Christian metal musicians find themselves in a peculiar dilemma. Christians don't think they're Christian enough and non-Christians don't believe they're Christians at all! But these metalheads beg to differ . Says Jeshurun D'Cruz , drummer/vocalist for Celestial Portal, "Like a knife, music by itself is neutral - not good, not bad. It is the purpose for which you use music that is important." The purpose behind their music is evangelism, he says. And they use metal to reach out to a certain audience . Brijesh elaborates, "You don't go to Chennai and preach in Marathi. That just won't work. You have to witness to people in a language that they understand." And if the only language you understand is metal, then metal it has to be.

Another counterview that is often thrown at them: Metal is a 'violent' , 'weird' form of music, not to be indulged in by self-proclaimed Christians . Here too, the metalheads' defence is ready. D'Cruz jumps in: "God is much bigger than mere church music." It's a misconception that Christian music has to be limited to the walls of a church. Abraham adds: "Music is a gift of God. He decided that three or more pitches played simultaneously form a chord. Whether you play it on an acoustic guitar or on a mean-looking electric with distortion , it remains a chord!"

Vedic Metal:

Christians aren't alone on the metal route. Rudra, a Singaporean band, has an Om in its logo and applies the Vedas to death metal instrumentation. Its muse: The ancient Hindu philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, which teaches that the self (atman) is identical with the cosmic spirit (Brahman). Through their albums Kurukshetra and Brahma Vidya: Premordial, they have pioneered a new genre, which they call 'Vedic metal' because "that is the philosophy that flows through our lyrics" .

Does faith-based music help in evangelism? Yes, says Naresh Nathan from Bangalore. He played for Chaotica, a heavy-metal band that screeched about a "reign of chaos" , but when his pals bombarded him with Christian rock, he became a practicing Christian and formed a new band, Slain, which sings of the "power of Christ" .

It may be loud. It may be crazy. But heaven metal gets its validation from the spinal cord of Christianity, The Holy Bible. Psalm 150 urges Christians to "praise Him with harp and lyre" and with a "clash of cymbals" . The Old Testament exhorts them to "make a loud noise unto the Lord" (Psalm 98:4). The harps are now electric guitars and the clash of cymbals the thrash-smash-flash of monster drum kits... The noise may have gotten louder but the soul still whispers through.

This article was first published in The Times of India's Crest edition dated October 10, 2009.

Meghalaya's Got Talent

A choir made up almost entirely of ethnic Khasis has set to conquer the world

Nigel Britto

Magnificent Meghalaya lies beyond the hustle and bustle of modern India. The rolling hills of this remote, land-locked state are alive with the sound of music. In their verandahs, little boys sit with their guitars, strumming the chords of ‘Californication’ in the cool mountain air. In a remote village en route to Cherrapunji, which was until recently the wettest place on earth, an elderly lady in a chai (tea) stall taps her spoon to the beat of Bon Jovi’s ‘Always’. In a taxi down the street, the black t-shirt-clad driver chases the blues away with Iron Maiden’s ‘Fear of the Dark’. Wherever you go in this oft-forgotten part of India, Shillong, Meghalaya’s capital, is a town that eats, sleeps and breathes Western music, mainly due to heavy British influences and its dominant tribal Christian population. Bands like Scorpions and Petra have played here to thousands of screaming fans, and thus it is no surprise that the Shillong Chamber Choir, made up almost entirely of ethnic Khasis, has now set out to conquer the world.

Among the rickety-looking buildings is the Little Home School. It’s an honestly-named place — a school inside the home of Neil Nongkynrih, an accomplished, Guildhall-trained pianist who left fame and fortune in London to help his fellow Meghalayans out of the pit and into the limelight. Inside the cottage, students who are handpicked by Nongkynrih, most of them from lower middle-class families, pray, joke, study, create and perform the most inspiring choral music in the country.

The roots of the choir go back to 2001, when the unassuming Nongkynrih (who uses a pseudonym on the internet so as not to attract attention) left his promising concert career after 18 years. He didn’t find it satisfying. “It didn’t suit me, because I’m a people’s person,” he explains. On a visit to his hometown, “I realized how musical everybody was,” he says. He also noticed that nobody was tapping into the talent, and the tremendous potential remained just that: Potential. He also saw that disadvantaged teenagers on Shillong’s streets were emotionally disturbed and often strayed into drugs. In their helpless eyes, he found his new passion — polishing these rugged stones and turning them into priceless diamonds.

Initially, he faced a problem common to most Indian choirs — members weren’t focused and drifted in and out of the choir. So, in 2006, he started a unique concept called the Little Home School, which supplements academic learning with ‘life lessons’ and spirituality. The choir’s lead singer, soprano Ibarisha Lyngdoh, is a product of this school. She gave her first solo recital in Switzerland in 2006. At 17, she was part of the choir that won three Gold medals at the prestigious World Choir Games (known as the Choir Olympics) in Beijing in July 2010, the moment that established the Shillong Chamber Choir as one of the world’s finest. At the Olympics, this 17-member motley crew competed against large choirs of as many as 80 members each, and won. Lyngdoh can sing in her native Khasi, Assamese, Italian and Latin. Maverick cricket umpire Billy Bowden once famously asked her for an autograph after a concert in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Many other singers, however, have a not-so-glamorous past. “But everybody has a story,” says Nongkynrih. There are instances of alcohol and drug addicts who got another chance through Nongkynrih’s instruction. Another singer, Mika Phanbuh, triumphed over Down’s syndrome at the Home School, and she can now sing, read music, and even play the piano.

Nongkynrih comes from a political family — his father was a minister in the Meghalaya government, as was his great-aunt, one of the first women ministers in independent India. Yet, he had to battle several stereotypes to establish his choir. “Shillongites generally believed choral music was synonymous with Church and Opera with fat women singing in strange languages,” he says. His first real success was when his Khasi opera, Sohlyngngem — a green pigeon, whose cry is like that of a weeping woman — was performed in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2004. The reception was thunderous, and so was the audience reaction when it was performed again in New Delhi. He says he learned to defeat his apprehensions by diving into the deep end of the pool. And language was no barrier, either. “I believe it was the power of opera, the highest form of music,” he says.

The choir’s fans are as diverse as its repertoire. Nongkynrih, seen as the unofficial Khasi ‘ambassador’ to the outside world, has led his wards to London, Colombo, Poland, Italy and South Korea, besides many cities in India. The choir’s versatility, which is arguably its biggest strength, comes to the fore when asked to perform before different audiences. Nongkynrih is open to all kinds of music and his choir has the knack of merging Mozart, Bach, Abba, Queen, traditional Khasi music and even songs from the Hindi film industry into a delightful cocktail that makes for a delectable listening experience. Most of the singers know Hindi and English, but they also sing in Italian, German and Spanish. In order to master the difficult German inflection, the singers are trained by a teacher from Austria. Each singer is individually trained for his or her part, quite unlike the group training that most other Indian choirs provide.

Uncle Neil, as he is affectionately called, has made it his mission to promote Khasi culture and language, and that’s what prompted the choir to sing a Khasi song on India’s Got Talent, one of Asia’s biggest talent shows and part of the global Got Talent franchise. Many believe that the pathos that the voices in this choir possess is unique to the Khasis of Meghalaya, since most of the tribe’s folk music has a strain of sorrow running through it. Nongkynrih is disillusioned with India’s education system, which he says “doesn’t give children a chance to develop”. His Home School concentrates on holistic development, and from the moment a student enters, he or she is set on the path to that transformation.

Damon Lyndem and Donna Myrthong are two of the choir’s oldest members. Lyndem, who has studied piano under Nongkynrih since 2001, addresses his mentor as ‘Bah Neil’, a traditional salutation of respect. Currently working towards his Licentiate of Trinity College, London, he says the choir and the Home School are institutions where students benefit academically, musically and spiritually too. Myrthong agrees. “Uncle Neil taught us how to care about people other than ourselves,” she says. Nongkynrih, a Mother Teresa-esque father figure, guides his wards through life. They stay with him, pray together and eat whatever is available. Music creeps into their daily chores. His teachers, mostly members of the choir, are voluntary. How does he go about managing it? “Prayer,” he says simply — “the solution to everything.”

This article was first published in The Times of India's Crest edition dated October 2, 2010.

Requiem for a Tree

Why is the death of a Dutch Chestnut being mourned so deeply?


Nigel Britto

It was the last living remnant of the Anne Frank story. The iconic Chestnut tree in Amsterdam that inspired a lonely Jewish girl as she wrote her secret diary that was to shake the conscience of the world, collapsed in a furious storm this week. 

Conservationists, hell-bent on protecting it as a 'Symbol of Hope', had helped it battle fungus and moths by encasing its trunk in steel. Over 150 years old, it had borne silent witness to war, prejudice and unprecedented genocide. Conservationists had hoped that it would live another two decades at least, but that was not to be. 

The tree's death comes months after the passing of Miep Gies, the heroic Catholic woman who helped the Franks during the two years the family hid in the annexe before they were betrayed. Miep was also the person who discovered and preserved the diary. 

Now that it's left to the next generation, I wonder whether the death of the tree in some way marks the end of the Anne Frank story. Slowly but surely, despite enormous evidence to the contrary, the band of Holocaust-deniers is growing, especially in the middleeast. Thankfully, in the US, the powerful Jewish lobby has ensured that Hiter's Final Solution that sent six million Jews to their death won't be forgotten for a long, long time. 

I was born a good seven years after Otto Frank, Anne's father and custodian of her legacy, died in 1980. I never had the good fortune to meet Miep Gies, nor have I been anywhere near Amsterdam. Why then did the fall of that tree feel like a personal loss?

I believe the answer lies in the power of Anne Frank's writings. To me, her diary is the most touching chronicle of the horrors of war. Every child studies about WWII in school, but only those who read the diary (along with other masterpieces by Primo Levi and Elie Wiesel), come anywhere close to experiencing its human agony. 

I first read The Secret Diary of Anne Frank three years ago, although I was introduced to it when an excerpt was included in our school syllabus in Goa, many years ago. Unimaginative teachers made it sound like just another lesson, and most of my guy friends dismissed it as 'girly', a misconception that persists and something that I'm still taunted about. When I finally read the book, however, I realised it was not merely the ramblings of a frustrated teen. It was an ambitious literary project. Anne was an extraordinary writer, for any age. She showed me the consequences of prejudice, widely prevalent even today, and how far astray it can lead us. She put a face to genocide, and a face to hope. I believe Dear Kitty, which is how she addressed her diary, should be required reading in every school around the world. 

She had enough cause to rail against the world and how the people in it sucked. Instead, she wrote: "Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death." Like any other ambitious 13-year-old she dreamed of "the day when she'd be able to realise her ideals". A year after she wrote that, she died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. Of her family, only her father survived. 

Anne's unflagging positivism in the face of extreme adversity was like a slap in the face for me and all those who are eternally depressed about the state of our country and its leaders. Instead of ranting about the concentration camps and gas chambers, Anne found comfort in things like birds in the sky and the Chestnut tree that she mentions thrice. "I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too will end, that peace and tranquillity will return once more." If I still believe India can be saved, it's largely because of a young Jewish girl with dark eyes and a heart that was stronger than Hitler's Holocaust.

This article was first published in The Times of India's Crest edition dated August 28, 2010.

Three nations, three cheers

Spectacular Tri Nation Trio's concert was a treat to behold

Nigel Britto

It wasn't mere classical music; it was an elaborately-crafted dossier of proof that classical music, often thought to be a thing of the past, has a very bright future. Those that believe that today’s young musicians are letting down the great classical tradition in favor of lesser genres probably weren’t present at Kala Academy on Friday. The Tri Nation Trio, comprising talented musicians from India, Germany and China all studying in Europe, presented a chamber recital that brought to life and celebrated the works of the great masters of yore.

After the usual hiccup of a late start, Sanya Cotta, Sabine Ehlscheidt and Lin Lin Fan got down to business, proceeding to tackle Brahms’ Trio II for Piano, Violin and Viola Opus 40, whose two movements, Andante and Scherzo, incorporated both melancholy and liveliness (with Ehlscheidt’s viola replacing the usual horn). This piece was written by Brahms in honor of his deceased mother; and the grief was compounded when the stage lights failed during the concert, leaving the musicians confused and the audience wondering whether they had come for a magic show. The performers, though, recovered admirably and proceeded from the second movement. Strangely for a concert pitted as a ‘Trio’, this was the only work where all three played together; it was followed by either solos or duets.

Beethoven was next, and the opening movement Moderato cantabile of Sonata op 110 was executed clinically without much excitement (it started and stopped at first movement). The following piece, Lin Lin Fan’s interpretation of Chopin’s Scherzo No 1, was clearly the highlight of the concert. The Chinese award-winning pianist made a perfect ally of the other German on stage, the shiny black Steinway, attacking the keyboard ferociously for the first two chords (fortissimo), and then proceeding to blitzkrieg faster than a hungry cheetah on steroids, decelerating only for a lush melody in the middle, and then resuming the savage attack.

There was no sheet music to read from, and the pianist’s sheer exuberance gave the performance a rich air of spontaneity. It’s unlikely any key went untouched during the final assault, a string of rapid arpeggios from the lowest to the highest note, back down, and back up again, several times. The high velocity of this piece meant a sudden drop in intensity for the next one, Schubert’s Sonata in A Minor D 821. Its three movements, Allegro Moderato, Adagio and Allegreto, were played by Ehlscheidt on the viola, accompanied on the piano.

Sonata in G Major by Beethoven marked a return in zing; Cotta, who had begun with uncharacteristic caution earlier (while performing Brahms), seemed to be back in her element as her playing got fresher and more natural as the recital wore on; the intonation was perfect, and she was ably assisted by Chinese prodigy Fan, who, by her reticent yet aggressive style, made the entire crowd Fan fans. The interpretation was clean and well-executed.

Jean Martinon is considerably lesser known than his more illustrious 20th century counterparts, but he’s nevertheless one of the more important conductors of his age. The Frenchman’s fiendishly complex compositions, sometimes without any accompaniment, leaves the performer with a formidable task at hand; but Cotta, with poise and supreme concentration, proved why World War veteran’s name appears only in the concert repertoires of only the best and most confident. The increasing confidence was highly evident in the fact that the encore of Brahms’ Scherzo turned out much better than the rendition performed earlier in the evening.

The flipside was the consistently shaky performance of compere Kiran Thapar, who started off saying the ‘the music is composed by three young girls’ (Beethoven, Chopin and Schubert definitely weren’t) and continued her Friday the 13th moment throughout, goofing up as the concert went along, never really settling down.

Also, for this caliber of musicians, the decision to perform selected movements in isolation was surprising (Schubert’s Sonata by Ehlscheidt/Fan being the only complete work on display), and one hopes the next recital would feature chamber works in their entirety. From the audience point of view, the impromptu accompaniments by ringing mobiles and crying babies were not really necessary and could have been done without.

This article was first published in The Times of India's Goa edition on August 15, 2010.

All our loving. 50 years of the Beatles

Exactly 50 years ago, four lads from Liverpool came together around a guitar to make music. They gave us yellow submarines and marmalade skies and told us that strawberry fields were forever. The tabla and sitar found their way into their melodies. They continue to inspire musicians in metal, punk and rock like no other band. Imagine a world without the Beatles. It isn't easy. No matter how hard you try...

Nigel Britto

In the sixties, there were the Beatles, and there was everybody else. The Liverpudlians didn't start with a bang. Their tryst with the music industry was far from glamourous. Brian Epstein, the band's first manager, huffed and puffed his way to London several times to meet record companies, but was faithfully rejected. When the Beatles did secure an audition with Decca A & R on New Year's Day in 1962, the company representative wasn't impressed. In what was to be one of music history's most famous snubs, Decca man Dick Rowe flatly told Epstein that "guitar groups are on the way out" and that "the Beatles have no future in show business". Many years later, John Lennon would compare his band with another man, a religious leader, who also was slow off the block, but went on to conquer the world anyway. 

One of the 20th century's most important introductions took place on July 6, 1957 at a church fete in a Liverpool parish. That evening, John Lennon met Paul Mc-Cartney for the first time. John was 17, Paul 15. Lennon was impressed by McCartney's natural ability to sing the songs Lennon's band, The Quarrymen, was struggling with. It was the beginning of the most iconic songwriting partnership in music history. Soon, the Beatles would become the first British band to write their own music, and the duo's suave vocal harmonies and crystal-clean sound would make even established superstars like Simon & Garfunkel sound predictable. 

When the Beatles first emerged from the woodwork, nobody was prepared for the musical and cultural onslaught they would unleash, least of all them. But they got used to it pretty quickly. Beatlemania swept through England like the flu. When John Lennon opened his mouth, everyone else shut theirs. On their 1964 tour of the US, tens of thousands thronged the airports hoping to catch a glimpse of the Fab Four. In the hotels they occupied, teenage girls chased them down corridors screaming, dying to have sex with a Beatle. In Adelaide, Australia, 300, 000 fans, one-third of the city's population, lined the streets as the Beatles' motorcade drove by. At concerts around the world, teenagers yelled and wept hysterically, several of them fainting at the first sound of George Harrison's guitar. 

Some musicologists believe that the Beatles were partly responsible for the fall of socialism. In the erstwhile USSR, the Beatles and electric guitars were banned. Since vinyl production was highly controlled, fans became scientists to satiate their love for the band. High-quality films of medical X-rays were used to make records. If a record was held up to the light, bones appeared. Telephone receivers' microphones were used as guitar pick-ups, which resulted in large-scale vandalism of public phones;piano strings were used to make bass guitars. The Iron Curtain simply could not keep Sgt Pepper and his music out. 

The Beatles were a band for ten years before they fell apart. Over these years, they evolved steadily, both as musicians and lyricists. In the early sixties, cheerful, straightforward harmonies characterised the band;the music was peppy and the lyrics simple. Slowly, they began to push the boundaries of rock 'n' roll;every new album brought musical innovation. By the late sixties, their style had become increasingly complex;it now incorporated elements of Indian classical music (Norwegian wood) and psychedelia (Lucy in sky with diamonds). The lyrics, too, changed from simplistic (Love me do, I want to hold your hand) to the philosophical (Yesterday, Eleanor Rigby) and political (Blackbird). Amazingly, the Beatles managed to carry out all this experimentation while retaining the fresh sound and quality of their early work. Their formula was simple: two guitars, one bass, one drum kit, four geniuses. One of their main inspirations was Elvis Presley. "If there was no Elvis Presley, there would not have been the Beatles, " Lennon was later to say. 

Music had the stellar role to play in the cult of the Beatles but there were other factors too. The untidy mop-top hairdo, the happy-go-lucky songs about teenage love and romance, their good looks (they probably wouldn't be so popular had Lennon looked like Wayne Rooney), their interest in Eastern spirituality, their irreverence and controversial interviews. No other band has had such a lasting effect on the pop culture scene. Primarily responsible for this was the manner in which they fused British and 

American pop culture. They were the first British band to storm the US, and led the way for what is known as the British Invasion;in fact, the Beatles were the first 'band' to hit mainstream popularity, the previous greats - Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra - were all solo artistes. Their fusion of pop, rock 'n' roll and R&B simply swept away the competition and more or less wrote the obituary of London's professional songwriters. 

The Beatles also broke the dominance of recording studios. Prior to them, studios ruled the roost. They told bands what to record, how to record and when to record. With the Beatles' soaring popularity, EMI-owned Parlophone records gave them a free hand. Perfect for songwriters like Lennon and McCartney, whose open-ears policy allowed their sound to expand from simple rock 'n' roll to complex genres like psychedelia (Rubber Soul), punk (Revolution) and even, perhaps, metal (Helter Skelter). They sometimes even recorded in independent studios. Despite all this, they are till today the highestselling rock band of all time. 

Today, the biggest names in music doff their caps to the Fab Four. The entire metal genre, for instance. Ozzy Osbourne, iconic frontman of metal pioneers Black Sabbath, consistently states that he got into music because he wanted to become a Beatle. 

The Gallagher brothers of Oasis, who spearheaded the Britpop revolution in the nineties, used to drop the Beatles' name in practically every interview (also, Liam Gallagher named his son Lennon). The Rolling Stones, a cover band, started writing originals after meeting McCartney and Lennon. Sir Elton John, The Byrds, Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz and The Grateful Dead among others have all credited the Beatles at some time or the other in their careers. Yesterday continues to be the most covered song in history. 

In the post-split era, the individual Beatles recorded prolifically, occasionally with one or more of the other members. Ringo Starr's Ringo, in 1973, was the only record to feature all four, but on different songs. Lennon was shot dead by a deranged fan in 1980, and Harrison lost his battle with cancer in 2001. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are still active, but two Beatles performing in isolation are not half the band they used to be. The Beatles were the only band to have all the Beatles in one band. It makes us long for Yesterday.

This article was first published in The Times of India's Crest edition dated August 14, 2010.

While my sitar gently weeps

The greatest rock 'n' roll band ever has deep ties with Indian spirituality

Nigel Britto

The Beatles weren't exactly religious. In 1966, when a journalist asked John Lennon what he thought of Christianity, the Beatle showed scant respect for the world's biggest religion. "We're more popular than Jesus now;I don't know which will go first-rock 'n' roll or Christianity, " he said, in what would later become his most famous remark. That quip went largely unnoticed at the time, though some radio stations in a few countries did ban the group. It was when the comment was republished in an American magazine later that year, out of context, that all hell broke loose, and the Beatles were condemned as being 'anti-Christ'. 

The Fab Four are as well known for their rejection of mainstream religion as they are for their interest in eastern spirituality and India. That interest was fired in 1965, when they were filming Help!. There were Indian musicians playing on the sets, and George Harrison thought the sitar sounded "funny". He later bought one, and quite by chance used it to great effect in Norwegian Wood (This bird has flown). It was the first of three Beatles' songs with a classical Eastern sound, the other two being Love you too (Revolver) and The inner light, which was recorded in Mumbai, where Harrison was producing the soundtrack for the film Wonderwall in 1968. 

India, which introduced itself to the Beatles through its music, then captivated the Fab Four with its spirituality. It all began in August 1967, when they attended a lecture by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at the Hilton in London. Thoroughly entranced, they travelled with him to Bangor, Wales, to attend a series of seminars for 10 days. The Beatles left the series mid-way, after hearing of the death of Brian Epstein, the rock on which the group was founded. But the Welsh outing had sown a seed that was soon to blossom. 

On Feb 16, 1968, Lennon and Harrison, with their wives Cynthia and Pattie Boyd, arrived in New Delhi. They made the 227-km taxi trip to the Maharishi's academy of transcendental meditation in the foothills of the Himalayas at Rishikesh. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr arrived with their wives four days later. Once inside, it wasn't all smooth sailing. For one, the meditation sessions were very long, and McCartney later recalled in his biography Many Years From Now, by Barry Miles: "The difficulty, of course, is keeping your mind clear, because the minute you clear it, a thought comes in and says, 'What are we gonna do about our next record?' 'Go away!' Meditate, mantra mantra mantra. 'I still want to know what we're doing on this next record. ' 'Please go away, I'm meditating, can't you see?' There's inevitably all sorts of little conversations you can't help getting into. " 

Life in the ashram was remarkably quiet for the four most popular men on the planet. A few photo ops were provided, but that was all. They were joined by Beach Boys' lead singer Mike Love and actress Mia Farrow, along with her siblings. Meals were in a glass-walled, open-roofed room, where monkeys sometimes joined them. Lennon and Harrison were vegetarians, but Starr found the food spicy, and had to be fed eggs. Some accounts say that cheap hooch (which tasted like petrol) was also smuggled in for the celebrities. Accounts of people who attended the ashram suggest the four were friendly, affable and humourous. 

The days in the camp were some of the best for the Beatles as songwriters. They wrote so many songs, they wouldn't fit on one album. What resulted was the double album The Beatles, popularly known as The White Album. Even that couldn't accommodate all;the left-over songs were included in the Abbey Road setlist in 1969. Lennon wrote Dear Prudence for Mia Farrow's 19-year-old sister Prudence, who, suffering from depression, spent long periods of time meditating, which the Maharishi had warned against. 

Ringo and wife left the camp within a fortnight, Ringo's problem with Indian food being the main culprit. Also, they missed their children, and his wife Maureen Starkey didn't like the insects. On March 26, Paul McCartney and Jane Asher left the camp, leaving only Lennon and Harrison, who left two weeks later. What exactly happened in those weeks remains a mystery to this day. Lennon alleged that the Maharishi misbehaved with Mia Farrow, and Harrison (the most 'Indian' of the four) apparently became disillusioned with the holy man's behaviour. The Beatles also thought he was too interested in fame and money, and accused him of making passes at women. The song Sexy Sadie (Sexy Sadie, what have you done/you made a fool of everyone) made their feelings public - Sexy Sadie probably being a euphemism for the Maharishi. 

This was the accepted theory until 2006, when new-age thinker Deepak Chopra put the guilt ball firmly in the Beatles' court. He exploded the 'myth' of the Maharishi's promiscuity, saying that the guru asked the Beatles to leave after he found that they were doing drugs in his camp. Chopra also said he arranged a meeting between Harrison and the Maharishi in 1991, where the Transcendental Meditation guru forgave his former pupil. Harrison was the only Beatle who, till his death, kept in touch with Indian culture and spirituality. According to Chopra, the Maharishi said, "I knew the Beatles were angels on earth... I could never be upset with angels". Suspiciously, this revelation came after Harrison's death in 2001, so we will never know his side of the story.

This article was first published in The Times of India's Crest edition on August 14, 2010.

Western classical is Bach

London duo to perform in Panjim this weekend

Nigel Britto

Come this weekend, and a pair of rising young talents in their mid-twenties will serenade India, putting to rest the notion that western classical music is the preserve of white-haired folk. The melodies of Bach, Lizst and Ravel will float through Goa and Delhi as Indian soprano Joanne-Marie D'Mello and Japanese pianist Kumi Matsuo set out to prove that the future of this exquisite form of music is in safe hands.

Both musicians are studying in London. D'Mello, 23, from Sangolda, is studying voice at the Royal College of Music, although she maintains that microbiology, which she has a degree in, is her first love. "It was either music or science, " she says. "I could not have my feet in both boats and try to be as good as I would like to be in both fields at the same time. Singing is a full-time job and if you really want to achieve a high standard you must give it all your attention."

D'Mello, who is known for her versatility (she plays violin and piano and sang briefly for a symphonic metal band apart from representing Goa at the Republic Day parade as a cadet), has performed extensively in India. However, this will be the first tour for Kumi Matsuo, who is justifiably excited at the prospect of performing before a fast-maturing Indian audience. Matsuo, 26, is an accomplished concert pianist who has played along with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, as well as given a recital at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

D'Mello, who is hugely popular on Goa's classical music circuit and has performed at the prestigious Monte music festival, draws a line between being an instrumentalist and a singer. "As a singer, you are left entirely with what you were born with, " she says. "It's all the more difficult in London as a singer is useless without his/her voice, and hence the importance of keeping colds at bay. You must guard your health like a fanatic. It's easy to pick up viruses from millions of people passing through London. Singing is a very personal thing. You have no object to cling on to, no music stand to hide you. You have to face your audience and bare your soul! It can be nerve-wracking ! It takes a great deal of effort and practice to be able to do that. "

The pianist and the singer met by chance when D'Mello wanted a pianist for an audition some years ago. "Since then, we have done countless recitals together—at college and outside. She has accompanied me at auditions, competitions and my exams. She's a very intuitive pianist who is very sensitive to my singing and understands my ways. " Matsuo also painstakingly translates the text of the each song before performing them. As a result, she puts the poetry into each and every phrase and that's what brings each song to life. For all these reasons and more, "it was the logical choice to invite Kumi on this tour", D'Mello adds. Both the concerts will feature Matsuo doing a solo part.

For D'Mello, the Goa stop of the tour will be the special one. "I am really looking forward to our recital at the Kala Academy on Saturday. For me it's home ground, having studied music there for so many years!" Yet, despite choosing music as a career, she remains practical about its prospects in India. "I know that currently performing western classical music in Goa is not a career option. Whereas in Europe you could freelance with any of the hundreds of orchestras, choral societies, and make a living out of it. " So is it easier there? "No", she says;"There's a lot of competition and it can be quite a struggle, especially during these dark economic times where huge cuts are being made and the arts are suffering. The only way to save the arts is through private sponsorship and efforts are being made to turn the situation around. But more needs to be done and soon. "

This article was first published in The Times of India, Goa, on August 13, 2010.

With Bangalore band Kryptos heading out for a Europe tour, Indian metal is all set to hit the world stage.

Nigel Britto

Non-metallers who have never ridden the lightning may not have heard of Indian thrash band Kryptos. But come July, the fab four from Bangalore are all set to make their mark when they embark on the first cross-country tour of Europe by any Indian metal band. 

This journey started in 1998, when two 18-year-olds - Nolan Lewis (vocals/guitars) and Ganesh K (former bassist), then students at St Joseph's College, Bangalore - decided to transform their obsession with Iron Maiden and Judas Priest into something concrete. With Assamese drummer Ching Len, the threesome played gigs at practically every college in and around the city. This, when there was almost no metal scene in India and no MySpace or Facebook to help bands reach out to the young, who are every rock band's potential audience. 

The journey was worth it, says Lewis, Kryptos' founder and frontman. "It's been 12 tough years, but we wouldn't have it any other way," says Lewis, who works as an insurance analyst at a financial company to supplement his income. 

Kryptos has been through a number of lineup changes. The most notable one was the addition of Ryan 'Maiden' Colaco in 2002, who is today one of the best metal drummers in the country. The band got more reinforcements in November 2006, when Jayawant Tiwari and Rohit Chaturvedi, formerly of the band Mutiny, joined on bass guitar and lead guitar respectively. In 2007, Kryptos became the first Indian metal band to be signed up with a major international label, Old School Metal Records, based in California. 

So far, the band has played around 300 gigs in every corner of the country. Among its foremost achievements is opening for Iron Maiden at the Rock in India fest in Bangalore in 2008. After the gig, Kryptos presented their band Tshirt to Iron Maiden's frontman Bruce Dickinson, who not only reciprocated but also posted a picture of himself wearing a Kryptos shirt on the band's official website the next day. 

The four now have big hopes of their Europe tour, where they'll be playing in Pecs in Hungary, followed by Frankfurt, Niederkruchten and Stuttgart in Germany, as well as Pfafficon in Switzerland. Apart from the venue, it's the company they're thrilled about. It's no mean feat to be playing, among others, alongside bands like Brazilian metal band Torture Squad and the uber-crazy Mayhem, easily the world's most outrageous metal band (when the band's former vocalist shot himself in the head, the rest of the band made necklaces with pieces of his skull). And if that's not enough, the band's former guitarist murdered the bassist. The band is (justifiably) banned in certain countries. 

Kryptos' music is a juxtaposition of oldschool and the faster, post- '90s thrash metal. "It's a natural progression from the Iron Maiden days," laughs Colaco who doubles up as drum teacher. The band has two full-length albums, Spiral Ascent (2004) and The Ark of Gemini (2008), which are testament to the evolving stature of Indian metal in the world. Both received positive reviews from metal websites around the world, thus getting the band an international fan following most Indian metal bands can only dream of. "We've never compromised on our music to get where we are, and that's something we are damn proud of," beams Lewis. As part of the tour, the band is a special invitee to the Waaken Open Air in Germany, called the Mecca of heavy metal culture by metal historian Sam Dunn. But as optimistic as he normally is, Lewis is practical about the Europe tour. "It's up to us to make things happen." As long as the Icelandic volcano doesn't act up again, Kryptos is sure to show some steel.

This article was first published on The Times of India's Crest edition on June 19, 2010.

Dio, another day

Heavy metal suddenly feels hollow. Ronnie James Dio has passed.

On May 16, heavy metal lost some of its heaviness. The Iron Man of metal, Ronnie James Dio, 68, whose fearsome stage persona won him millions of fans around the world, died of cancer. The rich tenor that soared smoothly into an operatic baritone, the wild hairdo, the over-the-top dressing and commanding stage presence that belied his puny stature (he was shorter than Sachin Tendulkar) is finally still. To the very end, his music was powerful and consistently excellent, with deep lyrical thought pervading every fibre of his being. He was a standard bearer who held aloft the metal pennant with a dignity and integrity rarely associated with the genre. After he died, rock musicians of every hue lined up to pay tribute to the master, the dragon-slayer with a heart, the Michael Jackson of metal. 

Dio's career spanned over half a century, starting out with rockabilly bands as a teenager. His near-classical style of vocal production was developed before the age of amplification, when the singer had to project his voice to the back of the hall by his own strength. Along with Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden and Rob Halford of Judas Priest, he pioneered the semi-operatic style of vocal production in metal, one instance among many of the genre's classical roots. Variously described as a 'class act' and a 'thorough gentleman', there is no record of him ever having refused an autograph. 

Though he started his career in the late '50s, it wasn't until the early '70s that his band, Elf - they used to open for Deep Purple - started getting noticed. In 1975, Purple's guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore, hired Dio for his new band, Rainbow, which brought him fame. It's another matter that Dio's golden vibrato closely resembled that of Ian Gillan, Purple's singer. In 1979, when trouble began to brew in Black Sabbath, the founders of the heavy metal genre, iconic singer Ozzy Osbourne was fired for his drug and alcohol addiction, and Sabbath's manager's daughter Sharon (who later married Ozzy) suggested that Ronnie should head the world's most formidable metal act. 

The three years he spent with the Sabs brought him worldwide renown, as much for his voice as his prodigious song writing. His first album with the band, Heaven and Hell, is still the holy grail of metal. More than merely a singer, he was an accomplished and articulate lyricist with the aura of a troubled poet. Though many think that the band's dark name and Dio's gothic personality - he was obsessed with skulls, chains and occult imagery - indicated that he was a Satanist, Dio was never really a devil worshipper. (He was raised Catholic and thought as a child that nuns were "penguins who would smack you if you went wrong". ) For him, devils and dragons were metaphors of the ancient battle between good and evil. 

It was with Sabbath that Dio popularised the cornuto, or the devil's horns, metal's most enduring symbol. Dio didn't invent the devil horns, nor did he claim to. He once explained that it was an Italian superstition (his parents migrated to the US from Italy) that the devil's horns, called the 'maloik', was used as a sign to ward off the evil eye. 

Widely regarded as one of the most affable and unassuming metal heads in history, he rarely left a performance without posing with every fan who wanted a picture with him. Many fans call him "the nicest man you'll ever meet". He was also closely associated with Children of the Night, an organisation, which rescues America's children from prostitution, and his metal version of Live Aid raised massive funds for famine relief in Africa. 

The metal community is in mourning. Online forums are heavy with tributes in an outpouring not witnessed since Michael Jackson's death. One Mexican fan recalls how he wasn't allowed into the hotel Dio was staying at, and shouted, "Dio, Dio", till Dio himself came out and asked security to let him in. When security refused, Dio walked out in the rain and signed autographs and posed for pictures with everyone present. Metallica's Lars Ulrich credits his entire career to Dio's influence, Killswitch Engage called him "one of the greatest metal singers of all time", and Slipknot's Corey Taylor called him a "great man with a smile and a handshake for fans and peers alike". 

It's unlikely that the metal community will ever forget Ronnie James Dio. The volume of work and reputation he leaves behind ensure that he will always be a Rainbow in the Dark.

This article was first published in The Times of India's Crest edition on May 22, 2010.

Kabul's drum song

Afganistan's indie rock band is rocking in a not-so-free world 

Nigel Britto

Khaled Hosseini's searingly tender novel, The Kite Runner, familiarised millions with the Afghanistan of the late '90s, a country in the clutch of religious extremists. Under the Taliban, the self-proclaimed guardians of Islamic morals, music was condemned as sinful, old classical instruments broken, cassettes nailed to posts as a warning to those who dared disobey. Bombed out and war-ravaged, a new USsponsored Afghanistan is slowly taking shape today. Not all is well: orphans swarm the streets;the government is corrupt to its core and poverty, stark. But there are also signs of redemption. The new Afghanistan is being born not only to the sound of drones but also to the sound of drums and guitars. Music may not yet be a stairway to heaven, but it is no longer the highway to hell.

What do you get when you cross one of the world's most violent zones with rock 'n' roll? Death metal, right? Wrong. Kabul Dreams defines itself as Afghanistan's first rock band, with a rapidly expanding international fan base. Unlike the Baghdad-based band Acrassicauda that used Metallica-like metal to express frustration and rage before the civil war forced it to disband and flee, Kabul's fab three have a stoic, Norman Vincent Peale-like approach: positive thinking. Significantly, their lyrics, while engorged with the conventional teenage dirt bag subjects - running away from home, love and girls - make no mention of the subjects that have become synonymous with Afghanistan-war and death. In their original, I wanna run away, the crooner alternately sings and screams the same four words over and over again, a simple statement that most Afghan youth seem to agree with.

The band was forged in 2007 on the strength of a friendship between three young men who decided to be the voice of a generation in the only way they knew how - through rock. Not surprisingly, none of them lived in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime;all three had to seek refuge with their slightly more liberal neighbours. 

Sulyman Qardash, who at 20, is the baby of the band, lived in Uzbekistan during the terror years, and studied guitar there. When on stage, he has a distinctive Pete Doherty look about him, and writes most of the lyrics he sings. He idolises bands like Gorillaz and Oasis, whose influence is obvious in his music. Bass guitarist Siddique Ahmed, who is 28, lived and studied in Islamabad during the insurgency, and references a whole range of bands from the Beatles to Metallica. Drummer Mujtaba Habibi, 24, lived and learned music in Iran, and is a fan of progressive rock bands like Dream Theater. 

Their eclectic range of experiences and sonic influences have turned the three Afghan youth into quiet rebels. They sing in English, not only because they come from different parts of Afghanistan and speak different languages (Dari, Pashto and Uzbek), but because they believe English is the language of protest. "Linguistic and ethnic differences have been misused for personal and political interests in the past, so we consider it a sign of protest not to sing in any of our languages, " Ahmed, who is the unofficial spokesman of the band, told TOI-Crest. "Also, we don't want to limit our audience to Afghanistan. " 

Ambition is one thing the band does not lack. Ahmed says they want to represent Afghanistan at international festivals, get a record label contract, go on a world tour, "get Grammy awards and play at Glastonbury". The audacity of hope, one may call it, but the band is hell-bent on showing the world a different picture of Afghanistan. They hate the fact that the international media focuses only on the 'bad things'. "We want to show the world that there are people living here, especially youngsters, who love music and have the right to live like the youth elsewhere, " says Ahmed. 

But the dream seems to be some distance away. For now, more mundane tasks beckon. Qardash is a local TV anchor, Habibi runs a home studio that records young Afghan singers, and Siddique is a student of social science at the American University of Afghanistan, where Kabul Dreams played last month to a princely audience of 200 (remember, this is rock music in Afghanistan). The three also work at Kabul Rock Radio, a station devoted to rock. And the response is what keeps them going. Their first official video, Can you fly, debuted early this month, and its YouTube clip had people from around the world praising their talent in particular and Afghanistan in general. 

Interestingly, many older Afghans are familiar with rock 'n' roll. When Kabul Dreams played at an embassy in Kabul, Ahmed says "an old man in his 60s came up and asked us to play covers from the Beatles, Stones and Queen, music 'from our times'". Yet, the band is thankful that rock's novelty in Afghanistan means that most people don't know what it is, because "if they did, we would have faced bigger problems". Ahmed, Qardash and Habibi are lucky to come from educated families where their parents don't mind their choice of career - even if the odd relative does make a nasty comment or two. "Afghan society in general are music lovers, " says Ahmed. "They even listened to music when it was banned. So if they risked harsh punishments and going to jail over music, they won't mind giving rock 'n' roll a try. " 

While the band is not exactly aggressively promoting itself, it's perhaps Malcolm Gladwell's theory that word-of-mouth is the most powerful form of advertising that's bringing people from around the world to the Kabul Dreams' MySpace and Facebook pages. From Spain, Brazil and India, people from civilised democracies are learning about hope and love from three young men who belong to a country that was until recently only associated with war and death. The dream has only just begun.

This article was first published in The Times of India's Crest edition on May 22, 2010.