..x.. Vishal Dadlani Fan Club ..x.. - Page 17

Exclusive! Vishal Dadlani Unplugged! Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani are the hottest new duo of music directors out there. Although theyve been together making music since Pyar Main Kabhi Kabhi, they have received recognition with their "Chod Na Re" from Kaante. Besides working alongside Anand Raaj Anand for Sanjay Guptas Kaante, they have recently released Jhankaar Beats and Supari (alongside Sandesh Shandilya). Avinash Ramchandani sits down with Vishal as they speak about Vishal and Shekhars views, opinions and their work. AR: Vishal, you are a rock singer, and Shekhar is a classical musician. Quite a strange combination! How did you two meet? And how did Pyar Main Kabhi Kabhi come through? How about Chod Na Re? And Jhankaar Beats? Vishal: I sing with a rock/electronica band called Pentagram, actually. We've put out a couple of albums and still play a lot. Shekhar is a pop artiste with an album called 'First Love' to his credit. He's also a classically trained vocalist, and a Trinity College pianist. You could say that he's really the qualified one, while I write songs and make music more from instinct. We met when a guy we both knew was putting a band together to play a gig. We were the opening act for this fashion show, and we were only there for the girls. I sang, Shekhar played keyboards, we had a blast. This was in 1993. We met again 1n 1998, when we were both working independently on different songs for Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi. I had jut recorded Woh Pehli Baar and Musu Musu, he had just recorded 'Dil Se Mere' and 'Humne na Tumse'. Each of us was really impressed with the others work, so then and there we formed 'Vishal & Shekhar', and did the title track together. We've been working together since. We met Sujoy Ghosh through a common friend, he liked our vibe and offered us his film. We, of course, jumped at it. It was the opportunity to do something out of the ordinary. It seemed like the format of the film and it's music was going to be unique, even then. Plus, the opportunity to create new songs within the RD style of music is a great chance at learning. Then Padam Kumar called. We did the title track for 'Champion', our first mainstream bollywood track. It was called 'Hai Aisa Champion Kahaan'. Sunidhi sang it and she really gave it everything she had. It did pretty well and we got to meet and work with Mr. Sunny Deol, which was great. We also did tracks for Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai (Title song, sung by Shekhar), Rehna Hai Terre Dil Mein (Churaya Re, sung by Preeti and Pinky). AR: How do you feel transitioning from Rock music to filmi music? Vishal: I truly feel that all music is just music. There are no limits or boundaries. Especially with film music in India, you can make six different genres of music for the same film project. Which is a beautiful thing, since it keeps you on your toes, musically. I have also dabbled in musical theatre, which is again a totally different genre from both rock and film music. Also, I love the thought that a billion people are going to hear and understand my music. I love the thought of music being what I do for a living. Beats working, right!? AR: Definitely! The music of PMKK and Jhankaar Beats were very different. What inspired you for both films? Vishal: For us, every soundtrack/song comes from an idea that the director gives us. PMKK and Jhankaar are different because the directors have very different tastes. At the end of the day, we are only there to help create a vision that the director already has in his head. Each director has his own requirements towards that vision, each guy wants a different sound, a unique style. We always try to keep the focus on the director and film. AR: Obviously RD Burman's music has a lot to do with the music for JB. Would you say that you two are inspired by Panchamda in your work (except for JB, which is obvious)? Vishal: He was a genuine genius, a truly complete musician. He has always and will always inspire us.

AR: You have worked with many singers now, who have you enjoyed working with so far?

Vishal: Shaan and KK are good buddies and great singers, Sunidhi is great and lots of fun. Mahalaxmi Iyer is a treat to work with. Uditji is an awesomely talented person, and yet humble to the point of being self-effacing. Mr. Jagjit Singh was relaxed and informal, with a great sense of humour. We've worked with Abhijeet (on 'Plan') just once, and he seemed very dedicated to his craft. Sonu Nigam was quite chilled out, and a total perfectionist. Basically we've had a blast recording with all these guys. Most memorable, though, was Mr. Amit Kumar. While we were recording for the songs on Jhankaar Beats, he had us in splits with his humour. His energy and enthusiasm would give any fifteen year old a serious complex. Plus, he was so professional, and so well honed as a singer. He needed virtually no retakes, he sang two of the songs (Ruk Ruk and Boss Kaun Hai) in real-time! AR: Who else would you like working with? Vishal:We would give anything to record Mr. Kishore Kumar, but we came too late. Lataji, Ashaji, Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik are others who we'd be honoured to have sing our songs. We would also love to work with a lot of newer voices like Shreya Ghosal, or Bombay Jaishree. AR: For the first time in Jhankaar Beats you worked with Amit Kumar, how and why did you choose him? Vishal: We had never worked with him, but Sujoy is truly his biggest fan. Since he's the director, we took his suggestion and went to Mr. Kumar's house to meet him. His voice just blew us away!! We will work with him as often as we possibly can! AR: It seems that most of the singing is done by men in PMKK, Chod Na Re and JB, is that just a coincidence or do you feel like you work better with male singers? Vishal:No such thing at all. It's just that since the films have had male protagonists, the songs have been from their point of view. 'Dil Se Mere' and 'Humne Na Tumse' were duets, Churaya Re was entirely Preeti and Pinky, 'Champion' was only Sunidhi. In fact Sunidhi is one of our favourite singers. AR: You guys have also worked alongside many other music directors in other films, Salim in PMKK, Lucky Ali and Anand Raaj Anand in Kaante, Anu Malik and Anand Raaj Anand in Champion, and Lucky Ali and Sandesh Shandilya in Supari. How do you feel the music of a film turns out with multiple music directors compared to a single music director? Vishal: It's all about the director and his vision. Whatever works in that context. AR: Jatin-Lalit had many insulting comments about Aadesh Shrivastava because he composed music in KKKG and Aankhen without their knowledge. Do you feel the same towards the music directors that you have worked with? Vishal: No. Anu Malik, Anand Raaj Anand are very big names, we're honoured to share platforms with them. Sandesh Shandilya is a truly gifted musician, we loved 'Piya Basanti' and his work on K3G. AR: Why do you elect to do such films? Why not just do films that are solely your own compositions? Vishal: When a director comes to us and asks us to provide music for his film, we are respectful enough not to question him or his methods. He knows his own requirements best. Plus, if you look at any OST of an international film, you will find music from many names and places. Nothing wrong with that. As far as doing only films that feature us as solo music directors, we're doing those too. AR: You two also created the music for Vadh which was not as appreciated as PMKK and Kaante, how do you feel about making music for movies like Vadh? Vishal: Vadh was a good script, and featured Mr. Nana Patekar. It seemed like a good choice at the time. AR: What are projects you are working on and tell me a little bit about them.

Vishal: Currently we have recorded for Plan with Hriday Shetty directing. We have Waisa Bhi Hota Hai, a film by ad-genius Shashanka Ghosh. We are working on a film for Sidharth Sengupta, a first time director for White Feather Films.

THE RISE OF PENTAGRAM

Rohit Bhatia

Pentagram is India's biggest electronica-rock band for a number of reasons. They have amassed an international fan base, performed around the world and gone where no Indian band has been before. They have been consistently ground-breaking — sonically, visually and performance-wise. Their rising popularity and recently released third album is a reassurance that Indian bands have what it takes to rock.

Pentagram's story begins circa 1994 when Vishal, Shiraz, Randolph, Papal and Clyde got together in a city then known as Bombay. They got themselves noticed by winning three of India's biggest rock competitions and getting a record deal. The result was an eight-track album titled We Are Not Listening that was released in 1996. At a time when most Indian rock bands were struggling to record demos, Pentagram had released a full-length studio album and a video.
The following years saw the band experimenting with their sound and thus began their foray into electronic music. They made generous use of samples, loops and blended it with heavy rock to come up with a brand new sound. This made the band stand apart but it also turned away rock purists, who were not prepared to accept electronic sounds. However, the band's conviction in their music, their electrifying live act and the rising popularity of electronica the world over found them new audiences.

The band's second album was titled Up and was released in October 2002. Published by their self-owned music label Pentagram Music, Up went on to become one of the most innovative Indian Rock albums of all time and spawned the hits Drive, Fear and Ten. Clyde left the band around this time.

In 2003 the band headlined the Sun Dance Music Festival in Estonia. Their music was appreciated by a whole new audience. In 2005 the band became the first ever Indian act to play at the Glastonbury Music Festival in the UK, where they shared stage with The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim and Coldplay among other international biggies. This was an unprecedented achievement for an Indian rock band and till date remains unsurpassed.

The band has had its share of controversies. They faced a lot of brickbats from sceptics when they changed their sound and they have had altercations with hecklers at their live shows.

Pentagram has expressed their opinion on political situations on many occasions through different ways. During the Kargil war they recorded and released India's first exclusive-to-internet song called The Price of Bullets. It featured renowned poet Javed Akhtar and Indian Classical artist Shankar Mahadevan. Music channels blacked out the video of the song, which was directed by Farhan Akhtar for being 'too politically loaded'. The song was added as a bonus track on Up. At one performance in 2006, Vishal spoke out against police caning medical students who were holding a non-violent protest against government policy.

In addition to their success as a band, Pentagram's members have found their paths as individuals, too. Vishal composes music for Hindi movies, Shiraz is an ad-film maker, Papal is an animation artist and Randolph is heavily involved in other musical projects as a DJ and producer.

Pentagram released their third album, through independent label Counter Culture Records this year. Their new effort is titled It's Ok. It's All Good and soon after its release, the songs from the album have become a fixture on the playlists of the ever-growing legion of Pentagram's fans. The band invited fans to shoot a video for their song Voice and received 991 entries — another proof of their popularity. The first lyric on their new album goes "Today is a great day for you and me my friends". Mahabeat spoke to the band. Excerpts from the interview:

You were among the first Indian bands to move away from playing covers and towards playing more original music. How did you do it?

Vishal: Any one with any sense of self-worth would want to put their original music out. Our first ever show was at Esselworld in Mumbai on 31 December 1994. We started with an original song and ended with an original song. We played only three songs that night so I guess that speaks for itself. Each person in this band is an extreme individual. Everyone has their own mindset. Maybe it was because we could not agree on the type of covers we would play or maybe it was just that we only agreed on playing original music. It wasn't a thought out process.

We have played a lot of covers but whenever a cover has started to define us we have stopped playing it. I remember in the early days we would cover Alive but when people started coming to see us do that song we stopped doing it.

What prompted you to change your sound and incorporate electronica?

Randolph: Clyde and I were going to a lot of raves and checking out that kind of music. I would be hanging out more with DJ's than with rockers. Rock is a statement and not a sound. We said instead of guitar solos and riffs lets translate it into grooves.

Vishal: We did not have any preconceived, vehement opposition to include electronica. I have a criterion for a song and that is to make me jump around on stage. That is Rock N Roll. I don't care if that sound comes from a turntable or a keyboard.

How has the hostility towards you in the form of some fans turning away when you changed your sound made a difference to you?

Vishal: We did not lose any support. The people who had a problem with us were never at our shows to listen to Pentagram. I would rather have five people listen to my songs than 50,000 who come to a gig to watch me play some one else's songs, go home and forget about it. We also found a lot more fans when we changed our sound.

Have things changed now that you are fairly recognised?

Vishal: Within the band nothing has changed. It is the same band and the same vibe. It has not become work yet. We were never worried if people liked our music but the question has always been if we like it. One of the things that define us is that we don't want to play our music and be apologetic about it.

Shiraz: It is just that people have started looking at us as a band that wants to make a statement and has a path-breaking sound. We were college kids when we started the band. We have grown over the years. We have established ourselves as a band and as individuals.

How is the new album? Did it come out the way you expected it to?

Randolph: It has come across exactly how I wanted it. We wrote consciously. I started writing the tunes for this album about two years ago and named them. When I started listening to them I thought out the titles. I would give these titles to Vishal and tell him to elaborate and write lyrics.

Shiraz: This album is more heavy and groovy. Today and This is for my people are all damn good songs. From this album we do eight songs live. Up was more electronica-based so we had to do the songs a bit differently when we played them live.

Papal: One of my favourite songs from the album is Bad Man and I love its bass line. Vishal gives the songs a different tangent when he sings the vocal tracks. I like the final product and I dig the album art.

Why did you choose to work with an independent label for your latest album?

Randolph: Conventional labels were interested in It's Ok. It's All Good but we decided to go with an independent label because for one we have more creative control. Besides that, we have always been an inspiring band and we did this so that young people get inspired to put out their own music as it is a lot easier to put out your music through an independent label than it is through a conventional label.

How do you go about writing lyrics?

Vishal: For the first album I used to sit down with a pen and paper to write down stuff and those became the lyrics. While recording the second album we were at Randolph's house and I asked every band member what they want to talk about and every idea they came up with became a lyric. In It's Ok, It's All Good Randolph and I have sat down together and written lyrics and this is the first time we have done it. Besides that, some songs have been written entirely by Randolph.

Randolph: I wanted to understand what role Pentagram has as a band for people who look up to us. It is important to inspire people. I wanted to talk about what we are feeling too. I wrote Animal and it asks if we are feeding on other people's weaknesses or doing something on our own strength.

Shiraz: I don't even try (laughs).

How was it playing abroad? Tell us about your experience of playing at Glastonbury and Estonia?

Randolph: Fantastic. We had people from all over the world dancing to our music. It was kick ass.

Vishal: For a band like us it is important to know how our music translates for a different audience. At Glastonbury and Estonia the audience were up in the air. In that context Pentagram can really rock and so can other Indian bands. Pin Drop Violence is doing it and so are Junkyard Groove and Thermal and a Quarter.

Shiraz: Playing on stage is the same for me anywhere. The fact that we were there playing music with a lot of international artists made a lot of difference because we realised that the kind of music we do on stage matches international standards. In some cases we were better. The White Stripes' performance was f**k all. The drummer was losing time.

Papal: We were looking at it as a process to something bigger. Initially, people were shocked and they couldn't believe that a band from India could play like this without using Indian instruments.

Your live act is pretty good. Have you worked on it?

Vishal: I think individually everyone worked out their own space over time. We also have had a lot of time to get it together but we have always been fairly good. For me a lot of it comes from being nervous. I still do get very nervous before I get on stage and that helps. The only way I can communicate, be coherent and make it happen is to just flip out and go to the other side of that sphere.

Shiraz: It is because we are very comfortable with each other on stage. We have a huge on-stage chemistry happening and there is a certain vibe that has developed between us.

Who has influenced you as a band musically and otherwise?

Vishal: A lot of people from Bill Withers to Rob Zombie, Bob Marley and Hendrix. There is no genre or space that you will find us not having heard at some point or the other. The only thing that has perhaps not really influenced Pentagram is straight up sugar sweet pop music — the kind of music that is manufactured by labels. We never got into that. Everything from the melodies of Indian film music to Kazakhstan folk music — we are open to all of it as long as it is true. Art is a big influence. There is something primal about any form of art whether it
is music or painting or sculpture that moves you.

Randolph: Goldie and Roni Size, who is a drum and bass producer. Drum and Bass has influenced me a lot. From the sound come the lyrics. Christ, Mahatma Gandhi.

Shiraz: Police, Massive Attack, Manu Chao, Fila Brazila. I don't even mind a bit of Kishore Kumar and Rafi at times.

Papal: I listen to a lot of Bjork, Depeche Mode, Toto, Megadeth, Extreme…The list will just go on. The people who have really influenced me are my band mates. All of them have influenced me a lot.

What needs to change so that we have more Indian musicians on the international music scenario?

Vishal: Indian people are taught culturally that it is nice to be modest but the fact of the matter is nobody is going to believe in you unless you believe loudly, strongly and proudly in your self. I think finding that confidence is a big requirement. Indian people need to cultivate rebellion. We accept a lot of stuff that is actually quite unacceptable. From politicians to the way our roads are to the way we live our lives, all of us hoping to wear a tie and make it through the day, I think we need to find louder voices and stronger personal choices. That is what will take us places not just in music but in any and every field that India will define itself globally.

What's next on Pentagram's agenda?

Vishal: We are going to do a lot of work on the festival circuit. We are trying to perform live as much as we can till April after which Randolph is off to New York for three months. I want to get finished with our fourth album by 2007.

Pentagram: Playing With Coldplay, Chemical Brothers!

Posted on Jun 25, 01:44 AM

VH1, India's very own window to international music, is delivering on its promise to provide Indian musicians with the ideal platform to showcase their talent on the world stage. Come June 25th, 2005, Pentagram, India's iconic rock band, will perform at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, courtesy VH1, India's only music and lifestyle channel.

Glastonbury Festival, an annual three-day revelry of music and life, is regarded as the world's biggest festival of performing arts. A cursory look at the other performers at the Festival indicates that Pentagram is in stellar company. The only band from India at the sold-out festival, Pentagram will perform alongside some of the world's hottest acts — Coldplay, Garbage, White Stripes, Fatboy Slim, Chemical Brothers, Stereo MC and Tori Amos. Pentagram, who had headlined at the Sundance Music Festival in Estonia, is a veteran at Indian rock and youth festivals. But it will be the first time that they will be performing at Glastonbury, a congregation of talented artists from the world over.

Keertan Adyanthaya, General Manager, VH1 India, adds, "We are very proud to have an Indian rock band performing at one of the biggest music festivals in the world. India has a plethora of international music talent. Unfortunately, there has neither been a serious avenue nor a true attempt to promote such artistes. With this, VH1 has put India back on the map of international rock music. This is just the beginning! VH1 will take many more such initiatives to popularise Indian rock in India as well as internationally."

Vishal, lead vocalist of Pentagram, is elated. "This is a big thing for Indian rock. Glastonbury is one of the world's largest music festivals, and to play alongside some of the big names in rock music, is a dream come true. I thank VH1 for having provided us this wonderful opportunity." Pentagram's other band members include Shiraz (drums), Papal (bass) and Randolph (guitars). The foursome will fly off to the UK shortly.

Pentagram's march on to the world music map indicates the shape of things to come for Indian rock music which at present has a niche following. With initiatives like that of VH1, Indian rock music is set to take its place under the sun, starting with Pentagram.

Vishal performing for Pentagram:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FUBy30Ueow

myspace blog:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewpro file&friendID=85084656

Fan Posted Photo

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Aww this FC is dying 😭

Ruby I love your new avi! 👏

woww sarahh u alwayss post such great articles/interviews
thankss alotttt 😛 i will put them up on the front page 😉
shukhii thankss i knw visha looks hot hehe

you are most welcome Ruby and yeah this fc is no more active like it was when started😒

yeah sarah we need to start coming here more often
i'm making some caps of vishal from this week 😛

Word Count: 1

vishal aint gonna be wearing a dhoti this saturday
ughh im really maddd