MUMBAI: Indian electronica act- B.L.O.T., which stands for Basic Love Of Things, is truly a lover of all basic things, as is evident from their most recent project. The duo, comprising, Avinash Kumar and Gaurav Malaker, recently launched Medicine Corner, in association with London-based Wellcome Collection. The year-long project was launched on 28 January in Chennai with a specially commissioned video and music performance.
Speaking on the initiative, one half of B.L.O.T., Avinash Kumar said, “We were contacted by folk from Wellcome Collection who had come across some of our work when they were browsing for artists in India. They were interested in our work and that is how we got commissioned.”
When the project was started in the middle of last year, the only commission included creating a video to launch Medicine Corner. However, through the course, B.L.O.T. ended up doing a lot more research, making way for a larger project. “We were asked to apply for the IEA (International Engagement Award) grant, which we got, fortunately. Now we are doing a larger scale project that looks at the different cultures of medicine in India through various art forms,” Kumar added.
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The IEA grant is a prestigious endowment that is given out every year by one of the biggest medical charities- Wellcome Trust, and can go up to £30,000. “The amount covers making content, travelling around the country, videography and making of art work. It can also go towards artist collaborations that we do this year,” he said of the grant.
When asked what about this project made it seem interesting to take up, Kumar said, “We have not actually done something like this before, but a few years ago we made a video for the Guardian. It was around discovering a place and making videos and interesting content.” He also added that this type of work is quite rare for electronic artists, which was another reason they wanted to try it. “It is an interesting combination, and the Welcome Trust is a new age, health care institution which is looking for quirky ways to promote health care. This is why they wanted us to be a part of it.”
B.L.O.T. has been working on Medicine Corner since last June, albeit, on an on-off basis. The duo will continue to release more videos throughout this year for the project. The next release should come in the next six to eight weeks, he revealed. They will also be creating special music for the project, which Kumar said, would be released as an album later in the year.
Elaborating on the music for Medicine Corner, he said, “We have made a different kind of music, considering the project is not the club kind, and also because of the location. It is a bit down tempo and has a lot of samples and interviews from the field. There is a mix of conversation and spoken words in the music.”
Kumar also added that the two of them were rather excited when they heard about the project. “We have always been interested in the aesthetics of the streets in India, whether it is handmade, hand painted, or illustrated. We were also very excited about discovering things in India and the crazy things hidden inside the country,” he said. Along with being a very prestigious medical research award, the grant also put a lot of social responsibility on them. And while it could open up other avenues, Kumar said that it will help show people in India the different things that can be brought into electronic music.
Along with working on Medicine Corner, B.L.O.T. is also working on creating a videogame, which is based on a graphic novel. “It is called ‘Antariksha Sanchar- Transmissions in Space’ and is a science fiction story that is set in the 1920s. The plot revolves around a South Indian family and involves music as well.” The graphic novel will be available in print copies later in 2015.
The two have been working on the entire concept since last year, and already have material for the album. Kumar added that since it is an independent project, they do not have a fixed release date; however, they are hopeful of releasing it sometime around June this year.
