MUMBAI: After making you wait for a while at the YRF recording studios Ehsaan Noorani of Shankar Ehsaan Loy composer trio in his soft and calm voice apologises for making you wait. With a little grin on his face, he describes his upcoming project, ‘Kill Dil’ as an exciting one. Apart from this he speaks about the Copyright Act and much more, with Radioandmusic.com’s Dhairya Ingle in this section of Rendezvous.
Current Age Singers:
I do not agree with the composers who say that the industry has stopped producing good singers. In fact, I would say that there are a healthy number of singers. It is all because of the reality shows that are cropping up everywhere. We have a lot of composers who are doing things that are different and due to which, a singer gets the chance. Also, it is great to have these many singers and composers rather than just a couple of them cornering the market.
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Process of composing:
We do not have any specific way for composing our tracks. As a group, we are very chaotic and we just sit together and jam. I play the guitar and Shankar comes in with some melodies; so, it is only when we sit together that we compose, otherwise, there is no process that we follow.
Technology in the studio
I would not agree with the statement that anyone can become a singer. It is a lot more difficult than it seems, to stand behind the mic and sing a song. Technology helps in pitch correction but, then you also have to understand that one needs to learn the basics of singing. You cannot just enter a studio and decide that you wish to become a singer. Even if you are half way there, you can get your pitch corrected but the feel and dexterity comes only and only when you practice and learn. Nevertheless, it has made things convenient. Like, in the past, we had a 50 piece orchestra while recording and now we do not have all that. But, I can surely say that nothing can beat an original 50 piece orchestra. You can come close to it – the human element, but you cannot replicate the charm of a 50 piece orchestra. A lot of synthesisers are trying to come closer to the human element, but I feel no one can replace the soul or the brain.
My leisure time:
I like to surf the net, watch movies. I watch a lot of documentaries, be it about World War one or two. I also practice my guitar skills, read books and other few hobbies that I indulge in.
One thing that attracts us (SEL) to a voice:
There is texture, the feel, and more than anything else, a beautiful voice. We are always in search of a good singer. Also I believe every singer is unique and we would not want a singer who sounds like someone. So, originality is also another important factor for all of us. But, again, the singer should be given the songs that suit his or her texture. A lot depends on the melodies that are given to him or her by the composer.
My take on Copyright Act:
It is taking a little time because IPRS is in a mess. I guess in every country that has a change in copyright law, in the beginning, it is a little tumultuous but eventually, everything gets sorted. It is a little frustrating to wait.
Independent album:
We have been talking about coming up with an album, but we are on the move right now. We just finished ‘Kill Dil’, then we have Nikhil Advani’s ‘Katti Batti’ and then we are also working on Zoya Akhtar’s films followed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s next movie ‘Mirza Sahiba’. So we are done recording for all these but, they will come for completion. Also, Loy and I keep doing a lot of commercials and perform for different bands so, nothing is decided as yet.
Recording artiste or a performer?
I love both as they are two sides of performing. One is the ‘Shankar Ehsaan Loy’ project which is in studio for composing Bollywood projects and the other is performing live. I perform live to satisfy my soul and not for money.
About Kill Dil:
I cannot talk much about the film, but all I can say is that the music of the film ‘Kill Dil’ is very different from what we did earlier. It is a funny film and again, extremely different. So, we have kept that in mind and made music accordingly.
