A higher resonance!

Artists nowadays are increasingly eschewing record labels, cutting out the middleman, so to speak and going independent in their creative outings. And why not? It’s happening all over the world.
Actors are setting up production houses and musicians are forming their own labels. The latest to join the bandwagon is the maverick tabla maestro Bickram Ghosh who will soon launch his own label, Melting Pot Productions, next month.“At this point, we are starting off primarily as a music label, but we will also soon be getting into creating content for television and events. I feel there is a strong need to create content, be it for albums, TV or shows, which has character. Flippant music, flippant programmes and silly shows often rule the roost and many of us artists who feel strongly about our art want to take up the cause and bring about a change. One of the earliest artists to think this way was Shubha Mudgal. But today, you will be surprised how many of us are thinking this way. Especially where music is concerned, we need to assert music as a potent vehicle of artistic expression that is independent of film. Melting Pot will be working closely in collaboration with a variety of music and entertainment labels both in India and abroad.”
About collaborations with foreign musicians, Bickram, who has played on one grammy winning and three grammy nominated albums, said, “A collaboration can either be a gimmick or an in-depth exploration. A gimmick may sell temporarily, but an in-depth collaboration goes on to create history. Conversations by L. Subramanium and Stefan Grapelli from the Eighties. Even today, it is a hot seller and is one of the most soulful pieces of music you will hear. Within the Indian frame, an album like Colonial Cousins had a ‘fresh’ sound, there was a dignity. But how many collaborations do you hear today which have that staying power?” And his recent jugalbandi with Remo Fernandes in Kolkata, was that a gimmick or a true sonic exploration? “Remo and I rehearsed well before the concert. We thrashed out minute details. Besides being such a versatile musician, Remo has lot of passion and that is something we share in our music. People in Kolkata stayed and heard us for three and a half hours!”