Bollywood killed pop music: Remo

Whether it’s writing politically-motivated lyrics, composing music for meditation or performing with Jethro Tull, this man seems to have done it all. It’s been a rich and varied musical journey for Remo Fernandes, who enjoys having a finger in every pie. The master performer took to the stage with Rahman in the city, proclaiming, “He’s not the Mozart of Madras, he’s the Rahman of India.
In the aftermath of the concert, the excitement of the night doesn’t appear to have worn off, as Remo says emphatically, “It felt absolutely great to perform with him and to know that a musician is able to hold concerts of that scale.Success hasn’t turned his head and Rahman is still as down to earth as ever. He makes sure that his team takes care of every artiste who performs with him. He has a lot of regard for his musicians, and is a very special kind of guy. He’s an artiste himself, after all.
It was the massive scale of the concert that seems to have blown everybody away. “I can’t help saying that I wish pop musicians had concerts of that scale,” Remo says, somewhat wistfully, adding, “We had the golden years of Indian pop when people went all out for pure pop artistes like the Colonial Cousins and Alisha Chinoy. But Bollywood enticed them to compose and make music for films and most of them began doing that full time. Bollywood killed pop music.
He’s got another interesting project lined up already. “I want to release a revival of all my old albums and record older songs that I never recorded,” he reveals. “I wrote a lot of songs when I was in school and college and after that, when I spent two years hitch hiking in Europe, singing at underground stations and passing my hat around in cafés. I want all those songs and some new ones too, on an album.
What sets Remo Fernandes apart from most other pop musicians of his class is that his music extends beyond writing a catchy tune. From social commentaries to speaking out against drugs, he’s very particular about his songs having a meaning. “I was very influenced by the music of the ’70s,” he says. “So many barriers were broken during that time, it was a time to experiment and go where no man has gone before. There was so much fusion and rock became a common ground. Moreover, the music had a meaning and purpose, too. It broke social and political barriers besides musical ones.”
Contemporary music is all about the technology, as Bangalore city found out on Sunday. How does he fit in with that? “There’s some fantastic stuff coming, but I’ve always said that there are two kinds of music — inspired and manufactured,” he maintains. “A person who knows nothing about music can sit in front of a computer and make music. Even if the media forces it down your throat, it doesn’t touch you. It will die out. When I’m at a concert, everything I do is live. There’s never pre-recorded music,” Remo signs off.
Contributed by Darshana Ramdev