Music

…I suffer from this insane psychological condition... I need to listen to music when I’m doing something that needs concentration and sitting still at one place (hardly happens) I initially noticed this trait when I was in the 10th grade and used to study for my math paper, one of the subjects that I hated in those days…

That year, my cousin had gifted me a set of little box speakers to keep in my room and listen to music whenever I want. He also had happily handed me down his used cassette player to setup a pseudo music system in my room. Whenever I studied for math, I’d pop in a cassette into the tape, keep the speakers on each corner of my study table and start solving problems. A very simple rule that I had laid was to take a break only once I listen to the entire cassette.

I kept listening to more and more music and thankfully I managed to pass out of my 10th grade with exceptionally good grades for my math paper…. Since then I decided that I’m gonna listen to music whenever I need to sit in a place for a longer time and to concentrate… I finally realized that I was a music fan, not only a fan but a complete music buff! There’d be some music playing either when I’m at home, while I commute and even when I’m at work (not many people know this) I got myself a very inconspicuous pair of headsets that I connect to my computer and then listen to online music over and over and over… then I got introduced to the online radio phenomenon and I just got hooked to it!

As of now, I listen to all sorts of music. Starting from Indian classical to heavy metal, jazz to hip-hop and even the occasional filmy tunes...

Okay coming onto track.

I recently discovered a very wonderful online music presence handled by a fellow Indian who has carved a niche on the international online music scene! The station is called IndiaBeat01. it is handled by a someone called Samiran Gupta. Know where they plays music from? Saddi Dilli!!!! And here is the best news yet I got today; EMI (the music giant) are going to exclusively distribute boutique music label IndiaBeat

Here is the press release I got on it today…

5th June 2008, Mumbai: EMI Virgin announced today their exclusive distribution agreement with boutique music label, IndiaBeat.

IndiaBeat, which has had a popular presence on the Internet as an online radio station and music-related social networking site since 2006, covers the genres of Indian classical, jazz, progressive rock and fusion music. Slated for its debut in the latter part of June 2008, IndiaBeat is planning releases by critically-acclaimed artistes including, Sanjay Mishra, Pete Lockett, Amit Chatterjee, Broto Roy, Amit Heri, Henrik Andersen, Shashank and several others. A marketing kickoff with a sampler is expected later this month.

From the time when Yehudhi Menuhin, Ravi Shankar and Alla Rakha collaborated in the mid sixties, Indian music has held great interest and has enjoyed widespread popularity particularly in Europe, UK and North America. Indian musicians are regularly seen and heard performing across the world. Equally, it is not uncommon to find musicians from the west spending long periods of time in India, sharing, exchanging and honing their skills, side by side with their counterparts here. With the passage of time, Indian classical music and its musical instruments have influenced global sounds at different points to create new audiences.

“India is a vast nation with diverse musical tastes. Classical, jazz and fusion music performances, while very well attended have a poor co-relation to CDs sold. Thus it is IndiaBeat’s clear objective to help popularize and sustain niche genres for the discerning music lover in India,” says IndiaBeat co-founder Samiran Gupta.

“We are looking forward to infusing the IndiaBeat catalogue in to our repertoire in India. Like all EMI products, our customers can look forward to taking home a rich musical experience each time they purchase from the IndiaBeat catalogue,” said EMI Senior Manager Anand Srinivasan

For more information please contact, Samiran Gupta at indiabeat01@gmail.com

Well, I hope they make some really great music in the coming future and music lovers like me can listen to all of it over and over :D

BTW, if you do have a musical ear and are able to appreciate the Indian Jazz, Fusion, classical or any other genre I’d very strongly suggest that you give this station a good listen… you might actually like it! you can also find it on http://www.live365.com/