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Raghu Dixit |
Once upon a time in Bangalore, there lived a microbiologist named Raghu Dixit, a serious science grad who could also dance Bharatanatyam and play the guitar. As days passed and microbiology began to tire him, he decided to spend more time on his guitar, which in turn led to the inception of a band called Antaragni. When Antaragni had played over 250 gigs all over the country, the desire to do something new with his music began to dominate his life and the result was the birth of the Raghu Dixit Project. |
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The Raghu Dixit Project has a very interesting format. It is an open house for musicians and artistes from different genres to come together, collaborate and create dynamic sounds and expression. Presently, it is a quintet featuring Raghu on vocals and acoustic guitar. After performing live for nearly nine years, Raghu has just brought out his debut album, titled simply Raghu Dixit. Raghu’s music cannot be categorized simply, as it has elements of Indian folk, Carnatic, Middle Eastern and western rock. The use of violin, mandolin, flute and string guitar give the songs a unique, rich, earthy feel. What is most interesting about Raghu is his voice. According to Vishal and Shekhar, the leading music directors who have just launched their own music label Vishal Shekhar Music with Raghu’s debut album, Raghu has a big voice, and he uses it beautifully. He can soar majestically with his voice. His lyrics are intense, yet simple. He speaks of common emotions and experiences, everyday things. But he does it lyrically. Raghu is a city guy who speaks the regular city lingo; his songs are in a quirky mix of English, Hindi and Kannada. | |
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Apart from spending time on his Project and his debut album, Raghu also finds time to produce music for contemporary dance and theatre productions. In fact, he has composed and produced music for most of the productions by one of the leading contemporary dance groups of India, Nriturutya. Girish Karnad’s Hayavadhana for TopCast and Black Coffee’s Body Catcher have been quite famous works of his, and they have duly brought in critical acclaim for him, and established him as one of the best composers for theatre productions. | |
‘I Was Born for This’ - Raghu Dixit: An InterviewBaishali ChatterjeeWhat would you expect from a Tamil Iyengar Microbiology student? Surely not electrifying Indian folk rock? Well, think again. Clad in a black t-shirt, a bright, colourful lungi and a pair of ghungroos, Raghu Dixit breaks all conventions and is set to floor you with his powerful music, straight from the heart. With no professional training or family backing in music, especially of the kind that he has ventured into, Dixit has come a long way and plans to go much further. Here are a few words with the man himself.
I was in college and was about 20 years old when this ‘dude’ in college taunted me for being a Bharatanatyam dancer, as it was considered effeminate. He was one of the ‘rock’ types. He challenged me to learn how to play the guitar and to play a song for him within two months and I dared him to don a pair of ghungroos and learn a few Bharatanatyam steps. I set out to find a teacher for myself but had a number of conditions; my parents cannot know I’m learning the guitar, I will learn at my teacher’s place, my teacher would have to provide me with the guitar and finally it would have to be free sessions. Naturally finding all of this was difficult but finally, a friend suggested that I go to a Seminary on the outskirts of Mysore. The Brothers there taught me a couple of chords and how to read the book. They also gave me a guitar I could practise with on the premises and the rest I taught myself. But it was then that I discovered the joy of holding a guitar and playing it. There was no looking back. Antaragni, my band, happened in 1995. It was primarily a Mysore based band. We played a lot around the city but, as is usually the case, members walked in and out until we disbanded in 2005. We saw some great times because we opened for Bryan Adams in Bangalore and got a lot of shows there too. But I soon realized that they all have their own lives to follow, so binding them within the confines of a band was not feasible, especially since the earnings did not allow for sustenance. The split really split me up; so now I have supporting musicians, who are absolutely fabulous, but who can also walk if they have other commitments.
Well, no particular genre, actually. Every time we composed a song, it would be different from the last one and so I would label it with some bizarre name. For example, the first song we composed had a reggae feel to it while the second was a Rajasthani folk number. Finally I decided to term it all under the broad genre of Indo-World Folk Rock, because though predominantly Indian, my music has a lot of different international influences. The music may have a rock, jazz, blues or any other feel to it. But it comes straight from the heart.
I compose most of my own music but I’ve exhausted my Hindi vocabulary lyrically, so now some of my friends write for me.
Firstly, thank you. Yeah, actually the costumes were the result of much trial and error. I wanted something really funky to complement our music. The idea behind the lungi is that it is part of our culture; I’ve grown up wearing lungis. I wanted to add spunk to it, so made them vibrant. I wear the ghungroos, a residue of my Bharatanatyam days; there’s an emotional attachment there.
When I moved to Bangalore in search of a job, I couldn’t find the right teacher. I was so attached to my Guru back home, I couldn’t find anyone who measured up to her. So gradually I gave up trying and with lack of practice…
I loved the Kolkata crowd in Someplace Else. They were a critical bunch who know music and hadn’t come to just show off their new clothes. I could see them cringing when I sang a wrong note and applauding when I did well. That is very important for an artiste. I’ve played for the launch of Hutch in Kolkata earlier, but that was a solo gig. So in some ways this was my first performance here and it was mind-blowing. Other than that, I loved the audiences at the Big Chill Festival in Goa, NIFD in Bangalore and IIT Guwahati.
Well, the Indian contemporary music scene is changing for the better. There’s an emerging awareness that makes non-filmy Indian music cool - so people have stopped looking westwards. There’s also a burst of talent out there, which is helping our cause. I think we’ve come a long way in the last ten years and the Indian music scene will further blossom in the near future.
Yes, we are often compared to Indian Ocean and Euphoria but the truth is that their sound is very different from ours. Indian Ocean has an eclectic feel, whereas Euphoria was the pioneer of Hindrock. I think there’s place for all of us in the music business, because we contribute different qualities.
(Laughs) I was born for this. I’m just claiming my rightful place.
We’re off for the Roots Festival in the North East so will be touring the seven states. In fact two bands, one from Israel and another from the US, will be joining us. It’s a road trip so we’ll be travelling by bus and getting off to perform wherever we feel like. We’ll be holding workshops and concerts. We have some interesting international projects coming up, too. We’re performing at the Gates Head Festival in England in October. Other than that you’ll hear our music in an upcoming Kannada film, by music directors Vishal Shekhar. So it looks like a packed calendar!
A. BUY THE CD! It is selling well; it’s been topping the charts and our next video is set to release. Also, check out our website. We have a section called ‘Tribe’ which is a social networking site within our site. So, it’s an easy way of communicating with me and the other musicians. And you will be seeing a lot of me and my band! |
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