22 September,2016 08:58 AM IST | | Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya
Ready with his new single, music producer Clinton Cerejo talks about industry standards, technology and AR Rahman
Music producer Clinton Cerejo recently released a single with Sanah Moidutty titled Ishq Abhi Bhi on Jammin', a digital media initiative
After being the mind and voice for AR Rahman in several undertakings, Clinton Cerejo - the music producer, arranger and singer - is currently excited about expanding his music on digital platforms. The man, whose last Bollywood release was Te3n, recently collaborated with vocalist Sanah Moidutty for a single, Ishq Abhi Bhi, as part of the Jammin' session backed by Qyuki - a multi-platform media network to promote artistes.
Excerpts from an interview...
What is Jammin' about and how are digital platforms like it helping musicians?
They handle my YouTube channel since I am an artiste in their initiative. Such projects bridge the gap between the digital and the real world. It gets us more subscribers. We are trying to reach out to them and collaborate. On the other hand, it is also adding to YouTube's subscriber base. It was good to team up with Sanah for the song.
Is releasing a single a better idea than albums these days?
Yes, it is because people are consuming both audio and video at the same time. Earlier, one song was used to promote an entire album after which people used to buy. But now, videos work well on social media.
Is there enough royalty from online streaming?
There have been complaints from musicians all over the world about the monetary aspect. Not only middle-of-the-road musicians but successful ones are having problems too. We are trying to figure out a clause for the digital space that will serve musicians better.
Don't you feel the overuse of auto-tune and processors is killing the natural art?
I have been a fan of all great music producers like Quincy Jones and Trevor Horn. Their musicians were masters. You could not be in the room if you are not the best of the best; that soul - which you will find in songs like What Cha' Gona Do For Me (Chaka Khan) - is missing today. You had to be the best to bag a record deal.
Will you blame easy access to technology for it?
Technology is good; even I use it to stay updated but that should not be the crutch, or be used as a cover for mediocre work. The music industry will not grow if technology is used to that extent. Today, sharing work is easy and this is causing damage. If you can share, so can somebody else. There is so much crap in the market that it's hard to be heard.
Do you think the jingle world has evolved too?
I have seen people cutting edits out of tape for a 13-second sample. Formats keep changing but the basic music remains the same. Two decades from now, computers may execute the entire music composition process all by itself but it will always depend on how much you want to use it. Everyone may not have the same brain.
Tell us about your experience of working with ARâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Rahman.
I had a great level of trust with him. At times, I went to Chennai and found that he is not even in the city. The engineer would play me the song and we would work on it. But months later, when we would meet, he would tell me that it already went for release.
Any international musician you would like to collaborate with and why?
I would love to work with John Mayer. I feel a connection with his music and songwriting. He is someone who would be able to interpret music that has an Indian touch.
