Morsels of music

Bruce Lee Mani

We have mentioned this before, but it needs repeating because of the massive significance it has in terms of the way we consume music. A source at a global streaming giant had once revealed to us that they are planning to launch a platform where people can only access songs that are a maximum of one-minute long. The reason, of course, is that attention spans have dwindled to such an extent in the digital age that they soon foresee a market for bite-sized music. If that is indeed the case, then the research team of that streaming platform should keep a close eye on how veteran musician Bruce Lee Mani's first solo album, We're All We've Got, fares on the charts. It has 30 songs that are just over or under a minute in duration, with the total playing time clocking at 37.29 minutes. Mani, in effect, has pre-empted the plans that the streaming giant has.

But he wasn't aware of their intentions at all. Instead, he embarked on a song-a-day project in May when he was going through a troubled phase in his personal life. "My wife then told me that you'd better do something creative [to deal with your problems] instead of taking it out on us," the Bengaluru-based artiste laughs, adding, "It wasn't a simple exercise and I asked myself, ‘What have I got myself into?' I was running a music academy and trying to be a father to my kids. So, when I started thinking of the magnitude of the work, I decided to make ditties or small songs, which also have more reach on streaming and social-media platforms."

His first solo album (Mani is the front man of seminal indie act Thermal and a Quarter) also gave him the creative freedom to explore sounds outside of the band's musical spectrum. There is thus an eclectic mix of genres, ranging from the blues, rock ‘n' roll, acoustic music to a capella. And the good news for him is that the album recently ranked at number two on the iTunes chart for India, within a week of its release. That's something which should also enthuse the streaming platform we referred to above.

As far as future music consumption patterns are concerned, maybe, just maybe, they have got their finger on the pulse.

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