At an upcoming workshop, ace drummer Ranjit Barot hopes to share lessons about adapting and staying ahead in the music game
Ranjit Barot. Pic courtesy/Instagram
Survival depends on adaptability, said Charles Darwin, leaving behind a marker for the cut-throat competition in the music industry. From blues to jazz to ’90s pop-rock and the current hip-hop generation, the Indian music industry has seen constant transitions. The upcoming workshop, aptly titled From Evolution to Revolution, in Kandivali, by celebrated composer Ranjit Barot will delve into these facets to unearth new knowledge for aspiring youngsters in the city.
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“The whole idea is to empower young musicians on the various aspects of creation,” he explains. Having witnessed these upheavals since he entered the music industry as a teenager, Barot is well placed to present his observations.
While it is easy to make the error of attributing all of Indian music’s evolution to its dynamic film industry, the composer disagrees. From the rhythms of Buddy Rich to the yodels of RD Burman, the Indian music industry has had global influences, he suggests. “You must be familiar with the discography of the greats who preceded you in the genre that you aspire to create music in,” the composer points out.
An early memory of the flamboyant drummer for this writer was watching the late Shammi Kapoor in Teesri Manzil (1966). The drummer agrees, but says this prominent visual changed with the electronic music revolution in the 1980s.
“The first musicians to be replaced when electronic music arrived were the drummers,” he says, adding that the cost-effective nature of technology-driven beats cut down the expense of drum-kit and drummer upkeep for producers. “I was out of a job. Louiz Banks hired me to work with him in the studio on advertisements. It was here that I learned production and composing,” he shares.
This experience of adaptability is something he hopes to impart to the participants at the workshop. With AI, he warns, musicians face a similar challenge. They must adapt, multi-task and challenge themselves in different genres. But has the scenario improved in recent times for drummers?
“There has been a resurgence of drummers in the last two decades,” Barot answers, adding, “But you cannot compare it to a time when they had equal standing on stage. Also, there is not enough indie music with that no-holds-barred approach. This is a quieter, more sensitive generation than ours.”
Despite his own evolution into composing, Barot remains a drummer at heart. “Drums are integral to the way any good singer-songwriter shapes their music,”
he remarks.
The workshop will seek to embed these lessons. “Hopefully, they [participants] will walk away with new skills and ideas of possibility to venture into areas that they might not have thought of,” he points out.
On August 24; 12 pm onwards
At Rule 34, Charkop Industrial Estate, Kandivali West.
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A fan of Led Zeppelin’s drummer John Bonham, Barot recalls that the drummer has always been a driving force for a live band. Citing Buddy Rich, he says, “Rich was a drummer, and a bandleader at that. He had this saying, “A great band with an average drummer is an average band. An average band with a great drummer is a great band.” Dispelling the myth of the flamboyant drummer, Barot says it was an expression of talent. “Whether it was Bonham or Keith Moon, their flair was not for show,” he says. The new generation, he points out, is a lot more sensitive, and quieter — not necessarily a bad thing. “We were a little more boisterous, and had colourful lives,” he laughs, recalling his idols such as Bonham, Keith Moon and Ian Paice.
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