Delhi electronica group Midival Punditz made their live ramp debut at the just concluded Mumbai Fashion Week. Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj aka the Punditz tell Sunday Mid Day how they make the cuts
Delhi electronica group Midival Punditz made their live ramp debut at the just concluded Mumbai Fashion Week. Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj aka the Punditz tell Sunday Mid Day how they make the cuts
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Delhi took over last week's Fashion Week finale in Mumbai. Designer Suneet Verma roped in Midival Punditz, Delhi's most experienced electronica producers and artistes to bring disco and drama to the ramp. Midival Punditz's Gaurav Raina has been curating music for fashion shows along with Tapan Raina for over a decade now. This is the first time that the two plunged into the madness we call Fashion Week, with a live set featuring Shaa'ir+Func and Kailasa's percussionist Sanket on the djembe. The collection that opened with Monica Shaa'ir Dogra doing a cover of I feel love ended in a flash but not before Suneet boogied his pants off on stage. Even as the two are already getting some ideas for Delhi Fashion Week, they tell us what all the fashion fuss is about:
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Midival Punditz flanked by Shaa'ir+Func's Randolph Correia (left) and Kailasa's Sanket at the recent Mumbai Fashion Week finale. |
Doing a live set on the ramp isn't as dynamic as doing a Punditz show. Where's the fun?
Gaurav: It's great fun. The only constraint is that you have to work within a certain idea but that's the case when you do music for a film as well. The music determines the pace of the show. In case of Fashion Week, it was mostly mixes and covers. We had everything from I feel love to Play that funky music. We went live to bring in more musicality and energy to the show. A lot of times we make fresh music for the show.
Has any of the fresh music made it onto your albums?
Gaurav: Yes, five years ago we did a remix of Thaade rahiyo from Pakeezah, which made it onto our second album. This was for a bridal collection by Tarun Tahiliani.
What are the tricky bits about doing a live set for a fashion show?
Gaurav: For this show, there were parts when we couldn't see Monica from where we were standing, so when the singer splits up, we have to make sure that none of the arrangements change. We also had to make sure that the beats fade in and out as each collection ended.
Tapan: By the time we are warmed up at the show, 20 minutes are up and we are done. The show is divided into four-six collections. There's a danger of going wrong unless we are in complete sync with the choreographer and what's happening on ramp because we have to cut tracks sometimes in the middle of the bar and make sure it doesn't sound abrupt. We have to make sure that the beats are coordinated with the walk. I could list a 100 things that could go wrong, but we are learning.
How do you choose music? Have you figured what kind of music fits what style?
Gaurav: Usually a designer gives me an idea as to where it goes. For Indian wear, the kind Tarun Tahiliani and Sabyasachi (Mukherjee) do, I've mixed Indian elements with opera, western classical and even chillout lounge. A lot of designers do fusion where we do a sort of mix-and-match.
How do you mean?
Gaurav: I've mixed Rolling Stones with Silsila u00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u00a6that sort of thing. There was a show I did for Rajesh Pratap Singh where we took the music of famous guitarists Sweet child of mine, Layla, etc and did covers with sitars and flutes.u00a0
What's the funkiest show you did recently?
Gaurav: There was a show for Rohit Bal last year where we played western classical with layers of Indian percussions. There was Mozart with tabla and a pounding beat. Mostly, it's the designer who inspires the show and our music.
Who are the designers you really love working with and why?
Gaurav: Rajesh Pratap Singh, Rohit Bal, Malini Ramani and Sumeet Verma because they like to go crazy with ideas and let me loose.
How long do you take to put music for a fashion show together?
Gaurav: About four sittings of a couple of hours each. It depends on the collection, actually. It can take anywhere between a day to four days. Although I've done shows in six and four hours too.u00a0
How intense can a 20-minute set get?
Gaurav: Very. There can't be a boring part in the mix even for a couple of seconds. If it's 10 songs for 20 minutes, you're changing songs every two minutes.
Coming up
Midival Punditz and Karsh Kale have a full international tour coming up this month.
New Zealand Arts Festival. On March 16, 17.
City: Wellington *The Punditz + KK create a new background score to Enter The Dragon, the Bruce Lee cult classic. https://www.nzfestival.nzpost.co.nz/u00a0
Mosaic Music Festival. On March 19. City: Singapore
https://www.mosaicmusicfestival.com/2010/microsite/ch_kool.html
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