Category Archives: Talks

Entertainment, Music, Talks

Shardul Pandey Talks To Alex Smith

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Shardul Pandey Talks To Alex Smith

Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Alex at SANGKRIT.net, please tell us about yourself.

Alex Smith: Hey :D I’m Alex Smith. I’m a musician based in Brisbane Australia. I’m currently raising funds for my debut EP although I have been performing under the stage name Your Man Alex Smith since May 5th!

Shardul Pandey: Tell us about your music and your upcoming EP? When do you think it will be released?

Alex Smith: I’m not entirely sure what my ‘thing’ is. Usually musicians have something that makes them stand out from the rest, be it their voice or their instrumentation but I’m still finding my unique sound.

I do however write as honestly as I can. Without honesty, I feel that the music is hard to relate to and that’s one of the most important parts!

While I perform with an acoustic guitar, the album will feature a whole band. I want to immortalize these songs as the best versions they can be!

The EP will really depend on how much success the indiegogo campaign achieves. At a very minimum it will consist of two songs but the bigger the end result, the more tracks I will be able to get on the album! The album is predicted to be released around March 2014

Shardul Pandey: Tell us about the tracks which you have already recorded ? What are the themes?

Alex Smith: I actually don’t know for certain which tracks are going to be on the album. I’m working with a producer and he’s going to decide which has the most potential. Though currently there’s a lot of buzz around ‘Gingerbread Man’ ‘Guilty’ and ‘Tragedy’

Shardul Pandey: What is the story behind your title ‘Your Man Alex Smith’ ?

Alex Smith: Originally I was just going to be Alex Smith but it’s such a common name that I couldn’t get any useful or memorable usernames on sites like YouTube or Tumblr.

I used to have my own vlog and I’d start every episode with ‘Hey guys, it’s your man Alex Smith!’ And I thought that’d be a fun little thing.

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Shardul Pandey: What inspired your passion for music? Have you always enjoyed the art of music?

Alex Smith: My dad is a huge fan of music. He’s been collecting Vinyls for years and the house was always full of classic rock songs. I vividly remember my dad sitting me down in the living room and preparing me to listen to ‘Bat out of Hell’. At first I thought he was just being dad but that song blew my mind. I’ve always really loved music since then.

Shardul Pandey: You are an acoustic singer, you also write songs so did you receive any formal training?

Alex Smith: That’s hard to say. I am self taught on the guitar and piano and predominantly with voice but I’ve been part of a few different choirs and I love musical theatre so I’ve absorbed a lot of valuable lessons from them that I otherwise wouldn’t have. Most recently I played The Sheriff in Underground Production’s ‘Bat Boy: The Musical’ with Nick Hollamby as the Musical Director. Nick’s one of the most prestigious vocal coaches in Brisbane so I paid close attention to everything he had to say!

Shardul Pandey: Would you like to share the experience of your first performance ? You perform no mind or you think about something when your are preforming?

Alex Smith: I remember my first proper performance got egged by a passing car. I’m not sure whether it was just an act of wanton mayhem or whether it was premeditated but it was unsettling to say the least.
I personally think that the best performers are those that reveal part of themselves and are honest with the audience. You need to tell the story otherwise you’re just singing notes. When I sing I try to go back to the place I was when I wrote it. This is usually why I end up singing with my eyes closed.

Shardul Pandey: Any favorite moment you would like to share?

Alex Smith: One of my favourite moments would have to be when I performed at ‘The Zoo’. It was a big deal for me and I had a huge amount of support from the people who enjoy my music. The gig was pretty terrible but the atmosphere was just electric! And I met my girlfriend there.

Shardul Pandey: Are there any other creative mediums you work in?

Alex Smith: As I previously mentioned I used to do a lot of acting on stage as well as a little bit of screen acting but I’ve had to knuckle down and focus on my music career. It’s hard enough to make it even when it’s all you’re doing let alone with other things going on.

Shardul Pandey: Any loves, other then music?

Alex Smith: I’m a pretty big fan of ice cream. Like whenever Tash and I are out, we’ll usually end up getting some. Nothing comes close to music though.

Shardul Pandey: What you do for entertainment? Any peculiar interests?

Alex Smith: I do enjoy movies and I’ve recently started playing GTA V which is very addictive! I also love listening to ‘The Protomen Act Two: Father of Death’ it’s my favorite album.

Shardul Pandey: Excluding guitar is there any other musical instruments you like playing ?

Alex Smith: I like playing piano but I’m not super good at it.

Shardul Pandey: What songs get you moving ?

Alex Smith: I’m so far from a dancer it’s not funny. I usually can’t help dancing to ‘Caramel dansen’

Shardul Pandey: How do you best describe what music is to you?

Alex Smith: Without sounding really pretentious, music is what feelings sound like.

Shardul Pandey: Any other musical projects which you have planned for future ? Any plans for an international tour ?

Alex Smith: I am actually writing a rock opera concept album inspired by the Protomen about a robot created to make music. It’s called ‘Amadeus’ though ‘Amadeus ex machina’ has been considered as a title as well. It’ll be a cross between rock, neoclassical and musical theatre. I’m very excited about it.

I do have plans for an international tour in the sense that I plan to one day but I don’t have nearly enough of a fan base to afford it yet.

Shardul Pandey: What is your web address, do you own a domain ? Where netizens can find lastest news about you and your music ?

Alex Smith: I have:

Facebook: Facebook.com/yourmanalexsmith

Tumblr: Yourmanalexsmith.tumblr.com

YouTube: Youtube.com/yourmanalexsmith

And I currently have an Indiegogo page open to fund my first album!
http://igg.me/at/ymasep/x/316267

Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?

Alex Smith: What are you passionate about? Are you on your way to achieving that/currently doing it? If you’re not, then change something. It’s never too late to turn everything around. You’ve only failed if you stop before you’ve succeeded!

Entertainment, Music, Talks, Technology

Shardul Pandey Talks To Marie Parie On Europe Tour

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[note]Talk is ongoing live…[/note]

Shardul Pandey Talks To Marie Parie – 3

[heading]← 9 Days Back[/heading]

Shardul Pandey: Hi Marie! How are you ?

Marie Parie: I just did an amazing session with Mariah Carry’s brother in Law Reuben Cannon yesterday for my new song “Kinda Girl” and it was amazing. I’m so excited to bringing R&B pieces to Pop Dance music. I love it.

Shardul Pandey: That’s Great. Have you planned any special events for this tour ?

Marie Parie: This is exciting, I’ll keep it a mystery. Well, I’m going to Europe for Radio and TV interviews. I’m going to meet with amazing people in the industry. Many surprises to come and I’d like to keep the rest of the mystery and have my fans find out about the adventure. I’ll be in touch from France.

Shardul Pandey: Good. Wishing you success and I know you’ll do very well. Good luck to you.

Marie Parie: Thanks. I’ll be in touch from France.

Shardul Pandey: Ok.

Marie Parie: Hi Shardul. I’m in France. I was on the platform of a huge TV Show of Patrick Sebastien “les Annees bonheur” for two days Monday and Tuesday, and it was amazing, all about music and meeting amazing people such as Sylvie Vartan, and more.

French stars for years, that changed french history. Now, today all french TV is talking about Marie Parie who was on one of the most famous touristic avenues in Paris, who can’t buy her beauty products.

I was walking in champs Elysee avenue, the big touristic place, the most beautiful so busy street where all tourist and locals buy beauty products and more when they used to close at midnight and now they obligate stores to close so early as 9pm and stop business and one of the sudden, I stopped near Sephoara at 9 pm, to buy products like beauty stuff and they closed the door and throw everyone out, saying that no one can work after 9pm now. So I started being so agitated telling them to let people go to work. I want them to let people work, and I spoke in French and English saying that it’s not good for tourists who want to buy stuff, France has to change this, they can’t be paying people to stop others working, and fine stores for opening pass 9pm. Many students need to work at night for sure. It was so strange to do such a thing.

Shardul Pandey: To make such a change you do require intervening politically. That demands making that kind of public opinion dominant over the constitutional process there in France. It is up to you to make your decision that up to what extent you are prepared for doing so.

If you take any such decision, I may offer you the technology to make a breakthrough.

(To be continued…….)

Entertainment, Music, Talks, Technology

Shardul Pandey Talks To Natesh Kirtan

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[note]Ongoing live![/note]

Shardul Pandey Talks To Natesh Kirtan

Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Natesh at SANGKRIT.net, what’s your story?

Natesh Kirtan: Thank you for the opportunity to share my story, Shardul!

I love to chant, especially in the kirtan form, but also other forms. I have been chanting in the kirtan tradition for over 30 years, having first connected with it in late 1979 in the Oakland Siddha Yoga ashram of Swami Muktananda. I became a devotee of Baba and his successors. After being on that path for over a decade, I had a very powerful dream of Ammachi (Mata Amritanandamayi) before I knew anything about her, even receiving a hug from her in the dream, and I a couple years later I finally met her and became her devotee. The name Natesh I received from her many years later. Having these extraordinary beings guiding and transforming my life for the past 34 years has been truly a blessing. I, along with my wife, Monnie, and others, have been leading weekly kirtan in Sedona, AZ, for over 9 years with a group I simply called the Kirtan Wallahs and I’m now finally in the process of creating a beautiful kirtan album, Bliss of Kirtan, with great support from producer and multi-instrumentalist, Ben Leinbach, and many wonderful musicians and singers.

The process of starting a chanting group in Sedona all unfolded initially from me sitting down with the intention to practice some classical guitar pieces in the Fall of 2003 and the next thing I knew I was ‘downloading’ a chant to one of the many Deities, like Rama or Krishna or Durga or Shiva. Then I would forget about playing any classical piece and just be blissfully chanting whatever new chant. After some months of this I really lost all interest in playing any classical pieces anyway because that didn’t compare to the bliss I experienced from chanting and decided it was time to ‘share the bliss’ and started the Kirtan Wallahs.

I’ve also composed over 180 chants since 2003, although I’ve ‘retired’ a bunch of them that I became less enchanted with. It was had to narrow down the field to what to put on this first album!

Shardul Pandey: Tell us about ‘Bliss of Kirtan’ album Project ? How long have you been working on this? How much have you done and when do you think it will be released?

Natesh Kirtan: In one sense I’ve been working on it for close to 10 years, as one of the chants on the album, He Ma Durga, I composed in Autumn, 2003. But in terms of deciding to do a studio album and moving forward with the project, that decision happened in May and with some Grace I’ll be able to release the album in mid to late November.

The Bliss of Kirtan album is first and foremost a kirtan album, with the intention to inspire people to chant along with the call and response format and to invoke ecstatic, even transcendent, states of bliss in the listener, through chanting along or even simply through listening. I’ve intentionally kept the tempos much mellower than I typically do in a live kirtan so that the music can also serve as a backdrop for yoga, meditation and general daily activity.

As I mentioned, Ben Leinbach is an awesome producer, and I have some very talented female singers on the album as well as many excellent musicians contributing on bansuri, sarod, esraj, santoor and cello as well as tabla on some tracks. Sample excerpts from the latest rough mixes for the 8 tracks on the album can be heard at this link.

I’ve been getting wonderful comments from people who have heard some of the album in its present state, using adjectives like profound, sweet, powerful, lovely, lush and blissful, to name a few. Some of the tracks are mantras (or shloks) like Gayatri and Tvameva Mata and others are to the different Deities like Ganesha, Shiva, Krishna and so on. It’s also running very close to the 79.8 minutes maximum recommended for a commercially produced CD.

All the recording is done so we’re in the editing and mixing stage and still have mastering, artwork, physical production and so on to go. We got it this far on short-term borrowed money to take advantage of an opening in Ben’s schedule so now we have to raise money to get it finished and pay back the short term loans. We’ve started a funding campaign on Indiegogo to help make it happen.

http://youtu.be/OPn3ZdenLow

After all these years of doing live kirtan and composing chants, I’m really excited about how beautiful this album is turning out for sharing the ‘Bliss of Kirtan’ with the world!

(To be continued…….)

Entertainment, Films, Talks

Shardul Pandey Talks To Vivek Sharma, Founder Of Filmzone Creations Pvt Ltd.

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Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Vivek at SANGKRIT.net. How are you? On what new projects you are currently working on ?

Vivek Sharma: Hi Shardul. I am good. Hope you are good too.

As you must have heard that I have opened my own production house, Filmzone Creations Pvt Ltd.

And now I am producing and directing many films. Making one film in 8 Indian languages, first of its kind and each language will have different actors, locations and music. Its like creating history. Its a commercial film, black humor on recession.

Shardul Pandey Talks To Vivek Sharma

Shardul Pandey: I am fine. Thanks. Yes, Priyanka told me about your new production house, Filmzone Creations Pvt Ltd.

It seems to be very interesting. So did you always know you were going to be a movie producer ?

Vivek Sharma: Yes, I was a story teller. Ma Saraswati blessed me with creative human ideas. So in my childhood I decided to become director producer writer and I became:)

Shardul Pandey: So how your journey has been, starting from your childhood when you made up your mind to become a director-producer-writer that has finally grown into this climax of yours ?

Vivek Sharma: Well I can give a brief points as I am writing a book on my journey. Mahanagry 1094 up, details will be in that.

But it started from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh from where I did my masters in physics.

Trained in martial arts..a football player.

Stage dance performer.

And a dream of making difference in people’s life..

Came to Mumbai with Rs. 250 in pocket.

Struggled..worked hard…learnt a lot from common people and survived on my own.

Lived in pipe lines, spent nights in watchmen’s cabin…corridors..station platform..

But zeal to achieve pushed me to continue. And here I am:)

Shardul Pandey: Likewise you are working on many big movie projects so when you are planning to announce your next film. I mean, would you like to give any rough idea of next big announcement from Filmzone Creations Pvt Ltd. ?

Vivek Sharma: Filmzone creations will be announcing 3 big projects around December..but pre-productions have already been started.

Shardul Pandey: I read somewhere (but I did not save the references) that Yash Johar And Karan Johar were not sure to use Rani Mukerjee’s original voice in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. It was you who stood by her and forced makers to use her real voice. Is it true or a rumor?

Shardul Pandey Talks To Vivek Sharma

Vivek Sharma: Yes I convinced Karan and Yash uncle to retain Rani’s original voice and stood by her. Worked very hard on her dubbing. I was the post production designer for ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’. I did as Yash ji and Shakhan(srk) wanted me to.

Shardul Pandey: You started your career from ‘Kuch Kuch Hota hai’, worked in various capacities and then ‘Bhoothnath’ was your directorial debut. So what was it like to film your debut movie? Was it different from other experiences you’ve had?

Vivek Sharma: I was blessed to have worked with great talents like Mahesh Bhatt, Shah Rukh Khan and many others. I learnt and learnt and learnt. When I was starting Bhoothnath I had no fear. It was clear what I wanted. Amit ji and shri Ravi Chopra supported me through out. I can not ignore contribution of Juhi ma in my life and in my career. She has been there for me as a guide as a sister. Yes making film on your own is different than designing filmz for others. Its an awesome feeling to witness to see your own creation. :) I loved it. I will always cherish it.

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Shardul Pandey: Bollywood seems to be experiencing a renaissance of sorts, with new directors and new subjects ? Would you like to say anything on that ? Any advice for future filmmakers?

Vivek Sharma: I consider this phase of Hindi cinema THE WORST phase where anybody is making film and anybody is becoming a star. Cinema is a platform for talents and artists which has disappeared completely. Its very sad. Corporate and certain banners have made it a mere business thing.

I feel we as film makers must make filmz which has good content and better craft. New film makers should not get into this trap of so called “new age cinema” its the worst phase.

Shardul Pandey: Sometime back I read on Filmzone Creations social media news feed that you are launching a Music Company ?

Vivek Sharma: Yes, Filmzone Creations is launching its music company as I have many film projects, in many languages and trying to bring back Indian classical and melody back on the horizon, a good class music is a promise.

Shardul Pandey: Movie making can be a time-consuming job so would you like to explain the time commitment you put into your movies. What do you do for entertainment? Do you have any peculiar interests?

Vivek Sharma: I am not just a film maker, I am a shayar too:)I am ready with my shayri book which will be published soon.

I love music so I am not only discovering new singers and music directors but also learning classical music.:)

I love sports. I cycle a lot. I am a fitness freak, very regular in gym.

I use every second of my life to create, share and cherish:)

Shardul Pandey: Where netizens can find you on Internet, your official blog is no more active ? Do you own a domain as being online actually means having a domain of your own because that is your real web-address, it saves you from straying homeless on Internet ?

Vivek Sharma: I was writing on the same platform where Mr Bachchan was writing blogs. My blogs were widely read but bigadda sites crashed and now I will write on “vivek sharma’s creative gallery” which will be launched soon but people can find me on my page “Vivek sharma’s official fan page” on Facebook.

Shardul Pandey: Got it about your weblog. Yes they scaled down their social networking and blogging services in July,2011.

It is always better to work from the domain your own because there you get to ultimately control everything that happens in your webspace and others get excluded from doing anything without your permission.

Shardul Pandey Talks To Vivek Sharma

Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?

Vivek Sharma: Message for all the lovely netizens that.. make a positive difference in you, in the society and in the world. Its one life. Live and cherish. Create and gift. Share and luv :)

Shardul Pandey: And from personal experiences what do you say to young people out there struggling to get into the film industry?

Vivek Sharma: I never consider journey as “struggle”. Its a process, its all about passion for cinema. I think youngsters should spend more time with themselves rather than sitting in coffee-house or in gym. They should read more. They must use their energy in constructive work and most important is focus dedication and faith.

(To be continued)

Entrepreneurs, Talks, Technology, Technology

Shardul Pandey Talks To Andrew Lee, Founder Of Envolve

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Andrew Lee: Hi! Shardul, Are you a developer? We have some exciting news for you! Envolve has built a new platform, called Firebase, that lets you build real-time, collaborative applications in just a few lines of code. Have you ever wanted to completely customize the way chat works on your site? Now you can.

Firebase lets you build *any* real-time application — from chat apps, to shared whiteboards, to multiplayer games, to collaborative text editors. It’s an API, so you have complete control over how your app works, and you have full access to the data from any device.

For an explanation of what Firebase is and how it works, check out this short screencast. You can also try our quick 5 minute tutorial that will walk you through the API.

Thousands of apps are already using Firebase, including Klout, BitTorrent, TED, Codecademy, and Atlassian. We’d love to power your app as well.

As always, please reach out to me if you have any questions.

Shardul Pandey: Hi!, Thanks for sharing this information. I will certainly go through your new platform.

Klout, BitTorrent, TED, Codecademy, and Atlassian are popular services and I am glad that they are using Firebase.

Great with your success. I wish to congratulate you on this. Good luck to you.

(To be continued…….)

Entertainment, Music, Talks, Technology

Shardul Pandey Talks To Justin Elswick On His Upcoming Album “MORTAL LONGING”

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[note]Talk is ongoing live…[/note]

Sleepthief is an American electronic music recording project formed by producer and composer Justin Elswick. Elswick began writing music for the album ten years prior to its release. The album was mixed, mastered, co-produced, and co-arranged by Israel Curtis. Sleepthief’s first album, The Dawnseeker, was released in 2006.

Continue reading Shardul Pandey Talks To Justin Elswick On His Upcoming Album “MORTAL LONGING” →

Entertainment, Music, Talks

Shardul Pandey Talks To Marie Parie – 2, Marie Parie On Her Online Store

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[heading]← 21 days back[/heading]

Shardul Pandey Talks To Marie Parie Part 2

Marie Parie: Hi Shardul! How are you? I have some news. One I’m going to Paris, and will be having radio interviews, and TV.

Also, I just created a store – http://mariepariemusic.com/store.html

Shardul Pandey: Hi! I am good. What about you ? Great with your success :-) What kind of store you have created ? Is it a simple online store of your music albums or it is your official web store with more stuff for your fans and followers ?

Marie Parie: I have an online store that has all MP gear, CD, and singles. I sell T shirts, Mugs, all sizes and for women, men and kids. The cool thing is that my fans have the choice to choose their own color, their own size and style. All products are high quality, and made in respect to the environment.

marie parie store

Shardul Pandey: Cool. You’re going to Paris, so this is an official tour ? Have you planned any special events ?

Marie Parie: This is exciting, I’ll keep it a mystery. Well, I’m going to Europe for Radio and TV interviews. I’m going to meet with amazing people in the industry. Many surprises to come and I’d like to keep the rest of the mystery and have my fans find out about the adventure.

Shardul Pandey: BTW Your new album “Alien Victory” is now available for purchase so from where we can buy it on Internet, I mean give me some links of your music on iTunes, Amazon etc ?

Marie Parie: Yes, everyone can purchase my Alien Victory album either digital copy or physical copy. It’s available on Itunes, amazon, spotify, and many other popular sites. My single “Dating” is also available and it will be interesting to find out who are the first Martians to have my album before anyone else. After my trip a lot will change so I’m excited to hear about my fans.

Shardul Pandey: Few weeks back you said that you are working on your second album, so how is it going ?

Marie Parie: Yes, I’m in the process of putting together a new album with different flavor. It will be a great surprise, and exciting new sound. A hint, it’s more melodic..

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Shardul Pandey: Your fan following is increasing everyday and you are getting more and more popular on Internet, you own a domain and now you have your own store.

What do you think about creating your online private network. By saying private network I simply mean a Facebook/Twitter type network created specially for you and your fans. What do you say?

Marie Parie: Yes I do have my own domain, if not many one of them is www.mparie.com, in addition to www.mariepariemusic.com. I am looking forward to having my private network. In a way, it already exist on my website and FB mainly. I do have twitter as well for those who prefer Twitter. My “Fans belong to the Martian club, and I often refer to them as angel-aliens or Guarding Aliens as you can see on FB. We are all Aliens and belong to the MP Galaxy. We believe in Love, celebrate each other, and are all powerful and ready to conquer the world with music and love. Our secret is we love to party, Dance and have fun.

[heading]After 9 days[/heading]

Entertainment, Music, Talks

Shardul Pandey Talks To Olga Korsak About Her Debut Album Release

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SPT Olga

Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Olga at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself.

Olga Korsak: Hi. My name is Olga Korsak. I was born in Riga, Latvia. I moved to Canada 5 years ago because I had a dream, I really wanted to sing!

I used to be a professional figure skater, I was multiple national Champion and winner of many international competitions around the world. At age 17 I suffered a serious back injury and was forced to leave the ice. I started to take intensive music courses to distract myself and with time I realized that all I want to do is music. There weren`t any serious opportunities for me in my Country so when I got a chance to move to Canada, I thought: “That`s your sign Olga, go!”

That`s how I ended up in Canada. It was very hard in the beginning because I came to Toronto completely alone, no English to help and 100$ in my pocket! I took endless lessons for my voice, piano , pronunciation. I worked so many different jobs to support my training and finally I am so close to make my dream happen!

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I am in Latvia now, working on my first album of originals songs! I am so blessed to be supported with so many great people! I wanna bring smiles on people faces through my music, because the best reward for me is when I see people are moved and touched by my songs!

Unfortunately the album cost big money and with help of my friends and teachers we created a campaign to raise missing funds for my album. People can click the link, watch the video about my life story and how i got where I am right now, chose to pre-order the album or tickets to my concert and help me to collect missing amount of money to finish the album. All the money from pre-orders goes towards actual recording of the album. Check out our campaign:  http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/olga-korsak-debut-album/x/4243604

Shardul Pandey: So currently you are recording your debut album of original songs, when do you think it will be released? Please briefly describe your sound and your debut album ? Tell us about the songs which you have already written and recorded ?

Olga Korsak: The album will be released on March 1st/2014. It will consist of 12 original songs, both music and lyrics are written by me. I am not writing about something I do not feel or not familiar with, all my songs are about some events which touched my life one or the other way. It is hard for me to talk about something what bothering me, about memories or hopes, about happiness or sadness, it is much easier to tell the story using the notes. I hope listeners will find themself in my songs, I do hope I can do some good using my creative work.

We don`t revile for now the name of the album, it will be opened to the public after the first song is released. Please follow the news on my facebook fan page https://www.facebook.com/korsak.singer

The style I am using for my music is pop, jazz, art pop, indie pop, baroque pop, soul.

We just started to work on the album, all songs are in a creative process. You can listen some live recordings of the songs on the youtube. I do not like telling what they are about, it is better when the listener discover himself/herself.

Shardul Pandey: OK, the name of your album will be opened to public after the first song is released. Any rough idea of your first song release date, it is a music video release ?

Olga Korsak: We are planning to release the first song and a music video at the same day, the date is chosen to be February 1st/2014. We will do our best to keep our promise and be on time. I am so excited about the music video we are shooting in October here in Riga, Latvia. More then 20 talented and most of them already well known people will be working on set. The song is almost ready and I am with excitement looking at the preparation process. I can not wait to work with a young and promising Director Lauris Beinerts. He is also from Latvia but currently working and living in London, Great Britain. So again do not forget to like my facebook fan page and be the First to watch the music video ;) https://www.facebook.com/korsak.singer

Shardul Pandey: And what you do for entertainment ? How long have you lived in Latvia and what keeps you there with music?

Olga Korsak: When I am not busy with my music I always use a chance to spend time with my friends or go closer to the nature, nothing re-charge human battery better than trees and lakes! I also like active time spending, in the summer it is running, swimming, biking, hiking but winter time snowboarding, snow ball fighting, dancing. I also read and enjoy good movies, I even taking acting courses and planning in the future to do some acting.

I was born in Latvia and spent 20 years of my life here. I left to Canada almost 5 years ago and now I can honestly say that Toronto became my home. I do miss Riga and it`s small streets, my parents and childhood friends but unfortunately Riga couldn`t give me opportunities to making art. I am so glad I got a chance to record my album here at home, I can spend time with my family and walk those familiar streets again.

Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?

Olga Korsak: Dear Netizens, if you do have a dream , no meter small it is or big , do not give up. We have only one life to live and do not let anyone to live it for you! Thank you so much for reading about my project and I can not wait to perform for you! Please visit my Indiegogo campaign to watch the full story about my life and listening me sing. http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/olga-korsak-debut-album/x/4243604

Entertainment, Music, Talks, Technology

Shardul Pandey Talks To Carly Krantz, A Southern Rock Singer

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Shardul Pandey Talks To Carly Krantz

Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Carly at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself.

Carly Krantz: My name is Carly Krantz and I’m a southern rock singer from Atlanta, GA. I’ve been playing piano a writing music since I was a kid but I wasn’t always able to sing. It was something I decided I wanted to do in high school, so I joined choir and practiced 24/7 until I sounded even halfway decent. When I turned 21 I joined a band called Kenotia and we signed to Sumerian Records out of LA. We released our ep You’ve Dug Your Grave, Now Lie in It in October 2007 and had multiple songs on MTV’s The Hills. After Kenotia disbanded I started working with different producers and writers in Atlanta and really focused on my songwriting. After working with so many talented musicians I finally found my musical niche in country/southern rock music. I’m currently working on my first solo ep and I hope I have it recorded by the end of this year. You can keep up with my shenanigans at https://www.facebook.com/CarlyKrantz

Shardul Pandey: Would you like to briefly explain your sound, your First EP to people who have not yet heard your music ? How long have you been working on this project for ? Tell us about the songs which you have already recorded/written ?

Carly Krantz: My sound is southern rock/country influenced. I’ve always loved the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd and even Kid Rock’s newer stuff because I feel like it’s a good solid mix of country and rock and that’s what I hope to capture with my ep. I’ve been writing with a very talented writer named Jeff Silver who lives in Atlanta and we have been working on this batch of songs for a good 6 months, but really I’ve been working towards this specific project for the past couple of years, experimenting and trying to find where my voice belongs.

The songs I have now are different from any songs I’ve written in the past not just because of content but even just the thought process behind them. Being in an indie rock band, you kind of have the liberty to just say what’s on your mind, but when you’re writing mainstream music and especially country music, you really have to put in a lot of thought as to what you’re saying and how you’re saying it. Sometimes Jeff and I will spend an hour on writing just one line, which is something I’ve never done before but you can definitely see the quality difference in the lyrics i’m writing now as opposed to lyrics I wrote 5 years ago. As far as lyrical content, the songs are loosely based on me but are more relatable to the general public and that’s something I’ve never done before. I used to write songs so specific to my situation that I think it may have been hard for people to relate to but the songs I have now can be enjoyed by anybody.

Shardul Pandey: You said that your most important goal is to finish writing songs in Nashville with top country songwriter. Do you have any ultimate goals ? Success can mean many different things so what does success mean to you ?

Carly Krantz: My ultimate goal is and always has been to be able to make a decent living off of music and to be able to tour most of the year. I’ve never specifically wanted to be a superstar, I’ve always just wanted to be able to do music full time. If I could look into my future a few years, what I’d really like to see is me touring 500 person venues and writing for other artists. I don’t need a label, if that comes along it’s a bonus. I just want music to be my career. Success can mean a lot of different things to different people, and I think someone is successful when they’re completely happy and satisfied with what they’ve achieved.

Shardul Pandey: So how our netizens can help you finish and record your EP with professional musicians and producers ?

Carly Krantz: I really struggled with the idea of a fundraising campaign for myself, it’s not something I decided overnight. I hate asking for help and I especially hate asking for money but when I got the invite to Nashville and Atlanta, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to travel, record and pay musicians unless I reached out for assistance. The main reason I gave in and created my campaign was because Indiegogo creates a reward system for both parties, so not only are people donating to me but I also get to give them things in return. People can see what my campaign is all about here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-carly-record-her-solo-ep

And yes, donations help me immensely but even just sharing the link on Facebook is a huge help!

The most important thing I want to leave people with is that this ep is something I’ve wanted to do my entire life, my music on my terms the way I want to do it. It’s something I’ve been working towards for the past 13 years and to get to finish this ep would be a dream come true. I truly appreciate every one’s help whether it was money, sharing my links or just a general appreciation for the music I’ve created, it means the world to me and it’s not something I’ll ever take for granted. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you!!!

Entertainment, Music, Talks, Technology

Shardul Pandey Talks To Don Duvall, Keyboard Player, Vocalist & Songwriter

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SPT Don

Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Don at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself.

Don Duvall: I grew up in a little town (well it was then, not so little anymore) called Laurel, Maryland. My mother was a self taught piano player who played by ear and could also sing very well. She wanted me to be musical too when I was a child, so at the age of 5, I started taking piano lessons to learn to read music and play the piano the right way. I hated it! I rebelled constantly whenever I had to study for my lesson every week. I had a piano teacher named Mrs. Oaks who was of foreign dissent (she was oriental and I don’t remember where exactly she was from, but sometimes I had a hard time understanding her). I remember once at her home, where I took the piano lessons, I was sitting next to her on the piano bench as she talked to my mother who usually wasn’t present during the lesson. My attention span veered off into boredom and I started tinkling around with the ivories playing something that was very easy and quite off subject you might say. Mrs. Oakes turned around suddenly and grabbed her knitting needle and whacked me across the knuckles asserting with a loud voice “NO CHOPPY STICKS!” My mom was quite in shock, but actually when she wasn’t there at the lesson, Mrs. Oakes would use the needle constantly to keep me from bending my fingers as I played, using the correct fingering technique. It didn’t really hurt, but it keep me in line. She was quite a teacher, and taught me a lot.

I went on several years later to a music school in Waco, Texas. My family moved there in 1963. We didn’t live there too long because at the time, jobs were scarce and income was very low. My mom couldn’t make a living so we moved back to Maryland again in 1965. While I was in Texas I advanced my skills tremendously and I actually played with a concert band at the age of 11 at an outdoor amphitheatre in front of over 1000 people. I remember (though not very clearly) being very frightened as I played “The Blue Danube Waltz” on a grand piano from start to finish .I believe it was that day that changed my life forever. You see, I had never had anyone show appreciation for my skills out loud until that day, and the roar of the applause motivated me to a much greater satisfaction of playing the piano and music in general.

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After we moved back to Maryland, my mom put me in the College Park Conservatory of Music near the University of Md. I studied there until I was14. I then stopped my studies and starting listening to the radio and learning songs by ear. I had always played from the books up until that point, and playing by ear was something that just came naturally to me. I soon became fascinated in other instruments and had my mom buy a Bass guitar. I started playing bass in a band in Junior High school and quickly realized I wasn’t any good at it and better get back to something I had experience on! So I bought a Combo Organ. It was then I understood that it was actually something that I was really good at and I could possibly make money doing something I loved if I stuck with it. So as I played at Pool Parties, Teen Club Dances and other social events I was toning my skills for later in life. However, I was no longer reading music and relied totally upon learning by ear. I played all through high school in several bands with my musical (and some not so musical) friends. Then, straight out of high school I went into the Music business Full Time in local groups in the DC/MD/VA area and spent the next 4 decades playing music, doing what I love best, sometimes on the road 25-30 weeks a year. I’ve played in several Las Vegas type show bands where I have done everything from being Dolly Pardon in a dress with big balloons on my chest, to being one of the Temptations in a Motown review. Singing lead vocals has always been something I enjoy, so I have always been in bands that were vocally strong with lots of harmonies. I still play today in bands but my main concentration today is dedicated to writing songs which has become a true passion for me.

Hope you liked my introduction. I attached a few early pictures. One of my Mom at the Piano and the other of me showing great displeasure at having to practice the piano!

Shardul Pandey: Tell our netizens something about Musical CD which you are planning to record with your best original tunes ?

Don Duvall: I have written songs that I’m proud of. I believe my tunes represent a solid foundation that results in a sale-able commodity. I have got to say that I have very high hopes for the songs that I am trying to put out there. They are the kind of tunes that appeal to many different listeners’ tastes. I have a record executive who is very excited about working with me and he has a full blown studio with studio musicians that are really top notch. A number of my songs can be heard on my website. Some of my tunes have been played on the radio here in North Carolina on a local station just from my home studio recording, and although they sounded great on the radio, I can imagine how good they could come across if they were recorded in a professional studio with the help of session musicians with a top flight engineer and producer. I have that waiting for me in NY when I can get funding together to make it happen.

Shardul Pandey: You have been a good musician since childhood and over the last 4 decades you’ve put a lot of time in composing songs so how do you see your journey has been? Tell us about your experiences as an artist ?

Don Duvall: My musical journey has been very fulfilling. When I was young, once I found out what it is like to play with very good musicians and know the satisfaction of learning songs as a group that sound “official” as I like to call cover songs that sound enough like the original song to receive applause and get paid at the same time, I couldn’t wait to be able to do it for a living. I realized that dream of being a full time musician at age 20. After playing locally in some of the areas nightclubs for a few months, I joined a band that had a very busy booking agency behind them that kept the group working all the time. I sometimes felt like the road was my home as we would sometimes be out of town 4-8 weeks at a time and 25-30 weeks a year. The only drawback was it was hard on my wife who stayed at home mostly with our newborn son in the early years. I regret that I missed a lot of his childhood being gone all those years, and there were times I was extremely homesick. But we all survived and today we are still a happy family. My son and I still enjoy a wonderful relationship and my wife and I have been married for 41 yrs. I have to say although it was tough, I’m not sure I would change a thing about the way my musical career unfolded. I’m not sure my wife would say the same thing! But I believe in our case absence Does make the heart grow fonder. I have written a ton of songs since I started writing in the late 60’s. Many I didn’t even keep in my memory. In the early days, recording equipment was very primitive to us traveling musicians who had very little time at home to own their own portable studio. The best tool I used to have was a small cassette recorder. I couldn’t tell you how many songs I composed on the one I had, all noisy and mono. You couldn’t go back and rewrite when you wanted to edit anything, because the buttons were play and record. No tracks to erase and insert. So it was always “start over again”! I don’t know how many tunes I would have kept out of the assortment of tunes I created, but I wish I would have kept a few of the best for later. I mainly wrote my songs for my own enjoyment, and rarely even shared them with my co-musicians. But occasionally I would let one be heard that I thought was really good. The first tune I wrote that exposed to my band was when I was in a group back in 1970 called “Ramp”(Kind of an odd name for a band but when found an old yellow highway sign laying on the side of the road that was behind replaced and the drummer brought it home. It said RAMP and underneath it had a line and it said “Exit 40 mph”. Well, we got some yellow paint and blanked out the exit and changed it to “TOP” So the sign, which was much larger than you might think, said RAMP/top 40….I always thought it was clever and we saved money from having to make a real sign!) Anyway, the song was Leaving Me Behind. I still have it on a cassette from Radio Shack. The band went into the Fine Arts building at the University of Maryland and a friend of the sax player was the audio visual tech there. We made a 10 song cassette of cover songs, but included my original song on it. Since the early days most of the bands I played in were Nightclub bands that played all top 40 radio music and they really weren’t venues to play your originals in. They usually called for recognizable music that people danced to. So although we threw a few in every now and then, I was never in a self promotion band that was trying to sell originals and get on the radio. It was more like a 9-5 job that was fulfilling, and doing what I loved to do. I used to say to my friends and when people asked what I did for a living, I told them “You work for a living. I PLAY for my living”. One of the more rewarding originals I recorded in my home studio in the 90’s was a song called “Homeless”. It was about the homeless situation and how it has escalated in the past few decades. The group I worked in at the time learned the song and we were invited to play for a huge homeless benefit in Washington, DC with my song as the theme for the gathering. Over 1200 people were cheering for my song when it ended. Quite rewarding and for a good cause too. I actually had the tune captured from my YouTube site and was on the cover page of a website called US News and World Report. My only regret is I never went into a studio and re recorded it so it sounded more like a professional recording. I could always picture the tune being picked up by a major artist and recording it in the same fashion as “We Are The World” with many different national and international artists singing lines. It’s actually still on You Tube. It sounds a bit dated by today’s standards now. But still translates well I think.

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Lately, I have been doing more writing than ever and I am starting to submit my tunes whenever I see an opportunity arise. I’ve a member of several websites that promote music and have a collaborator that sometimes writes lyrics and then I do the music. I really don’t think my journey is close to climaxing or being over as I am more inspired now than ever to get my songs out there. Hopefully I will be recording a new CD in the next few months of 12 of my best tunes to date done in a professional studio. I hope that then the journey will actually be just beginning!

Shardul Pandey: So do you own a domain name? Likewise Internet is distributed in to domain names. You must have one like DonDuvall.com as that would indeed be accommodating your fan-following independently to make some value for you. Weblog with integrated social networks to regularly keep on blogging about little things of life works wonderfully in show business. What do you think ?

Don Duvall: Yes I do have a Domain Name.  www.DonDuvall.com should be active by week’s end. I also occasionally run an internet talk show on Blogtalkradio.com where I talk about the music business with call in guests and some other entertainers who send me their mp3 originals to play for my listeners to hear so they can get some exposure. I have activated a new artists page on Facebook at Facebook.com/DonDuvallMusic  (feel free to check it out and “like” me!)I just created it and made it separate from my personal Facebook account. I’m also on Twitter @ddpianoman.

I have a number of You Tube videos out there in cyber space. Here is a short one with me singing a tune recorded by The Eagles :

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Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?

Don Duvall: I’d like to say to all the netizens out there that I am someone who has lived a very full life although I have always been striving to find that ultimate utopia that exists somewhere. I’m not sure if I will find it, but I will never give up. I have been on the edge a few times in my life of not knowing what was coming next. Especially in the last year as my wife and I both lost our jobs within a two week period. We were absolutely not prepared and devastated. We just about sold everything we had, her car was repossessed, and I had to get rid of some of my musical gear that I didn’t want to get rid of just so we could buy groceries. We then moved out of state to live with relatives for a few months until we could find work. We finally did get jobs after a very hard struggle with one job application after another, and we once again have gotten a nice place to call home, but it will be a long time until we fully recover. HOWEVER the older I get the more determined I am to succeed. I have been through a lot in my lifetime, had many successes and about the same amount of disappointments or more, but you never succeed at anything until you give it a try. Nothing ventured nothing gained as they say. I am hoping people who find out about me will hopefully enjoy my musical journeys and share it with others. I live my life with a philosophy that many others should adapt. Expect nothing in life, and anything you get will be a bonus. That way it is harder to be upset when something doesn’t exactly go as planned. But never give up on your dreams. My music project is a dream I have been trying to capture but never knew quite how to do it because of limited funds, and a lack of knowing what to do to get it off the ground. I know have gotten at least part of the problem solved by getting a good solid foundation under me with my searching for someone to take interest in helping me record and produce my songs. The other part of the problem hopefully is only a short time away. My music project is on indiegogo.com and can be viewed here.

You can help me with my project for contributions as low as $1.00 US Please give it a look and expect great things if this project gets off the ground. I am keeping my fingers crossed and as always hoping for the best. As Commander Peter Quincy Taggert (Tim Allen)in the movie Galaxy Quest said “Never Give Up, Never Surrender”. That’s my motto too.

Entertainment, Music, Talks, Technology

Shardul Pandey Talks To Aubrey Erin About Her First EP ’48 Hours’

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Shardul Pandey Talks - Aubrey Erin

Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Aubrey at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself.

Aubrey Erin: Well, I’m 21 from South Texas. I started singing when I was in 4th grade in choir, but never really desired to be a singer. I mostly wanted to be an Olympic Gymnast, but when I got older I realized I didn’t want to do that anymore. I was terrified of singing in front of people until my junior year of high school when I did my school’s talent show. After that, I went on to college at Baylor University where I thought I was going to study medicine and become a doctor, but after a semester I figured out that singing is what I want to do with my life. I picked up the guitar, started writing my songs, which I might add were AWFUL at first, and started making music. My junior year in college I really got going on it, I put out my first song on YouTube, and now when I look back at it, it makes me giggle a little bit. After that, I interned at ASCAP in Los Angeles and played a couple open mics out there and was on a radio show. Fast forward to now, I am living in Austin, TX working on my music. I’m currently raising funds to make an EP, and hopefully move on to Nashville soon.

Shardul Pandey: So would you like to briefly explain your sound, your first EP – 48 Hours to people who have not yet heard your music ?

Aubrey Erin: My first EP 48 Hours is something I’m really excited about. Simply put, it’s country music. Although, it’s not the honky tonk style of country. It definitely leans more on the side of country-pop, but not so bubblegum sounding.(If that makes sense) The title song, 48 Hours, is one I’m really proud of, and it has a happy sound to an unhappy story. So it’ll kind of throw you off. Another song on it is one I wrote for my sister’s wedding. It’s a love song ballad, and one of the best things I’ve gotten to perform. The other songs, well, you’ll just have to wait and see!

Shardul Pandey: How do you see yourself progress in this field? What keeps you unique ? What is your foremost experience as an artist ?

Aubrey Erin: I see myself progressing quickly. I keep putting myself out there and making music. It just takes 1 person to hear my sound, and like it enough to give me a real shot. I think with this EP I will really be able to put my foot in the industry. What keeps me unique is that I am influenced by a lot more than just country music, and I think that’s evident through my music. I listen to a lot of other genres and sometimes I incorporate that writing style and mix it with country music. There have been a lot of experiences that are crazy to me, but I think the one that sticks out the most was last summer when one of my songs got up to the Top 25 on the UK music chart Beat 100. It was so cool to me that people liked my music enough to vote for it out of the thousands of songs on there.

Shardul Pandey: What advice would you give to newbie musicians? Who were your biggest musical influences ?

Aubrey Erin: My advice for newbie musicians would be, get used to hearing “No”, a lot. It doesn’t mean that your music isn’t good, or that no one likes you. It means that at that point in time, you weren’t exactly what they were looking for. Keep going, keep making music, as long as you’re doing it because you love it, not because you want to be famous.

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My biggest musical influences are tough to choose, but I’d say my top two were LeAnn Rimes and Pat Green. Also, in the non-country genres, there’s a band called Cartel who I really admire.

Shardul Pandey: Is there any other musical projects you currently working on, any upcoming music videos ? International Tours on your skyline ? Etc

Aubrey Erin: Currently I’m focusing on getting things together for my EP. Although, I am putting together a band, so it won’t just be me and my guitar anymore! I’m excited, because my music will have a fuller sound, and be something you would want to hear on the radio driving down the road! Unfortunately, I’m not doing any touring at the moment, but there have been whispers of maybe going and playing some shows across the US in the spring. Fingers crossed.

Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?

Aubrey Erin: My ultimate message for netizens is going to sound so cliché, but it holds true. If you have something you love to do, set goals, make plans to meet them, and then don’t stop until you do. We have a whole lifetime to do what we want, there’s no reason to give up.

Entertainment, Films, Talks, Technology

Shardul Pandey Talks To Luís Caracinha About His Upcoming Movie ‘The Rope’

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Shardul Pandey Talks To Luís Caracinha About His Upcoming Movie 'The Rope'

Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Luís at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself.

Luís Caracinha: I’m Luís Caracinha, a Portuguese communication designer living in Faro, south’s Portugal. I’m 24 years old and after 6 years working on design projects I decided to make a own project in cinema. In November 2011 I started developing the concept for a short movie based on a poem written by a Portuguese poet, Tiago Marcos, which talks about the story of a child and a old woman who have with them a common thing, a rope. The short film wants to invite you to think about your relation with your memories and the way we look and act about other’s life.

The rope’s project started full-time on February 2013 when We Make Productions decided to hug the project. In few months we got a 40 members team counting with camera men, director of photography, costume designer, story-boarders, translators, production assistants, press team, hairstylist, make up, etc. Also Original Features, an important film producer in Portugal, decided to support this short.The project is now in post-production and we are counting to launch it on the first semester of 2014. We have people working with us in countries such as Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, England, Greece and Russia.

To help the film production we created a crowd funding campaign, which finish tomorrow, on the international platform indiegogo (http://igg.me/at/therope/x/3491364)

The team is made by young professionals who have a great talent and got this project as an opportunity to show how good they are and how many talented people exists in our country.

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Shardul Pandey: What do you hope audiences take away from your film ‘The Rope’ ?

Luís Caracinha:The Rope is an invitation to build a review of our life until now. To look around, to think out of our routine and to ask ourselves how we want it to be in the future and how we treat those around us, who have a so much to share and teach. We think about our future in an specific way, almost all the time. We have a goal and a path. The thing is, the possibilities to reach your inner “self” are infinite. You must choose and think about what you are becoming every day. And that’s because you are constantly changing.

Shardul Pandey: You said you are developing the concept for a short movie since 2011 so what are your experiences ? What advice can you give for first time filmmakers?

Luís Caracinha: When I have an idea, I need time to let it grow. When you want to express it and put people thinking about it you should take a notebook and write all the possibilities. Talking to people about your ideas is also very important. That’s why I started working in this short-film in November 2011 but just started to materialize it in February 2013. Before this year I wasn’t prepared to make the short film. I hadn’t a team, and I hadn’t support. When I shared my idea with We Make Productions and its production team, a bright green light turned on in my mind, and here we are!

During the filming, our main “enemy” is time. Time is money in a production with 40 people and you are always feeling that you could do it better. Basically you always want another take. That’s when the producer come sin and shouts “No, your late!”. Time management is crucial in order to have the team working well and with enthusiasm. Oh, and also a lot of food and water!

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As director, when you write a script and start imagining it on the screen you don’t have any limitations. You imagination can go wherever you want. This is one of the best parts of creating a film. You are always looking for the best and most beautiful way to show people what you want them to feel. And everything looks easy until you get a producer. In this point everything changes and you start looking to your script, and then to your storyboard and after, to your budget. Here comes the funny part of the creative process: to adapt what you imagined to the best way of showing it, using your budget.

In this stage, it is only normal to feel a lot of desolation, but as director, you must know how to work with it because it’s very hard to put on the screen the exact same image you dreamed of.

My advices are: Be flexible to changes. Accept other opinions because your are making films for people not for you. Think out of the box and let a personal mark in your project. Learn how to work under pressure and with a real budget. Look always for beauty, even when it must look ugly. Be clever when choosing the right team for work.

Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?

Luís Caracinha: I hope this short film gets the possibility to touch the audience. I would like to invite everyone to follow our work in the social networks and on our website www.therope.pt. There you can find all information about what we’re doing. Until Februrary/March 2014 we will be working on post production, the original soundtrack composition and promoting the short film. Unfortunately, there are a lot of investment that we need in order to improve the final result of the film. We are still looking for donations. If you believe in our work and want to support this project contact us by sending an email to info@therope.pt. Thank you Shardul for your interest.

Image Credits: Joana Van Hellemond

Talks, Technology

Shardul Pandey Talks To Priyanka Bhattacharya

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Shardul Pandey Talks To Priyanka Bhattacharya

Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Priyanka at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself.

Priyanka Bhattacharya: My hometown is Banaras. I’m from a middle class Bengali family. I started singing when I was 6 years old. My parents have always been supportive of my career choice, as they were also into music, though not professionally. My father, Sri Atanu Kumar Bhattacharya plays tabla and he initiated me into music. I then started learning classical music from respected Pandit Devashish Dey. My first big moment was when I won the prestigious AIR Vocal Music Competition when I was in 12th standard. In the meanwhile, I completed the six-year course of Hindustani Classical Vocal music (Prabhakar) from Prayag Sangeet Samiti. Then I got into Banaras Hindu University for my Bachelors in Music from the renowned Faculty of Performing Arts. During my graduation days, one day I got a call from Gajendra Singh, the creator of the famous music reality show, ‘SaReGaMaPa’ on Zee TV for ‘Challenge 2005’ edition of the show. My parents were really thrilled about that. I was very nervous during the entire process of audition… but eventually got selected in Adesh Srivastav’s gharana. I came to Mumbai for the first time… it was like a dream… I had mixed feelings because this was the first time I had stepped out of my hometown all by myself. But unfortunately, my grandmother expired at that time and I had to quit the show midway. For a brief moment, I was really down.

But after two years I came to Mumbai and joined Gajendra Singh’s music academy… and learnt from the best in the business. Then I returned to Banaras to complete my Masters degree in Music, and was awarded the University Gold Medal. My parents insisted that I should pursue music academically. But I wanted to pursue playback singing… I fought with my family and finally convinced all them to let me come to Mumbai and try my luck at least once. They gave me one month to prove to them that I could do something meaningful in Mumbai, or else I would have to go back. I had heard all kinds of scary stories about how it takes years for a singer to get their first major break, or a hit song. I was apprehensive.. yet I had no option but to try. During my initial days, I used to stay in Vashi with my cousin brother and sister-in-law. I used to travel from Vashi to Andheri everyday by local train for meetings and just to visit the studios, to know people, make contacts. One day, I came across a book called ‘Music-master’ at a magazine stall and I bought it. It had the contacts of people from the music industry. I started mailing my songs to music directors, sound recordists, etc. I would have mailed around fifty people but only three or four of them replied. I went to meet them and got two projects: one was under the Yashraj banner; a film called, ‘The Return of Jagdish Chandra Basu’… for this project, I sang with Shaan and Sunidhi Chouhan; and the second song was for the film ‘Mausam’. Later, I got a jingle for ‘Ganesh Kavach’… and on the basis of these three songs, I could convince my parents to let me shift to Mumbai permanently. I have sung in almost eighty movies (South to Hindi dubbed), a number of jingles like Venkey’s, Swasti fresh chakki atta, Bumchums etc., for TV serials like, Ganga ki dheej’, theme songs, and background vocals for films like ‘Cocktail’ and ‘Houseful 2. I have worked with a few of the most famous music directors of our time, like Pritam, Jeet Ganguly, Ram Sampath and others, and I have learned a lot from each one of them. I have sung for an upcoming movie being directed by Vivek Sharma (director of Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Bhootnath’ ). And recently I sang in MTV Coke Studio with Ram Sampath and Sona Mahapatra. The experience was truly gratifying. Just a few days back, my album released on all the major online music portals… it’s called “The Dark Lounge”, and by the grace of the Almighty, it’s already topping the charts. I also do a unique musical storytelling show, travelling across the country with renowned lyricist and writer, Neelesh Misra.

There’s just one assurance that I would like to give to all my well-wishers and my fans… that no matter what, I will continue to work hard. I believe in dreams and desire. I had a dream, over a period of time, it became my heartfelt desire and today I’m here, and I believe it’s just only the beginning of a lifelong journey

Priyanka Bhattacharya 3

Shardul Pandey: Music industry is competitive but people are listening to your music. So what do you think, why have you succeeded in a field where so many others have failed ?

Priyanka Bhattacharya: I won’t say that others have failed, every artist has his/her own specialty and struggling is something which every artist has faced and even I am not an exception, But yes I would absolutely like to share with you that why I succeeded and why people are listening to my music, My recent release “THE DARK LOUNGE” which has shown a tremendous response and It’s world-class music is being appreciated by wide range of listeners from across the world, I have given my best to this album not only on singing part but lyrics, composition and music as well, this album is of very high-end production quality and we have made it keeping the taste of Indian and abroad listeners in mind, In short it has been made from the audience point of view and I think I have been able to give justice to the expectations of my audience.

Shardul Pandey: Yes struggling is something that every artist has faced and it is also a simplistic perspective. Success and failure can mean many different things.

Every new idea is a copy of a copy of a copy. What do you think? Likewise you compose most of your own music; so from where do you draw ideas, inspiration or intuition from when you write songs ? How much you like this process and when you get completely satisfied with output ?

Priyanka Bhattacharya: I won’t say every idea is a copy of a copy, but an inspiration of an inspiration. Listening to tune creates a different chain of ideas differently in every mind. So in a way there’s always a piece of originality in a composition, even if it’s a result of an inspiration. When i reach a point where i realize that adding or subtracting anything to any of my composition can reduce its desired effect, i consider it complete…basically true artist always create something new…i believe in creating rather getting inspired.

Shardul Pandey: What is something you learned recently about singing, and what are you learning about now? According to you, what are cushy and hard parts of singing ? What is your foremost experience as an artist ?

Priyanka Bhattacharya: I think I’m learning everyday. Each day I learn some thing new about music,profession and art. regular riyaz helps me keep myself prepared for all the challenges. It gives confidence… The audience can’t be fooled these days, a singer cannot get away by taking the easier routes. One has to be prepared for every type of singing style now a days. I think this is the most important thing I have learned in these years and I would suggest everyone to do right riyaz daily under the guidance of your ustad (guruji’s)

Shardul Pandey: So would you like to briefly explain your sound and your new album ‘The Dark Lounge’ to people who have not yet heard your music ?

Priyanka Bhattacharya: Dark Lounge is a totally new brand of music I’ve done till now. It’s world music gives it a universal appeal to the audience. I think this gives this album the cutting edge, because of which people are liking it so much. It has music for all ages, all kinds of taste. If you have not heard it, I would definitely suggest you listen to it once. I’m sure that’ll be enough to get you addicted to it.

Shardul Pandey: Yes of-course “The Dark Lounge’ gives a universal appeal. I am listening to it and I highly recommend it to our readers here.

What do you think is your strength as a performer ? Any new plans for an international tour on your horizon?

Priyanka Bhattacharya: As an artist I think the urge in me to always learn, experiment and 100% input are my strengths. Basically I m classically trained which gives me strength and power as a performer. I’ve got offers for international tours, but I already have many work related commitments which I can’t abandon. As soon as i get a little free from my schedules and recordings, I’d definitely plan out an international tour

Shardul Pandey: What makes your endeavors unique? What advice would you give to newbie musicians?

Priyanka Bhattacharya: I think what gives uniqueness to my endeavors is the dedication of the entire team I work with. Here I’d like to thank God for always making me surrounded with great people, not just great artists/professional but great from heart. They have loved their work, and together as a team we have successfully made such music.

I would advice all the young musicians in fact all those who want to pursue a dream that they should never lose hope, the tunnel might be long but there’s always light at the end of it.

Shardul Pandey: Do you have any ultimate goal ? Success can mean many different things so what does success mean to you and how would you like to be remembered ?

Priyanka Bhattacharya: I have not made any such goals, my dream was to become a successful singer, which I’m enjoying a bit right now. I want to sing and record my songs more and more. I’m looking forward to continue this work consistently in the coming future, and let’s see where it takes me.

Shardul Pandey: Do you own a domain name? Likewise Internet is distributed in to domain names. You must have one like priyankabhattacharya.co as that would indeed be accommodating your fan-following independently to make some value for you. Weblog with integrated social networks to regularly keep on blogging about little things of life works wonderfully in show business. What do you think ?

Priyanka Bhattacharya: As of now, it gets a little hectic for me balancing both work and interacting with my fans through social networking websites, so soon I’ll be launching my official website www.priyankabhattacharya.com

Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?

Priyanka Bhattacharya: I have only one message for my audiences and that it is: “thank you so sooo soooo much for liking my songs, my voice.

No matter how hard you work, how much you practice, if the audience doesn’t like it, it’s all a waste.

And seeing so much love and appreciation from my listeners makes me elated and grateful for their love…keep listening to my songs.”

Entertainment, Music, Talks

Shardul Pandey Talks To Rolando Absinth, An American Electronic Dance Music Producer

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Rolando Jasso, better known by his alias Absinth, is an American EDM producer from Houston, Texas who started producing music at the age of 12.

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Entertainment, Films, Talks

Shardul Pandey Talks To Shriswara

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Inspired for acting by Yash Chopra’s Shahrukh Khan starrer superhit Hindi film Dil To Pagal Hai, stage dancer Shriswara is at first seen upon celluloid screen in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s period film, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag before to fully act Nafisa in D-Day as RAW agent Wali Khan(Irfan Khan)’s Pakistani wife. Her own early life experience at Lucknow helped her in naturally doing so since Indian sub-continent is still so similar at the core.
Shardul Pandey Talks To Shriswara

Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Shriswara at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself, your story.

Shriswara: I don’t have much of a story to tell and am quite far from the climax of my career. I grew up watching many films which influenced me towards the performing arts from a very young age. I’ve given nearly a thousand auditions in the last four years with ads sprouting from some and one main one resulting in “D-Day.”

Shardul Pandey: Think back to your first audition. What was it like?

Shriswara: My first audition was for Samsung with Aamir Khan. I was a little more excited about Aamir than the ad itself. There was a long line at Nirvana Studio 97, Shreeji. There wasn’t anything scary, actually, at that point. I had waited quite long to give an audition and internally was prepared. I gave the audition and went home keeping my fingers, toes, eyes, feet, laces, brain, everything crossed for the next week, but of course, nothing happened. That was a bit of the hard part, as that happened 250 times again before I landed my first ad eight months later.

Shardul Pandey: So what advice would you give to newbie actors and someone who wanted to do what you do? What do you like most about this profession ?

Shriswara: I would say to a newbie that they’d better want this with every last electron in their soul. If luck is on your side then yes, things fall in place coincidentally, else you can do everything in your power without any positive result, and despite obsessive desire, it’s usually the later most of the time. You have to keep your heart and mind open to failure but remain tenacious, else it will eat you alive from within. What I love about acting the most is acting itself. When you finally act in something you love, in my case, D-Day, all the complaints, all the frustrations, all the tried patience become worth it. You become free of everything, including yourself.

Shardul Pandey: After acting in D-Day, what you learned about yourself from the experience? What are cushy and hard parts of acting? What is your profession’s greatest challenge today?

Shriswara: After acting in D-Day I’ve learned that I still shouldn’t lose my patience. I’ve graduated, perhaps, to level two of the video game. Challenges have also graduated and this time in different disguises. The difficult areas in acting for me is making sure what I feel internally reaches my face and body language. My heart can be pounding in my chest in the scene, but the audience cannot see or feel that unless I emote correctly. Getting that balance is difficult. My professions greatest challenge is staying afloat outside and inside of the industry. Choosing desired work, waiting for desired work, achieving that work and still be able to eat and pay rent in Mumbai; plus balancing the pressure from those related to you. It’s hard to explain to them why it takes so long and requires so many interviews before you’re seen on screen consistently.

Shardul Pandey: I must applaud you for your phenomenal instincts in acting. What you feel is your strength as an actor and how would you like to be remembered ?

Shriswara: I believe my strength as an actor is that I’m emphatic and emotional. I’d like to be remembered as being a good human being.

Shardul Pandey: So now what’s next for you? What can we expect from you this year or in the next few years ? What kind of character roles do you prefer and where do you see yourself in future ?

Shriswara: I have no idea what’s next for me. What characters are in line for more, which will be taking birth in scripts that I may be a part of in the future, I haven’t any idea and perhaps, it’s better that way. This year of 2013, you can expect a low profile from me. Inshallah, I’ll pull a bunny or two out my hat next year. I’m not too limited on roles, except for the fact that they have to have a reason for being in the story. I have to feel what that person is feeling without the emotions being forced or cliched. As long as I’m not type casted or limited to one particular role, I’d like to play any type of any age that I can genuinely pull off.

Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?

Shriswara: मानो तो सब कुछ है, ना मानो तो कुछ भी नहीं. ख्वाब और हकीकत में कोई फर्क नहीं है सिवाय सूरत के , और उनकी अपनी कोई उमर नहीं होती (Mano to sab kuchh hai, na mano to kuchh bhi nahi. Khuab aur haqeeqat mein koi farq nahi hai sivaye soorat ke, aur unki apni koi umar nahi hoti). Be practical about your dreams, but not cynical. Be dreamy about them, but not completely careless or gullible. Be flexible where required and rigid when needed. Don’t give up; what is desired will come.

Shardul Pandey: Yours is an exotic name almost unique upon world-wide-web and that creates highest possible value upon largest media of humanity i.e. the Internet.

Internet is distributed in to domain names. You must have one like shriswara.com as that would indeed be accommodating your fan-following independently to make some value for you. Have a domain, use WordPress, integrate all social networks from within that to regularly keep on blogging about little things of life. This works wonderfully in show business.

Shriswara: Sounds good. Thank you. :)

Entertainment, Music, Talks

Shardul Pandey Talks To Marie Parie, The Alien Pop Dance Artist & Musician

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Shardul Pandey Talks To Marie Parie, The Alien Pop Dance Artist & Musician

Marie Parie lives the very definition of “alien”. As a Parisian pop artist who has called the United States home since 2005, she witnesses American society from a unique point of view. Bewildered by the process of dating and motivated by the power of futuristic music, Marie shares these observations through her art. With her debut full-length album, Alien Victory, slated for an early 2013 release, Marie anticipates us strange creatures being drawn to her playful and sexy vibe.

However, the story of Marie Parie was not always so glamorous. Abandoned by her parents at birth, Marie spent her earliest years in an abusive foster home. As a creative individual exposed to harsh living environments, she expressed herself through a love of music and dance. An affinity for singing and songwriting at an early age helped Marie develop a natural talent that was soon to become her life’s aspiration.

In her teen years, Marie was rescued from creative inhibitions by a Catholic priest. Under the artistic guidance of this priest, Marie continued to grow as a performer, singing regularly in the choir of “La Basilique de Saint Denis”, “Notre Dame de Paris”, in various school performances, and even acting -such as in the film Holby City-. Once she decided to pursue her passion further and move to America, Marie arrived with nothing and nobody, once again solidifying her alien identity.

But despite the immersion into a new culture, Marie Parie was driven to succeed in her musical aspirations, performing in cities such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara. Her dedication to art and charismatic nature quickly gained the attention of entertainment professionals who were eager to help the cause. As a result of this support, Marie’s first single, “Dating”, will come to visual life through a video shoot beginning late November 2011. * From Pain comes knowledge, the best gift of all and if your heart is torn, let your alien save you, be futuristic and let art heal you.

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Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Marie at SANGKRIT, please tell our netizens about yourself.

Marie Parie: I would like to introduce myself to my fellow citizens in India. My name is Marie Parie, self made French Pop performer. My music is catered for all people around the world that love dancing, freeing themselves and feeling good regardless of circumstances. I invite everyone to my futuristic world to escape the daily situations and would like to thank you all for being open to receive me as well in your hearts.

My style is influenced by many cultures including Indian, spanish, French, Russian flares on some of my work, especially my second album. Being French always been into Fashion and flare. I infused a lot of that in my performances as my videos witness that side of futuristic alien. My first single “Dating” is a perfect example that witnesses the American culture with different perspective. I also had an amazing and somewhat unusual childhood, raised by catholic priests, which usually is the opposite of Pop culture. I went through a lot of hardship that made me what I am today. I consider myself a warrior that fights for my music, survival as well as my Aliens Fans. Love of music always saved me and kept me strong to face just about anything that comes to me. My song “Alien Saved me” is explaining somewhat my path. I faced extreme pain as a child, and was suicidal, yet something happened that changed my life and brought me back to life. I always wrote songs as a child, that was my only language i spoke, which was my survival mechanism from overcoming the lack of love, and the loneliness.

I came to America to pursue the American dream, alone, and with no money in my pocket and no family. All i had is talent, and hope, which was not always easy. There were times when I didn’t know how to survive the next hour. I knew I was on a mission, and knew that I will win, it’s just a matter of time. I started working with producers, creating my sound, performing, and directing my videos. I extended my awareness and realized my music touches people all over the world, especially my song “We are all beautiful”. I knew how to navigate through the wolves and find an angel at a time that kept me going. One of my first mentors is Indian, and got me to Buddhism, reading about Indian leaders. This was a turning point that lead me to get signed in France. I’m very grateful for my mentors, teachers, fans, and leaders, and as well for the talent that I’m given. I hope you’ll appreciate this part of me. My goal is still to extend my mission to support children all over the world and contribute to their well beings, as I experienced the vulnerability of a child and it’s effects.

Thank you Shardul for the opportunity to express myself and as well to share all i have with my fellows in India, as well as all over the world. Very much appreciated.

Shardul Pandey: Would you like to briefly explain your sound to people who have not yet heard your music ?

Marie Parie: My sound is infusion of futuristic sounds to Pop sound. I call my sounds “Alien sounds”. Most of my harmonies are inspired by French, English, Spanish, Russian and Idien flavors. I like to mix cultures as we are All one.

Shardul Pandey: What you feel is your strength as a performer and how would you like to be remembered ?

Marie Parie: My strength is stage presence, connecting with people, as well as delivering an amazing amusing performance. Most of my songs, I wrote them to cater to the audiance, amuse, make them dance, and relax from daily lives activities. I would like to be remembered for my music as well as a philanthropist that helps empower people, mainly children as they are the future.

Shardul Pandey: What do you think, why have you succeeded in a field where so many others have failed ? What keeps you unique ? What advice would you give to newbie musicians?

Marie Parie: My success is a fruit of my consistent effort. Since I was a child I knew what I want to do, music was what kept me alive, and then I didn’t let anyone stop me. I used all the oppositions to create fuel to go forward.

Shardul Pandey: Every new idea is a copy of a copy of a copy… Likewise you compose all of your own music; so from where do you draw ideas, inspiration or intuition from when you write songs ? How much you like this process and when you get completely satisfied with output ?

Marie Parie: My style quite unique, though it fits in Pop dance world. I believe that I’m a channel through which music travelers through me to come to the world. Music creates itself, I don’t create it. I only allow it to come through me. When I write is usually late at night or early morning. The idea comes, and I simply recorded and work on it later. Then, I go to a producer who has a certain sound and work with them to get my sound, and won’t stop till I get it close. It’s merely rare for me to be satisfied. I think we are all apprentices. Now the singers that inspired me are many. I have respect for all artists around the world as well as the fans that support the expression of an artist in any of its forms. So, Michael Jackson has always been my hero, as I loved how he tried to heal the world, through music, and also the dance expression. There are many other artists, French Mylene Farmer, Madonna, Britney Spears stage presence…so many other.

My advice to other artist is to be themselves, love what they do, and believe that they can do it, and never let anyone put them down. Sometimes, we don’t know we arrived to the destination, till we open up our eyes, through a reflection. So do it no matter what is my philosophy. If you worried about pleasing everyone, it’s never gonna end. So, embrace the haters and the lovers, and focus on what you love to do.

Shardul Pandey: “I am open for interviewing all those individuals who register domain and opt Internet as their place of doing business” What is your opinion in continuing this ?

Marie Parie: I believe internet is the future, and interviews are ways to let the world know of what’s out there and help filter through, so it’s a great idea.

Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?

Marie Parie: My ultimate message for everyone, is to have love in their hearts, speak love, dream love and share love with everyone. That’s the route to happiness, and I think music is one way to get there, as you can hear dance music and be upset, it makes you jump no matter what, and that’s what I want people to do, is to dance, and free their souls. So welcome to MP Alien’s world, and drink the cup of happiness, while your body is shaking to the music.

[heading style=”1″]After 4 days…[/heading]

Marie Parie: Hi Shardul, Talking about my music is such an amazing thing, and love the work you did. I appreciate very much your support. I would love to hear about more of what you do for sure. I just released my first CD, and now working on a second. New exciting things to come. Thank you

Shardul Pandey: Thank you Marie! I wish all success to the first release of your music. I am now listening to it.

Today again our talk is trending upon SANGKRIT.net that means many more people across all time zones want to know about you. I am gratified that you admire it.

Whenever you want discussing any more creativity of yours, we may do so.

Marie Parie: Thank you so much. I’m so grateful for all you do. I would love to do so. Thank you again, will be in touch very soon.

[heading style=”1″]After 21 days…[/heading]

Entertainment, Music

Shardul Pandey Talks To Erik Mongrain, Acoustic Guitarist & Composer

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Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Erik at SANGKRIT, please tell our netizens about yourself, your story.

Shardul Pandey Talks To Erik MongrainErik Mongrain: Well that’s a long story but I can try to make it short! I started playing guitar when I was age 14. Prior to that, I was into sports only. That quickly changed with the music coming in and I learned all the grunge music from the 90s that you can think of! Also played some Metallica, Pink Floyd or really anything that I enjoyed listening to. After a few years that was not enough and I discovered J.S. Bach and his work for the lute transcribed for the guitar. Played a lot of that for a year, taught myself how to read music and moved on to instrumental acoustic music after listening to Don Ross. Michael Hedges came into my life when I was around 20 years old and everything changed. His approach was and still is extraordinary and I learned everything I could for a few years.

Around 23 years old I started composing the first songs for my first album , ‘’Fates’’. I was busking in the streets back then and I met 2 great people, Ben and Josée. We became friends and , even though they never were managers in the past, they proposed to manage my career that was beginning. I just went onto a TV show here in Quebec and things were slowly happening for me! YouTube came out, we put a few videos there and everything went nuts! I was not prepared for it all but I did my best. From that point, it went slowly but surely upwards. I record ‘’Equilibrium’’ in 2008 and ‘’Forward’’ in 2012. I am now working on my 4th album which should be out in 2014 if everything goes well! I am now without managers (things went sour after a few years and I figured I would be better off on my own ) and things have slowed down a bit, so I’ve started giving Skype guitar lessons and am trying to fund my career in various ways including the IGG campaign. It ends on September 2nd!

Shardul Pandey: You said you are working on your fourth album, so how far have you reached, what songs you have already recorded for this album ?

Erik Mongrain: I haven’t recorded any songs for my 4th album yet, but I have 3 composed already. I am a rather slow composer, it takes me on average about 3 months to complete 1 song! I should have around 8-9 by the end of 2014. There is ‘’Atlas’’ , ‘’Helios’’ and ‘’Tempo’’. ‘’Atlas’’ and ‘’Helios’’ are sort of linked together, both by the technique used and the feelings expressed. Think of them as point A to point B. ‘’Tempo’’ is nearly finished and it’s a song influenced by my Italian counterparts Stefano Barone & Pino Forastière.

Shardul Pandey : So what makes your endeavors unique ?

Erik Mongrain: I have always been an authentic person, I never hide behind masks. That also comes true when we talk about my music! I think what make one artist unique is if that artist creates with his own voice. As long as you don’t just reproduce the same thing over and over with different colors, or just copy something you’ve heard without research, I think you’re always going to make something unique.

Shardul Pandey: Have you made any new plans for an international tour on your skyline?

Erik Mongrain: Not at the moment, no. Hopefully some European dates in 2014 though!

Shardul Pandey: What is your foremost experience as an artist ?

Erik Mongrain:  My most important experience as an artist would probably be the discovery of the acoustic guitarist Michael Hedges when I was 20 years old. It changed my vision of music, creativity and opened many doors for me.

Shardul Pandey: What you feel is your strength as a performer and how would you like to be remembered ?

Erik Mongrain: I think that my authenticity and high regard for details while on stage are my best assets out there. I am a perfectionist! I try to compete only with myself, not the others. I would vastly prefer to be remembered as one of the most creative innovators in the world of acoustic guitar music rather than the best or fastest player.

Shardul Pandey: I am open for interviewing all those individuals who opt internet as their place of doing business, What is your opinion for continuing this ?

Erik Mongrain: I think the internet has brought artists in general a lot of good things! We can now express ourselves and manage for the most part everything from home, on our own , with no labels or big companies dictating our every move. We are free to try and create mostly!

It also brought onto the table new problems as well though. Piracy, an overload of content from every sides (public has a short attention span overall now, they move on quickly to the newest thing), countless social medias.. It’s not exactly easy to get the hang of it all and times are, in my opinion, much harder than they were a few years ago.

More freedom does not always mean more revenues or more popularity!

I say don’t give up and find the right balance for you. Follow your heart!

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Click Here And Support Erik Mongrain To Write His Next Collection Of Pieces!

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Shardul Pandey What is your ultimate message for netizens ?

Erik Mongrain: Life happens only once and we have no rewind button so, don’t get through it living it as a corporation.

Talks, Technology

Shardul Pandey Talks To Mishi Choudhary, Director Of International Practice At Software Freedom Law Center, New York

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Mishi Choudhary: Dear Mr Pandey, I am writing to you as a follow up on the dialogue that Mr Advani and Mr Stallman have been engaged in for the past couple of months.

I take the liberty to bring to light some developments in India that have greatly tarnished India’s democratic image and its treatment of its citizens rights of free speech and expression as guaranteed by its constitution. As recently as this Friday, Mr Kapil Sibal and Mr Manish Tiwari discussed plans on national television to destroy anonymity and impose further restrictions on social media interactions of citizens. Needless to say, these measures make them extremely unpopular amongst the youth and business.

The Information Technology Act, 2000 was amended significantly in the aftermath of the November 7, 2008 Mumbai Terrorist attacks but without any discussion in the Indian Parliament despite making sweeping changes in the cyber law framework. It has proved to be the fulcrum of various contentious issues. Indian authorities have stepped up Internet surveillance and pressure on technical service providers, while publicly rejecting accusations of censorship. The national security policy may also undermine freedom of expression and the protection of Internet users’ personal data.

The current government gave itself the power to order the blocking of any online content by Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. This provision enables the government to order blocking of content. Although safeguards are inbuilt in these provisions, experience in the past one year shows wide variety of misuse for political censorship.

The Google Transparency Report for the period July – December 2010 stated that they had received requests from different law enforcement agencies to remove a blog and YouTube videos that were critical of Chief Ministers and senior officials of different states. The report for the period July – December 2012 mentions 60 executive / police orders demanding removal of content that relate to religious offences and 1 relating to national security. The recent spate of orders for removal of content were related to fears of ethic violence against persons from the North-eastern region of the country.

Many cases have come to light recently of law enforcement agencies indulging in illegal censorship by asking intermediaries to take down content on receiving complaints about content on these sites. This is often done under section 79 of IT Act and section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, this provision only allows law enforcement to ask a person to produce a document in connection with any investigation and does not empower them to demand take-down of any content. Although such an action is illegal and is not backed by any statutory provision, many instances of such abuse of power by law enforcement agencies have been reported. A widely reported incident was when the website www.cartoonsagainstcorruption.com was taken down by the web host on the basis of a communication that they received from law enforcement agencies.

Arrests under section 66A for postings on Facebook, Twitter against those in power are becoming commonplace.

We have been working actively on these issues in India since 2010. I would be delighted to talk in detail about current issues with you and if his schedule permits, Mr Advani. I am in India from August 14, 2013 onwards and would love an opportunity to discuss these issues.

I hate to impose on you but If I may mention that we are also putting together an event especially with the Members of the Parliament on August 26, 2013 at the Constitution Club of India. The event will achieve great encouragement if Mr Advani would agree to speak at it.

Please let me know as to how can we be of any assistance.

Shardul Pandey: It is gratifying that you decided to write. Yes I do remember that we were supposed to further that important discussion of technology and politics involving LKA and RMS. That actually got started due to my discussion with RMS, which concluded at a point that everything upon internet deserves being implemented in a p2p manner. We said so for preventing humanity from PRISM type of entrapment, although Edward Snowden was still at NSA then. Would you like to say something on that?

A lot of things have happened since then. All the apprehensions that RMS made explicit then got realized all of sudden. It is a decisive time to make movement. May be our discussion also contribute something substantial.

As first thing I suggest you to share some details here for netizens so that they come to know that what actually is planned for August 26, 2013 at the Constitution Club of India? I will sure be doing whatever may be possible to make it a success.

Mishi Choudhary: Dear Mr Pandey, Thank you for your prompt response. Attached herewith is a concept note about the event. I look forward to discussing it in detail with you.

Shardul Pandey: OK I am seeing this. Public representatives have already opened up their mind through the legislation that you are protesting about. You should better be explicit that what you have in your mind?

What SFLCI has planned for doing with this event; like any memorandum could be given to all of them demanding any particular legislation to protect individual freedom along with social privacy or/and you may ask for their cooperation in your voluntarily helping any victims of any laws ?

Mishi Choudhary: Thank you for your comments. We shall take note of those. Do you think Mr Advani would be available to discuss future IT policy or this event with me in person next week?

Shardul Pandey: Instead of mere thinking and telling, I took time to find out and what I got to let you know is YES.

Mishi Choudhary: Dear Mr Pandey, I am waiting eagerly to meet up with you and Mr Advani to invite for the event on August 26, 2013. Please let me know when is a good time for such a meeting. I look forward to hearing from you.

Shardul Pandey: Regrettably I am not in Delhi and Mr Advani has been busy with Parliament.

Next week could be a good time for you to meet Mr Advani. I already have forwarded your name and wish for his personal information.

Entertainment, Music, Talks

Shardul Pandey Talks To Alice Rose About Her Album ‘Each Is A DREAM’

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I welcome you Alice at SANGKRIT, please tell our netizens about yourself.

Alice RoseI started out doing experimental theatre, but soon realized my true passion is in music. I have always been involved music, since I was a child, my mother and grandfather were musicians, so it runs in the family, The choice to do music was a natural one, I had to try out a lot to find out that I wanted to do. It still changes as I grow interested in new things and new directions.

How long have you been working on this Album for?

The oldest song on the album is from 2005, but the main work was in 2009 and 2010. I finished it in 2010, but the original label decided not to release the record, and I didn’t have another label for the album. It took a while to find Manual Music, and it eventually happened through the other project I do, Tiger Rose, which is techno and house music.

Tell us something about the songs which you have already recorded and which song are you most excited for people to hear from your new album?

I have done a few albums so far. “Tales of Sailing” from 2006 is a more electronica oriented album, my “Mora with the Golden Gun” album from 2007 is a road trip albm, good to travel in a car with. I did two experimental albums so far, 21 Days and 21 Days 2011. Both are free and quite imperfect to listen to. I think some of my best tracks are on there, actually, but it is not for everybody, definitely not main stream music.

I have a connection with all the songs from ‘each is a DREAM’, my new album, and am excited about all. It took a long time to choose which tracks to finally put on the record . I think ‘Teardrops’ is really strong, I could totally hear it as a sample in a hip-hop track. Also ‘Shadow Princess’ is haunting and dark. I think ‘Riot’ has the potential to become an indie hit song, a little bit like ‘Creep’, by Radiohead, has a dark and raw energy, and the duet with John Parish is very unique, he has a great voice and my friend Paul did good work on the lyrics. The absolute summer hit song of the album, is ‘Into My Heart’, which I wrote with Gabriel Ananda, it was originally inspired by a Red Hot Chilli Peppers bootleg Gabriel had made. We turned it into our own little pearl.

Tell us about the easy and hard parts of singing ? What is your best experience as an artist ?

Well, singing is all about transporting emotions, I think that it is easy to sound shallow – the challenge is to really connect with your own emotions and that way you can touch other people’s emotion with your voice, it has a lot to do with intuition and being in tune with yourself and the emotion you are transporting. Difficult to explain. The technical issues are secondary. My best experience as an artist? I have no idea… Lot’s of good ones. Maybe my most intense gig so far was this year in June, in a small coffee shop in Cologne, about 45 people in the audience. My friend Lisa on the piano, the atmosphere was magical and fantastic, everybody had tears in their eyes at one point or the other, it was beautiful.

Who were your biggest musical influences ?

It varies. As a child I was greatly influenced by classical and soundtrack music, I sang in the church choir and learned to play the violin. Also the whole Eurovision song contest, a really cheesy show, was a big part of my childhood. My sister and I were recording and performing our own songs, imagining we were in the contest. The 80s had a rich pop music life that was very inspiring for children. Later I was more into punk and indie music. I also listened to a lot of my dad’s records, Beatles and Pink Floyd. I admire Barbara Hendricks as a singer, Beth Gibbons has intense emotional message, and Björk is of course epic, lot’s of good singers and musicians out there.

What is something you learned recently about singing, and what are you learning about right now?

There is always more to learn and more to explore.

Do you try giving messages in your songs?

Well, guess lot of the songs have a message, some intentional, others more intuitive. A lot has to do with dealing with challenges and disappointments in life and rising again, after a break up, f.ex..Listen to the songs and you will know.

Do you have any new plans for an international tour on your horizon?

I wish. At the moment I am looking for a booking agent.

What makes your endeavors unique ?

I think the way i perform with my viola and my voice.

What’s next for you? What can we expect from you this year ?

My album is coming out in the fall on Manual Music. In November. We are launching the single in the end of August. So I will be really busy with that. My longterm goal is to make a good living off my music, I just wanna do as much as I can to spread good vibes and music in the world. I would like to play great gigs and record more records with good people. I just want to work on exciting music. Sing, perform,record.

What you feel is your strength as a singer and how would you like to be remembered ?

My strength as a singer is that I am very versatile and sing with emotional depth. I just care about making beautiful music, not really thinking about how to be remembered.

What does success mean to you?

True success is to be able to align your life according to your values. Being able to do what I love in my life is a privilege. On a commercial level I would like to be able to make music a full time profession, still working on that.

What is your ultimate message for netizens ?

Do what is true to you, Concentrate on YOUR music.

Activists, Entertainment, Music, Talks

Shardul Pandey Talks To AWKWORD, A Lifelong Activist, Sociologist & Rapper

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Shardul Pandey Talks To AWKWORD

Shardul Pandey: I welcome you AWKWORD at SANGKRIT, please tell our netizens about yourself ?

AWKWORD: AWKWORD (@AWKWORDrap) is a lifelong activist, a sociologist and a rap/Hip Hop artist who is in the midst of finalizing the first-ever 100% for-charity global Hip Hop project, World View. Organized almost exclusively through the Internets, World View features contributions from every continent, approximately 20 countries and all U.S. regions.

The album is sponsored by The Morgan Stanley Foundation and The DJ Booth and will be available via DJBooth.net, as well as iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Bandcamp, AudioMack and other online locales. All proceeds from World View are donated to Guns 4 Cameras, a 501c3 nonprofit that goes beyond the gun exchange, working to eradicate street violence through the education and empowerment of at-risk youth. Topics covered on the 25+-track album include mass incarceration and police brutality, poverty, imperialism, war, rape, freedom of information, drug abuse, depression and suicide, loss, teen angst, personal contradictions and individuality, perseverance and hope, the music industry and much more.

I will be dropping a brand-new video for my single “Throw Away The Key” on mass incarceration, stop and frisk, police brutality and systemic injustice and inequality. The video is sponsored by the New York Civil Liberties Union and Occupy The Hood and will be world premiered on 08/06/13 exclusively via RapGenius.com. Once it goes live there, though, it will be available to all (via youtube).

Shardul Pandey: So what is your ultimate message for netizens ?

AWKWORD: If you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything.

Like Anne Frank said, nobody ever got poor by giving.

  • We are losing our privacy and civil liberties every day — and this will be the end of democracy (not terrorism).
  • For the poor and people of color, there is hardly any democracy (or justice) today.
  • We all have a right to information, and there is no greater and more equal source than the World Wide Web.

“If they give you ruled paper, write the other way.”
— Juan Ramón Jiménez

“Anything a writer writes should be written with the urgency of someone holding a gun in their mouth.”
— Maya Angelou

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Shardul Pandey: I am open for interviewing all those individuals who own their domain to somehow create virtual wealth in webspace since sustaining freedom is mostly built around domains running wonderful utilities in webspace that human-beings enjoy. What is your opinion for continuing this?

AWKWORD: First off, let me say thank you for everything you do to help further this mission — and for thinking of me in the same light.

As I believe you know, I am a major support of Aaron Swartz, Edward Snowden, Wikileaks, etc.

Also, it was on myspace that the idea for World View was first born, as I was inspired by all the music producers from around the world who were on there back in 2008 who asked me if they could remix songs off my solo debut. World View today is an extension of that, with many of those remixes and much more completely new music.

Further, as the domain owner of AWKWORDrap.com, I continue the tradition of private, individual ownership of Web space.

Shardul Pandey: It is really great to own your domain individually because you value your freedom. Such a tradition of individual ownership of webspace must get followed by all. What Ladar Levision could do with lavabit.com as absolute owner of domain that google.com registrants cannot ever do being a publicly traded company. I wish you freedom. Thank you!

Entertainment, Music, Talks, Technology

Shardul Pandey Talks To Marie Martin About Her Debut Record

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I welcome you Marie at SANGKRIT, please tell our netizens about yourself.

I started with the violin at 5 years old.. but we always sang at home cause my dad used to sing as a side job.. so, lots of music at home! My sister also sings. Then I really sang for the 1st time at 12, for the junior high school orchestra.. and then sang in a couple bands in my home town.. I moved to Paris at 19 and started singing and playing the violin for several artists.. and more and more through the years as a background vocalist for recording sessions.. (French TV stuff,etc.. and also a couple lead vocals for movies in France.. )
If you want more details…here is the link to my bio.

I moved to NY 6 years ago and started writing songs around 2007.. I became a lead singer in NY.. after meeting lots of musicians at Jam sessions.. slowly but surely, I developed my solo career.. We also started a trio 3 years ago called SoNuvo with 2 musicians from Ohio.

How long have you been working on this project for?

It’s been a little more than a year. We did a gig at BAM in Brooklyn in June 2012.. and exactly 1 year later, we were in the studio to make the record.. between BAM and the studio, I’ve been working on it with Dion Tucker, the musical director.

Which song are you most excited for people to hear from your first album?

That’s a tough one because each song is different and has it s own identity..

I d say “Nena”.one of the 2 songs I wrote for the record.. because some people know it but it’s been arranged by Lionel Loueke and now it’s like a new song almost! it’ll be a surpirse to some people..! Also the new tunes that Dion Tucker wrote!!

Who are your biggest musical influences ?

Stevie Wonder, Prince, Sting, . Also Rachelle Ferrell has great technique, Chaka Khan, Tania Maria , Minnie Riperton Me’shell Ndegeocello”

And I listened to a lot of acid jazz, soul, r’n’b, fusion, musics from several countries in Africa, jazz, etc.

What is something you learned recently about singing and what are you learning about right now?

Technique wise, I learned that if we want to, we can always improve our singing.. I have improved my highs the last couple years.. I can sing higher now.. for ex. I realize how powerful singing is and I realize the beauty of the effect it has on people who listen or sing themselves.. It is pretty unique.

Do you try giving messages in your songs?

The last song I wrote is an Afro beat tune .. I wrote the music.. Helene from the band Les Nubians wrote the lyrics.. after I gave her an explanation of what I wanted the song to to be about.. it is a pretty strong message for the young generation.. a message of freedom, open mindness, free will… eyes open to the rest of the world.. etc

Do you have any plans for an international tour on your horizon?

Yes, the idea is , for the next few months, to do gigs in Morocco in September, in France in October and November, and NY and Ohio in December. after that, we plan to go to Japan with the trio SoNuvo.

What makes your endeavors unique ?

Ok. I guess the diversity makes me and my music different from others.. due to several factors:

My background: I have a mum from france, brittany (Brittany had not always be a french region.. it was independant for a while.. celtic region.. it has a very strong identity with traditions,etc. Music has a huge place in our celtic culture..)

My dad is from Algeria. his family is from spain.. So, I grew up hearing a lot of spanish tunes.. and my dad listens to and sings lots of different things.. from french pop music to soul music, to fusion, to jazz, to world music, etc.

My travels: I lived in Paris, London and New York.. The last 6 years in NY made me improve my jazz and soul music skills.. so, I guess I still have a european type of sound , mixed with a very soulful and jazzy thing, but also mixed with my background of spanish-french-arabic melodies and intonations sometimes!

My musical experiences: And I’ve had the chance to be apart of various projects with so many different genres.. pop, soul-funk, jazz, hip hop, afro beat, carribean, brazilian, and more… i started music as a classical violin player.. I ve experiences improvisation too..

All these things I guess, makes me sound like I do.. and makes me write a diverse repertoire of songs!

I can t really stick to one sound, one genre.. I love to mix the things I like.. and never do the same thing over and over all the time.. I like challenge, and I like change in general.. I like to surprise people too!

So what’s next for you?

The next step is my record, showcases, CD release parties in Paris and NY. I would like to tour with this project and also with the trio. and keep on working as a recording artist and also keep on collaborating with people from all around the world on several projects.

There is a message we would like to spread. Through the lyrics of the songs, the cosmopolitan side of the record (musical diversity and working with artists from all around the world). I hope this record will travel all around the world and I would like to play concerts, do workshops, talks, in order to share my musical, vocal and traveling experience. I also would like to get people from all backgrounds to sing together , play together, get people united through music and choir… I would like them to discover the power of playing music and singing together… Its union, well being and therapeutic virtues.

What you feel is your strength as a singer and how would you like to be remembered ?

I think the fact that I am versatile.. I can sing in different genres, mix them.. I started with classical violin.. then sang in a funk band, and then pop music, soul, I also sang with a hip hop band, Caribbean bands.. now I sing also jazz, I sing in Spanish, french and English.. I guess it surprises people most of the time.. and It makes it so much richer for me to explore so many genres and even mix them together.

Also, The fact that I am an instrumentalist in the 1st place and that I am a lot into rhythm gives me a good sense of rhythm and people say I have a great ear.. I guess music theory + violin helped a lot.

What does success mean to you?

Success to me is definitely not only selling a lot of records and having millions of fans.. I feel successful if people tell me after a concert that they were touched by my voice,etc. that my music moved them.. etc.

What is your ultimate message for netizens ?

That the support for that type of project is way more than the support of 1 singer..A lot of people are involved in this adventure… and I will keep on trying to have as many artists as possible joining this adventure.. visual artists, more lyricists, arrangers, musicians… I will be involved with Blues up.. a music crew that has started a charity campaign..so, a part of thr $ for the Cd s will go for that.. and other charities.

One of the messages also here is to tell people to keep hope, no matter what, and to peruse their dreams.

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Help Marie To Release Her First Record

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