The ‘Music As Culture‘ panel I moderated
There are so many stories to tell from my trip to India, I scarcely know where to start. In fact, it’s probably best I don’t tell any at all, because so many of them are captured in video and photos at the blog Jez and I set up just for that purpose.
But just as a quick rundown, here’s what it was all about.
My university colleague Jez and I are board members of Un-Convention – a grassroots & DIY music industry organisation. Un-Convention is essentially a music industry conference for people who don’t ordinarily get to go to music industry conferences. These people tend not to be signed to major labels or have expense accounts.
It’s really taken off, and Mumbai was our first international event.
But rather than have a bunch of people come and just discuss the music industry as we understood it (and no doubt end up talking about all sorts of irrelevant stuff), organiser Vijay Nair decided it would be a good idea for us to travel the country, talk to lots of people and learn about the independent music sector in India.
It was, of course, amazing – but that doesn’t even begin to describe it. We ate the most amazing food of our lives, had the most alarming adventures, experienced the most touching, heartbreaking and inspiring encounters, met the most fantastic people and saw the most incredible things.
Not only that – but we got to hear, watch and dance to some really great music. From traditional Indian folk to extreme metal, jazz, rock, electronica, and lots more rock, we had a sample of some of the best independent (ie: non-Bollywood) music India has to offer.
A few highlights (of which there were dozens):
We visited Qutb Minar in Delhi…
Enjoyed a private concert in the home of Pink Noise in Kolkata…
Met the entire Shillong music industry (a man named Keith)…
Drove four hours through the jungle in perilous traffic. Twice…
Stayed in a palace…
Caught a bit of live music…
Joined in a music class at a home for girls…
Travelled in style…
Did a bit of shopping…
Listened to inspiring speakers…
And just generally had an amazing time.
Lots more photos and plenty of video from our time in India at the blog we simply called Dubber and Jez.