New York-based Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Falu Shah shares it’s never easy for independent music artists to create their space given the biases that exists in the music industry. However, with the advent of free streaming platforms, many doors have opened up.
“Biases are everywhere so we’ve to do the best we can. Some artistes do get preference, while many other talents don’t. And it’s more difficult for independent artistes. However, unlike earlier when it was essential for a record label to back them so that their creations could reach out to more people, with the coming of internet and streaming platforms like YouTube, things have become better. Now anyone, who has the flair can find an audience. I made my journey through the internet as well. It takes time. Stay prepared to fail but never give up on your dreams. Whatever you do with heart and passion works out,” she adds.
Shah, who has been appointed as the Governor on the board of the Grammys (Recording Academy), says that South Asian music has vast audience in the west. And that the recognised music award would love to hear from Indian musicians, bands and even Bollywood.
“South Asian musicians are creating beautiful music, their approach, experiment and uniqueness is what makes them enjoyable. People here are hungry for diverse south Asian music. They adore Indian classical music for its purity and essence. We would love to have their representation at the Grammys but we don’t get many submissions from Indian artistes and bands. And, Grammys would love to get submissions from Bollywood too,” she says adding that Indian classical artistes, Zakir Hussain, Rashid Khan, Anoushka Shankar, Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, among others, are known in the west.
Talking more about the submission process, she reveals that any artiste or band having five commercial releases in five years can submit entry. “The committee does the research according to the submission. The final decision is based on the artistes’ credibility and not just on the number of views or likes his or her songs have got online,” explains Shah, who has recently released a collection of songs titled Someday along with her band Karyshma. The album reflects the current mood around the pandemic urging everyone to not lose hope.
All praises for Shankar Mahadevan, Shah continues, “I strongly feel his music should reach to more audience. I hope he submits his entry to the Grammys too. People in the west would enjoy listening to him here. Their compositions (Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa) in Bandish Bandits reflect the purity of the process one internalises and creates beautiful music. People are loving it here.”
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Author tweets @Shreya_MJ
