Sing Song

By Shiv Ahuja

Two weeks ago, I walked in to ‘The Qila’ early, owing to an overestimation of how much traffic I would encounter driving down to The Blue Frog from Gurgaon. ‘Friend of the Frog’ card in hand, I walked in through the gate only to realize that entry was free. Perfect, now I could finally afford a drink. That prohibitive 600 rupee entry fee at the door usually meant a large whiskey {INR800} was out of the question. The venue was empty, as was the courtyard. I was on assignment for a record company and had to photograph two of their artists, both Singer/Songwriters. This is also the first time I went for a singer/songwriter night.  I already knew about the Early Set at the Frog in Mumbai, and thanks to the ‘Who Is…” articles on NH7, I came across quite a few songwriters in Delhi and was looking forward to seeing how a Singer/Songwriter night would pan out in such a large venue and if the musicians would be able to hold the chatty crowd’s attention.

The evening started with Dhruv Visvanath walking on to the stage at 9.45 pm. For those who haven’t heard Dhruv before, think Andy Mckee style guitar playing with pop vocals. Dhruv played a couple of his songs; mostly instrumental pieces and a few covers. On the whole, it was a fun set, but the novelty of the guitar spanking soon wore thin. His songs shouldn’t have to rely on the novelty of his technique. I felt arrangements were disconnected and melodies were weak. Plus he had a tendency to speed up his choruses. When he sang though, it connected the dots much better. Then the focus was on what he was saying and not just on the fact that he was playing his guitar percussively. Plus, Dhruv has a nice voice.

Dhruv on Balcony TV, Delhi.

Dhruv Visvanath live at Blue Frog, Delhi

Next up was Jasleen Royal. She walked on to stage rather unassumingly with her guitar, harmonica + neck stand and a small tambourine strapped to her left ankle. In the past, I have been guilty of passing judgments without ever actually having giving her a good listen, but soon after the first song I took my words back. She has a fantastic voice. Simple yet catchy melodies and some quirky lyrics carried the songs along quite nicely, both in English and in Hindi, though I preferred the Hindi. Her cover of The Beatles classic ‘Hey Jude’ was rather unnecessary. The next song she played was John Mayer’s ‘Who Says’, which I’d have switched for an original since the crowd was quite receptive by then. Jasleen’s set was tight. No I’m-so-funny stage banter and quick, pointed song introductions meant that she was able to squeeze in an extra song or two. The biggest positive for me was that her songs were about her own experiences, her life – not some abstract, irrelevant ideas picked up from songwriters she’s heard on youtube.

Jasleen Royal live at Blue Frog, Delhi

Kunal Dutta took to the stage after Jasleen. Kunal is in his second year at Stanford and performs whenever he is back in Delhi.  As it turned out, he had just flown back to Delhi and was quite tired and jet-lagged. Personally, I couldn’t relate to any of his songs. The guitar accompaniment was rather loose, vocals melodies had no hooks that I can remember. But again, he was writing in both Hindi and English. His words were better than his singing. ‘Dilli bulaye’ seemed to get the audience going, but overall the set failed to create a mood.  My advice would be to spend some more time on those melodies and work on creating a bit of a stage presence.

Kunal Dutta live at Blue Frog, Delhi

Prateek Kuhad came on and right from the first song had the audience’s attention. His songs were moody, expressive and had a lot of interesting lyrical content. Near perfect enunciation meant that every word was clear and comprehensible. Guitar accompaniment was controlled and he used dynamics very well to add stress to, or mellow down parts of his songs. He isn’t the usual G-C-D songwriter. Again, I preferred his Hindi songs but lyrical content was stronger in the English tunes. I’m looking forward to him releasing some new material.

Prateek Kuhad live at Blue Frog, Delhi

On the way back, I gave this a lot of thought. I know I’m being harsh. But I’m being harsh for a reason. And the reason is that I genuinely think that we’re getting somewhere. Between Dhruv Visvanath, Jazmine Beton, Prateek Kuhad, Kunal Dutta and Jasleen Royal. There’s a lot going on. We’re at the same point with singer/songwriters where we were a couple of years ago with bands in the city. There were a few bands back then who stood out, but most were trying to be someone they’re not.  From those who stood out, most disbanded and members proceeded to go and study abroad or start working. Musicians could definitely play but were trying too hard to be ‘Metchul’. Vocalists sounded more like Eddie Vedder. You’d hear a song and be able to pick out influences within seconds. The more I read and the more I listen, I’m starting to believe that context is very important and is usually ignored. When I hear a singer/songwriter, I want to hear their point of view, their take on things, their experiences, what they have to say about things happening around them and what not. I’m not interested in generic love songs anymore. As a young, upcoming performer, alone on stage, it’s hard to hold the audience’s attention- there was a lot of chit-chatting and to me it didn’t seem like a lot of people were interested in what these songwriters had to say. But that can’t fully be blamed on the audience, can it? Its so easy to get a stage these days, and while I’m all for providing a platform and supporting young artists, but I hope these artists are thinking about their craft and honing it. Being lazy is convenient, with rising Facebook likes and supportive friends.

Text and Photographs by Shiv Ahuja