His work first came into spotlight a couple of years back when he captured the freshness of teenage love and effectively summarised the youthful romance of the movie Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar through its title song. Thought the song was missing in the movie per se, it became very popular with the college-goers and others alike. This year his next Bollywood work, the title song of Aloo Chaat, is again getting decent reviews around. In the meantime he is pretty active on the advertising field as well with a more recent one being Ranbir Kapoor’s Pepsi My Can ad.In spite of all this, the man himself hasn’t been much in the limelight. Music Aloud decided to catch up with ex-Parikrama guitarist Vipin Mishra in his atelier where he is doing the final touch-ups to his first full-fledged Bollywood album, Aarif Sheikh’s Lets Dance.
Could you tell us a bit about your musical beginnings?
I saw Parikrama perform at just about the time they were formed, in the winter of 1991. I was finishing class 11th, and that got me interested at the whole prospect of playing rock guitar through 25000 watts of sound!
The learning started towards .. 1992-93.
Formed a band in college, auditioned for Parikrama in 1995, IInd Year Eco Hons, Delhi Univ, joined them, toured for 6 odd years, more than a 100 odd shows, got a bit bored, played guitars with Silk Route, started doing some commercial work, set up a project studio, got bored, moved to Mumbai, 2005.
Happy and not bored till now!!
From Parikrama to MP3 to Aloo Chaat, how do you think you and your music have evolved?
Parikrama is and was a genre specific band. Hard Rock! So that’s one change. My music as of now is freestyle.. Jazz, hip hop, world, orchestral, ethnic…just meandering and free flowing.
Secondly the approach. From a guitar player, to composer.You have to hear the song in totality in your head.
What do you listen to during your leisure time?
Mornings, jazz with newspaper and coffee. Adhoc : U2, Rehman, Coldplay, Keane, Toto,Leonard Cohen (For the words!), Maroon 5, Paul Rogers,Silk Route, A-Ha Old Stff, Tears For Fears.. the list goes on and on.. Zep, Floyd, Crowes..
What kind of music can fans expect out of Let’s Dance?
Well, Its like hip hop and 80s mixed up. Even the ballads and a slower “fight against all odds” tune has a mid tempo hip hop groove to it. Its a young album.
Which artists have influenced you the most?
Whole lotta them, but in the domestic scene, I d have to say A.R.Rehman. He’s the reason why so many of us, who scoffed a “Filmi” music through our teens are here! He showed class can succeed with masses.
As an upcoming music composer, what is your take on the growing influence of Western,
especially electronic, elements in contemporary Indian music?
Music, like any other art, is a reflection of contemporary society. There is a huge exchange of ideas, ideologies, influences, information. The west is turning to the east, and the east is absorbing the west…it’s a brand new pie. Like heritage architecture must be preserved, so must traditional music be promoted. But at the same time, we must not grudge the great new shiny, mighty and beautiful towers which may come up. Because that’s the result of what architects today think of as “beautiful” and where people aspire to reside “today”.
Would you mind telling us about your upcoming projects?
Well there are a few, but nothing concrete as of now.
With the advent of various music sites such as myspace on the one hand, and the plethora
of talent shows on the other, today’s youngsters have lots of avenues to showcase their
talents, which could either work in their favour or be their undoing. In such a scenario what
do you think are the challenges facing the wannabe musicians? Words of advice?
That’s a very broad question and is an interview by itself. So we’ll do this another time, but in short…
(For Composers) I believe a person chooses a creative art from cause he as something to say. He has a perspective, has opinions and looks for a form to express them..So most importantly, you should have something to say…and not browse Korean, Indonesian, Thai, Arabic, regional and other world music web pages for inspiration!
(For Singers) Gone are the days of mimics. Find yourself and be yourself. The further apart and proficient you are, greater are your chances of getting noticed.
While Music Aloud looks forward to Lets Dance and more from this young music director, you can check out Vipin’s website for more details and more music.
Music video of Chalta Chal, a song written, composed and performed by Vipin Mishra for a single.
Promo video of the title track of Aloo Chaat done by Vipin Mishra.
Music video of Aaj Kal, written, composed and performed by Vipin Mishra.
Title track of Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar
I loved vipins composition in the movie Lets dance. If promoted well and with big banners, he can be a great music director. I hope someone recognises his talent by listening to the songs of Lets Dance. All the songs are so so good. My fav song is Tumse Iqraar. Kirti Sagatia, such an amazing singer he is. Just listening to the song once, you will start humming it. My next fav is Jaana hai sung by mohit chauhan. Amazing singer. Another song, Koshish Koshish sung by one of my fav singer Krishna is also very good. The beats in the song are worth listening. Another songs like Taare Todh Ke La and Lets dance are also good. Overall its a great album with great composition by vipin mishra. Hope someone recognizes his talent, so that we can hear more of his compositions.
Thanks,
Madhav