Hyderabad’s Woodstock festival

It all started over an impromptu jam last Christmas when Josh, a 15-year-old rapper and music producer found common ground with singer and songwriter Navdeep Singh. It was magic — which paved the way to a first-of-its-kind music label.

A witness to this Christmas jam, and subsequently the co-founder of NUE records, Viren Thambidorai is better known as a creative producer working largely with Tollywood. Viren, however, is a Hindustani singer and comes from a family of singers and artistes.

Now affiliated with Suresh Productions, Viren takes us back to the days when it was all about music. “Before celluloid, I was an ad filmmaker and I produced, directed, and shot over 100 music videos,” he says. It was then that Viren and Navdeep first met.
 
Baby steps:

Besides the track Fallen Pieces with Josh, Navdeep also features in a video with actress Sonia for a song titled Seventh Heaven, released on Valentines Day. The “minimalistic” video was an instant hit. This will also largely remain their style for their videos, they vow. “The videos are only there to enhance the song,” says Viren.

Navdeep credits his roots, or rather his “family of spiritual poets” for his way with words and “the way of seeing things through a sensitive lens”. “My parents’ generation lived through the partition. It wasn’t an easy time.

There was no publishing, so poetry it was,” he says. Growing up abroad and like any teenager, he started with the likes of ACDC and Iron Maiden and later moved to R&B and country.

For the young:

NUE, at its core, will aim at providing space and support for young musicians. “There is a whole new energy that’s coming out of these kids,” notes Viren. So if you are a musician, you no longer have to get on the Indian Idol path or send your samples to music directors anymore.

“We have designed an entire online-based distribution model. Artistes will have their own channel to express themselves. We will also provide technical support while Navdeep will mentor the young ones,” says Viren.

With a ready subscriber base, the musicians will also be able to monetise their YouTube videos, besides also getting the benefits of the PR machinery that Viren and Navdeep have already set up.

So why all this effort with no benefits for them at sight? “This way we are helping these amazing bundles of talents, subsequently the music scene in the city will pick up, and we hope to turn Hyderabad into ‘the gig city’. And may be someday, we will have our own Woodstock festival,” they enthuse.