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D For Brother, Unwitting Pioneers of ’World Music’ In Pre-Internet India with Amyt Datta

On international World Music day, we pay tribute to this controversial genre that has garnered considerable criticism for being 'white-centric' and lopsided in its narrative recently, to listen to a refreshingly unique and bold one as we re-discover the long-forgotten history of one of India's most cutting edge and respected bands, whose remarkable but short-lived career and success amidst a loyal following of listeners failed to give it the visibility today's Indian artists have access to.
D For Brother were the two cousins Amyt and Monojit Datta, based in central Calcutta (now 'Kolkata') whose cutting-edge and path-breaking experiments in the studio and onstage alike were too ahead of their time to have survived the lull of the sleepy and forgotten ex-capital of the Indian republic. Decades before a globalised economy, access to the internet and the online onslaught and digital levelling changed the trajectory of the South-Asian arts landscape permanently. 
The remnants of this masterpiece, preserved only through limited-edition cassette tapes amidst a loyal following and an abridged lo-fi bandcamp version (following the tragic and unexpected death of Monojit Datta in 2017), complete with pops and hisses is an unassuming tip of an iceberg that leads to a story of near-unbelievable and era-defying artistic innovation and integrity by two self-taught musicians whose journeys and their implications remain scantily documented and barely understood. 
We interview the only surviving member of the band, Amyt Datta to relive the writing, recording process, and the mindset behind an endeavor that remains one of the most unsung but relevant in South Asian independent music history.
Read Supplementary Article HERE
This episode is brought to you by: 
www.holisticmusicianacademy.com
Text: www.tlwrites.com
Produced by T.L. Mazumdar
Recorded on a Zoom Podtrak P4 kindly sponsored by:
https://www.sound-service.eu   
New FREE mini-course 'The Songwriter Mindset': Enroll Here
(Get a 25% discount on all courses as a podcast listener here)
Music by: www.everynowheremusic.com & D For Brother
 
Connect with Amyt Datta:
Bandcamp
Instagram
Connect with T.L:
DEBUT SOLO PIANO ALBUM
Artist Website: www.everynowheremusic.com
Coaching: www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everynowheremusic/
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39S0dP5
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tlmusician
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tlmazumdar
 

Why Musicians Should Work Out, Feeling Safe, Understanding Health-Span, and the Effect of Culture on Fitness-Image with Ryan Hurst

Ryan Hurst's holistic approach to exercise and health span is succinctly summarized when the head coach and co-founder of GMB fitness says his 'mission is to show everyone that you can define your own fitness as a sustainable and enjoyable part of your life.'
Behind the impressive agility and strength that has grown him and GMB fitness its credibilitythough,  is the astute, grounded mind of a family man, father of two, and a passionate hobby musician whose mature approach towards understanding and unpacking the myths surrounding health, longevity, and health-span has been helping thousands around the globe. The result of deep contemplation following multiple injuries during his career as a competitive gymnast and martial artist, the latter being the primary passion that led him to move to Japan for immersive studies. 
Join us in this extended exchange on understanding why musicians should work out, how to go about it right, and why being 'tough' is very different than most of us would like to believe.
This episode is brought to you by: 
www.holisticpianoacademy.com
(Now part of www.holisticmusicianacademy.com)
New FREE mini-course 'The Songwriter Mindset': Enroll Here
(Get a 25% discount on all courses as a podcast listener here)
Music by: www.everynowheremusic.com
Text: www.tlwrites.com
Produced by T.L. Mazumdar
Recorded on a Zoom L8 mixer kindly sponsored by:
https://www.sound-service.eu     
DONATE TO THE PODCAST HERE
 
Connect with Ryan:
Website: https://gmb.io/
Instagram: @ryhurst
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GMBfitness/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GMBFitnessSkills
Connect with T.L:
DEBUT SOLO PIANO ALBUM
Artist Website: www.everynowheremusic.com
Coaching: www.holisticmusicianacademy.com 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everynowheremusic/
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39S0dP5
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tlmusician
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tlmazumdar
 
 

Archiving An Indigenous Ancestral Tradition in a Global Format and Navigating Gender Between Multiple Cultures with Jaremdi Wati Longchar

Ethnomusicologist, pianist, and researcher Jaremdi Wati Longchar started researching the fascinating musical traditions of her ancestral Ao tribe of Nagaland as a post-graduate student at Goldsmiths, London right before the Pandemic set the world into a spin.
In this long-form conversation, we address the series of challenges these traditions have endured over the generations, the shortcomings of western academic documentation, and the constant code-switching gender unwittingly seems to push her to adhere to amidst the dualities of the life of a global Naga academic. 
 
This episode is brought to you by: 
www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
New FREE mini-course 'The Songwriter Mindset': Enroll Here
(Get a 25% discount on all courses as a podcast listener here)
Music by: www.everynowheremusic.com
Text: www.tlwrites.com
Produced by T.L. Mazumdar
Recorded on a Zoom L8 mixer kindly sponsored by:
https://www.sound-service.eu     
 
Connect with T.L:
DEBUT SOLO PIANO ALBUM
Artist Website: www.everynowheremusic.com
Coaching: www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everynowheremusic/
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39S0dP5
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tlmusician
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tlmazumdar
 
Connect with Jaremdi:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaremdiWL
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaremdi/
 

The Birth of a Third-Generation Japanese Sitarist and Cultivating Global Exchange Authentically with Tadao Ishihama

Osaka-born musician and inter-disciplinary artist moved to Kolkata, India after graduating art high school one week after the chance strains of a Sitar led to a love-at-first-sound of sorts. Navigating language barriers in a recently globalized India, he sought tutelage from Pandit Monoj Shankar of the Maihar Gharana in Kolkata who he would keep revisiting and living with over the years that followed in true Gharana tradition. His eventual long-term return to Japan in 2003 was the beginning of the third generation of Indian Classical musicians in Japan. Tadao has expanded since though, with eclectic global collaborations in Europe and the US. His recent success as an author of traditional Bengali cuisine which he learned from his Guruma and curation of a series of events celebrating South Asian culture in Japan has led to the establishment of his status as an unofficial ambassador of sorts that has been endorsed by the Indian Govt. and local Indian community. In this long-form conversation, we trace the beginning of his fascinating journey and discuss ideas on the role of global cultural exchange without from a space of fearless authenticity while paying respect to the source in the 21st century.
 
This episode is brought to you by: 
www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
(Get a 25% discount on all courses as a podcast listener here)
Music by: www.everynowheremusic.com
Text: www.tlwrites.com
Produced by T.L. Mazumdar
Recorded on a Zoom L8 mixer kindly sponsored by:
https://www.sound-service.eu     
Connect with Tadao:
Website: http://www.tadao.in/
Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/ishihama
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/tadao.ishihama
Connect with T.L:
Artist Website: www.everynowheremusic.com
Coaching: www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everynowheremusic/
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39S0dP5
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tlmusician
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tlmazumdar
 

Nurturing a Decade of Global Musicians in India as a Queer White Male with Dr. Adam Greig

Scottish-born musician and academic Dr. Adam Greig found himself being thrown into the deeper end of building one of India's most innovative institutes from the ground up when a chance classified ad in the UK after his gap year spent working and teaching at a Buddhist Monastery in India ended up in an interview he wasn't really counting on. Shortly before his sexual orientation was re-classified as 'illegal' in India after his arrival.
 
In the decade that followed the KMMC churned out a few generations of musicians embodying unique artistic profiles that have been a giant step in making the impossible possible: integrating eastern and western traditions of education in a manner that is authentic, inclusive, and globally relevant, blurring lines between social idiosyncracies and building bridges that set stunning examples of what the future of the arts can be when treated with the right mix of sensitivity and passion.
 
Collaborations with the likes of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Queensland University of Technology, Berklee College of Music, ROLI, Apple, Google and Nokia, representing the institution on platforms as diverse as YouTube Originals ARRived, to Netflix series 'The Creative Indians' alongside founder of the KMMC, the iconic, oscar-winning composer
Dr. A. R. Rahman (with whom he has been coordinating the AR Rahman Foundation on some of India's most relevant social projects, including the signing of an MoU between KMMC and Nagaland to support further cross-supportive musical activities), all stand testimony to this mammoth growth.
 
In this long-form conversation, I catch up with my dear friend and colleague to look back on the decade that's been since our last encounter, white privilege and the LGBTQ community in India and the possible manner in which all of this might co-relate to the potential risks of a post-colonial love affair with victimhood.
 
This episode is brought to you by: 
www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
(Get a 25% discount on all courses as a podcast listener here)
Music by: www.everynowheremusic.com
Text: www.tlwrites.com
Produced by T.L. Mazumdar
Recorded on a Zoom L8 mixer kindly sponsored by:
https://www.sound-service.eu     
 
Connect with Adam:
Website: https://www.kmmc.in
Twitter: https://twitter.com/adamjgreig
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamjgreig/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adamjgreig
Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjgreig
Connect with T.L.
Connect with T.L:
DEBUT SOLO PIANO ALBUM
Artist Website: www.everynowheremusic.com
Coaching: www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everynowheremusic/
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39S0dP5
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tlmusician
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tlmazumdar
 
 

Imposter Syndrome, Self-care and Learning to Listen as a Musician with Sebastien Heintz

Swiss-French producer and multi-instrumentalist Sebastien Heintz (aka Univers-Îls, OVERSEA & Z-Star Delta) used the pandemic to take a break from an intensive touring career between Europe and Australia to reexamine and reinvent his artistic lifestyle from a more holistic perspective amidst a contemplative spell of nourishing, effervescent sound collages, a new E.P. and cross-continental collaborations from his studio in Lausanne.
 
As the world approaches what appears to be the beginnings of re-normalization, I catch up with my Mmus cohort, friend, and collaborator in a vulnerable and deep exchange on the delicate balance between self-care for the musician, the perils of the touring lifestyle that were, and his current E.P. which was inspired by astronomical explorations into inner and outer space.
 
This episode is brought to you by: 
www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
(Get a 25% discount on all courses as a podcast listener here)
Music by: www.everynowheremusic.com
Text: www.tlwrites.com
Produced by T.L. Mazumdar
Recorded on a Zoom L8 mixer kindly sponsored by:
https://www.sound-service.eu     
 
Connect with Sebastien:
http://h-music.ch/
https://www.instagram.com/universils/
https://www.facebook.com/universils
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMZKwtdWy-NBEksdnA3CeuQ
https://www.instagram.com/oversea_music/
https://www.facebook.com/overseaofficial
https://www.tiktok.com/@universils
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCITo2jeSj4LYBK5Vtxgmqqg
 
Connect with T.L:
DEBUT SOLO PIANO ALBUM
Artist Website: www.everynowheremusic.com
Coaching: www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everynowheremusic/
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39S0dP5
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tlmusician
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tlmazumdar

Studying Traditions authentically and Navigating Multiple Musical Modalities in a Contemporary Context with Pete Lockett

With a sonic palette and a fluency in multiple rhythmic modalities that is the representation of a global citizen personified, London-based percussionist and educator Pete Locket has been a cutting edge force in the world of music. With collaborations and sessions with a list of artists that range from the likes of experimental pop-icons like Peter Gabriel and Bjork (to name only a couple) to the South-Asian Soundtrack giant A.R.Rahman, and ultimate masters like Zakir Hussain and Selvaganesh, his seamless integration of ongoing studies and explorations deep in the heart of these multiple musical cultures and their implementation in both contemporary and traditional settings using a mind-bogglingly broad plethora of percussion instruments is a testament of how musical cultures all around the globe can find common ground to share respectfully when the right mix of passion, dedication, sensitivity, and respect are blended along the journey.
 
In this special episode, we catch up to talk about the challenges and rewards of walking the poly-cultural path, the effect of the agricultural revolution on the human mindset, and how fundamental, differences between musical traditions can still be interpreted and explored in a zeitgeist-relevant context that empowers and encourages the well-being of the planets socio-cultural health.
 
This episode is brought to you by: 
www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
(Get a 25% discount on all courses as a podcast listener here)
Music by: www.everynowheremusic.com
Text: www.tlwrites.com
 
Produced by T.L. Mazumdar
Recorded on a Zoom L8 mixer kindly sponsored by:
https://www.sound-service.eu     
 
Connect with Pete:
Website: www.petelockett.info
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/PeteLockettPercussion/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/petelockett
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PETE.LOCKETT.Percussion
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/petelockett
App: http://drumjamapp.com  
 
Connect with T.L:
DEBUT SOLO PIANO ALBUM
 
Artist Website: www.everynowheremusic.com
Coaching: www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everynowheremusic/
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39S0dP5
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tlmusician
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tlmazumdar

The Making of ’Vignette’, Pianist or Singer and the Colonial Hangover around the Piano in India with T.L. Mazumdar (Solocast)

Founder and host of 'Tapasya Loading', musician and interdisciplinary artist
T.L. Mazumdar aka EveryNowHere answers audience's questions on the making of his debut solo piano album 'Vignette' which was recorded during the 2020 lockdowns in an empty baroque building in Germany. 
In this episode, T.L. addresses the manner in which his nomadic lifestyle affects his music, why this album was almost not released, the return to the status of a completely independent artist, the dichotomies of being a pianist and a singer, the 'Colonial Hangover' that surrounds the Piano in India amidst other stories revolving around the making of this album. 
Listen to/ buy the album HERE
This episode is brought to you by: 
www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
Music by: www.everynowheremusic.com
Text: www.tlwrites.com
Produced by T.L. Mazumdar
Recorded on a Zoom L8 mixer kindly sponsored by:
https://www.sound-service.eu     
 
Connect with T.L:
DEBUT SOLO PIANO ALBUM
 
Artist Website: www.everynowheremusic.com
Coaching: www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everynowheremusic/
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39S0dP5
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tlmusician
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tlmazumdar

From Effortless Mastery to Becoming the Instrument with Kenny Werner

With a history of collaborators and peers that constitutes some
of the most significant names in Jazz history in the past century,
Guggenheim fellowship Award winner, Emmy Award nominee, prolific pianist, composer, and author Kenny Werner lays claim to an extremely rare and iconic status of a performing artist of the highest caliber, who has managed to impact the lives of thousands of musicians and practicing artists all over the world additionally as an author with his path-breaking book 'Effortless Mastery'.
 
On the eve of his much-awaited second publication 26 years later titled 'Becoming the Instrument', we talk about the inner trust that helped him allow himself to receive the global redemption that his work has been to two generations of both autodidactic and college-educated musicians, the importance of discerning the subtle differences between being a source and a channel and the story behind his new book.
 
(Please click on the link below to join the live webinar /masterclass for the book launch on 11th Jan 2022)!
 
https://kennywerner.lpages.co/bookparty/
 
This episode is brought to you by: 
www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
Music by: www.everynowheremusic.com
Text: www.tlwrites.com
 
Produced by T.L. Mazumdar
Recorded on a Zoom L8 mixer kindly sponsored by:
https://www.sound-service.eu     
 
Connect with Kenny:
Website  : www.kennywerner.com 
Instagram :  https://www.instagram.com/effortlessmastery/ 
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kennywernermusic/  
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/KennyWernerVideo 
 
Connect with T.L:
DEBUT SOLO PIANO ALBUM
 
Artist Website: www.everynowheremusic.com
Coaching: www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everynowheremusic/
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39S0dP5
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tlmusician
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tlmazumdar
 

Links between Music and Yoga, Growing up Brown in a White Social Paradigm and Navigating Nuances of South Asian Diaspora with Preetha Narayanan

With a list of collaborators that include the likes of Anoushka Shankar, Nitin Sawhney, Talvin Singh OBE, Kae Tempest, Jocelyn Pook, Oi Va Voi, and Bianca Gismonti, and London Contemporary Orchestra, amongst many others, Memphis-born, US-Indian Violinist/Composer, Fullbright scholar and co-founder of ensembles Quest Ensemble and Balladeste Preetha Narayanan embodies a unique musical personality which transcends multiple genres, cultures, and countries.
 
On completion of a Masters's and a doctorate in Creative Learning at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, the London-based artist is also a practicing Yogi and a certified yoga teacher from the renowned Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram institution in Chennai, India has gone on to be one of the city's most valued members of the global arts community.
 
In this contemplative conversation we catch up for the first time since our last encounter collaborators at an intimate concert in London and riff on the experiences of growing up brown in white social paradigms, the practice of Yoga as a philosophy, and the impact broad-minded parenting from a generation less privy to labels can have on the subconscious mind and eventually the practice of an art.
 
This episode is brought to you by: 
www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
Music by: www.everynowheremusic.com
Text: www.tlwrites.com
 
Produced by T.L. Mazumdar
Recorded on a Zoom L8 mixer kindly sponsored by:
https://www.sound-service.eu     
Connect with Preetha:
http://www.preethanarayanan.com
http://instagram.com/preenaraya 
Connect with T.L:
DEBUT SOLO PIANO ALBUM
 
Artist Website: www.everynowheremusic.com
Coaching: www.holisticpianoacademy.com 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everynowheremusic/
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39S0dP5
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tlmusician
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tlmazumdar