Happy World Music Day

Music is so often a medium to celebrate an event. But every year on June 21st, “music” becomes the event to be celebrated. That’s because June 21st is celebrated the world over as World Music Day.  Music provides us more than just mere entertainment. It wakes us up in the morning, sticks with us through the day, lifts our spirits in the evenings and sometimes even tucks us in at night. So it is only fitting that we set aside a day every year to celebrate music itself, and the myriad artists who bring it to us. 21st of June also happens to be the summer solstice, the one day in the year when the sun is at its magnificent best. How apt then, that the brightest day on the calendar is dedicated to music, the element that actually brightens up every day of our year.

India has one of the richest musical heritages, something all of us should be very proud of. Last year saw the demise of some stalwarts of the Indian music industry. Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, one of the finest classical vocalists ever, Ghazal maestros Jagjit Singhji & Mehdi Hassan saab and Ustad Sultan Khan saab, the legend behind the immensely popular Piya Basanti Re! This World Music Day we’d like to pay homage to these institutions of music, and to the many others who’ve touched our lives through their musical magic.

On World Music Day 2012 we encourage you to open your mind to finding new music. Something different, something out of the ordinary and something you’ve never heard before. Listen to it all day, for a few hours or maybe even 5 minutes; but give “music” the chance to surprise you. Visit our SoundCloud link for starters www.soundcloud.com/timesmusic. We guarantee you will find something to tantalise those musical taste-buds. If not, please feel free to send me stinkers on my email id: russell.pinto@timesgroup.com

A Musical Masterpiece From Junglee Home Video

The term Naga folk blues may seem all too confusing even to the most ardent music fan, quite a contradiction to its actual sound though. Junglee home video’s latest release Songs of Mashangva, a National Award winning docu-feature in 2011, directed by Oinam Doren,  showcases how the King Of Naga folk blues – Guru Rewben Mashangva and his son travel far and wide to take their ancestral musical culture to corners of India their forefathers could never have imagined. The film is shot across mesmerising locations in Rajasthan, Shillong, Nagaland, Kolkata and some mysterious foggy villages of Manipur. Songs of Mashangva is now available on DVD across all leading music and retail stores

Papon’s Debut Hindi Album

There is no doubting an artiste’s quality if he’s one of the few thats sells albums outside of the film genre in today’s age. But that hasn’t stopped Times Music’s latest signing Angaraag Mahanta, popularly known as Papon from creating a new benchmark. After being at the forefront of popularising Assamese folk music for over a decade now,Papon has released his debut Hindi album on Times Music. Titled – The Story So Far, the album is a melange of an earthy folk sound and contemporary arrangement.

Through the 9 Hindi & 2 Assamese tracks, you will hear the sound of the hills resonate in Papon’s voice; truly a musical experience that few people outside of his home state would have experienced. It’s the kind of album that sounds so good, every song instantly begins to grow on you. Papon has been fast gaining popularity through his performances on TV shows and at premier live music venues in India & abroad. Perhaps that’s the reason for the first batch of this album being sold out in pre-order itself. So if music is your way of unwinding on the weekend, “The Story So Far” is a must try for you. CDs are available at all leading music & retail stores and Ringback Tones are live, pan India across all mobile operators.

Everything Is Everywhere???

Rarely do occasions like these happen ! Times Music is proud to release a musical masterpiece – an album which features Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and his two sons – Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan alongwith American folk singer – songwriter Carrie Newcomer – ” Everything is Everywhere ” . The legendary sarod maestro has collaborated with various international classical musicians over the past few years and even earned himself a Grammy nomination.

The album is the aural embodiment of East meets West with an elegant and extraordinary bridge between Indian classical tradition and Western songwriting form. The album also features Grammy nominated percussionist Jim Brock & pianist Gary Walters. So if top quality world music is your cup of tea, Everything Is Everywhere is now available across all leading music & retail stores.