A to Z of Indian electronica

In this country, electronica treads a fine line between love and hate. There are extremists who will diss it, calling it soul-less computer-generated music. HUB cannot and does not aim to convert these philistines. What it does, is give anyone who's remotely interested in the genre, a sense of how big the community driving it is (check the artist bios section) and why the genre will only grow bigger.

Compiled by various artists and professionals associated with the Indian electronica circuit, and being touted as India's first and only anthology of electronica, HUB is an ambitious project. It aims to span over two decades of Indian electronica music.

Launched at the SoundBound music convention held last month, the book is a promising first edition.

HUB is divided into two sections. There are personal and anecdotal accounts by artists such as Pentagram's Randolph Correia (his is the best piece by far) as well as a 'resource' section meant for industry professionals, including details that can prove invaluable for artists looking for sound vendors, websites, labels -- the works.

There's also a piece on the audio technology used by sound engineers and producers that should prove interesting to budding electronica artists.

The brief artists' biographies that beef up the mid-section will draw in those who've just begun connecting with local electronica musicians, a little deeper. There's everyone from the much-celebrated Nitin Sawhney to lesser known acts such as Sowmya Bala from Hyderabad.

The book's visuals jump right off the pages, reflecting how visual art has always been integral to the genre. Right from the cover to the cool freebie stickers designed by Delhi's BassFoundation, the book introduces its readers to graphic artists across the country.

There's a cooler freebie -- a compilation of Indian electronica artists including Tempo Tantrick and Teddy Boy Kill -- that serves as a mini sampler.

But one of its biggest flaws is that HUB doesn't help you get through any of the grey areas associated with electronica. The book would have been a perfect space to decode electronica and its various sub-genres. Why assume that everyone knows how Psy Trance and House may or may not have a common pulse?

We are also not sure what Imaad Shah's point was in his piece that documents the 'Journey of Bollywood'. It was redundant in its Bappi and disco era references, considering they were made by other writers. The piece isn't even a personal narrative worthy of an anthology.

The copy editor needs a lesson in the use of the apostrophe -- 70s is not the same as 70's. Battle of the DJs is not the same as Battle of the DJ's. And while some amount of self-promotion and endorsement of friends is part of any community project, the fact that Bombay Elektrik Project finds no mention in HUB is a gaping hole if it does strive to present itself as an anthology of Indian electronica.

Hub. An initiative by Goethe Institute/Max Mueller Bhavan, Music Gets Me High and Samrat B aka Audio Pervert.
For more details on how to get a free copy of HUB, mail hum@mgmh.net