Unique sights and sounds of four Indian cities are set to be mixed for ‘Mix the City’, an interactive musical experience connecting music, cities, creativity and people.
A global initiative created by the British Council, Mix the City India will have four versions — Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.
“These four cities represent the four major metros of the country and represent the diversity of the four regions in India. We wanted to represent all parts of the country and these cities depict that diversity,” Alan Gemmell, Director India at the British Council, told IANS.
The four versions for India will aim to showcase the diversity of sound, music and cultural influences in each city. Each region will have 12 musicians (48 musicians in all) who will record 24 samples (two loops per musician) that will be compiled by a British curator into a shareable four-minute YouTube track that will sit on the main Mix the City website.
What will this sound like’
Each version will aim to show the richness and diversity of India through its sounds in the respective cities. It will focus on the upcoming and lesser-known musical talent across genres.
It will also reflect upon the evolving music scene in India in relation to the fusion of sounds between classical, folk, ethnic and contemporary music styles.
In India, the British Council is working with renowned musicians from diverse music styles and genres like Taufiq Qureshi, Vidya Shah, Shubhendra Rao and Sivamani from Mumbai and Delhi for this project, Gemmell said.
“There are other musicians from Chennai and Kolkata, who we will reveal later in the year,” he added.
All the music is recorded live on location, agreed upon based on the discussions with the curator and the Indian co-curator. It will aim to not only capture the sounds but also the sights and the atmosphere of the regions, where that music originates from.
Oliver Bayston aka Boxed In, Django Django, Anna Meredith and Kutiman are on board as curators for the Indian chapter.
Mix The City Mumbai is being launched on Friday, and in Delhi on April 6. In Chennai, it will happen in August and then in Kolkata in September.
