Just a decade or so ago, when the Hindi film music was running out of creativity and the people were poured on with crappy music from the Gulshan Kumar camp and nasal numbers from Kumar Sanu and Anuradha Paudwal, there was a new set of Parallel (Non Filmi) Indian Music emerging in the form of the Indipop.
Though Indipop had started even earlier but the real breakthrough came with Baba Sehgal, Alisha Chinai, Apache Indian and likes and this was later followed by the more Creative Bands and individuals like Lucky Ali, Silk Route, Euphoria, Colonial Cousins and Bhangra Bands like Daler Mehndi, Sukhbir and so on. This became such a hit with the masses that every other individual who either had money or resources started making an album. More so even Superstars like BigB joined the band wagon with "Eir Bir Phathe".
Though Indipop had started even earlier but the real breakthrough came with Baba Sehgal, Alisha Chinai, Apache Indian and likes and this was later followed by the more Creative Bands and individuals like Lucky Ali, Silk Route, Euphoria, Colonial Cousins and Bhangra Bands like Daler Mehndi, Sukhbir and so on. This became such a hit with the masses that every other individual who either had money or resources started making an album. More so even Superstars like BigB joined the band wagon with "Eir Bir Phathe".
I think this was one of the best times though for Indian Music industry and we got some good creations, not only from the Indian pop stars but also from Ghazal Singers like Jagjit Singh, Pankaj Udhas and Hariharan and even Classical and Sufi Singers like Shubah Mudgal and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Companies like Magnasound and BMG Crescendo were cashing on this Business followed by Universal and Sony and the presence of TIPS and Venus record companies had almost diminished.
This was such a hit that Bollywood music suffered to find a place in the market. Even Bollywood singers chipped in with their own albums with the likes of Sonu Nigam, Shaan, Abhijeet and KK.
But just after a decade or so, today we see nothing of that sort. Since the last few years no big album has created any waves. I ponder "Where have the Indipop bands and singers gone? "
Today its all about Bollywood Music with numbers from Race, Rock On, Singh-is-King and Ghajini making waves. I think all this could be attributed to a few reasons that I cite below. Hope you agree:
- Firstly the Bollywood music directors tried to follow this competition and copied it into their own music. You see today most of the Movie songs sound like albums. This has been complimented with music directors like Pritam and Himesh Reshamiya (again Nasal :)).
- Secondly, the remix era followed with some idiotic DJs and RJs who brought in old songs with new beats and crappy singers but good videos to attract the masses Ex- Kanta Laga. This didn't last for long but was enough to kill the more creative Non Filmi Indipop industry.
- The third and the most important factor was Music Piracy and the popularity of MP3 music and devices and the growth of Internet. India being a very price sensitive market, no one wants to buy an Album CD rather prefer downloading it for free from some P2P source. So where are the music companies like Magnasound and BMG today.
Bollywood on the other hand survived coz it had money and also the sudden Spurge of mutliplexes gave a boost to Movies. This also was complimented by the new avatar of Hindi Movie Music directors who started composing songs like indipop albums (in fact copying the style).
'Coz of these reasons even the album makers had no other option than to sing for Movies and this has further contributed to the Bollywood music directors cause. Today we seldom encounter names like Leslie Lewis, Hariharan, Palash Sen and so on. Most of them still sing for Bollywood movies, and some have recently joined in like Mohit Chauhan from Silk Route.
The last time I heard an Album creating waves was a few years back with Rabbi Shergill's "Bulla Ki Jaana" and Kailash Kher's "Kailasa". But nothing substantial has happened since then.
Most of the Indipop singers today are busy performing on live shows more on the likes of the Indain Rock Bands (who never got off like the Indipop Bands) or they are seen on TV Reality shows.
The only albums created today are those of the Reality Show Pass Outs (Indian Idol, Sa Re Ga Ma stars) or the Hindi Movie Playback Singers and Composers who have business and want to do something different.
This compells me in asking the question: Has the Parallel Indian Music or the Indipop Music really died? or Has it Amalgamated itself with the Hindi Film Music industry?
