“IF ANYTHING GOES BAD, I DID IT. IF ANYTHING GOES SEMI-GOOD, WE DID IT. IF ANYTHING GOES REALLY GOOD, THEN YOU DID IT.” – BEAR BRYANT
In June 2020, Woody Accouche released a music video cover of the song Mustafa by A. R. Rahman, featuring various musicians from different parts of India. It was entirely conceptualised and completed, by musicians under quarantine, during a country wide lockdown due to the Corona pandemic.
Chapter 1: Inception
At the onset of the lockdown in early 2020, the core team of our band began working on the tracking of our stage sets to finalise the arrangement of the various songs that we would perform at gigs once the pandemic situation was under control.
The inception of this project, in particular, goes back to New Year's Eve, 2019, wherein, I had performed Mustafa by A. R. Rahman at a solo gig at Music & Mountains located at Greater Kailash in Delhi.
I have been a resident musician at this unique venue for many years now along with another brilliant singer songwriter, Aditya Dasgupta. We ordinarily perform ballads and classics of western music at Sunday Brunches here.
Chapter 2: New Year`s Eve 2019
Dr Gurpremjit, who was at a table next to my stage that night, and whom I had never met before, seems to have made a video of it, and having later seen some of my videos, performing as a one man band, playing guitars, vocals, harmonicas, kick and hand crash, reached out to me, about three months later, appreciating my version of Mustafa and suggesting that I upload a video of the same and tag him.
His messages on Instagram came as a surprise to me. Often, a performing artist is in the dark as to the true extent of their impression on an evening and the people that are part of it. It feels wonderful to have people respond and interact, one way or the other.
In hindsight, it would have been much easier to have wrapped up that request with a quick solo video, but we had already shortlisted the song for tracking with the band and saw an opportunity to make it a collaboration project involving other musicians, who would not have had as much time on their hands, had we not all been currently out of work due to the covid pandemic.
Chapter 3: The Process
One thing led to another and we approached as many musicians as we could. It was quite interesting to observe the modus operandi of each musician. Some made grand promises of sending the required audio and video inputs but never delivered after repeated reminders. Some were courteous enough to refuse at the onset. And well, some just stopped responding altogether after the initial excitement. The challenge of course was, collaborating with musicians who had access to the requisite audio and video recording gear, along with a working internet connection to send in their inputs.
As things turned out, in some cases, the video content was guided, curated and enacted post the receipt and finalisation of the audio arrangement, whereas that of some sections was made simultaneously while recording the audio.
Quality specifications were flexible, however mostly we used .wav files for the audio. Video specifications were set at 1080p at 30fps and most of the lighting issues were rectified with colour correction as much as possible.
The project culminated thus. Our quarantine collaboration video features eleven musicians having recorded audio and video at different places in India playing a total of fifteen unique musical instruments.
Chapter 4: Collaborators
The audio and video production of this project is essentially a result of coordinated effort and discussion between Nishant Singh (Mixing & Mastering) and me (Arrangement & Editing) over numerous hours and weeks, along with other members of our core team, spent patiently trying to perfect the outcome of this massive project, which has been a learning process for us just as much as for our collaborators.
We are extremely grateful to all those who made this collaboration music video possible, especially the musicians, who spent considerable time and energy in setting up a recording environment, all by themselves, for both the audio and video, which is by all means a mammoth project in itself requiring a controlled discharge of unique and limited, creative energy, which constantly needs replenishing, one way or the other.
Rajahamsam - Bass Guitar
Rahul Yadav - Drums Mix
Arman Ali Dehlvi - Tabla, Xylophone
Naman Datta - Gong
Jayant Parashar - Morchang, Shakers
Nishant Singh - Lead Guitars
Abhishek Lal - Lead Guitars
Valte Chongthu - Lead Guitars
Sparsh Gulati - Clavinet
Pulkit Thakur - Rattle
Wumbaya - Guitars, Vocals, Harmonicas
Special Thanks
Dr. Gurpremjit - For unknowingly inspiring a mammoth collaboration project.
Vir Singh Brar - For his suggestions and involvement in the initial stages.
MusicTek School - For connecting us with a crucial collaborator in our project.
Sanjeev Yadav - For his insight and suggestions towards the video process.
A. R. Rahman - For inspiring us with timeless music.
Chapter 5: Dedicated to Doctors and Healthcare Workers
The lyrics of this song are appropriate to have it dedicated to the mammoth effort of doctors and healthcare workers around the world; jeopardising their own health and safety to protect ours during an ongoing pandemic. That being said, it is also dedicated to the endurance of friendship, despite our differences and the hardships we all face in our day to day lives.
Love
Wumbaya
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