REVIEWS & INTERVIEWS
Q: You were driven to make music earlier in life, can you tell us a bit about that and why it didn’t really work for you first time around?
A: There are things in life that don’t leave you. You can go as far away from them but they find a way back. Music was a natural intoxicant for me and so I immediately wanted to be a part of the creation process. I wasn’t satisfied being a listener. However, the conventional teaching methods just didn’t work for me. The entire paradigm of music theory and the effort to play notes at a certain speed in order to be a successful musician didn’t work for me. I hated practice. It was intolerable… like eating boiled potatoes every day and every meal when you want to be eating something else! This isn’t a complaint. I’m just describing what happened with me … hehe. I think that frustration that I lived with did a lot of good to me. It made me humble and it made me a great listener.
THE KING OF THE SEA - REVIEW
"It is a wonderfully eclectic album but one where the tracks still sit easily side by side as western pop and rock are subsumed by eastern spirituality and shimmering beauty. And for all its mercurial and wide ranging references it has a wonderfully cohesive sound one that feels natural, unforced, organic. Perhaps it isn’t an album that Nandan Gautam could have made as the younger man, when he was perhaps trying too hard. This is the sound of a musician allowing the music to come to him rather than searching it out. Perhaps two decades is worth the wait for him to make such a fantastic and singular record. Actually, there is no perhaps about it."
PODCAST WITH LOUDINI
An indepth podcast by Loudini from the Loudini Rock & Roll Circus Podcast. He asked me some great questions and got some very honest answers... Do listen to the whole interview to understand the concept behind 'The King of the Sea'
KURRENTMUSIC.COM
Q: How did you create a sound throughout time that is so uniquely your own? What defines your sound to you?
A: I’ve just begun to make music so thank you for the compliment! Honestly, I do what sounds good. I don't bother about genres. My favourite music has always been unclassifiable. I am not a snob in any way and I will never be. I love a good beat. I love a good melody. I love a good bassline. And I love improvisation - it can take you to unexpected places. I look at every song as an adventure. I'm not an intellectual. For me great music is born from innocence and divine forces that allow us to access places that are sacred. That's the only way I can define my sound, if I have to. I have no other restrictions.
INTERVIEW WITH ETHNOCLOUD
Q: What is the ultimate inspiration when penning the tracks, especially on the new record?
A: Inspiration happens out of time. It doesn't happen in a linear fashion. If you're in the right frame of mind then anything you do will come from there. It's not an object that's in front of you, or a thought about something that inspires. It's the very source that you're trying to tap into. It's the state of mind that you're in. In my case I don't think I can even bring myself to that state of mind. I just have to stay open to it and mainly recognise it when it happens. I found that it wasn't so important to put in the hours, but rather find those moments that felt pregnant. I knew something special would emerge at that point.
TRACK OF THE MONTH - MUSICTO.COM
REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS etc...
Music Therapy for the Soul - The Daily Pioneer
Music can be healing, energising, reflective, contemplative, expanding, and rewarding in many ways. Try it to discover its benefits, says Nandan Gautam.
The bigger than the creation of sound, is why living beings prefer some sounds to others. Why do one set of frequencies feel sweeter than another? And how is it possible that just a few notes placed together in a specific way can bring tears to our eyes? Studies have shown that cows produce more milk when they are listening to music. And not just any music. In one study, Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony and Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water were their favourites!
THE DIVINE FLAW - Reviewed by Dave Franklin
In an earlier time, those seeking to describe Nandan Gautam’s music would have simply have labelled it “world music” and moved on. But what does that even mean? It’s a term which takes in everything from recordings of traditional Balkan folk singers played at middle class dinner parties to muddy, outdoor musical festivals made up of artists from all corners of the world. The reality is that the former is too niche an example, the latter too broad. Music found on The Divine Flaw is indeed world music – because it is an example of music with a global scope, which echoes with the sounds of various cultures clashing creatively, genres been merged, musical boundaries being leapt or merely ignored. It is music which merges technical worlds too, with the acoustic and the digital being woven together effortlessly, and which strikes a balance between the underground and possibly slightly indulgent (to the mainstream’s ears) and the addictive and easily accessible (perhaps too easily accessible for the cult music collectors liking.)
Q: You were driven to make music earlier in life, can you tell us a bit about that and why it didn’t really work for you first time around?
A: There are things in life that don’t leave you. You can go as far away from them but they find a way back. Music was a natural intoxicant for me and so I immediately wanted to be a part of the creation process. I wasn’t satisfied being a listener. However, the conventional teaching methods just didn’t work for me. The entire paradigm of music theory and the effort to play notes at a certain speed in order to be a successful musician didn’t work for me. I hated practice. It was intolerable… like eating boiled potatoes every day and every meal when you want to be eating something else! This isn’t a complaint. I’m just describing what happened with me … hehe. I think that frustration that I lived with did a lot of good to me. It made me humble and it made me a great listener.
THE KING OF THE SEA - REVIEW
"It is a wonderfully eclectic album but one where the tracks still sit easily side by side as western pop and rock are subsumed by eastern spirituality and shimmering beauty. And for all its mercurial and wide ranging references it has a wonderfully cohesive sound one that feels natural, unforced, organic. Perhaps it isn’t an album that Nandan Gautam could have made as the younger man, when he was perhaps trying too hard. This is the sound of a musician allowing the music to come to him rather than searching it out. Perhaps two decades is worth the wait for him to make such a fantastic and singular record. Actually, there is no perhaps about it."
PODCAST WITH LOUDINI
An indepth podcast by Loudini from the Loudini Rock & Roll Circus Podcast. He asked me some great questions and got some very honest answers... Do listen to the whole interview to understand the concept behind 'The King of the Sea'
KURRENTMUSIC.COM
Q: How did you create a sound throughout time that is so uniquely your own? What defines your sound to you?
A: I’ve just begun to make music so thank you for the compliment! Honestly, I do what sounds good. I don't bother about genres. My favourite music has always been unclassifiable. I am not a snob in any way and I will never be. I love a good beat. I love a good melody. I love a good bassline. And I love improvisation - it can take you to unexpected places. I look at every song as an adventure. I'm not an intellectual. For me great music is born from innocence and divine forces that allow us to access places that are sacred. That's the only way I can define my sound, if I have to. I have no other restrictions.
INTERVIEW WITH ETHNOCLOUD
Q: What is the ultimate inspiration when penning the tracks, especially on the new record?
A: Inspiration happens out of time. It doesn't happen in a linear fashion. If you're in the right frame of mind then anything you do will come from there. It's not an object that's in front of you, or a thought about something that inspires. It's the very source that you're trying to tap into. It's the state of mind that you're in. In my case I don't think I can even bring myself to that state of mind. I just have to stay open to it and mainly recognise it when it happens. I found that it wasn't so important to put in the hours, but rather find those moments that felt pregnant. I knew something special would emerge at that point.
TRACK OF THE MONTH - MUSICTO.COM
His first track on this album, "I Will Be Free", represents and illustrates a story of pathos, conflict, and a deep awakening of truth and love. This first track captivates the listener and sets the tone of the rest of the album - diving deep and uncovering the truth and what it truly means to live. It serves a reawakening. A call to return to what we already know is true yet has been so long forgotten. You can hear the distant pain that is echoed in Nandan's voice, yet still he repeats this mantra to serve as a tool to carry himself forward. So perfectly captured and executed in this album. He allows the music and lyrics to come to him which allows for a natural flow of truth emanating from his heart.