A little bit of housekeeping at the top of this one. Our vision for this newsletter has changed since we first started. We may eventually turn the paid portion of this newsletter back on but for now, we have decided to keep it all FREE. We’re planning on automatically upgrading all current subscribers as a thank you for supporting us from the very beginning of this journey we are on!
First things first, Kiran and I have reached an impasse with our Music Together venture due to not finding a suitable location that is not already being serviced. While we have not closed the doors completely on the possibility of us opening up a center of our own, it is not a near term priority and we have decided to pivot our focus to more music composition and production.
Last week we described what art meant to us. Well, mostly what it meant to Kiran, but I agreed with at least 90% of his points so we’ll accept it as the official Pathalogic position for now.
Unlike swimming and cycling, with music, you don’t just pick up from where you left off. Almost every musician has taken a hiatus in some shape or form through their journey but the re-entry into the fold is always met with some challenges, mostly from within. Kiran and I are a little too well-versed with trying to break the mold of who we thought we would be. Our life today is very different than the one we thought we would lead (in a good way!). We started our journey in music through the immensely rich but at times, rigid system of Carnatic music. While this was a decision made by our parents, it was one that we began to enjoy in parts through the process although, it was never our goal to be performing Carnatic musicians.
While Carnatic music was the style we learnt and got most comfortable with to perform, it was probably our least consumed genre the older we got. As we entered our teens, albeit 6 years apart, we found meaning in our lives through rock, pop, rap and R&B, among others. I took my break form learning Carnatic music right before 12th grade and haven’t formally trained in that style since. I have shifted my focus to Hindustani music for vocal training because I wanted to learn something new, but I will always claim Carnatic music as my entry point.
The challenge we now face as a former child prodigy and former shy school choir singer is making the kind of music we want to listen to ourselves. We are currently navigating how to take inspiration from our classical training and add in the styles we have grown up listening to and come to appreciate more.
Our style has evolved as has our taste in what we consider “good” music. A few days ago, I went to a Peter Cat Recording Co. concert. I was blown away by the level of artistry of each band member and the performance itself. Each of them played a minimum of 3 instruments, in addition to singing a track each. Watching them was like watching my own dream play out in front of me, also because the music they make speaks to me on a level I can’t put into words but could only hope to one day express through our own original composition. This is exactly how I’ve come to learn that inspiration works and this brings us to ‘The Artist’s Fallacy’ or at least my definition of it. Every artist, no matter how much they deny it, is inspired by other art and artists themselves. This is the cycle of art, storytelling evokes a different feeling in each of its listeners and some go onto telling stories of their own. Other people have described other types of artistic fallacy that include playing the “what if…” game and essentially getting caught up in the daydream of what could have been.
All of this is to say that the only way to be a musician is to make and practice music. It is also the only thing you need to claim any artistry at all in fact. You don’t even need an audience although, that would be preferable and very much a goal of ours! What Kiran and I are attempting to do is tell our story in our own way but since our chosen medium is music, the challenge or opportunity (some may say), is telling it in a way that speaks to what has inspired us while simultaneously not being a copy in the ruse of a muse.
Sorry to hear about the impasse - best wishes on your musical journey and look forward to listening to your music !