Bands get a few gigs, go into the studio and think of an album. For us it is backwards with our debut single getting us recognition.
Bengaluru knows Neecia Majolly as a reputed concert pianist, Western classical and music theatre vocalist, conductor, teacher and composer. Until recently, however, not many knew that Neecia also dabbled in progressive rock and classical electronic music with her band, The Majolly Project.
“Yes! This is new territory for me since I’ve always been associated with classical and choral music,” she tells MetroPlus.
“To be very frank, I’ve always wanted to be a rock chick since I was a teenager!” she laughs. “It is just that I’ve been classically trained and I’ve been good at it. But TMP has been a long time coming. I’ve been trying for years to get this together in a completely opposite direction to what I was doing so far. It was so difficult to find the right and committed musicians. It was only in September last year that I got the two other musicians together and we started off with TMP.”
Neecia adds: “A lot of people are surprised that Neecia Majolly has an alter ego – classical musician by day and rock chick by night,” she laughs heartily. “Playing classical music has its own creativity in terms of interpretation, but this has brought out a whole new side of creativity for me since it is something of my own. I am also not trying to appeal to popular tastes. But people like it so far.”
Their first single got two golds at the recently held Global Music Awards, making them the only winners from India.
Released in June, their single titled ‘Dark Room’ has also received a nomination for Rock Song Of The Year by The International Music and Entertainment Association.
While Neecia is songwriter and arranger for TMP, Ashwin Shekhar is on percussion while keyboardist Anish Thomas Panikkar does the programming as well.
“It is really exciting for us since this is our first single and we did not expect it to get so much attention. I don’t think this is something bands in India do often. This is quite special for us. In fact I think we are working backwards. Bands get a few gigs, perform for some time, go into the studio and then think of a single and an album. For us it is backwards with our debut single getting us recognition,” she says.
‘Dark Room’, a poignant dark composition of voice and piano, is a very personal song, says the composer. “It’s got something to do with a lot of what I was experiencing as an artiste. People like me find it best to take that personal experience and express it in the form of music. ‘Dark Room’ is a result of that experience. Many say it’s very haunting and touches people where it needs to.”
Neecia adds that all their upcoming singles deal with personal issues. “Mostly by this month end, we will release our second single titled ‘White Bone’ that dwells more on the influences that TMP exudes in the classic progressive rock soundscape. Dark Room, though our first single, touches only a little of the sound that TMP is all about. It is personal and connects with people. The second single is very powerful. It’s on the illegal ivory trade that we feel strongly about.”
The multifaceted artiste points out that they have a bunch of songs ready for an album. “I just hope that someone becomes kind to us and funds our album,” she beams. “It’s not easy to do an album all on your own. So we will wait and see now that we have people’s attention.” On the sound, she adds that none of their songs are feel good. “None of them will make you snap your fingers or clap your hands or feel happy. This is serious stuff,” she admits.
The song, however, fits well with the listening audience in Bengaluru. Neecia agrees: “Bangalore has much more of a taste for rock and metal than any other city. In Bangalore, there is an audience for everything. We are luck that way. It is also easier now for people to listen to music, thanks to social media and online platforms.” She adds that earlier a lot of bands used to play covers. “No one is really keen on that anymore. That also is an inspiration for bands like us to do our music. The audience accepts and loves it when bands play their own music. These changes are good for us.”
Looking ahead, Neecia says the awards and nomination has given them validation for their efforts. “I want it to be as big as we can,” she sums up. Check out The Majolly Project on Facebook, Reverbnation, Soundcloud and Youtube.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Allan Moses Rodricks /Bengaluru – August 22nd, 2015