USIC director duo Sachin-Jigar is in the league of young music directors who have given Bollywood
audiences experimental sounds. From the songs in F.A.L.T.U, Shor in the City, Shuddh Desi Romance, ABCD: Any Body Can Dance, Badlapur and Meri Pyaari Bindu to the latest release Gold, the duo has delivered memorable tunes.
Sachin-Jigar also performed at the recently concluded Indian Film Festival of Melbourne to a packed auditorium, validating how their music transcends boundaries. “Bollywood tunes are an amalgamation of melody, dance music and a lot of masala. If someone is looking for variation, our music has it and that’s what works for the global audience,” explains Jigar.
Today, though the duo has made a name for itself in the industry, there was a time when Sachin and Jigar were discouraged by well-known musicians. It was only when music director, Pritam, took them under his wings, that the two were given a chance to prove themselves. “It was a combination of struggles, good luck and a lot of hard work that got us to where we are. I guess the discouragement was the biggest push for us. It was the best form of encouragement. We have nothing against anyone but we didn’t fall into the trap of pleasing anyone,” says Jigar.
The reason the duo has managed to make a mark is because both of them experiment with a lot of new sounds. “We were musicians first. Later on, we became arrangers before turning music composers. So we come with varied skills. Our songs are not just a combination of lyrics, music and vocals. There is a lot going in the background. Some things need to be woven with the tune. We come from this school of thought, where composing is a slow layering process. But we don’t offer the same raw sounds each time. We prefer to introduce new sounds, ” explains Sachin.
The duo that has been mentored by Pritam, worked with AR Rahman and is inspired by Lucky Ali, says the precedent set by these musicians is very high and they need to keep reinventing Bollywood music. Talking about indie pop musicians like Akasa Singh, Guru Randhawa, Badshah and others, Sachin-Jigar say it’s a positive trend. “We are making musicians stars and not using stars to promote music videos,” says Jigar.
The duo listens to music by Kishori Amonkar, Kaushiki Chakraborthy, Rashid Khan, and songs from Pakistani Coke Studio, the US Billboard and also takes cues from hip-hop, dance and guitar-based rock music. Going forward, they aim to discover new voices on YouTube for their songs.
ayeshatabassum@newindianexpress.com
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