After a long series of flights, we eventually arrived in Delhi and went straight from the airport to the gorgeous farmhouse we were staying at.
There was some initial excitement when the local monkeys decided that they wouldn’t let us near the swimming pool, and chased us away – but we eventually managed to come to an arrangement with them, and I spoke to Ian about what we had come to do.
But there wasn’t too much time for swimming, as Faith and her team from Music Basti arrived to tell us about the project and how it works, and to hear what we had in mind for the recordings.
Back in July, Ian and I went to India with Jez Collins from Birmingham City University to work on a project with an organisation called Music Basti.
Music Basti is a youth-run charity that organises music workshops in homes for street children. The music workshops are run by professional musicians, many of whom are successful recording artists.
We thought it would be an interesting idea to travel to Delhi, work with the musicians and the children to record an album of songs, and release it online. We wanted to do this for a few reasons, but the most important was simply to try and raise money for the charity.
All proceeds from the album sale will go to Music Basti to support their work, and hopefully bring it to the attention of a wider audience.
Its aim is to provide useful resources, advice and strategies for innovation and success in the independent music sector in a rapidly changing technological environment.
NMS examines emerging technologies (and buzzwords) such as AI, blockchain, metaverse and 'Web 3.0', but focuses primarily on sustainability, music as a tool for social change, participation, equality and inclusion, and the ways in which music technologies can build better worlds.
