- >>
- Youth
Srijan Mahajan is a musician based in New Delhi. He plays the drums for Parikrama, Cyanide Half Step Down and the Shubha Mudgal Band. Srijan is also part of an electronic duo, FuzzCulture, and runs his own studio, StudioFuzz.
How would you introduce yourself to our readers? Give us your name, the brand of cigarettes you smoke, and the pop-tart, oops star, you'd most like to have a fling with. And anything else you may think is important.
The only thing I can think of is that I am a boy with some drumsticks who got a little lucky. My name is Srijan, I smoke Marlboro Reds (but then you already knew that), and the pop star I'd want to have a fling with would be Imogen Heap (Imogen, if you're reading this, my phone number is mentioned at the bottom).
So you grew up in Delhi. Do you think the city shaped you as a musician? Tell us why or why not?
As a musician, I feel like I am a direct product of the experiences I have everyday. Spending so much time in Delhi, there is no doubt it has shaped me into the person I am today, thus shaping the music I make/play. Truth be told though, I do feel that it's become slightly unidimensional after so many years and I find myself craving a different environment a lot of the time.
Does the main reason you're a musician have anything to do with twenty-one year old female fans at your gigs?
Hahah, not at all! I wanted to be a musician long before the 21 year olds came along!
You've played in some fairly successful bands. Can you tell us anything about how the music scene has changed/evolved in this country?
The music scene is this country is getting better by the day, and I feel very lucky to be doing this at this time in India. When I first started off playing music professionally, gigs would happen maybe once a month if you were lucky, and the whole community would come out in support to watch you play. With independent music coming more into the mainstream though, the number of venues wanting to do gigs has increased and we actually manage to get paid to play gigs. I remember the first gig I ever played; we barely got enough money to hire the cab to carry us and our gear to the venue. The flip side to having so many gigs now though is the lack of an enthusiastic audience. But, I feel it can only get better with time, considering the acceptance and success of independent music in mainstream media forms such as Bollywood.
You seem to have a wide range of musical pursuits. You play the drums for Parikrama, Half Step Down and Cyanide, in addition to Shubha Mudgal's band. You're also part of an electronic duo, Fuzz Culture, and we hear you’ve founded a studio that has recently worked on a full-length feature film. A case of too much on your plate?
I've always enjoyed playing with different musicians and exposing myself to all sorts of unlikely scenarios. My work with each of the bands/artists I play with teaches me to approach things in a slightly different way and I feel it helps me grow as an individual and a musician. Plus, I like being busy most of the time considering I go nuts when I have time to spare.
Which of the above do you think is the most rewarding?
Honestly speaking, they all have their own perks. I take home something totally different while working with each of the projects I'm involved with. For example, Parikrama exposes me to playing on massive stages in front of thousands of people. The setup with Shubha Mudgal is completely different from anything I've ever done, and working with a musician of her caliber has taught me, amongst other things, to think on my feet while on stage since each show with her is very unpredictable and jam friendly. FuzzCulture, is again completely new territory for me, since I'd never worked with computers and electronic music before, and also the live shows are very hectic and train me to go all out, all the time. The studio work that I do at StudioFuzz, lets me explore a very different songwriting side of me, one that I never knew existed and only discovered after doing this! So as you can see, it honestly all comes together somehow in helping me get better in a variety of ways and each is rewarding in their own way.
Do you see yourself balding, getting a pot-belly, nicotine-induced wrinkles and doing exactly what you're doing today, thirty years from now?
Doing exactly this, yes, most definitely. Nicotine-induced wrinkles, in all probability, and the rest, not if I can help it!
If you were to star in Coffee and Cigarettes (the movie!) - who would you want to be in conversation with and what do you think you'll talk about? You know this question is because we all know about your Marlboro Red and Americano addiction.
Haha, my version of Coffee and Cigarettes would have me sitting next to Murakami and wanting to talk about his ability to weave the surreal imaginary world of his into reality that he gets us to believe in his books.
