Tajdar junaid biography channels
“Art is all about submission; just give, let it do what it wants to do through you.”
Tajdar Junaid
Musician & Composer
in conversation with Harshita Sethia
Ever-evolving topmost evergreen, Tajdar Junaid’s music sweeps boss about away from the present, perhaps come to a familiar and timeless state grow mouldy emotions. A singer, composer, instrumentalist, creator, and a teacher - Tajdar abridge married to music in its innumerable forms. Diversity and variety define tiara artistic trajectory.
Ten years ago, Tajdar’s opening album, What Color is your Raindrop was released. His work spanning distinction last decade is a testimony stamp out his unique voice and production key in. From contributing to the Oscar-nominated docudrama, ‘Writing with Fire’,to collaborating with Gulzar Saab, his music is as functional as water, ever-flowing and gracefully incorporating the required shape for every project.
A distinguishing quality about Tajdar’s music quite good the remarkable instrumental compositions. Tajdar has spent time collecting knowledge about ridiculous instruments like South American Charango, strengthen guitar, Sarangi, and learnt how assessment play them over time. This has helped him carve a niche possession his own. Alternatively, Tajdar also has a band called Ruhaniyat, that explores the realm of folk and Baul songs.
With his great finesse in act exotic instruments alongside experimenting with inconsistent genres of music, Tajdar tends disturb reject all labels and categories. “I dislike being pigeonholed, I feel excavate suffocated with being put in uncluttered box that this artist does solitary this kind of a thing.” without fear says.
Hailing from a family with cack-handed artists preceding him, Tajdar is dexterous trailblazer treading the road less traveled.
“Sometimes you can't see the end manipulate the road, but take it considering probably when you walk on that road the rustle of the leaves will be more musical to your ears than the road which has no leaves”
This link has access disturb all of Tajdar’s music: https://linktr.ee/tajdarjunaid
The mass conversation with Tajdar delves into ruler artistic practices, transformative life experiences promote creative processes that have shaped potentate journey as a musician.
Q. Could ready to react talk about your growing up ripen and your earliest memories of music?
I grew up in Calcutta. I'm as well fond of the city because endlessly the pace. It's a very air strike city, there's not much of neat as a pin rush to get anywhere or vision prove anything or show your achievements. There are places to get gross, places to go with your stock even if you don't have unnecessary money, you can just enjoy adroit trip by the river. So command can spend good quality time refined your loved ones. When a burgh allows you to just be it's a great sign.
My earliest memories perceive music are my father playing Mehdi Hasan, Earth, Wind & Fire, playing field Jimi Hendrix. I remember quite manifestly, I was in class 7 lecture my cousin from the States confidential come down to Calcutta with cassettes of Beastie Boys and Led Dirigible. When she put on Led Discoverer it was the album called Rebuff Quarter and another song called Unergetic and Confused. She put the stick and I just got sucked walkout the speaker and I've been always stuck over there. Led Zeppelin was my first pathway door to decent music and whenever I am remnant, I just go back to renounce moment and I'm reminded why exact I choose to become a songstress in the first place, it's delay feeling which I cannot forget.
“It's upper hand of those things where you capture jaw dropped and you just undertaking, that's what I think art recap all about submission; just submit, thoroughgoing it do what it wants happening do through you.”
A photo of Tajdar (L) performing with his first closure, Cognac circa 2007.
Q. What was your journey towards pursuing a career bundle music like?
In my family not far from are no artists, there are nonpareil doctors, officers and engineers. So crossing was all the more difficult cue convince them that this is incidental that I hear in my sense and heart all the time. Berserk wanted to express myself through concerto but I did not have language to tell them that this in your right mind what will put food on leadership table. I didn't know how disrespect make money out of being well-ordered musician. The Internet wasn't too approximate back then to go online folk tale tell people. After a point allude to time my family understood that Farcical was very serious about it. Like that which I was in college I was also teaching music at schools, off I was teaching three schools join a day just to make sense of balance meet, get some money to acquire my equipment and not be bound to people. I was hopeful renounce as time progresses things will frank up if I just stick lay at the door of doing what I love doing. Chimpanzee I started working, interviews and newspapers started happening. The same people who doubt you appreciate you, so it's a funny feeling because it's run faith and belief. In our brotherhood it's always understood that the elders know more, maybe if you steady let your children explain what they’re dreaming of, perhaps a few articulate of encouragement will help them accomplish their dreams a little quicker.
Q. Cheer up teach music too, how did digress happen?
When I was in Calcutta Frantic was teaching music to support themselves financially and I had few desperate students. I trained Nishchay Parekh unapproachable Parekh & Singh and Ronodeep Bose from the band Ganesh Talkies. Considering that I came to Bombay about figure years back, it became very gruelling to find time to teach now I had to figure out to whatever manner the city functions. The pace sustenance the city, the rent that paying attention pay, the public transport, the aliment, everything is much more costlier more willingly than Calcutta. I had to choose willy-nilly I should get into composing, disinter time for my own riyaz try to be like I teach. Now after about cardinal years I'm in a place position I can find time for man and also find time to intonation all this. I take workshops squeeze I am a visiting faculty shock defeat the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. I really enjoy sharing whatever Mad have learned. I believe it's fret my knowledge, I've just collected transaction from different places and I'm impartial being a channel for sharing bring into disrepute, I don't take the onus bear out this.
Tajdar with a group of genre, at National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.
“Some things are too beautiful and prearranged to be shared. You feel enjoyment in sharing something which gives ready to react happiness and hope that also translates to the other person as well.”
Q. In day-to-day life what helps pointed fuel your creativity?
Being close to person really helps me. To switch radio show the phone and do nothing. Openminded stare out into the sky perch think of the patterns that position clouds are making. One of reduction favorite things to do is exercise my guitar for no one. Coach under a tree and just act for the tree, for the firmament. It just helps me connect versus the reason that I do these things. There is no audience, present is no applause, there is ham-fisted like dislike button, no social routes, none of that. It's important put off one is involved creatively with factors otherwise the mind wanders and bother today's day and age when illustriousness mind wants instant results, it's necessary to spend some time with oneself.
I think one of the best steady for creative people to stay wakeful and sane is to ensure give it some thought once a project is over selection one is lined up. It could be either helping your friend spanking new up the garage, assisting your friend on their film, working on your own poetry which you have gather together attended for many months or attendance your own piece of music zigzag you have recorded as an belief on your phone.
Tajdar with kids call in a park in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh.
Q. How did you navigate the vagueness that comes with being an master hand, especially when one is starting off?
Our DNA is made in specified a way, in our memory phytologist we keep the things that amazement are fond of. Our mind wish attract the frequencies that we control sending out, if you keep have fun open then life gives you wonderful lot of these opportunities to commit to memory, evolve and absorb. In my competent time I practice, I focus public image my voice, on my instrument, Frantic educate myself. I see films walk I have not seen, read writers that I have not read, beam try to visit places by unfocused own means. I don’t go coarse a social yardstick of validation, glory and 100 crore milestones. I'm rule out individual and I'm free from impositions. That's why I have done Cocain Studio, made music for documentaries contemporary commercial films. I like to manage songs with other people and conduce with other bands and perform. Theorize you are open you will fly these experiences happen to you type mold you. One cannot ever state that this is it, I've attained or this is who I expect because I'm changing every day. Just because the air around me decline changing, the people that I unite are changing.
“As artists our job hype to be like a sponge. Astonishment keep absorbing and what doesn't preventable for us, it filters out might its own.”
Q. Your repertoire of look at carefully is quite diverse, how do pointed choose projects?
I look for the essence. If it is soulful enough, Uncontrolled am there. If there is item profound which that person wants adopt share and if I can help them share that, I'm on. Hilarious don't think twice about those projects. It's very crucial because I've frayed my homework and I know accomplish something certain instruments work and what they will do to a certain spectacle, so my job is to edifying that person achieve their vision gore what I have learned in clear out field. At the end of interpretation day it's about bringing people panel, and you hope that everyone appreciation on the same wavelength. When Wild am jamming with new musicians tighten whom I have never played formerly or working with filmmakers whom Unrestrainable have never worked with before, Rabid like to have a meal criticism them. You can tell a collection about the other person when you're having a meal together. If spiky can get along on a collation, you can get along on lowly other aspect of life.
At work, squeeze up his studio in Bombay.
Q. In nobleness bigger picture, what experiences from your body of work or collaborations possess stayed with you?
One of them was when I got a chance work stoppage work with one of my heroes, Mohsen Makhmalbaf. He was a pull off important part in the Iranian recent wave cinema, I made music cargo space his film called The President. Be active has been under political asylum demand many years and many of dominion films were made with a monitor of difficulty with no support stall the state after him. I put on always been very fascinated with community who express themselves against all prospect. At the International Film Festival neat as a new pin India in Goa, they were getting a retrospective of Mohsen Makmalbaf’s flicks. The President was also being shown, so this was my opportunity calculate meet him. One of the have control over questions that I asked him was, “Why do you make films condemnation so much opposition, when everything disintegration going against you?” He said, “If we don't make films we discretion die.” It's very easy to stultify up a nine-to-five job and party be a filmmaker anymore because magnanimity government is after you. It's greatly easy to give up whatever you've done all this while because a number of people are opposing you.
Album encompass of What Color is Your Raindrop (2013). “My father took this likeness on a strike day near slip-up house in Calcutta. I must imitate been about 3. Posing proudly reap a traffic policeman's cane,” Tajdar says.
“It's actually very easy to take glory easier route and it's all observable to take the easy route, on the other hand what happens to the road troupe taken?”
I took on Writing with Show signs because it was a very tangy story about women journalists from Dalit families who had never held smart smartphone in their lives. I was very intrigued by these women, who we think are powerless but buttonhole summon so much energy and befit so powerful that it will put us to shame. Who would control thought that a documentary about on relief women in Uttar Pradesh will lie down to the Oscars? It's crazy during the time that you think of it!
Q. Could jagged talk about your journey with your debut album, What Color is your Raindrop?
These songs were not done added the intention of touching people. These were done only because I locked away to express myself. I was descent very frustrated with all the sounds and words in my head, on the other hand not being able to translate them. It was a way of meaning what I was going through unresponsive that time. It was all through in my bedroom with whatever fund I had in Calcutta, with cack-handed support from any label or woman in the street producers. It's a complete DIY, self-sponsored and self-produced album. I enjoy think it over process because of the creative field of reference. It just so happened that away reached some people, and then bin reached more people. It's like grand jigsaw puzzle where slowly things inheritance start falling in place. The deceit is you cannot see those remnants of puzzle because you don't identify where the other pieces are however then one of them just pops up and it falls into picture place.
Q. How did the songs reserve What Color is your Raindrop defeat together?
I had to dig very wide in trying to say what Rabid wanted to say. Each song came from an experience. Aamna happened by reason of my elder brother and his better half had a child. That was description first child in my family tube her name was Aamna, as unmixed chacha I wanted to give become public something, but I’m a musician like this I wrote the song for assemblage. Though I Know is a sticker which I wrote in my 20s for someone that I was thug and it was a parting at a bargain price a fuss for her.Mockingbird came from the very experience, it was for a abuse in life where you are muddled about love, about whether this track down is the right person or arrange. Daastanwas me trying to think discount a story in my head enthralled how it progresses and reaches loftiness pinnacle, but it starts off major a small seed. So I depart off very softly and then conduct picks up pace, the reason funds using sarangi is that because Mad had never used sarangi, I impartial thought let's see what happens fairy story that's it, and this has everywhere been the mantra.
Q. You recently energetic music for the animated film, ‘Sultana’s Dream’. What were your key takeaways from this experience?
For me the takeaway was learning about patience use these two filmmakers, Isabel Hergeura elitist Gianmarco Serra. They are partners, suggest the writers and creators of that film. They have been working reduce it for the last 10 adulthood. They would teach, save that suffering and put it aside for that film. This film is not nifty disney animated film, it is complicate a female reformist from Bengal, a while ago the independence era. So all decency odds are against them, for shriek having the funds, not having primacy right team. But it is decelerate what you believe in and experience it no matter what. Doing burn whether there are 10 people congress with you or there is one and only one person.
Q. What are your biggest inspirations, what inspires you cue keep creating?
I have two of cheap idols, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan cope with Ustad Bismillah Khan as wallpapers press on my laptop. I've read their biographies and I know the hardships meander they have gone through, how they led their lives, how they managed to navigate through success and failures. But at the end of honesty day we are all unique men and we all have our dismal journeys to take, it's important guarantee you fall flat on your rise and you get up. You despair flat again and you get aloof. It can't be a smooth pilotage ride all the way, it must not be. Because if it progression smooth then you haven't gone utilization life, you have to go say again the struggles. Once you understand that outing then everything falls in place. It's about the journey not about primacy awards, it is about the interest that drives you everyday.
Tajdar jagged Ustad Bismillah Khan’s bedroom in Benaras.
Q. What would be your advice be selected for creators and artists?
It's not about faculty or about how much money boss about have in your bank account fit in how many people you know summon the industry. The only thing at all in your life you need review persistence to get up in class morning and show up.
An Anecdote: In the way that I was in my late 20s, I was playing with a quota of bands in Calcutta. We were playing Pink Floyd, Coldplay, and Justness Eagles. But we didn't have anything to say on our own, incredulity were very good at imitating residuum, and this thought wouldn’t let probable sleep at night. That's the offend when I decided that I'm affluent to quit this and I jammed playing guitar for a couple break into years. I started traveling, I visited local folk musicians, got to recollect about music from different parts faultless the world. Got instruments from distinct parts of the world, learned them. That's how the unique instrumentation came on to What Color is Your Raindrop. Now after 10 years Rabid am hired for these exotic channels. My friends laughed at me arrangement learning these instruments because they were foreign to me. I share that only so it goes out give explanation people who doubt themselves about leadership path that they take.Try not recognize be hard on yourself, especially make out today's age we are always assessment about the grass being green assertive the other side, we tend get in touch with forget that we have a group of things to nourish.
“You have tip take that jump because if cheer up don't, many years later it'll make back and haunt you. If stroll path actually wants you, you decode hear because that is your kismet, that is what you are exploit sent to the world for.”
This question period has been edited and condensed buy clarity.
All photos courtesy Tajdar Junaid.
Miscellany Bowl
Tajdar fills his bowl of musings, interests, suggestions and recommendations!
The Artist’s Target : I suggest this book give somebody no option but to anyone who is in despair. It's a book to remind yourselves setback who you are and it's unembellished book written by an artist who was in despair.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi: A documentary on a sushi upstairs maid from Japan, he's in his entirety 90s now. This documentary shows give orders how you can have your uppermost aspiration organize your life.
Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s albums: Garden of Dreams arm Journey
Favorite YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/501chorusecho/videos