vidyu

Our interview series continue and now we have an amazing singer with us – Vidyu Appaiah. Check out Vidyu’s songs in her blog, Music is Divine.

Did you have any formal training in music?

My first Guru is my mom.  When I say Guru, I never had any “sit down” lessons with her, but she taught me Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and then listening to her and my dad sing all the time was my initiation to music. I briefly trained under Sharad Chandra Marathe of Calicut for a few months when I was under 10 years of age.  Later, in 1999, I had the good fortune of getting guidance from Keerti Kumar Badseshi of Bangalore which again was short lived.

What were your activities in the field of music before you started online singing and music blogging?

I used to sing on stage with an orchestra – Brother’s Music Club, Calicut from the age of 10 and have performed in many programs in and around Calicut/Kerala. Those were the days!  Full fledged live orchestra with 25 + members. :-)   But after marriage and kids I gave up music completely until 1999 when I started learning, but again, gave up after I moved to the US.

When did you start music blogging and what lead you to it?

It was back in 2005 that we happened to get invited to a friend’s place and he had a karaoke set up in his basement. That was the first time I even heard of Karaoke tracks for Indian music! He forced me to try singing and I found myself singing comfortably to the track!   Later we chanced upon Srikant Devarajan’s website and he suggested I have a blog/webpage and upload some of my recorded songs. My husband then did a search for karaoke tracks and we found Taranaa.com which had only Hindi tracks.  Looking for Malayalam tracks, we chanced upon Joseph Thomas..the Music Blog Guru!!!  :-) He talked me into audio blogging and in fact was very persuasive which led me into uploading my first song on my blog in early 2006.

You were among the very first few people from India who started music blogging. Can you write about how it has helped you compared to your musical life before music blogging?

Music blogging has given me the opportunity to share my music with friends and family.  The desire to sing and be heard is there in every artist big or small and this is perfect for me in terms of reaching out to a small, regular audience from the comfort of my home. :-) Blogging also opened doors for me to get opportunities to sing on stage after moving to the US.

What is the best thing that you like about music blogging?

Hmm…the best! I would say the opportunity to be heard by people who know music and take the time out to comment..positively & negatively.  Music blogging has also led me into virtually meeting with some very talented singers/musicians and it’s an honor to know/sing with such great talents!

What do you dislike the most about music blogging?

Music blogging is such an awesome concept to showcase one’s talent.. at one’s own pace! I can’t think of anything to dislike about it!   Now, if I am thinking so much..…then there is nothing really to write about! :-)

You have been performing in the live shows in USA. What are the challenges of singing on stage?

Yes,  I have been performing in quite a few live shows here the last couple of years.

Contrary to how I have performed on stage with many rehearsals with the orchestra group in India, in the US, many times I have performed without any rehearsal.  So, it’s bang on stage that I get to meet all the musicians and the co-singer, many for the first time!  To me, on stage singing is all about the chemistry, rapport you build with fellow musicians, co-singer and then most importantly, with the audience.  How well you can connect determines the success of your performance.  And that is a challenge.

Could you please share any unforgettable musical moments or concerts that you had?

An unforgettable musical moment for me was when I sang in front of Yesudas when I was in High School and he was sitting right next to me while I stood in front of the mike. Was I nervous!!! But as soon as I was done, I got to talk to him and I vividly remember him being appreciative and saying “take care of your voice, please start learning classical music, don’t eat ice-cream!!!”

Singing with Abhijeet in Kansas I would say would be the most unforgettable concert for me.

What are the pros and cons of live singing and studio singing?

In live singing I get this energy from the audience that I completely miss in a studio recording session.  When u sing on stage it’s a do or die situation but u can make fixes in recording.  Thanks to technology everything is a possibility! Not sure if I can list it under pros and cons but just my thoughts on differences between the two.

What equipments do you use for home recording?

Yamaha Mixer
SM 58 & Sennheiser microphones
iKey Portable USB recorder.

What kinds of Music do you like?

My preference for music is certainly Indian.  I listen to Hindustani classical, bhajans, and bollywood film music besides songs in many Indian languages. I also love to listen to Country & New Country.

Your favorite singer, music director, lyricist – and the reasons for you to prefer them over the rest.

Asha ji is my inspiration but now I have a new favorite, Shreya Ghoshal in Hindi.   S. Janaki and Chitra are my favorites from South Indian film music. Kishore da and Sonu Nigam are my favorite male singers.  All of them, I feel, are very versatile and I love the way they can sing a sad song as convincingly as they bring life to a fast paced, fun song!

The one other singer I listen to a LOT is Srikanta Acharya from Kolkotta.  I absolutely love his voice and singing style. I also love Hariharan’s music a lot.

In non – Indian, from what I listen to, I love Natalie Maines , Faith Hill,  Keith Urban, Shania Twain, Brad Paisely & Kenny Chesney to name a few.
Music Director – that’s a hard one!  I have several favorites! Naushad, SJ, SD, RD, Salil da, OPN,  Jatin-Lalit, Shyaam, Ravindran, IR. .. SO many! I just love good melody.  :-)

You have been singing in various languages. How do you manage all that? What preparations do you do while singing in a particular language?

From an early age, I have been exposed to a lot of languages and music in different languages.  I grew up listening to Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi & Tamil songs. I can also speak fluently in 6 languages and comprehend another 4 which makes it a lot easier.  When I sing in languages I don’t know, I always take the help from my friends who speak the language to guide me.  They usually write the lyrics in English but phonetically to suit the way it should be pronounced.  One time, after a show at a Durga Puja, people came by and spoke to me in Bengali assuming I knew the language since I sang in the language!  That I would say was a huge encouragement after all the hard work that went into learning the diction. :-)

What are your other hobbies/interests apart from music?

I love to paint, (on canvas and on walls!!!), decorate my home, read, write, walk.   Besides these, my biggest interest is my dog.  :-)   So indulging in him is my hobby. ;-)

Have you got any breakthrough in the music industry or is there something in the pipeline?

Breakthrough??  Hmm….hey, how about giving me THAT break?? !!!!

Thank you Vidyu, for taking time to answer our questions. Wishing you the very best in all your music endeavors.

Thank you all for reading and Audio Blog for presenting this.

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