CHENNAI: In the last few months, as the country witnessed an alarming spike in cases and multiple lockdowns, help poured in from all ends. NGOs, CSR programmes and good Samaritans chipped in by raising funds, big and small, towards COVID-19 relief. While a majority of the fundraiser campaigns seem to have reached their target and served its purpose, here’s one from the indie music fraternity that went live recently.
All Stars is a Covid-relief fundraiser merchandise campaign by Sohail Nawaz Khan, founder, The Nautilus Shell. The musician-cum-graphic designer has collaborated with 10 bands and launched a t-shirt featuring all their logos. “Music and design have been a big part of my life and it’s really important that I do what I can to make sure others make it through to the other side of this crisis. The idea occurred to me when I tested positive around May 2021. I was fortunate to find like-minded people from the budding music fraternity to work on this,” says Sohail.
Bands such as Project MishraM, Takatak, The F16s, Sanjeev T, Anthracite, Skrat, Frizzell D’Souza, The Non Violinist Project, Oorka and Anand Bhaskar Collective, find their logo on the t-shirts. “The t-shirt design is based on a common idea without spotlighting any one band in particular; we will prominently feature all the band logos supporting this campaign. The initiative is promising because never have so many bands from various parts of the country come together for a powerful cause like this one, one that is pertinent to the times we live in today,” he shares.
The unisex t-shirts are available in sizes from small to XL. While the front comes bearing the words ‘I stayed Home And That Saved The World’, the back side has a collage of the logos. Sohail has tied up with websites Artblot for local shipping and Teespring for International shipping. “This is my latest project. I will be involved in distributing and marketing; the bands will take care of the merch sale. All of them have a loyal fan-following and we hope to spread the word to as many as possible,” notes Sohail.
On being part of this project, Sumant Nemmani, guitarist, Project MishraM, says, “Sohail pitched this idea when we were planning to do something. Thus, what started small, snowballed into a larger effort and he roped in more bands for a wider reach. It’s nice that we’ve been able to contribute in a small way.”
Tight-lipped about where the funds will be directed, Sohail’s priority is fully on the sales of this merchandise.
The t-shirt, shipped across the globe, is priced at Rs 700. For details, visit:artblot.in/collections/the-nautilus-shell or Instagram page @the_nautilus_shell