THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Emotions rippled across the internet last week as Dhinchak Pooja’s sensational songs mysteriously vanished from YouTube. Though the videos eventually reappeared online, various experiments within the musicscape have become cyberspace favourites including playback singer Sonu Nigam’s interpretation of the track Dilon Ka Shooter. Folk have also noticed up-and-coming musicians who’ve joined the fray to give #dhinchaks (fans who religiously follow the star’s gimmicks) a melodious treat. While a lot of old-school musicians get irritated by cringe pop, these creative millennials have found unique stances on the contemporary phenomenon.
Deal with it
Although they took a lot of fire for their spoof being named a ‘jazz tribute’, students from a Mumbai-based Institute have paired their musicianship with some humour. “The idea was to present Pooja’s songs from a ‘classy’perspective, but it was a tough job to embed the lacklustre lyrics into a proper musical structure,” says vocalist Ambika Nayak. Despite the flack from people who think they’re bringing attention to cringe music, the 20-year old knows for sure that the fun project won’t influence them in any way.
However, Jalandhar-based emerging music producer Hiten Kumar (aka Hiten) has found something new since his R&B leaning electronic/vocal cover of Selfie Maine Leli Aaj garnered 2.12 lakh views on YouTube. “Beyond the fun element, I want to create short experimental pieces which will loop itself in people’s minds,” says the 22-year-old, on designing tracks with similar
aesthetics as internet memes.
Cultivating talent
This pop-culture paradox has also brought many aspiring ensembles to the limelight. This is probably why Kolkata-based alternate rockers Astanaa altered Pooja’s lyrics to sing “Chal, side ho jare, behna,” asking her to step aside and make way for their music. “As a nascent band we’ve been trying to grab attention with our Bollywood covers and Bengali originals like Swadhinata, but we realised that such fads are easier means of gaining traction online,” says vocalist Indraneel Chatterjee.
In the case of the rap metal cover by Silchar-based The Minimalist Studios there have been deeper
consequences. “Pooja’s songs were trending and we just got onto the bandwagon and this brought attention to the indie artistes we record at the studio,” informs the owner and guitarist Abhishek Goswami.