Reported By:
| Edited By: Dyuti Basu |Source: DNA |Updated: Sep 03, 2018, 03:46 PM IST
As the music pumps from the speakers and the DJ manipulates the turntables, Dhanya Pilo's focus is on her own set of controls as she manipulates the visuals and turns the space into a wonderland with her projections. VJing, or real-time visual performance, is one of the most direct relationships between music, art and technology. Although it started out with projecting images on a screen, with recent innovations, VJs can transport you into a world of the imaginary.
According to Pilo, music, with it's rhythmic patterns and swells and crescendos, is enough to inspire different kinds of visuals. "It's about the relationship between music, design and space. You create your visuals keeping in mind the audience, the space that you are performing in, and the type of music that the DJ is playing," she explains.
For Pilo's contemporary, Nikunj Patel, better known by his stage name, Moebius, music and artwork feed off each other. When he's not busy at the studio, making creatives for musicians including logos, posters and album art, Moebius can be found at clubs creating wonderlands for party-goers. "Working in the studio is more methodical and linear. You listen to the music, or follow a certain brief and create your work. VJing is much more spontaneous.
You have to keep several technical aspects in mind, even as you innovate," says the VJ.
Innovation is the name of the game, according to Pilo, and you need to keep thinking of new ways to hold the audience's interest. "For a gig at the Design Fabric Festival in March, I compiled a bunch of WhatsApp videos — you know the ones that your family members keep spamming you with? I projected those," she laughs. "We're seeing a resurgence of older imagery, such as dancing girls as part of the video, or 90s imagery like cassettes and radios."
Dhanya Pilo
In a complete contrast to the '90s mania, Patel had once transformed the interiors of Bonobo, a club in Bandra, into the inside of a spaceship using a method called projection mapping, through which images can be projected onto any surface, not just flat screens.
The love for all things vintage can also be traced to the resurgence of vinyl. Aniruddh Mehta aka The Big Fat Minimalist, who focuses on album art, says that his designs are more in demand now than ever. "Aside from vinyl art, when you go online to search for music, the thumbnail (on Youtube, Saavn and similar music apps) makes an impression on you. It's my job to make that thumbnail interesting," he elaborates. Geometric shapes and patterns characterise Mehta's work, a direct translation of the music that he listens to.
One of the most well-known partnerships in the intertwined world of music and design is that of electronic music producer and performer Nucleya and his wife, designer Smriti Choudhary, who goes by Airphish. While her independent work includes monochromes, bright colours are characteristic of Nucleya's album art. "While creating a brand for an artist or an individual, the idea is to reflect his/her personality, and if you know someone so well for so many years, the process is so much easier," she smiles. "For Nucleya's artworks, I draw inspiration from where he draws inspiration for his music – the streets of India. It comes from the artworks on the back of trucks to cultural motifs all Indians relate to."
Another collaboration between musician and artiste –Mehta and his peer, Tejas Nair, better known as Spryke – directly translates musical notes into art. "The final work is an hour-long audio visual clip. Tejas sent me the audio and, using a digital oscilloscope, I interpreted the sound waves as a direct translation into the visual medium," he explains.
And so, the intricate intertwining of music and forms of design continue with innovations and improvisations coming in every day.
