DPS article

After a long week of performing we meet Britain's hottest Indian boy band, Arju. We have put together a number of questions that you eager fans are so keen to get answers to and asked the boys while they were on tour in London. 

Welcome Arju, let's just get straight to it then. So, you boys have managed to gain quite a lot of attention recently. How do handle it all?

“Well we’ve all been independent artists and thought it’s about time we got together and shared the journey together” Stated Raj with a big grin on his face.

How did you all meet?

“We’re all really close family friends and when we was younger our parents used to make us all compete against each other and we ended the humourus rivalry and came together in the end.” As Lehan managed to finish his sentence Bazil interrupts “well, I was always the best and always won, just thought it’d be nice to share the fame” he giggles.

Now, we’ve managed to get who’s best out the way, what are you plans for next year?

“Right now we’re working on our next hit single. I say ‘hit’ because I’m so confident that this song will surprise our fans and it’s something that’s definitely new and different.” Finishes Lehan.

You successfully toured the UK with all your concerts sold out, congratulations on that, but where do you want to go from here? International perhaps?

Miladur starts of by mentioning “When your young and you dream of exploring the world and sharing your talent. Just you and your hair spray bottle” *giggles “well now that’s all become true except we’ve managed to get hold of mics now. We want to share our music with the world and visit the fans that have been supporting us from all around the world.”

How have you young artists impacted modern Indian music?

“We’ve brought our extraordinary and individual styles and changed up the whole idea of ‘Indian music’. As we’re young and much more updated about younger audiences and their needs we believe we are able to provide to younger people with what they look for in Indian music.” Replied Raj with a much humble gesture.

Who is your biggest inspiration?

Bazil too the chance to answer this question with “I think I speak for everyone when I say Sharuk Khan. He is our all time favourite and our childhood saviour. We watched him growing up and even till this day when we talk to him we all get nervous.”

Are you looking forward to the Indian Awards Ceremony 2015?

“We are so ecstatic! When we had the meeting to talk about our upcoming concerts and that came up we were all screaming and jumping with joy.” Raj Finished off Lehan’s sentence to say “Its amazing how far we have managed to come and now performing for millions of people alongside the biggest Indian musicians and artists is just beyond our biggest dreams.”

How do you all deal with each other? I mean, You’re all young boys who spend most of your days with one another.

Miladur looked at every single one of the boys until he came into eye contact with me to answer with his mouth “Well as normal people we all have our moments but we always remind each other that we’re a team and there will always be obstacles that we will overcome together. We’re not just ‘boys’ as people put it, we’re brothers. It might sound a bit cheesy but we love eachother like our own.”

Are there any artists that you’d like to work with?

“Of course” exclaimed Raj. “The biggest modern Indian artists have started to contact us as support acts already. Like we said we have a lot new and different things in the bag.”

Has fame changed any of you guys?

“We’d like to say no because we are still who we are but I believe we’ve had many positive changes recently. By that I mean we’ve learned to appreciate our culture and identity even more.” Miladur added, “Yeah, I have to agree with that. I mean my parents always complain about the younger generation losing culture and now we’re so involved with it, I think we even encouraged other young people to embrace it”

Are there any weird habits you have? If so, what?

The short silence was broken by Lehan leaping in to answer the question before anyone else does. “I have this weird habit of turning my phone on and off before I perform.” As he finished his sentence Bazil started his “I love freezing grapes, it’s weird I just have them before rehearsals because I believe it helps me”

What has been the most memorable moment so far?

“I know!” said Bazil, as he turned to look at Lehan they all knew what story was going to be told. Raj started the story off “It was when we had a performance in Mumbai. It was last month and as we was approaching the airport the fans had made a sign on the floor with Holi which is powder dye, which read ‘WE LOVE ARJU’ It was one of the most amazing things ever. So as we landed we stayed for 3 hours to meet and greet every single one of the 250 fans that came. We left the airport covered in Holi but it was worth it”

Article

Double page spread
For the article I will be doing a question and answer because after doing research and from my own understanding I have found that it is much more interesting for the reader.
Reading the question asked feels as though you (reader) is personally asking the question which is followed by and answer from the artist. However, following the alternative route and creating a block of text becomes boring because it doesn't have much audience involvement (unless the artist directly addresses the audience)

After thorough research that I have presented I have decided to base my article around the artist's passion for music and how music has had an impact on their lives.

Pictures

After my first photoshoot i have selected the top 5 from a total 300 pictures. I had taken a range of shots and it was hard to choose only a few from so many. However some of them were not so relevant to the music genre. After editing and organising the pages I will have a better idea of how it will look like.

Contents page update

 

I used ruler guides to line up the text and then further used grid after i zoomed in to make sure the precise spacing was the same.

Title

Researching and selecting the Text title was very easy because i already knew what i wanted which was and Indian/hindi style text. This specific writing was already what i had imagined because i had come across it in the past somewhere. I called a few peers who would be in my target audience to just just help me feel confident that this text looked right and ideal.

 

After selecting the text, i had to download onto my mac and create the text on photoshop and type my title again for my final front cover.

example of an interview with Indian artist

Subhash K Jha: You are rarely able to do Bollywood scores these days. How do you manage to turn down Mumbai producers politely?
AR Rahman: (laughs) It’s tough, very tough. But at this juncture of my career, I only want to do the music that motivates me to work harder. Otherwise you lose your audience. The relationship becomes like an old boring marriage.

What do you mean?
It’s very important for me to not get bored with the work that I’m doing. That’s why after doing a series of epic/period films, I did something young like the song Khalifa in Lekar Hum Deewana Dil. After that I’ve only said yes to Shekhar Kapoor’s Paani and Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha. And I’ve also said yes to Rhea Kapoor, Anil Kapoor’s daughter’s film. That’s about it for now.

AFP

Are you tired of the epic scores?
Not at all. I love doing them. So much detailing and labour goes into them. Every epic score is an elaborate experience. On a personal level, it is also very enlightening for me to visit a particular era. While doing the music for a period film, I discover a whole new culture.

Do you enjoy rediscovering a culture as you create a music score?
Immensely. But at the same time, it is also important to find an emotional connect with the filmmaker that I work with.

Are you happy with the treatment of your songs on screen?
Well, a lot of my very good songs in films like Rang De Basanti and Delhi 6 were used as soundtracks in the background. They were not used as lip-sync. So the reach of those songs was just 30 or 40 percent of what it was meant to be. Songs that are sung by major stars on screen get played in clubs and on radio. They make a psychological impact on the audiences’ mind. One reason why I want to do music in young stories is because these films allow their actors to sing on screen.

How do you manage your time between India and abroad?
It’s tough. When I’ve a project abroad, it takes me a month or a month and a half to take care of it. I go with the flow, basically. Thankfully, communication is far easier today than it was when I started out with my international career. I can be connected to and from any part of the world.

What international assignments have you done lately?
I’ve completed two assignments, Million Dollar Arm and The Hundred Foot Journey. Both were very satisfying experiences. The working methods abroad are entirely different from home. Fortunately, I am given the liberty to do purely international sounds abroad. I don’t have to use Indian instruments.

But you do miss your family when you’re abroad?
It is a sacrifice. I am missing out on my children growing up. But sometimes I do take my children abroad with me when they have school vacations. But they can’t accompany me everywhere. It’s not possible to wrench them away from their lives and ask them to join me wherever I am.

Do you miss having time to just relax?
That’s one of the advantages of being abroad. You don’t get mobbed on the roads. People leave you alone even if they recognize you. I can take long walks without being disturbed. All those things that I miss doing at home, I am able to do when I am abroad.

You are now 47 . How do you manage to sound so young in your music?
Because when I was actually very young I didn’t get a chance to feel young. As a child, I spent so much time with musicians who were 40-plus, chewing paan and discussing classical styles. I felt like one of them as a child. Today I feel younger than I did when I was actually young.