“In August, we played at the London Mela as part of a lineup where nearly 99 per cent of the acts were urban Punjabi bhangra-type artistes. And then, just as Rishi Rich finished his set to a crowd of 5,000 or 6,000 people, this group of south Indian men in lungis who were the so-called headlining act, took the stage to a greatly diminished crowd — maybe around 30 or 40 people,” laughs the Raghu Dixit Project’s eponymous front man, as he reflects on what has been a massively successful year for the band. “To be able to turn that crowd around and have them all running back to the stage was one of the high points of 2010. It was one of those faith-affirming and self-affirming moments,” he adds.
While 2010 was generally a good year for music in India, RDP, by all accounts gained the most. “Gaurav (Vaz, bassist and band manager) and I sat down to review the past year and we looked at the aspirations with which we had begun the year. We found to our pleasant surprise that we had far exceeded our own goals. Maybe we had been far too modest,” chortles Raghu, a day after the band played its “final show of the year” at Bengaluru’s Palace Grounds on Christmas Eve (More on that show, shortly). He adds that aside from playing a variety of international festivals and winning crowds over, the band’s appearance on Later... With Jools Holland (Britain’s premier contemporary music showcase) introduced RDP to a major chunk of the UK.
This was the icing on the cake, according to Gaurav who adds, “After performing on Later... With Jools Holland, our song (No Man Will Ever Love You, Like I Do) was the second most downloaded song on the BBC Asian Music charts and the album itself was the most downloaded album on the iTunes World Music charts for UK and Europe.” “This was a complete bonus. It was something we hadn’t really accounted for. In fact, just a couple of days ago, our digital analyst Andy Edwards sent us a report saying that the spike in downloads of our album has still not gone down,” Raghu chips in.
That isn’t however to say that 2009 was a bad year for the band. “The band was being considered as one of India’s big bands, but not being spoken of with the same reverence as some of the bigger names... and with good reason,” says Gaurav and adds, “We had played some 75 or so shows, both internationally and in India, but our shows abroad were directionless. There was no logical next step. It was usually just an invitation to play somewhere and that was that.” It was then that the band decided to kick it up a notch.
In 2010, RDP took a conscious decision to invest its own money and target the UK as a market. “So we signed on management, PR, booking agents etc. and ended up playing more than 50 shows across the UK and Europe. Jools Holland happened around then and then there were festival appearances and so on,” says Gaurav before Raghu swiftly steps in. “It may look glamorous that we’re touring abroad etc. but the fact of the matter is that it would be stupid to say we’ve achieved anything in terms of breaking an overseas market. We went to the UK and Europe, using our own money. The day we’re invited, flown over, put up in a hotel and paid for a show is still far away,” he says grimly, but brightens up, “But, we’ve put in good groundwork. We’ve broken ground abroad that no other band from India has.”
From the London Mela show through a performance in freezing Stockholm (where being in lungis, was probably not the smartest idea) and all the way to an intimate show at a half-full Hard Rock Café Mumbai, RDP played all sorts of shows this year, but one of the most unique — certainly most bizarre — shows was the December 24 performance at Palace Grounds. Merely mentioning the show is enough to throw Raghu into a roaring fit of laughter. “That was a damn funny show. Hilarious, in fact. We played to over 30,000 people,” says Raghu after the laughter subsides. When this correspondent fails to see why such a large turnout would be funny, the Microbiology gold-medallist (yes, that too) explains, “It was a community show organised by political activists to bring the whole community together — a full-on janta show. So, at one point, we had political aspirants flocking to the stage and dancing while the band played quietly in the background.”
Despite enjoying a flood of popularity in India, in financial terms, however, the year proved fairly expensive for the band. “We didn’t even break even. Far from it. What happened was that we played shows in India to earn money to be able to finance our tours abroad, because unless you are a band of a certain calibre (in terms of popularity), you are just booked for a show and paid for a performance. There’s no question of being flown over or being put up anywhere,” says Gaurav. But, just what does “didn’t even break even” mean in quantitative terms? “Minus `29 lakhs,” says Raghu bluntly. Blimey!
Money matters aside, as we move into 2011, it’s evident that the band has no intention of taking its foot off the accelerator with plans to hit Australia, the USA and Canada in the new year. “In India, the season to play music is from August to February. Since our music scene is a sponsorship-driven one, no sponsors come forward at the end of the fiscal year. Then, there are exams. Following that is the rainy season,” says Raghu as Gaurav begins to lay out the RDP calendar. “April end to August is the festival season in the UK and in the US, this holiday season is the time for most music festivals and it extends till January-February. Australia has very good weather and most of its festivals in February, March and April,” he explains.
Speaking of Australia, RDP will be performing at the Australian Blues Music Festival alongside the likes of B.B. King, Robert Plant and Bob Dylan. Heavy duty touring is par for the course, but what else do Gaurav and Raghu look forward to in the coming year? “As a bassist, I haven’t been able to dedicate enough time to my musicianship this year and would really like to work on that in 2011 and expand my skills,” says Gaurav. Raghu thinks about this for a second and says, “Being an indie band is great, but how long can you continue as one? Most indie bands start with aspirations of becoming mainstream. What I’d like to see is a minimum of eight or nine bands playing similar music and playing well. Together, they can stake claim to starting a new movement and help indie music move forward and gain more listeners.”
According to Gaurav, the band is two summers away from being in a position where it can be said that the band has “made it”. “We’re hoping to end 2011 having broken even and then in 2012, we hope to actually make a profit,” he says. Laying down a reality check of sorts, Raghu goes on to stoically add, “In around two or three years, we’ll know if it’s possible for us to look at the band as a career option.” Fingers crossed.