K nown more for the recent infamous copyright spat on the music of Krazzy 4 with filmmaker Rakesh Roshan, Ram Sampath is back in the news for collaborating with the Australian rock band INXS, using wife Sona's voice for the rendition. The composer also has his hands full with some Bollywood projects, jingles and other international collaborations. Sampath gets candid with Radioandmusic.com's Anita Iyer about his forthcoming projects and mantras of jingle making.

Excerpts:

How challenging is it to redo a western number with an Indian flavour to it?

It is challenging to stay true to the Indian flavour and I had the complete creative freedom to compose the tracks without any interference. The only instruction given by INXS was that they didn't want any western influences in the song and Sona's voice had to be a contrast to that of the lead singer's voice.

Also, more than a challenge, it is an opportunity to be recognised for your work and given a chance to remake a western track.

While giving it an Indian touch, which Indian instruments or artists do you work with?

For the composition, I am avoiding the tabla and opting more for Rajasthani percussions based on Dholaks, cymbals, Hindustani guitars and the output sounds like a rock with an Indian flavour. The tracks are raga based and have a semi classical touch to them. Sona has rendered her voice and her sargam is phrased with guitar playing in the background.

I have also roped in some Indian artistes like Chintu Singh, the guitar player, percussionist Abhay Rumde, Rajesh Raj Bhatt etc for rendering the instrumentals for the tracks.

What genres do you prefer while composing?

All my tracks which I work on, have a touch of world music genre in them. I believe in taking our Indian music to the world and showcasing our desi music internationally.

What is the status of Indian music abroad?

Westerners adore our music and it is a funny phase in the music industry today where we are grabbing western tunes. We are aping western music and the western musicians are looking to adopt our music. As against Arabic and Chinese tunes, western tuning scales are similar to Indian beats and so, there is an easy understanding between the two genres.

If we talk about the demand of Indian music abroad, our musicians are well received and felicitated, as they understand the value of our lineage and heritage.

What are your views on different elements like Rap, hip hop assimilating into Bollywood music now?

There is nothing wrong with any genre of music becoming a part of Bollywood. Suddenly, we had UK Punjabi rap becoming a part of Bollywood and it was overdone, even more than it ever prevailed in the UK. If it is simply dragged and made a part of Bollywood, it would fade away with time as there is a lack of soul in it.

Prior to working with INXS, have you worked on any international collaboration?

Before these two tracks, I have worked with INXS for the make of the song �After glow' in which Sona had again rendered her vocals. Apart from INXS, I had remixed Justin Timberlake's �Love stone' track and used the snake charmer bean (pungi) in the track, rendering an unusual element to it. Indian music is lagging behind and has not been assimilated in mainstream western music unlike the Latin genre. Indian music is gaining popularity and is gradually becoming an integral part of mainstream American music.

Although the Afterglow track featuring Sona and INXS was released worldwide, why did it go unnoticed?

The album was released in India in affiliation with Sony BMG, but didn't receive proper exposure. The video got lost amid chaos, as the English channels thought it was a Hindi track and vice versa. But the track was played on FM stations in Delhi and even in Mumbai for some time but went missing from the TV space.
Even abroad, the track was well received and found its place in UK top 10 digital downloads on itunes for almost six months.

After composing for jingles and albums, are you looking forward to composing for Bollywood films now?

I am working on a feature film project now, which is a comic flick, apart from two other movies. And we are also heading to New York to work on Sona's album to be launched abroad.

Is this the same album �Sona' which was launched in India a while back?

The same album Sona will be re-launched abroad under the label Potumayo. They were interested in Indian music and wanted to do something distinctive with world music genre. We would be retaining 50 per cent of the tracks and would be adding on some more tracks in collaboration with Latin and Brazilian artists and pushing them in the album and re-launching it.

Apart from albums, are you working on any jingles now?

I am working on a jingle for Close up toothpaste brand; it is a complete revamp of the earlier face of the brand. One thing unique with this project is that I could actually be the first Indian composer to have the honour of composing a jingle that would be on air in many countries, in America, Asia and elsewhere. Apart from this one, I am also working on a Mercedes Benz ad.

Being in the field of jingles for long now, what changes have you witnessed?

It is the best phase in the advertising industry, where the creative aspects involved in jingle making are being outsourced to India. The scenario has changed tremendously today because earlier, it was mostly the labour intensive process which was outsourced to India. Indian creativity is recognised in the market abroad and they are looking forward to work with us.

Also, the jingle industry is more organised today giving the composers opportunities to showcase their talent.

What preferences do you keep in mind while composing for an international company?

While composing jingles for an international brand, the uniqueness should be kept intact. The concept must be customised complementing the country the ad is designed for. Indians have the tendency to understand the western culture effortlessly so, that makes the work easy. Ads made on our culture would be worth exploiting when dealing on a world platform.

As you are venturing into composing for Bollywood, how different is composing for jingles?

While composing for movies, you need to think efficiently and keep the idea subtle rather than overdoing it. However, in case of jingles, you need to express an idea and catch the audience's attention in a maximum of 60 seconds. Also, the advantage with jingles is that you can experiment in any genre- you can experiment and add on Arabic, Chinese tunes to it.

There are many composers in our film industry who have gained experience by composing for jingles. Composers coming from that background have the pulse to create instant tunes.

I would say that jingle making is the only industry which pays to educate the composers!

Having delivered some great jingles, what is the mantra to make a successful jingle?

Of prime importance is to keep the jingle simple without any complex ideas and avoid repetitions. The ad makers must experiment with structure but the jingles must not lose soul.