1. Tell us more about your background and journey.
My name's Sachin aka manchild011. I was born and brought up in Malappuram. My very first formal introduction to carnatic music was from the same. Apparently I dropped it after a year because my voice was not so suitable for music like that of my sister's, according to people. I remember myself practicing with the door closed, making sure that nobody heard me. Those were yeah hard times.
At present I'm the lead vocalist in the band titled "Chidakasha",
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2. When did you first decide you wanted to pursue music and how did you start?
I think it was at the end of my sophomore year at college, MA College Kothamangalam, Kerala, when I started to take the stage seriously. That was when many of my notions about music and the industry met with reality. I always thought that it was much easier to be a musician but it doesn't apparently work that way.
3. Who is your favorite artist and why?
How do I name an absolute favorite? Okay, so there's a thrash metal band based in Bangalore named THE DOWN TRODDENCE. I mostly listen to independent music from India. a couple of others would be AGAM and a band called from Delhi.
4. Can you throw some light on opportunities one gets as a singer?
I come from a background that has absolutely zero connection with the media entertainment industry, I was completely clueless at first but then I got the hang of it. One thing I've learned is that you should always search for the opportunities rather than waiting for them to come to you. Only if you network, market yourself, the releases.
You know think of yourself as a brand rather than an artist can you seem to attract the things that come your way. Your work will stand apart if you put cent percent in it and I'm basically a proof of that.
5. Is format training required or can one train themselves purely on the basis of talent?
That basically depends on the individual. There's nothing wrong in choosing both the ways, there's always pros and cons to it. I have been trained formally but only for a short time. It does have influences on me but when I came to this field I started to work a lot on me as a performer.
The journey has taught me a lot. I think at the end of the day that which you "desire" is the magic word. Imbibe all the little things along the way, adapt and work on yourself with the resources which are accessible to you. Having said that if you are a creative genius chiseled by format training that's a good thing too.
6. What piece of advice would you like to give to future and aspiring artists?
Something I felt that the local music scene esp is lacking is to think of yourself as a brand than an artist who just plays for money. You have to do your bit of marketing and build connections through networking and references that's how it works. This is no competition the art provides all of us an opportunity to win together. My piece of advice thus would be, be kind to all.
7. Which is your favorite book and why?
I don't read much nowadays, but Basheer was one of my favorites during my days as a kid. "Mathilukal", "Ente Uppupaak oru aana undaayrnu" were my favourites amongst his works.
- Sachin Rajeev
Interviewed by - Harsha
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