{"id":6012,"date":"2021-08-24T16:00:30","date_gmt":"2021-08-24T10:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/?p=6012"},"modified":"2021-08-24T16:21:01","modified_gmt":"2021-08-24T10:51:01","slug":"bajaao-sessions-across-seconds-daira-blakc-powered-by-shure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/2021\/08\/24\/bajaao-sessions-across-seconds-daira-blakc-powered-by-shure\/","title":{"rendered":"Bajaao Sessions: Across Seconds, Daira + Blakc (Powered by Shure)"},"content":{"rendered":"

A pro-shot live-streamed online gig with great sound and a lineup of 3 independent bands wasn’t something I’d experienced since early 2020. On the 15th of August, 2021, India’s day of Independence, Bajaao Studios and Shure powered a virtual event, with a top-of-the-line set-up and major talents. What would’ve otherwise been a gloomy Sunday turned into a day of live music and geeking out over some great gear. Here’s how Bajaao Sessions: Across Seconds, Daira & Blakc (Powered by Shure) went down!<\/p>\n

\u201cLooooong time, broooooo!\u201d seemed like a cued greeting as I walked into Bajaao\u2019s new office and studio premises nearby MIDC\u2019s industrial area in the urban jungle that is Andheri, Mumbai, catching up with musicians and friends I would have met otherwise at regular intervals if our world didn\u2019t go into half-dystopian mode. A long time, indeed. I entered while Across Seconds was playing their 2nd<\/sup> or 3rd<\/sup> song, gracefully late as always. Some things never change, dystopia or not!<\/p>\n

\"Bajaao<\/p>\n

Supratik Das angling the microphones to perfection on Pratik Kulgod’s drum setup for Daira while bassist Sourya Mukherjee watches on<\/em><\/p>\n

After catching up with each and every member of Blakc, Daira and some old friends at Bajaao, my immediate instinctual next step was to head straight to the sound console, to check out who\u2019s mixing the show, in the conference room which doubles up as a control room during shows or recordings. On a compact and capable Allen & Heath D-Live C1500 console, the man on the job for the day was Supratik Das, the man behind the live sound of prominent artists like Prateek Kuhad, Parvaaz and Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n

\"Bajaao<\/p>\n

Supratik Das in focus mode<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cEven though it was a virtual gig, it felt like a mini music festival!\u201d exclaimed Supratik, who I met directly after VH1 Supersonic music festival in February 2020, where he\u2019d mixed Prateek Kuhad. \u201cI\u2019ve heard of Daira and listened to their music, but this was my first time seeing them live. And I don\u2019t get to mix bands of this nature in general. It was great to work with all 3 bands, especially Daira and Blakc, both completely different from my regular acts such as Parvaaz and Indian Ocean\u201d, he added. He went on to acknowledge that even though all of us are thirsting for that live energy and adrenaline of the crowd and big PA systems and stages, for now, this is the best we can do, given the current health circumstances engulfing the world.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Supratik Das and myself probably talking about bracing our ears before Varun Sood (Blakc’s drummer) starts bludgeoning the drums, with Blakc’s guitar player Anish Menon in the background setting up<\/em><\/p>\n

Right next to Supratik, seated was Fali Damania, a big name in the audio engineering circuit in India, Ameet Trivedi and AR Rahman\u2019s Front of House mix man, and former rock guitar player and heavy metal music producer as well. But, not on mixing duties as he usually is, he was handling the live video and streaming of gig which simulcasts on Shure\u2019s and Bajaao\u2019s Facebook pages and Bajaao\u2019s YouTube channel all at the same time. And if you go through the comments, one thing is evident \u2013 the audio and video quality are well appreciated by those watching.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Fali Damania handling the stream<\/em><\/p>\n

It was the main fact that grabbed my attention when I saw the previous week\u2019s gig with the band Runt, and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the sound and video. Smart choice of gear is the key. Fali uses the Blackmagic Design ATEM Extreme ISO Switcher which takes in the video from the 5-camera setup along with the audio from the sound console and distributes it to the selected platforms. This hardware switcher with its own processing, enables smoother transitions and switching, relieving the load on the computers or laptops being used for streaming. \u201cIt being a Shure initiative, we need to ensure that the artists, no matter how big or small, are represented in the best light\u201d, he says.<\/p>\n

The microphones used at the show assert that fact pretty well. Some premium range Shure mics were deployed, which most independent bands are not used to using at regular gigs. Made me really envy Mr. Das on the console for a couple of minutes! Forall my fellow gear nerds reading this, here\u2019s a small wow-list (which also includes some \u201cregular\u201d mics) \u2013 Beta 52, Beta 181 (snare), PGA 56 on all toms (don\u2019t cringe, they\u2019re way better than the old PG series, especially the updated mounting), KSM 32 on overheads and guitar 1 (left of your screen), KSM 313 on guitar 2 (right of your screen), Beta 57A on guitar 3 (used by Blakc in one song), Beta 58A on backing vocals and the mighty KSM8 on lead vocals. To understand better, check out the entire performance video on the link below.<\/p>\n