We have tried to make songs a part of the story, where the series moves ahead with songs: Sachin-Jigar

From the early days, Sachin Jigar have been known to create music beyond the contemporary times. From ‘Char Baj Gaye’ to now their album ‘Jee Karda’ their work has inspired many upcoming artists. Upon the release of ‘Jee Karda’, al album of 7 songs, we had a candid conversation with the duo where they shared their thoughts on many things music. Read more to know what they have to say.

How is creating music for web series different from creating it for movies?

Sachin: In a movie there is a different ask, songs have to set up the tone for the film in many ways. You are basically wanting people to come to theatres to watch the movie, songs need to pull the audience and have a quicker impact. For a web series, you do not have the pressure of pulling the audience. Music there can be blended into the narrative of the series and become an intelligent part of it. Apart from this, a web series music can be quirky, liberal and not have the language restrictions that a film music would have.

Stream ‘Jee Karda’ Album here:

Does this creative freedom have any repercussions?

Jigar: Making music for web series gives a lot of creative freedom but also come with the risk of going unnoticed. Film music comes with attention, your work might be liked or disliked but it will not get lost without being attended to by people. On OTT, people do not really care too much about songs. Me and Sachin are trying to make songs a part of the web series where people would want to watch them for sake of curiosity. It is an experiment for us but if this clicks then we are looking to open a whole new window of opportunities for musicians. OTT can afford creative freedom which can provide musicians a completely liberal canvas to operate on, beyond films.

Even with the risk of being unnoticed you are doing OTT music. Why would you take this risk knowing that you have got all the attention for film music?

Sachin: It is a very interesting domain altogether. If the marriage is right, then the music has a longer time to make its impact. So many of us binge watch web shows. Now, if people are giving 6-8 hours of life at a stretch to a series, music of that show, then, sticks to your mind. By the end of the season, you are actually humming the tunes, Scam 1992 is a typical example where people have used the theme music for reels. Another example is Farzi’s ‘Paisa Hai Toh’, which is now getting played in clubs, etc., which I have got to know recently. At the end of it, yes, there is a risk of going unnoticed, yet it makes you reach an audience which has a varied taste and a quality content consumption appetite.

How did this project shape up and what were the motivations behind this project?

Jigar: We have been associated with Maddock Films for a very long time. We have worked with Amazon Prime as well, starting with The Family Man and as recent as Farzi. There is a certain understanding and trust within the stakeholders that with Sachin Jigar you will get something interesting, which is not a typical Bollywood, because that is not what is ‘intended to be done as well.

For us the motivation here is to create a world around music in a web show. We as Indians love the song and dance sequences. But here, we have tried to make songs a part of the story, where the series moves ahead with songs. As Indians, this is our biggest give-away to the world outside India, our idea of music with Indian roots. It is a very deliberate call, a big opportunity but also a challenge to have people hold through these songs which are an intricate part of the script.

There are many independent and upcoming artists in the album. How is the phenomena of commercial music absorbing indie artists shaping up? What are the catalysts at play?

Sachin: There are two aspects that we will have to look at here. First is the rise of social media where a reel by a popular influencer can make you go viral. As for indie artists, there is a space where their work is consumed and celebrated. The commerce is very much in place for the indie artists, this is best time to be an artist actually. There was only one Prateek Kuhad earlier, but now there are likes of Anuv Jain, Anubha Bajaj, Aditya, etc. making inroads. As a creator or a music composer, I feel that the shackles are now off, and the playfield is wide open. In our album, we have worked with Mellow D, Simran Chaudhary, Varun Jain, Maanuni Desai, IP Singh, Luv, The Rish and Rashmeet Kaur. They are fantastic artists and we enjoyed working with them.

Second aspect is the audience we are talking about. From the outset, we are talking about Gen Z market. This is the crowd that watches the show, books a ticket, orders food on the same phone at almost the same time. This set of new generation is well exposed and has a mind that doesn’t stop at regular stuff.

What is your take on the way the industry is becoming more artist oriented as we are going ahead?

Jigar: In 2010, when we did ‘Char Baj Gaye’ with Hard Kaur featuring in the whole song, music in a loop rather than having a Dhol (which was popular at that time), being lip synched by male actor, that was the start for us as artist centric music. But from there to now, the industry has evolved much more, and we can go back to what we like doing. With Jee Karda, we have approached all songs as absolute newcomers. We did not want this to be a commercially produced and a Schin Jigar sounding album. We wanted it to have a Jee Karda specific sound. We wanted to make 75% cooked songs but possibly that’s the new 100%! This is what an artist-oriented ecosystem is, where you do not have to be in the conventional format, you can experiment.

What is coming out from Sachin Jigar store in 2023 and beyond?

Sachin: We are very excited about the indie songs coming out from Sachin Jigar camp. We are hoping to make a mark there. It is one space where your Bollywood hits don’t count, you are as good as the content you bring out. It is a challenge that we are very excited about. I would say again, it’s a very good time to be an artist. Now you can decide what platforms you can be in, how much you want to promote the song, the pressure of being on YouTube is also off the shoulders! We are of course working on a host of films, web shows which are coming out from us. We are also very excited on the prospects of musical shows coming up, Broadway style, where there are discussions underway too, but a bit early to disclose much.

Well, as they say, it is an exciting time as the industry is becoming more artist oriented with more avenues for musicians in general. We are, for now, hooked on to ‘Jee Karda’, listen to it and have a blast!