_{Says veteran rocker SANJAY MAROO , ExCampionite Class of 1981 who gets candid with REAGAN GAVIN RASQUINHA also an ExCampionite Class of 1994 about his latest, Ajeeb, and other aspects of the music industry...
Sanjay it’s been a long time since you've come out with an album. What have you been upto creatively, over the last period of time...
With me, it’s always been like that. It’s about being in a frame when inspiration strikes and there’s time to lay it down to a track. Also, since I bear the mantles of composer, lyricist, vocalist and sound engineer, I do take longer for my projects. Purely creatively speaking, for a fifth solo album, there is an evident maturity which is satisfying. In my current headspace, there’s no intent to please anyone and nothing to prove, I’m just happy pushing my own limits.}

_{What's the new album like? You have a scratch version of a song too on the album. That's interesting...
I’m glad you liked it. It was an afterthought, really. There’s always the skeleton of a melody or a rhythm that you build on which in studio terminology we refer to it as a scratch. At the mixing stage, I was sorting audio files and found the original scratch of the title track. When I heard it back, it had soul. As a whole, it’s a compilation of my work over the past two years and features adult contemporary material. It has performances from some of the finest musicians we have around and I consider it amongst my best work. There are hard rock tracks, funk, trance and house and jazzy ballads too. But for me the most intense track is Tum Meri Raakho which is an ode to the Lord, vocals with just electric piano.}

_{What do you feel about the concept of record company people who don’t know he last thing about music, telling you how to edit and mix your songs?
Great question! Berry Gordy, Benny Medina, Robert Stigwood even George Martin were guys who could be termed as A&R legends. They discovered artistes, honed them and presented them to the world, unlike the culturally shallow MBA’s we dealt with. Unfortunately some of these unqualified and undeserving folks were given the authority to decide what you and I created and heard. Imagine yourself as a chef who has painstakingly created a delectable offering. In comes the ‘expert’ and makes a complete mess of what you worked so hard on. When everyone complains about how bad it is, the expert squarely blames you for the bad recipe. Would you believe that some A&R people actually started featuring themselves in videos? While the poor artiste got no more than a few frames, the entire video had nothing but the A&R foolishly prancing around like a desperate wannabe. Sure enough it bombed. Some A&R people with neither class nor acumen bossed around, wrangling free foreign trips from hapless video producers, destroying budding talent and playing God with careers and lives. In my life, I’ve had to deal with some of the worst human beings claiming to be executive producers and A&R people when they weren’t qualified to serve a cup of tea.}

_{What do you think of the so-called ‘remix kings’?
How do you think the remix trend started? It was precisely the work of some of these nobrained officials, contorting old hit songs and making inane versions. The DJs came out of anonymity with deals beyond their wildest dreams and everyone made money while the original writers and composers got zilch. In my opinion the remix years should be termed as the darkest period in the history of Indian music. Let me clarify that I don’t have anything personal against DJ’s. In fact, some of the biggest DJ’s are my old pals, but the respect happens when they do their own thing and they know that too.}

_{The record sales from record companies here are dwindling. Things are getting more direct, that is, artiste to listener. Is that a good thing?
You’re right, it is. In fact I recognized this trend five years ago and was the first Indian artist to release an entire album on-line with my album Chaley Jaaon. For independent artistes, the role of the record company has more or less been bypassed. The new establishment and support systems are event managers and live gig organizers. So although the direct link between artistes and audience is open like never before.}

_{Who is your favorite drummer? Would it be the legendary John Henry Bonham, possessor of the ‘right foot of death’?
Zeppelin without Bonham would never have been the same. He was unique and what he did then cannot be underestimated inspite of all the new techniques, equipment and styles that have emerged since. My current favourites are Paco Sery, Mike Portnoy, Dave Weckl and Virgil Donnatti, but I still hold legends like Steve Gadd, Vinnie Colaiuta, Neil Peart, as the gurus of modern day drumming. I do not have any immediate touring plans as my business schedules are rather tight. But my dream did come true and here I am at 45, still making music!. A man’s gotta do what he’s gotta do!}

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