Many musicians and bands that start by playing at some friend’s garage or house, moving to the next step of recording their songs in a studio comes as an obstacle considering that it is expensive and not accessible. Thus many talented individuals and groups simply wither away without blossoming. Well, this difficulty can be overcome at least in the city as SoundSpeaks Studio started by Yashita Tripathi two years ago provides a place for aspiring artists as well as professionals to create music. Located in Connaught Place, the studio is easily accessible and its design and décor generates a creative vibe..
Inclined towards music since her younger days, Yashita, who has done a course in audio engineering from SAE Singapore, always wanted to start a music studio. “SoundSpeaks was created as we wanted to channelise our passion for music and help musicians at large,” she says. The aim was to provide a platform to budding and aspiring musicians from different genres by helping them to network, record their album or getting them gigs in Delhi at the most affordable rates. Besides her, the studio team has Aryaman Agarwal, a qualified music producer and teacher and Sahil Dhingra, a sound engineer. The combination of teaching and recording facilities thus provide an ample scope for music enthusiasts to learn and also try out their talent at a place which claims that it is not money but music that comes first.
Equipped with the latest paraphernalia like jampad some of the well known names in the industry like Shubha Mudgal, The Circus, Half Step Down, Faridkot, Indigo Children have recorded at SoundSpeaks. “We had Akshay Kumar come over to record his voice over for Hero Motor Corp. Besides we have also done music arrangements and voice over recordings for All India Radio FM, Bharatiya Janata Party, Idiscoveri and IIT Kanpur among others. Xseed recorded 600 rhymes for their audio books,” informs Yashita. These engagements help in funding the studio, eager to work with musicians from all hues and both established and new musicians alike. “Open for those who are truly passionate, our charges are very nominal. In fact it is almost half of what others are charging,” claims Yashita.
A loan from her father and the personal savings she had, provided Yashita the capital to set up the studio and buy the equipments.
Having completed more than two years, SoundSpeaks has now ventured into teaching recently. The six month course on Ableton Live, user-friendly music production software developed by Ableton AG, Berlin, is something which makes Yashita proud . “All the well known musicians use it!” she shares. Aryaman, who teaches the course, says, “Each student has his own workstation equipped with a Mac Mini, Ableton Live 9, Novation Launchkey, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and Sennheiser headphones. This ensures that the students can follow the lessons simultaneously on their individual screens.” Divided in 10 modules, the course aims to provide the student a complete understanding of the interface of Ableton live, its advantages and goes beyond that.
Stressing on the importance of Ableton, Aryaman informs it can open many career opportunities in the music industry. Keeping in mind the requirement of the student, classes are customised to suit their needs.
