Number “7” has a big history. And the latest Electronic fever spreading in Chennai is also related to the number. Wondering how? Marti Bharth - said to be the youngest Electronic music composer in Chennai - has a new band Sapta. Excerpts from a chat with the young composer:
Tell us about yourself and Sapta.
I'm a big fan of the number seven. I use it for most of what I do. I treat it like a code I need to follow. When I began producing Electronic Music in 2007, I needed an artist-name that could match any electronic style I would use now or in the future.
Sapta felt right. It's a Sanskrit word for the number ‘7', which was my code. And it has strong links with Indian classical music as well. This happened in May 2007, so I waited for a few months and made it official on 07/07/07.
I was born in Kerala, raised in Dubai. I moved to Paris when I was 18 and got my degree in Sound and Music Direction. I worked for a year in a studio outside Paris that helped produce better sounds for Sapta too. I came to Chennai a couple of months back. I am also a student of AAT Media College.
Initially I was the composer/producer/vocalist of Sapta. But then I had two amazing musicians, Yoan Segot and Alexi Carruba who got on stage with me every time I had to play live. We are currently on a break.
Tell us about how you compose your tracks?
Every record and every track is different. I don't know how I produce tracks. My favourite playlist on my iPod has Justice, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, The Presets, Boys Noise, Daft Punk, etc...Well, I feel like it would give the people something new to listen to.
What about your performances?
Chennai's crowd accepts and appreciates all kinds of music, so it gives you chance to try something new. To me, Electronic Music has to be delivered well. In the sense that the whole package is important: Venue, Visuals, Setup, Funky Costumes, Lights, Playlist, Sound Balance, Time, Marketing also matters.
Tell us about your new album Straight Balance.
It's one of the longest and the hardest records I've worked on. I think I began the first track “As We Walk” around mid-November 2009. It took me about two years. But every track was so important to me that I had to wait for the right seven tracks to blend with each other and serve the purpose of the album. The best part of the whole record is that it was all created at home. And now the whole setup in Chennai is quite fascinating. I want to make it bigger here than else where. After all, I'm from here.
