By
Shuchita Rao
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B George, Director, ARC |
Can
you imagine 5,000 Bhangra dancers in a massive dance procession on the streets
of New York City celebrating Indian music, dance, culture and spirit?
Well-known Bhangra D. J. Rekha will kick-start “India Music Week” (IMW)
on October 6th at 5 pm on
pier 15, South Street Seaport in NYC. The India Music Week (IMW) project,
directed by B. George and assisted by Dr. Brian Q. Silver is an effort by the
New York-based organization, the ARChive of Contemporary Music (ARC), to
popularize Indian music and culture this year on a global scale.
Now
in its 28th year, ARC has the largest collection of popular music in
the world, with more than two million recordings, including numerous world
music discs, and has catalogued more than 25,000 Asian Indian recordings from
all around the world. ARC has had great
success in two previous projects—Muslim Music Day 2011 (muslimworldmusicday.com) and Brazilian Music Day 2012 (brazilianmusicday.org) with participation and response
from all over the globe. Future ‘Weeks’ will explore the music and culture of
Scandinavia (2014), Cuba (2015), Louisiana (2016) and China (2017).
India
Music Week will be a worldwide event, both actual and virtual, turning the
spotlight on Indian music and culture. Among other challenging and creditable
goals, it will attempt to create the world record for the largest Bhangra Dance
for the Guinness book of World Records. Partners for the Bhangra event include
Molecule Communications and The Association of Indians in America, New York Chapter.
India
Music Week will publicize
musical events occurring from 6 October through 13 October all over the world
on a new ARC Website, www.IndiaMusicWeek.org, to be posted in the beginning
of October, which will be freely available to all. Columbia University,
Gracenote, The
Internet Archive and
Incredible Labs, among others, will support the effort. The ARC aims to educate a global audience about various
facets of Indian music, and will offer online a range of resources and links,
all highlighting the importance and beauty of Indian music through the
comprehensive IMW Website, (www.IndiaMusicWeek.org). This website will constitute the largest
online reference resource for Indian music, serving as a database for individuals and institutions, including
universities and music schools, recording companies, publications, and
organizations and institutions promoting Indian music, as well as the various
genres of Indian music and Indian classical and folk instruments.
Shuchita Rao, Sruti magazine’s US Correspondent,
interviewed the director of ARC, Mr. B. George.
When was ARC started
and what was the mission?
ARC
was started in 1985 with a mission to collect, preserve and provide information
on the popular music of all cultures and races throughout the world from 1945
to the present day.
What
is your role at ARC and how would you like ARC to grow, develop and evolve over
the next decade?
I am
the current director and co-founder. Our goal is to move beyond our American
Popular Music collections, now the largest in the world, and make sure we are
preserving as much music from other cultures as possible. Ideally we would move
from preservation to a center where all the music could be listened to and
enjoyed.
Does
ARC provide free audio/ video recordings and articles relating to art to people
all over the world?
We do
not provide free audio/video recordings to the general public. Our services are
now music industry based and material is only available to the right owners.
How
does ARC help artists?
We
help artists by preserving their work and aiding in research projects for
publications, use of their music in films, and the re-issue of their materials
from original recordings in our collection. Our music 'days' and 'weeks' are
part of our outreach to the general public, providing links to the work of
thousands of musicians.
You
spent a year in India in 1970. What did you take away from the time spent
there?
I was
on a year-long independent study programme through the University of Michigan,
primarily studying ephemeral art and drawing, with three months spent in
Benares photographing the burning ghat ritual. This caused my attraction to the
culture and a life-long love of Indian music.
What
are your hopes and expectations from ARC's India Music Week(IMW) project to be
held between Oct 6 and 13 this year?
Our
goal is to let people around the world learn more about all forms of music from
india - that there is more to the music than Ravi Shankar and Bollywood. Of
course we want people to have fun, and that is the main reason for the
inauguration of IMW with Bhangra dance.
We would love more participation from India. So far it is the expatriate
community that has been most helpful. We are surprised that none of the
successful Indian Corporations or the mainstream music industry has offered
assistance, except the independent record companies. When the project is over
we would like to turn it over to an institution or business in India to
maintain and grow. Regardless we will keep the site up permanently. Our main
purpose is to celebrate the importance and beauty of Indian music.
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