Blot case study 2010_1_ebook

Electronic Music Interventions in India | 2010

Introduction

BLOT is an acronym for the Basic Love of Things, which is the essence of our philosophy and is expressed through our experiments with Music, Film, Art & Design. 

Started in 2007 by Gaurav Malaker and Avinash Kumar, BLOT is a mixed media performance collective that creates memorable experiences by transforming spaces through live performances - comprising of sound, light, imagery and art.

Members

Avinash Kumar, 30, is a designer, visual artist, film maker and VJ, and is also one of the founding members of the design + research firms - Quicksand,and BOX.

Gaurav Malaker, 25, is a musician and has been a DJ since he was 15, progressing to producing electronic music after training with PointBlank studios, UK. He is also a co -founder of Qilla Records - a new Techno label.

Overview of Work > Electronic Music

BLOT produces and performs several genres of electronic music with a present focus on minimal house and tech-house. While the first 2 years have been used to experiment and articulate release worthy sounds, 2010 promises to be a break out year for the music with releases slated for labels in Germany and Europe and the first BLOT music album.

Overview of Work > AudioVisual Performances

BLOT creates multimedia environments for the appreciation of electronic music. This juxtaposition of sound, visuals, spatial elements and concepts bring a new perception towards this form of music, often acting as an inclusive force on audiences that otherwise might not favour it. In its ideal state, with neither sound nor visuals leading the way, the viewer / listener is free to navigate a larger aesthetic plane.

Overview of Work > Independent Films and Music Videos

BLOT believes in a mixed media culture that has resulted in several music videos and independent films that will find their way into a debut AudioVisual DVD album in 2010. Using several techniques touching traditional film making, stop-motion animation, motion graphics and new media technology, the central aim is to create contemporary visual music pieces and independent cinema that breaks with traditional approaches to creation and publishing in India.

Overview of Work > Graphic Design

Seeing that the music scene, especially the club and electronic music scene was inundated with fairly uninspiring graphic design for flyers, posters and communication, BLOT has concentrated on making all aspects of electronic music experiences richer and relevant. While there is no financial remuneration for this within traditional event budgets, these are important decisions that finally create a body of work that is unified and hopefully inspiring over time.

Overview of Work > Professionalizing Electronic Music Experience Design

Having multi-disciplinary skills within BLOT has been critical in being able to professionalize the dialogue with nightclubs, venues and sponsors. Unless bands and performers take this step, new media such as electronic music and modern film will not gain respect in the eyes of these stakeholders. What has been critical in the success of BLOT till now has been the ability to not only perform at high standards, but also take up the ownership of creating new concepts, communication design, promotion, documentation and sponsorships.

Overview of Work > Visual Art

What started as a graphic design exercise for events has now become an agenda for BLOT - the exploration of visual ideas as independent content that can then be published either on soft media, on print or on products such as apparel or youth culture artifacts. The realization that all forms of content - tangible and intangible - support and enrich each other is core to the BLOT philosophy.

Overview of Work > Tangible Artifacts and Products

Starting mid 2010, a range of products that include T-shirts, print artifacts, lifestyle products and published content (CDs, DVDs, Magazine) will be available for purchase through an online store and a few retail touch-points. These products are not meant to popularize BLOT, but to create a new stream of creative work that can express our journey better.

Overview of Work > Collaborations - 1

Using electronic music as the core, these collaborations push the boundaries of the audiovisual performance, including projects that span graffiti and street art (with Vincent Bruno), immersive outdoor environments (with Sattyananda), classical music jams (various artists), Indian classical dance (Jayalakshmi Eshwar) and experimental video techniques (with Viktor Furiani). It is important for BLOT to explore new territories constantly in order to reinvent their performance.

Overview of Work > Collaborations - 2

Moving beyond the realms of purely electronic music has been one of the side tracks for BLOT’s work, as is seen in these collaborations with Indian and Western Classical Music and performers from India and abroad. A significant performance here was at The Southbank Centre in London with acclaimed beatboxer and flutist Nathan ‘Flutebox’ Lee in Sep 2009. These collaborations expand the audience’s understanding of what the work of a creative collective like BLOT includes.

Overview of Work > Creating Festivals and Experiential Properties

One of the key understandings from the experiences of the past 2 years have been that for significant transformation of the cultural environment, BLOT must create relevant cultural properties / brands that can then attract the right composition of artists, audiences, venues and sponsors. The TechnoDrome Urban Arts Festival is one such property started in early 2010 with premier international artists, multiple venues and impactful set ups.

Overview of Work > Research and Explorative Projects - 1 | November 2008

B.L.O.T. was commissioned by the Design Biennale @ St. Etienne, France to create an AV installation titled ‘The Sounds of Velocommerce’ which captured the sights and sounds of bicycle based commerce in India. In collaboration with Quicksand Design Studio, B.L.O.T. also created a rich media, online archive of images, sounds and films that can be accessed on www.velowala.org

Overview of Work > Research and Explorative Projects - 2 | March 2010

Views On The West Poster Design Exhibition > BLOT was invited to submit work to an exhibit of 50 posters made by graphic designers from India and the Netherlands, displaying interpretations of views on the West from an Indian perspective. The poster (above left) was very well received by the jurors and audience, and BLOT also performed at the launch of the Exhibition. (www.zeebelt.nl)

Overview of Work > Curation of Contemporary Art Experiences

Since 2009, BLOT has functioned as the strategic vision and curator for Mocha ArtHouse - an experimental art gallery and cafe in New Delhi. Using its networks of artists and understanding of Indian and Global contemporary art and culture, BLOT has been programming an exciting schedule that includes some of the forerunners from the global arts scene.

Overview of Work > New Studio Spaces for Creative Expression + Consumption

BLOT has recently embarked on a mission to create new studio spaces that foster individual and collective creative work. Inspired in part by visits to artists in Europe and encouraged by the rapid growth of the creative economy in India, projects like BlotSquat (a studio / cafe ) and the new BLOT sound production studio hold the keys to a productive future.

Overview of Work > Travel and Performances Abroad - Europe | Summer 2009

The first BLOT Europe tour was completely self-initiated with the intention of building new relationships and understanding the environment for music and performances. Highlighted by a successful performance at the legendary Bar25 in Berlin, this tour was catalytic in building confidence and opportunities for the future.

Overview of Work > Travel and Performances Abroad - Germany | Spring 2010

BLOT recently completed from a tour of Berlin in collaboration with the Indo-German cultural agency Culture-Must (India). BLOT performed in several new and legendary venues, and based on the success of the performances, has been invited back to Berlin in the summer of 2010. Meetings with agencies, labels and artists have fostered new opportunities for cross cultural exchange through electronic music and the arts.

Overview of Work > Self Promotion, Bookings and Management

One of the critical decisions BLOT made in the early days was to be a self sustaining, independent creative collective, which also meant that there have been no managers, bookers or promoters. This has brought a better and deeper understanding of not just how to make all our content cohesive, but also what our content means to various audiences.

Overview of Work > Press and Media Coverage

BLOT has been in the media eye consistently, but more importantly across diverse perspectives such as the evolution of night experiences, music production, visual art and new culture.

THANK YOU!

www.blottin.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/blottinwww.soundcloud.com/blot

[email protected]+91-9818955338