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An appeal to Goa's musicians: put out at least two
of your works on the Net, in a freely shareable format,
for anyone who wants it. This could be your best
contribution to promoting Goan music worldwide...
(See more details below)
Andy or Andrew DeSa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote earlier: "Just got back from a
short vacation. Would like to contribute for the MP3 project. Andy.
www.andrew40.cjb.net"
He had also responded saying: "Your open letter to Goan musicians, really
makes sense and its a great idea. Meantime you can listen to our song
'Welcome to Goa'. Enjoy the music. Andrew DeSa, www.andrew40.cjp.net"
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/bc/islanders3us/lst?.dir=/My+Documents&.view=l
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Mario in Goa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> came across one of our references to Mosin
Menezes, the Delhi-based pianist who has cut a fascinating cassette of Hindi
filmi songs remixed in the form of piano instrumentals. Mario informs that
Mr Menezes is his uncle, and can be contacted at the address: Mosin Menezes
G-25, Masjid Moth, Near Greater Kailash-2 New Delhi, India. He can be
contacted via email c/o [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Mr Menezes, we loved
your interpretations of Hindi film songs. How about one for Goa? Can imagine
our mandos and dulpods, reinterpreted... If you could put out a few as 'free
music' (without copyright restrictions), it would really travel via the Net!
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Mario has been working on plans for having a midi player with Konkani music.
Contact him for further details. He's a software guru, and some of the sites
he's associated with are www.alienwiz.com (custom software and portal
solutions), www.alienwebhost.com (web hosting solutions), www.travelgoa.com
(guide to Goa), www.dynamic-web.biz ("the next generation web sites") and
www.susegado.com ("coming soon").
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Said George Pinto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: "Interesting idea. Let's talk
when I am in Saligao Aug 19 4pm to Aug 21 11am..." Looking forward for Goa
Sudharop's support, George. -FN
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Barbara Pereira <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> of Palatine, Illinois recently
commented: "I was very interested in finding out if there was a
write-up/information regarding a musician who went by the name of Joe
Menezes. He was a virtuoso violinist. He was born in Gotcoi Aldona and
travelled all over India with his own dance band. He also played in the
Indian film industry for many, many years. His last residence was Mahim,
Mumbai. He died on August 17th, 1976.
"The reason for writing this letter is because I read (on the Net) about
various musicians under 'A tribute to the Great Goan Musicians Who Made Goa
Proud' and was surprised not to find him included in the same caliber
(although many of his colleagues will admit that he was in a class of his
own) as Hanibal Castro, Toni Pinto, Chic Chocolate, and others mentioned.
As a matter of fact, Toni Pinto was a member of his quartet on the SS
Uganda. In addition, he has played with many of these musicians and if
alive, I am sure they will attest to these facts.
"I realize these articles were probably written around the time Leslie
Godinho was paralysed and he has subsequently joined HIS band of musicians.
Perhaps the fact that Joe Menezes passed away in 1976 he could have been one
of the forgotten ones. However, this shouldn't diminish the fact that there
were other noteworthy Great Goan musicians who also, made Goa proud."
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This note was forwarded by Colin D'Cruz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, a
musician from Bombay/Goa, who features in the Limca Book of Indian Records,
for the number of bands he has played in (over 60). Colin was also behind
Goa's first Latino band, 'Obligato': "I am the father of Daniel Pearl (the
journalist abducted and killed in Pakistan), and I want to thank you from
the bottom of my heart for your participation in the Daniel Pearl Music Day,
and for sending us your beautiful article about Danny. From all the tributes
that we have read about Danny, this articles somehow captures his posture
and mannerism most faithfully. It is a great tribute!. Can we get your
permission to post it on our web site? You wrote that you will be organising
a jazz concert featuring indian violinists on October 10. I was wondering
whether you will be doing it in Mumbai or in Goa?... By the way, are there
any symphony orchestras in Mumbai that we may try to interest into the
project? Sincerely, Judea Pearl"
Writes Colin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: "hi there, i'm one of the many
friends daniel had made when he was posted in mumbai,india. here's an
article i wrote in tribute to a good human being:
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/news/ft/20020227/1188/Daniel_Pearlthe_jazz_musician.html
i will be organising a jazz concert featuring indian violinists in
memory/honour of Daniel on the 10th of october. regards, colin"
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A Briton who's son-in-law of Goa and who's contributing to the music scene
here, Nigel Dixon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> launched the GSSO at its
inaugural concert on August 13, at the Kala Academy. The concert's programme
included of Pachelbel's Canon, Vivaldi's concerto no. 3 for flute and
orchestra (soloist Susan Badyari), Elgar's Serenade for string orchestra,
Bach's concerto in A minor for violin and string orchestra (soloist young
local wizzkid Sanya Cotta) and Mozart's 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik'. The
concert was presented by Kala Academy with financial support from Fundacao
Oriente and it is raising funds through the organisation "Friends of the
Orchestra". Goan experts Dr Julian Gonsalves and his wife from the
Phillipines have taken an interest in this event.
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Thanks to Rene Barreto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> for his persistent
encouragement, we're making some headway with the goal of building Goan
music resources available on the Net. Anyone planning to take this plan
forward, please do so. It's everyone's initiative, not just one persons:
Rene writes: "We Goans of London have agreed to support the idea and I have
already a few Goan musicians who have agreed to be a part of this World Goan
Musicians' MP3 Bank. Thank you Andy, Andy is one Goan musician who always
comes out in support of anything Goan -- I believe that Fred can now
confidentaliy go ahead with making the announcement saying that the GoanMP3
bank has come into existence. Jazzy Joe has also agreed to be apart of this
Goan music bank."
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Are our Goa web sites tuned in? We spent much time jostling for content, and
battling with each other over what is rightfully 'ours'. Let's spend some
time now collaborating, and working together to create and promote Goan
musical content widely available to anyone who wants it, via the Net. The
aim of this project is simply to egg on musicians to put out some of their
work as copyright-unrestricted 'Free Music'. We appeal to all Goa-related
websites to help spread this idea. Our request is clear: if each musician
could offer just two of their works, this could build up into a significant
bank. The fruit will be there for everyone to use, including the web-sites
who could then harness it to both popularise Goan music and also make their
own sites more attractive.
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In Australia, Craig Bellamy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> reports of the
Australian Sound Design initiative. Part of this project is aimed at
building a "large data-base of all the sound-artists working in Australia"
See http://www.sounddesign.unimelb.edu.au/site/index1.html
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HMV announced its plans to offer online subscriptions. After four years of
planning, music retailer HMV plans to launch a subscription service for
digital downloading of music within the next month. HMV will initially make
nearly 100,000 tracks available, ranging from almost the entire Elvis back
catalogue of 990 songs to rock and pop acts such as Kylie Minogue, Dido and
the Chemical Brothers. For a monthly subscription price of £4.99, users can
download 50 tracks onto a PC, and make a single digital copy onto a portable
player. The tracks can be stored and played on the PC for as long as the
monthly subscription is paid up, but music on portable players will be
locked after one month. [Wonder if any Goan music would be there? FN]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/internetnews/story/0,7369,781381,00.html
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Comments a young student from South Goa, Andrew Suares
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: "Nice idea! Would'nt it have been better if all the
existing Goan music was converted to MP3? With the consent of the artists
ofcourse. Once the musicans see that the idea works, many would come
forward. Also, you have not mentioned as to where the musicians should
submit their music. If some Goa related site hosts the music, would'nt that
create a bit of confusion? What if that particular company collapses?
Everyone would need to find a new company willing to host for free. Don't
you think that a dedicated place for this would be kind of better?
[Some suggestions: It is up to the musician concerned to decide how much of
their work they would like to convert to MP3s. My view is that it's better
to share at least some part of one's work, rather than just blocking it from
going round. Re. this goal, we're trying to just get the musicians to put
out some of their work in the public domain. Once they do that, it would get
life of their own. We would not like to identify with one or the other Goan
websites, as then the universality of this dream could get restricted. -FN]
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Richard M Stallman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, the international guru of Free Software,
responded to the idea. He wrote: "Could we please call it "free" music? The
term "open source" does not make sense for music, because there is no source
code of a recording made of musicians' performance. Even the score, if
there is one, is not really source code. On a more fundamental level, "free"
says more than "open". Freedom is bigger, and more important, than mere
openness...." In view of such suggestions, we're reframing the appeal below.
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Atul Chitnis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, who is also into Open Source software
from Bangalore, writes: "I am actually involved with such a project, run by
the Linux Tag people in Germany. I have donated quite a few compositions
there, though I have no clue how much of it has been accepted. Atul"
See http://openmusic.linuxtag.org/
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For those who missed it the earlier time round, below is the
redrafted form of our initial appeal. Thanks to everyone
(particularly RMS) who pointed to possible improvements:
This is a dream: to create a bank of 'free' MP3 music from Goa, and
by Goan musicians worldwide... that could be shared among music
enthusiasts freely across the globe through the Internet.
If you share this dream, or think it could be workable, read on...
How would it help those volunteering to share their skills?
Firstly, it would build awareness about the depth and variety of Goan
music that has evolved over the centuries and continues to
evolve. Secondly, it would showcase the talent and skills of musicians
linked to Goa. Thirdly, and importantly, it would increase the amount of
publicly-accessible music from Goa that can be shared legally and
reproduced freely among all who appreciate music from Goa.
Who would manage the collection?
Nobody. It would be available to one and all via the Internet. Probably
the various Goa-related sites would find it in their interest to reproduce
this music, and make it downloadable -- after duly giving credit to the
artists who created the music. (Rights remain with the artist, even under
CopyLeft terms, though reproduction is made freely allowable.)
What form of music would be welcome?
Anythink that would interest the listener. Past, present, Western, Indian,
classical, pop, vocals, instrumental, Konkani, English, Hindi, Portuguese,
Italian (yes, Goans have sung in this language), trance... or whatever.
There are various forms of 'open' licences (different from the restrictive
copyright forms of licensing, which seldom benefits the artist but is mostly
used as a controlling tool by some corporation with financial clout) being
debated on the Net. These apply to software, music, text, audio, creative
works and a lot else. You are free to choose any form of license that suits
you. If we could agree (might be difficult), a common form of licensing
could be opted for. We are working to come up for options available on this
front...
Would this work?
Let me share an experience. I've already put out about 2000 of my
photographs of Goa in the 'copyleft' world, and have not for a moment
regretted it. Rather than just lying around on my hard-disk (and then
getting lost in some hard-disk crash), these photographs have reached
websites and desktops across the globe, and have surfaced at the most
unexpected places. Non-commercial reproduction is free, though I
appreciate being told where it is used.
Such an approach earns attention to one's creative work. Not just that,
sharing actually makes the world a better place. At a very selfish level,
it sometimes also brings in potential for more work for a freelance
journalist. Feedback often stimulates one's own creativity. In the rare
eventuality of anything going wrong, one is at the very least assured that
creating another 2000 photographs in a scenic place like Goa would not be
an immensely difficult task. Musicians unsure about whether this would
work at all could venture by putting out a limited quantity of their work
(even if only one or two creations) and check the response and
suitability. Above all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
In fact, I am also planning to put out an archive of much of my earlier
writing in the 'CopyLeft' world -- freely reproduceable for non-commercial
purposes, while retaining the rights. The main reason this has got delayed
is the shortage of time to assemble all this work in a well-sorted manner.
We can be quite sure this will not cost these musicians anything. On the
contrary, it could enhance awareness about musical talent in Goa, and deepen
appreciation of the same.
In the software world, the GNU/Linux Free Software/Open Source system
works in other creative ways too. For instance, commercial firms are
allowed to repackage and 'sell' (at a low cost, naturally, since anyone
could copy this product) to users, charging for the cost they've incurred
at packaging and marketing the material, plus overheads.
What this means is that, on the one hand it would give small firms a
chance to earn from this format of marketing, on the other it would also
encourage musicians to gain a much wider audience, and fans to get access
to MP3-based Goan music at a much lower cost.
There is also the possibility of musicians putting out part of their work
in 'open content' and the rest marketed through usual channels, thus
allowing one to act as a stimuli for building interest in their form of
music.
It looks like a win-win-win game... if only we have enough initiatives to
get started and build momentum.
If you think this is an interesting idea, please let's take it
forward. When I hear the Delhi-based M Menezes' soulful rendering of Hindi
film hits on the piano, I wonder why no one has yet managed to do the same
for the popular Goan music of past decades... when we have so much talent
all around.... and guitar guilds or groups putting up much-appreciated
regular performaces at regular intervals now.
Frederick Noronha, Goa... on a rain August Sunday afternoon.
PS: There is scope for debate on whether the music is best put out in the
MP3 format, or a totally'free' format like OGG, etc.
PSS: See the note below...
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OPEN PUBLICATION LICENCES, A NEW LICENSE: A new public license -- the Open
Publication License -- promises to bring the power of the open-source
software movement to video, audio, and text while still preserving authors'
rights to profit from the calluses of their creative hands.
http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/20276.html
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There was this interesting note circulated to members of the Computer
Society of India (Goa chapter) by Dr Anupam Saraph <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
"From KRS Murthy [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]. Any plans to create Computer
Music SIG? Is there any interest or plans to create a Computer Music Special
Interest Group (SIG) in CSI? Who do I contact in CSI leadership to discuss
more on this topic? Can you refer me to some computer music researchers and
enthusiasts in India? Please provide me with e-mail contacts for the
referred people. Dr. KRS Murthy President Power Point International and PNS
Communication Group 581 Dado Street San Jose, CA 95131
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] (408)-219-2236"
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See: field study of music sharing
http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~barry/
http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~barry/papers.html
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Brown, B., E. Geelhoed, A. Sellen (2001) Music sharing as a computer
supported collaborative application. In: Prinz, W. et al (eds.) Proceedings
of ECSCW 2001, Bonn, Germany. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 179-198.
http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~barry/papers/BrownB%20ECSCW%20 music%20paper.pdf
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