MUKESH AMARAN
TRIGGERPUNKTE
One might think that the music scene comprises only of musicians , some solo and others as a band . One could not have been more wrong . The music scene , apart from the obvious , the musicians , has people like the sound engineers that set up for a great gig , awesome lighting technicians who elevate the live experience by tingling your visual senses , the photographers who make sure that the people who couldn ’ t make it to the shows , get a peek into what went down at the gig , the visual artists with their insane visuals to take you on a journey along with the music , the artists who design the entire stage and sometimes even the entire festival grounds for us to have the most amazing festivalgoing experience . The album artists who give you a visual summary of what to expect in the album . I ’ m sure we ’ ve all checked out albums on Ok Listen ! for the very fact that it had cool album art . This is the music scene , the music fraternity . We ’ d like to dedicate this page to pay homage and display our admiration for the artists in the scene .
When we delve into the world of Indian music and album artwork , one creative group in particular , keeps popping up with some outstanding work . Blankfound , comprised of four people : Sachin and Sanjana Bhatt who are the visual artists across mediums , Abheet Anand is the inhouse photographer and Anand Vijayasimha is a writer , motorcycle enthusiast and a podcaster . All of them are talented musicians and music nerds , a versatile bunch . The members of Blankfound have been ardently involved in the independent music scene in our country , as musicians and fans first , before involving themselves further by contributing their skills as artists to other musicians and festivals .
Triggerpunkte , an album by the Madras / Bangalore based dance punk band , The F16s , was the first time Blankfound had lent their creative powers . The result was a
phenomenal album art that was highly punk , just like the album . But this was just the genesis of what was yet to come . " We ’ re doing concept photoshoots , designing for festivals , and building other amazing secret stuff that should be out soon ” they said , casually throwing us into a frenzy of expectations of what those secrets could be . By the looks of it , they enjoy every bit of their creations and are as excited as us while looking at them .
Asking what role music plays in the group ' s life wasn ’ t exactly the right question . Should ’ ve known better than to ask a bunch of classically trained and self taught musicians this , of all the run-of-the-mill questions . " It plays the biggest role you can think of . All our personalities have been shaped by the music we listen to .” said the group , a little amused by my question .
From what is told , having been pretty close to the band , they had a sense of freedom and an elevated level of understanding to create the artwork . " Triggerpunkte was an album that had a lot of love and hard work put into it . We completely understood where the band was coming from with this album , and we put the same feelings into the artwork ”, they said . The group also tells us about the alternate artwork that they all loved , but didn ’ t make the cut . I don ’ t think I ’ d say no to T-Rex , Harshan ’ s dog that ’ s on the cover of the album . The group says that T-Rex is like the spirit animal of the band .
Picture creating something for someone and they absolutely love it . The satisfaction of nailing something and having an audience for it . The bands ’ reaction is the ultimate gratification for the artwork . " They love seeing visual interpretations of the music they ’ ve worked so hard to create ”, they said . Furthermore , what is art without validation ?
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