Independent Musician | Guitarist | Indian Artist | Music Composer

Haricharan, Musician based in Chennai, Playback singer and Live Performer

Dj Sekhar is one of the promising Dj from South India, based out of Cochin. Since the age of 17. Dj-ing has been his passion and profession. He holds a good track record for keeping the clubbers vibe to tunes more than just commercial dance music.
He started his career in a small-town pub named Formula 1 back in 2001. During his stint there, he played for gigs in-and-around Kerala, Manipal &amp; Bangalore. He also assisted in mixing tracks &amp; playing for Product launches such as Mercedes Benz , Procter &amp; Gamble, Cera Tiles, etc. Though this was a good learning ground, becoming the resident-Dj for Loungevity claimed his place as one of the well-known Djs’ in the Club Circuit.
Sekhar was not satisfied with being just a self-learned DJ and he started on the next part of his mission which was to learn all he could about the industry. He went to college to learn sound engineering at SAE, Chennai and also juggled work in the popular clubs in the town namely Flames, Sparx, &amp; also shuttling Cochin to play at his resident club, Loungevity. In 2009, he became the Resident Dj of AVA, a Lounge Bar in one the finest hotels in the south. Now, 11 years up his career chart he plays in Cochin's finest Discotheque- QUBE, producing Official Movie Soundtrack Remixes &amp; background scores as well as running his own Dj School.
His understanding of music has been shaped by a passion for investigation. More than that, as an open-minded musician, he’s been lucky enough to have been present at the heart of key periods in Cochin’s clubbing history. From the early days of techno, trance and Hip-hop to dancing to the best in House and electro and being an integral part of the early Cochin’s clubbing scene as well as the main DJ in the promotion of non-commercial music from the Underground to Dancehalls in Cochin.
His unique style of re-inventing himself, everytime he is behind the deck, roots from selecting the best of old and new soul, funk, reggae, disco, latino, hip hop &amp; house and all manner of surprises in between.
Sekhar’s plans are to establish himself as a serious Artist- selling records, enhancing his DJ career and taking his talents on the road with live shows.


Starting from zero got nothing to lose/Maybe we'll make something/But me myself I got nothing to prove…

American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman’s lines from her celebrated single ‘Fast Car’ are something that Ishaan Dev (formerly known as Shaan Mon) keeps close to his heart. In fact, the young singer-music director has even got the lines framed on the wall of his studio, S2.inn, in the city, as a “constant reminder” of his “struggle” to reach where he is today. “I get goose bumps whenever I read/hear those lines. It’s as if they define me. Although in my case, it should actually be: Starting from minus zero got nothing to lose!” says Ishaan, a native of Thiruvallam.

After tasting some success as a music director and music programmer in Mollywood, Ishaan is now a singing sensation in the Kannada film industry. He sang the number ‘Shyloo’, from the film Shyloo (music was composed by his buddy Jassie Gift). The song was one of Sandalwood’s biggest hits of 2011; a feat that won South indian Michi music awards 2011 for his kannada debute song shyloo , Best singer 2011 as well as best Upcoming singer 2011 in Kannada

“The awards (for best singer and upcoming singer) were unexpected. I never thought that I would win considering that I was up against the likes of Sonu Nigam. The fact that I got to sing ‘Shyloo’ was, in itself, a bit of a fluke. Pakistani singer Atif Aslam was supposed to sing the song. I was doing the programming for the album and Jassie told me to record the song in my voice so that he could play it for director, S. Narayanan, and its star, Ganesh, when they came by the studio the next day. When Narayanan sir heard my version he said he loved it as it is!” says the 31-year-old, who has been learning classical music from the age of three.

Initially, he trained under his father, Soman, a musician, and later under a host of teachers such as Neyyatinkara Chandra Mohan and Ambalapuzha Vijayan.

Ishaan’s journey in music started while he was studying for a bachelor’s degree in Zoology at University College. That was when he teamed up with violinist Balabhaskar and a couple of others to form the music band Confusion; Ishaan was the lead vocalist in the band.

“In those days, in the early 2000s, University College had a thriving music scene. Balu chettan and Jassie chettan, both of whom were my seniors, and a bunch of us would all get together after class and make music till late into the night,” recalls Ishaan. “I’m a self-taught musician and over the years made it a point to analyse and learn the nuances and applications of all instruments, from the violin to the keyboard,” he adds.

Of course, Mollywood was not far behind. Ishaan’s career got a big boost when he assisted Jassie Gift in composing the super hit number ‘Lajjavathiye…’ (from Jairaj’s For the People), for which he also did the humming. “Like most things in my life, I became a music director by default too! I had composed the song ‘Kaliya Visha Dhara’ for an ad, which got noticed by director Shaji Kailas and he used it as the title song of The Tiger,” says Ishaan.

So is he more comfortable as a singer or music director? “I think that both are two sides of the same coin. I am more comfortable being labelled as a musician more than anything else. I always thought that I would end up as a ganamela singer. Now they sing my songs in ganamelas!” says Ishaan.

Sound of music

In Malayalam, Ishaan has composed music for Chintamani Kola Case, Sound of Boot, Don and Thriller.

Via Jassie he got a foothold in Kannada, where he has worked on Shyloo, Munjane and Samkranti.

He also makes his debut in Tamil with Kai, for which K.J. Yesudas has sung a song.

Another Kannurian Down Trodden
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Alex d'Paul is a musician from Argentina who tries to recreate ambients and emotions through his compositions.
Thank you so much to all who listen and comment on each song.✌

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