Home is where the music is

Given the chance, we’d all like to work from home. This brings with it a wealth of benefits — you work at your own pace, your mind works more fluidly and you can go into the work mindset at any time, without the hassles of a daily commute — however short.

And here’s the thing, growing up, the mental image of a composer at work always conjures up images of him/her in a recording studio, not necessarily their own, remains largely unchanged to this day. However, most A-List composers today do a lot of their creative work at home. And admit to as much, while offering the caveat that some things have to be done in, let’s say, a more professional setup.

‘The physical structure of a studio has become minimalistic’

Mithoon

I feel it’s a personal choice for every composer. With the evolution of technology, the physical structure of a studio has become minimalistic. All one needs these days is a laptop/computer and a midi controller to get going. Also, convenience has taken over. In the sense, that even if I get ideas in the middle of the night, I can go with the flow and execute those. Having spoken about the convenience of a home studio, I still use certain external studios for the kind of equipment or hardware they have. It also helps when one is recording strings sessions, choirs or a large percussion piece with a lot of musicians. Originally, when I started off, I had a music room which I was using for an exchange of ideas with directors and songwriters and gradually around 2010, I developed it into a studio. It may not be state-of-the-art, but it’s more like a songwriting suite and gives me the vibe and energy, which is very important to me as I’m a very sensitive person.

‘It’s been a win-win situation’

Amaal Mallik

I have my bed — which is like a pass-out sack next to my iMac and Keys that I work on.... I wake up and I put down my ideas immediately. My thought is this: Home studios are a big help to record basic guitars and vocal scratches. I’ve tracked guitars and vocals at home, sometimes even the flute and shehnai. But it has to sound right, so you have to use good mics. Arijit Singh has sung many songs of mine at home like Chal Wahan Jaate Hain, Salamat from Sarbjit, etc. In Kuch Toh Hain and Bol Do Na Zara, there are certain portions Armaan dubbed at home and I sent the shoot mix and the directors had liked those takes so we dubbed only the other lines, we wanted re-done, so I guess it’s been a win-win situation. But things like tracking live drums, recording and conducting an entire 30-piece orchestra, all need good, tight studios with world-class mics and analog mixing consoles, which one doesn’t find in a home studio.

‘Music comes out of thin air...’

Sachin-Jigar

The advancement of technology has been a big boon to the music industry as well. Home studio lets composers have a free hand and liberty of time to make their music. Music comes out of thin air, you never know when you’re going to come up with an idea. So, it’s very beneficial to have a home studio because once your idea springs up you need to jot it and churn out a tune and basically document it before you lose it. That’s the main reason for us to have a home studio. It doesn’t mean that one doesn’t go to a professional studio. Yashraj has a complete well-equipped studio which we use at times. We do all our session recording, final vocal dubs, percussion dubs, string sessions in a very professional manner.

‘The magic really starts at home’

Manj Musik

Well, home studios are really pre-production studios for me, to be honest. The main mixing and mastering is always done in an external studio, but it’s fair to say that the song itself is made in the home studio. The magic really starts at home! This is where we get to start laying down all the ideas and beats. I love having a home studio because it’s personal, I can work as late as I want and in my own comfort zone with no pressures from others. Sometimes you just need your now space and sometimes you need to work in a team. I have three studios across the globe — one in Mumbai at home, one in Delhi at the office and one main studio in my home in Canada. I have to say that the Canada studio is definitely where the magic happens. Also, my son has taken a huge liking to making music naturally and he loves producing beats on the road, he even has his own setup when he travels with us, which he sets up in the hotel room! So overall home studios and studios on the go are vital in making a hit song… It’s the starting point to a super hit! I’ve made some of the craziest hits tracks from my home studios and on the road!

‘It saves me time’

Jasleen Royal

I work from home because it saves me time. But that’s a big criteria for me. It’s because you can get ideas at any moment. Like one day I was taking a shower and I got an idea and I was like ‘Sh*t, not the right time!’ So I quickly ran out and recorded the piece on my laptop. And also, I work with people from all over the world. Like my lyricist, especially, is in Jammu. So we do a video call. I give him the melody and he gives me the lyrics. We have a lot of fun while making songs and discussing ideas and talking and discussing random stuff and that’s how me make songs together. So, I don’t think that’s possible in a studio setup and really, pretty much anything can be done at your house and I want to keep expanding my home set up. Also, its like very accessible. I need bigger studios for the final dub, maybe. So, choirs or violins, orchestras,drums, dhols, thats what I hit the studios for. Also, another funny story happened when I was doing Baar Baar Dekho. So I had recorded my song, Kho Gaye Hum Kahan at my house on a basic mic. I sent it to the director Nitya Mehra and we redid the guitar. When she heard the studio version, she was like, ‘No. We have to go back to the home setup. I don’t care what mic you recorded on, where you recorded. I want the same setup you used. Sit at the same spot at home and do it again.’ So I came home and did it at home. The final song that went out was from my house. It depends on the song you’re working on, really. Kho Gaye was a minimum, bare, unplugged version which needed that rawness.

All my ideas, jingles and movies start at home.