Today's Highlights

Remembering Karan Joseph, a Loving Soul With Incredible Talent

By Loudest Team
September 11, 2017
Remembering Karan Joseph, a Loving Soul With Incredible Talent
Another day for all the suits and ties, mourning, and a sudden wave of people rising to remember a friend they lost, Karan Joseph, MadFingers.  
  [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpu5KeUAqjc[/embedyt]  
Our stunningly talented musician Karan Joseph departed this Saturday, leaving the country's music industry in deep shock and sadness. Karan, who went by the monicker 'Madfingers' (and rightly so), was known for his deep sense and understanding of music, and his excellent skills on the keyboard and the piano. Never bound by genre, Karan played the keyboard to all kinds of tunes -- from jazz and blues to EDM and funk.
"When your WhatsApp starts to buzz with messages that read "Did You Hear?" by  at-least a 15 mutual friends, you know it really isn't about the recent gig Karan played or the new song he just released!" Said a very dear friend of Karan.
On September 9, 2017, the internet was flooded with remembering statuses for Karan after we got the news. Maybe we should learn to appreciate, support, love, share, offer help while they are still around, maybe they'd stay. There was so much grief all over social media, it was so overwhelming. There are a lot of complexities around what the actually happened. Was it really a suicidal act? Was it a thought Karan struggled with for the longest time? We were told that it had almost been a month since Karan was upset, and not in his best shape or state of mind. While the investigations continue let's take a moment to appreciate the musician Karan was.
"I know him for at least 15 years I think - he was a kid when I first met him. And he quickly grasped the jazz idiom, and we have been performing together off and on since 2009," recounted jazz musician Radha Thomas. "Karan was a special person and my heart is truly broken. He has played for me many times. And it's hard to believe that is not going to happen again," said Radha.
Karan's incredible talent made him one of the most sought after musicians from the indie scene. After playing with the blues rock band Soulmate for three years, Karan worked as a sessions artiste with a number of musicians, including Joe Alvares, Randolph Correia, Gino Banks and Vishal Dadlani. He also collaborated with Anindo Bose, Vijay Nair, the Mihir Joshi Act, Salim Merchant, Ehsan Noorani, Vasundhara Vee, Anupam Roy, Harshit Mishra, Nikhil D'souza and Warren Mendonsa, among many others.
Perhaps the truest testimony to his talent is the fact that you'll only need to watch one, maybe two, videos of him waltzing his fingers on a keyboard, to see for yourself how beautifully skilled he was. Words would fail miserably in comparison.
"Karan Joseph was a genius. Should have been far more celebrated than he was. It's really unfair how the music scene works in India"  Tweeted Vishal Dadlani on his profile @VishalDadlani 
"Karan was without doubt a musician extraordinaire. Not often do we come across a keyboardist as versatile as him & his improvisation skills were just exemplary. Every time I'd meet him at gigs, he’d be that warm smily soul who made sure he filled everyone's heart with joy through his music. He truly had a heart of gold. Sad day for us as we've lost one of the most talented musicians in the country," said Sofar Sounds' Raghav Srivastava.

As friends and fellow musicians recount the time they spent with Karan, a few notes stay common: a loving soul, a heart full of love, an insatiable passion for music and thorough professionalism.

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RIP Madfingers, your music will live on. 

 

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Remembering Karan Joseph, a Loving Soul With Incredible Talent

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