Loudest Birthday | In Conversation with Ehsaan Noorani

Ehsaan Noorani is the Ehsaan of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. The power trio our Bollywood industry absolutely loves. Loudest Birthdays is delighted to pay this birthday tribute to Ehsaan. He is a famous music composer and a guitarist. He was the guitarist for many music directors before he started composing music. Ehsaan studied music with Mr. Bismarck Rodrigues, an experienced guitar teacher from Mumbai (Bombay). Ehsaan is also one of the judges for India's first and only English-music singing show called The Stage, for the past 3 seasons powered by Renault & aired on colors infinity.  Ehsaan Noorani is most notably associated with using the Fender Stratocaster guitar and is endorsed by the Fender family of brands.

Watch this stunning video where Ehsaan discusses his gear!

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gVFBCFYRNc[/embedyt]

Ehsaan has a long list of awards and recognition for his work, and we are absolutely inspired by his grounded nature and humbleness. Above everything else, Ehsaan is a wonderful individual. At the conference All About Music held in Mumbai on September 18-19, we got a chance to ask quick few questions from Ehsaan about his journey. Here's what he had to say :  Loudest: What Inspired you to choose the career you chose today? Ehsaan: When I finished college, I was very confused. I wanted to be a businessman,  and there was no way I could do it I knew that. I just didn't know what else to do? Engineering/computers were on the table too. Then my folks suggested to me, why don't you just study music? I asked them, How? They were very supportive and said they'd help me figure it out. I then asked them, what is the security?  My folks were very cool about this, they said there is no security in anything. Be it medicine, law or anything at all, you might end up not wanting to do it after what you did. So, you must just go for it. And I did! Loudest:  Who/what has been a great influence/inspiration in your life? Ehsaan: People who influence me the most, are the people who I hang out with. They're my friends, Nakul Kamte one of the top film sound engineers in the country. With him, I heard music I never heard before, something I was new to. Its a thing for me that goes on, there's no one person. I learned from my peers. Everyone, everything inspires me. Loudest: What impact has the digital age made on the Music Industry? Ehsaan: I'd quote Prince, As soon as the internet came in he said: "This is going to be the death of music". Not sure how accurate it was as we can see, honestly, this works in 3 ways,

1. A lot has become free, the culture of free music consumption came in
2. Artists can publish independently, without being signed to a record label.
3. Record companies have started thinking to break away from the norms. Streaming has changed the whole ball game, the numbers are very different now from back then.

Loudest: What does it take to create a brand from a star?  Ehsaan: Being in the music industry is not a cakewalk. The point is you have to make a lot of investments, be it on video or records. Then your negotiations with the record companies in terms of royalties, shares etc. Talking about youtube, while it does give you a channel, a lot of views but it too has its limitations. Continuing to creating IPs, creating brand plug-ins, and more along the way. But, it definitely takes a lot, it's not at all the easy way. Loudest: Share about your relationship with your manager?  Ehsaan: It's very important to have the right understanding with your manager. It's important to have a mutual respect, it's not about being employer-employee it's more of a family. Leaving bullying or ego aside. Most important thing is to understand the value of the product we create. Always understand the two perspectives, and collectively move forward. We're blessed with a great manager! Happy Birthday, Ehsaan! Thank you for everything you've given back to the music industry. Wishing you great success and love from Loudest team!

Enjoy this playlist, Greatest Hits By Ehsaan Noorani!

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=playlist&list=RDEMtHvxL4ZyVcC_RcJ99v2EmA&v=wu7KCqveRdw[/embedyt]