withmehrab

[withmehrab]

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"I'm still the same as a year ago but more people hear me though, according to the Instagram and YouTube videos" ⚡😛 . 🎥 : @official_spark_studios_ @wani_zain3089 . . This one has now officially become my go-to wrap up song to perform for my live sets. 😋 . Ps: I'm not known as someone who sugarcoats things when I say them. And I must mention it here that despite the lighting being perhaps the best I've known in this place, the sound system/engineering/monitoring of Tagore Hall sucks ass big time when they can actually infact do wonders with it, should they really wish to. don't @ me about it! . . #livemusic #vocals #fuzzpedal #rocketman #ynmidny #edsheeran #rap (at Tagore Hall Sringar) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzsr0p4FyNy/?igshid=m6fw74p0aclw

[withmehrab]

Apparently, our version of this song is VERY widely liked and known than I've ever been able to realise on ground since we first released the initial clip in Naseem Bagh, and that just makes it SUCH a good heartfelt surprise for me everytime, for everytime that we, as a duo, go to or are invited to some/any place and are made aware about how THIS was the song which made them discover and then choose US across everyone else they could've chosen. . . It's a very good feeling, and realising it makes it so much meaningful for us as a duo to do this one as our main one, EVERYTIME; . . The realisation that with this song, we're apparently really doing something which STANDS RIGHT APART from almost literally EVERYTHING else known available in this space and then 'it' despite being something totally off the rails and entirely differnent from what is commonly heard in this part of the world, is BUT ALSO very well liked and widely appreciated by the same people, our own people. :) . . THAT!! That is, if you ask me, the best feeling to realise for me in the moment, as an Artist. . 'Distinction' :) . SOOOO CAN YOU GUESS IT WITHOUT WATCHING ALREADY???!! . . ❤️ -Mehrab . . 21062019164703 . . #worldmusicday (at Lake city plaza 92.7 Big fm) https://www.instagram.com/p/By-xydnlBun/?igshid=kgi2wjkatmox

[withmehrab]

transcendence . . 05052019123747 (at National Institute of Technology, Srinagar) https://www.instagram.com/p/Byx2BFGldUH/?igshid=1f5ysllwt90cw

[withmehrab]

orison. . . 04052019174201 📸 : @_murtazaali (at National Institute of Technology, Srinagar) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxpKwTkFQYC/?igshid=12fy5d6he0ygz

[withmehrab]

oblivion. . . This is a picture from the first Green Room (of Panjab University) the five of us have been in; it's moments before we went on to wreak havoc. 📸 : @laikanazi (at Panjab University, Chandigarh) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxWfK7elnOf/?igshid=18orebdpdcd63

[withmehrab]

"Another one to take the sting away!" . @sufiyan_rouf . We don't even consider doing the regular grooves anymore whenever we jam, trying to fuse all the elements together in our work! This is a rendition of the song 'Eraser' by @teddysphotos . . . . . #eraser #groove #f64 #edsheeran #beatbox #vocals #cover #beatbox #musicvideo #music #beatboxing #drums #instrumental #edsheeran#teddysphotos #edsheerancover #rap #western #musician #kashmir #rythm #flow #pop #life #grunge #acousticcover (at Naseem Bagh, University of Kashmir) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwqrAzHFSEq/?igshid=1er4cky26dvwm

[withmehrab]

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'You need me, I don't need You - Ed Sheeran' Me and @sufiyan_rouf setting the benchmark here together fusing insane beatbox on this mind bending groove, guitar, rap and a tad bit of grunge vocals on top! ✌️ 20190312173805 . And as I've said it before multiple times, honestly sometimes it really does feel like me and some of us are way ahead of time for this volatile conflict ridden place, but I guess for the good!! ❤️ . This fire clip was shot by @abdulhanaankhan 🔥🔥🔥🔥 . This is a rendition of the song 'You need me, I don't need You' by @teddysphotos #rap #beatbox #guitar #grunge #childrenofconflict (at Naseem Bagh, University of Kashmir) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu6gnJhlwpW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=12nx8fedrcuuz

[withmehrab]

"I'm still the same as a year ago, but more people hear me though

According to the Instagram and YouTube videos!"

YOU NEED ME MAN (MIC), I DON'T NEED YOU! Performed live at the University Of Kashmir - Ibn Khaldun Auditorium for the finale of SONZAL 2018

Last year in December 2017 I'd only wished to learn and eventually prowess the art of stage performance, improvisation on live sets and to do music that purely resonates with me, and then hopefully with the crowd as well, regardless of how outlandish it would be to do in front of a typical Kashmiri crowd.

I'd always wanted to make it something unique, something "classic Mehrab" and something that would stand out from everything else done there by anyone else before, and for a long time to come, hopefully. With this rendition of "You Need Me, I Don't Need You" by Ed Sheeran, I can proudly say that this is exactly what I had wanted and aimed for a year ago in terms of being a performer, of course never the perfect, considering with all the ultra low-grade set-up, the tacky microphone which slid down mid-performance and I tried to get it up with my nose as you see in this clip at 00:16 and then it pissed me off as you can tell from my facial expression at 00:21 which led to a minor-chord problem as well (pun intended), and my voice cracking within the first minute of the show.

AND THEN REGARDLESS, rising over all of that as I left the microphone altogether and walked to the stage front and roared ferociously to an auditorium packed with people without any amplification for my vocals (except my willpower) 00:28 and the crowd losing their shit as a response to that. This, alllll of this was wayy more than I had wished for a year ago; all fulfilled in the show.

The JUDGES HOWEVER (Indian Classical Musicians) rejected this and found my performance unworthy of ANY position at all 😂 (no the competitors were pretty basic, and compared to this literally nowhere close, infact there's LITERALLY no one else who could do this on stage I strongly reckon while being all humble, but aware) After the award ceremony was over, the next day, one of the judges had a chat with me and said "you were singing all soulfully and completely involved in the song BUT YOU WENT TOO DEEP and got LOST ON THE STAGE" Too DEEP?! I asked myself internally. "How can you EVER be too deeply involved in music?!! Isn't that the ultimate purpose of THE EXISTENCE OF MUSIC?! TO GET INVOLVED IN IT?! And this person is telling me I got REJECTED FOR THAT while doing an EXTREMELY COMPLEX TRACK in a LIVE SETTING with all the fucked up AUDIO SETUP?! WHAT?!!!" weird flex but ok... tbh with you, I didn't expect anything more than that. 😌 FFS the jury comprised of INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSICIANS judging a WESTERN MUSIC COMPETITION. All I really cared for from day 1 when I signed up for the competition there was to showcase my skills and abilities to the jampacked auditorium, WHICH I SURE AS HELL DID and did oh so well!! The chat with the judge ended with me asking about what he meant by "too deep" and he went on to cite the reason for my rejection to be "...breaking chord progressions, melody, lead parts, losing focus on stage..." which I believe he meant while I was rapping the "ACAPELLA parts of the RAP" (yes irony) at 01:21 , 02:52 and for every lyrical point I wanted to make in the rap and hence would stop the music (guitar) INTENTIONALLY AND WITH TOTAL CONTROL AS WE DO IN RAP MUSIC to make some essential lyrical points the centre of attention for the audience, but apparently not when you get Indian Classical Musicians to judge your RAP SONGS in the "Kashmir's Biggest Youth Festival"!

I literally would have considered MY VOICE CRACK at the beginning of the song to be more of an appropriate reason for my rejection, but then again, every single contestant had MULTIPLE singing out of key points in their vocals, basically 0 stage presence exhibited by 4 out of my 5 competitors, soooo I really don't understand what exactly got me rejected!

Perhaps this incident was the perfect illustration of: “People reject what they do not understand” :)

Anyway, new year goals are stupid, they're just an excuse to do stupid shit for the remaining part of the current year. Be realistic. Make a wish, keep it a secret and work on it every single day possible for 1 complete year. A year can literally transform you in ways, you wouldn't imagine in your wildest dreams, depending on how you work with your time.

Also, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk! 😂 😌 Kahwe and Shirmaal served in the guest lobby outside. 😂

Regards

-Mehrab 💓

[withmehrab]

Ring Ring Reality Check

I’ve now realized it’s actually very necessary to get reality checks from time to time. I’ve been doing pop music mostly, since almost 2 years of being a musician but this week changes it all, and lately, I’ve found myself being highly capable of nailing alternate genres (kashmiri sufi, folk-rock, little bit of psychedelic rock, etc) and getting excellent reviews for all of the music I now do across these genres since this week only! Let’s see where it ends! 17/Sep/2018

[withmehrab]

[Kashmiri] Maayi Chani - For my love of Kashmiri language! ♥️

[withmehrab]

Classical Gas [Mason Williams] | Songs | Tommy Emmanuel

[withmehrab]

[withmehrab] Travel Vlog Kashmir | Dara Srinagar | Ramazan 2018

[withmehrab]

A year in time...

Until a year ago, February 2017, I had at most went a generous 100kms away from home and returned back within 10 to 15 hours of the journey, in all the 20 years of my life.

I had never really faced an audience first hand in realtime reallife.

I never really talked to people much, even when I really needed to.

I’d only wished to be in a concert of the top current gen musicians from my place.

I’d for once only wanted to travel to Jammu by a bus or anything that would take me there.

I’d wished and I’d wanted a lot of things.

Now, in February 2018 as I write this

I went travelling across multiple states of India by roads and railways, last month.

I faced my first audience In March and then I faced so many of them through the year that I’ve lost the count of it now (some on the travel aswell).

I started talking more and more with strangers, to the extent that at one point I literally preffered talking with strangers more, than the people I was familiar with, like in a water park in Mumbai being all wet and water dripping off my shirt stinking of the pool water I go this realllly hot girl who was smoking sat on the stairs and ask her for a cigarette and Shruti was a nice girl to talk with! And since then I’ve been literally talking to anyone anywhere hahaha!!

Not only did I go to concerts, I’ve also jammed along (and still do) those finest current gen musicians from my place. Hell I even made very good friends with some of them and some really like my rapping skills... :p

I travelled to Jammu by a bus, and then from there by a train to Delhi, then Hyedrabad, and then Mumbai, then to Delhi again, and then Jammu over a month’s time. These, plus all the connecting states whose railway stations I got off at across most of India made me experience so many new foods, languages, vibes, smells, etc and taught me to improvise and ALWAYS CARRY AN AIR PIILLOW AND A LIGHT BLANKET IN A TRAIN JOURNEY IN INDIA!!!

Then I returned home, and a week later went to Delhi again by a plane...

Stayed a week more and now I’m here again, home.

From being a person who’d never stayed out for more than 20 hours from home to suddenly being someone who did all the above mentioned things... without the slightest doubt I tell you a year can literally turn your life 360 degrees and you’ll be fuckall batshit crazy when You realize it.

You just have to step out. And seek.

Because what You seek is seeking You, right?

[withmehrab]

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observe. (at Talbehat, India)

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x 055519012018 (at Delhi Junction railway station)

[withmehrab]

Last year in December I'd only wished to perform once infront of a real audience. No instagram, no YouTube, no paid clap-clap audiences, just a random stranger audience. People who are going to point out all the good and all the bad without hesitating. People who'd appreciate and criticise freely. Through all of 2017, I am lucky to have performed for so many such audiences, so many times that I've lost the count of it. It got so better with each new day that at one point I even got the opportunity to jam along with some of the (in my opinion) finest current generation musicians of Kashmir, and learn some essential things from them and also make friends with some of them aswell. I'd only wished for one little audience and damn looking back at this year, it was undoubtedly so unexpectedly fulfilling. If you are a person who has for once been my audience this year, thank you for unknowingly making my year so good. 💓 This song is called "You need me, I don't need you". It's a rap song on a guitar and one of my favourite rap songs ever. This is the song I'd first performed for the first audience back in March and the clip from that day is down in my feed already. This is the last recording of the same song in my phone from September. Through the learning curve, as a result of working on it ever since, it's gotten quite better from the first clip, I can tell gladly and proudly. It was only one simple stupid wish a year ago and look at it now! :p 💓 Also, new year goals are stupid, they're just an excuse to do stupid shit for the remaining part of the current year. Just wish and act. No lame goals and anything such. Be realistic. Make a wish, keep it a secret and work on it evey single day possible for 1 complete year. A year can literally transform you in ways, you wouldn't imagine in your wildest dreams, depending on how you work with your time. #awish #thefallenchinar #edsheeran #ynmidny #2017 #thebestyear (at Naseem Bagh, University of Kashmir)

[withmehrab]

emo post again... #solstice #cold