Nischal Zaveri releases his second single, ‘Raakh Jale’

Nischal Zaveri, Managing Director of ENZY, after his successfuly launch of his first single, ‘Thaam Jaa’, has launched his second single, Raakh Jale’.

While speaking about his latest release, Nischal said: “We have done work with international artists and are also doing good work with upcoming artists, Bollywood films. We are looking forward to promote independent artists in a huge manner”.
ENZY Studios is a pre and post production music recording studio that is fully outfitted with state of the art equipment and engineered room acoustics to provide pristine sound. With an in House Professional Artist Team comprising of Music producers, artists/composers and mixing engineers. ENZY Studios is a ‘One stop Music Production Sound House’. Committed to providing top quality recording and production services. The sound house has been carefully planned to provide a creative and positive environment. ENZY Studios has two Control/Mix rooms, One live recording theatre  that can sit 30-piece orchestra, two ISO/recording rooms as well as lounge and private rooms available for comfort while recording. Hollywood based architect Jerry Steckling of JSX Audio designed and engineered the studio and its’ acoustics. The design has been executed by UK based Munro acoustics.
Single : soundcloud.com/nishchal_zaveri/raakh-jale?in=nishchal_zaveri/sets/raakh-jale
Video : youtube.com/watch?v=l_st9s_5_Ow

Niyati Shah: No shortcuts to take Shotformats into larger size

She is mightly inspired by the quote of Hollywood star, Dolly Parton: “If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader”. True to the dictum, she has proved to the world by allowing her action to speak louder. Hailing from a Gujarati Jain family, she always believed in doing something on her own and succeed in life. She was wanting to spend time with her kids, yet utilising her entrepreunerial skills without anyone else dictating terms. Thus was born the Shotformats Digital Productions back in 2007. The Managing Director and CEO of Shotfomats, with her zeal of always staying ahead of time and her rich experience of over 15 years in the entertainment business across mediums ranging from record labels and satellite to Internet and mobile phones, she turned the firm into what it is today, one of the top two digital enterntainment and vAS entities in India. That is Niyati Shah for you.
It her passion. Niyati breathes and lives Shotformats, one of the most sought after companies in the industry. She influences the overall management of the organisation and is responsible for ensuring an admirable profit and business leap on a YOY basis. She primarily influences the finance, content acquisition and innovation of the products in the company. She dedicates her time in innovating, taking decisions for the progress and the future of the company, and as the main pillar, brings in aggression, perfection, determination and smart performance to Shotformats’ culture.
A Kenya Institute of Management graduate, Niyati’s urge to determinedly conceptualise challenging ideas that are way ahead of time, has time and again ascertained her instrumentality in launching major brands such as Zee Music and India’s first rich media site, Sify Max. Before Shotformats, she has been instrumental in scaling up revolutionalising business brands such as Zee, Universal India, Sify, Yahoo and Tips Industries, and has proved her metal by designing successful marketing campaigns for over 60 Bollywood films.
Niyati shows immense confidence in her team and believes in transformational and task oriented leadership. She perceives leadership to be an ingrained skill which has the power to influence people and turn vision into reality. When not at work, the self expressed wild life lover and gadget enthusiast loves spending time with her kids and exploring new places to travel.

In a free-wheeling chat, Niyati Shah shares her passion, experience and more with Jayashankar Menon. Excerpts:

JM: Can you talk about the legacy you have created through Shotformats?
NS: Shotformats Digital Works Private Limited is a promising digital distribution and a new media company that develops innovative digital platforms, products and content to service and reach audiences through varied digital distribution streams. In focus is the Value Added Service and Direct To Consumer initiative under the brand ‘Biscoot’. Being a path-breaking contender in the mobile Value Added Services (VAS) space, Shotformats’ priority is to create and deploy VAS solutions and applications for media houses, telecommunication firms, film companies, labels, application developers and content providers, among others.

JM: What is the genesis of Biscoot?
NS: Taking forward the commitment and the belief of the company towards digital distribution, we launched Biscoot – an online and offline initiative for digital product distribution, which focuses both on an evolved online consumer and a new mobile user. To ensure customised content for the small screen, Shotformats’ in-house studios and product team has been exclusively dedicated to maintaining the highest standard in the constant generation of innovative and easy-to-consume content for mobile phones. Shotformats specialises in providing end-to-end solutions, right from platform ownership to billing and provisioning to device testing; with services that bring together content, technology and device expertise, this facilitates an enhanced digital experience for our clients.

JM: What are the new standards your company has set for the growth of Digital Entertainment segment?
NS: Our company’s unique position in the market as an eager innovator and unremitting trendsetter has established new standards for the interminable scope of Digital Entertainment – a segment that currently rules the market. Having established this distinct stronghold, Shotformats has proved itself as an indisputable contributor in shaping the content ecosystem not only for the VAS industry in India but has created new avenues for digital distribution. Thus, creating newer revenue streams for media houses, app developers and content partners.
Spearheading Shotformats is its top management, equipped with a strong background in the visual media and an insatiable passion to expand and understand the importance of packaging and content. An aspect that goes hand-in-hand with the company’s USP — to understand the intricacy and dynamics of new media and blend it with the right content, which is perfectly packaged to expose the consumer to a flawless experience.

JM: Can you share the details of the Innovation Centre you have set up in Delhi?
NS: An expert team of unrelenting professionals leads our state-of-the-art Innovation Centre in Delhi. To deliver cutting-edge technologies in the ever-evolving VAS landscape, this Centre showcases market driven innovative applications. Our belief in ‘Content is King but Distribution is God’, coupled with our proficiency in System Integration, Product Engineering, Application Hosting and outsourcing services makes our firm an invaluable choice for telecom service providers, broadcasters, media companies, publishing houses, application developers and independent owners of rich content.

JM: What are the specialties of Shotformats?
NS: For content producers and app developers, we are the ideal partner to get their content or application out in the digital space, as we cover each and every medium of digital distribution not only online but also via our own offline distribution chain. For the mobile Indian consumer, we are the ultimate destination for Music, Movies, Infotainment, Devotional and Audio Books. All just a click away on Biscoot with easy-to-use and safe Biscoot Wallet, enabled transactions.

JM: Last, but not the least, what are the recent unique offerings from your stable?
NS: Biscoot B-Now: Daily dose of Bollywood News and Gossip.
Biscoot Talkies: One stop destination for all movie buffs, with a catalogue of more than 15000 movies in nine languages.
Biscoot Bajao: India’s first music networking portal, with a catalogue of more than 2,00,000 songs in 14 languages.
Biscoot APP Bazaar: India’s first offline app store, selling apps the Indian way.

GITANO, a music album by Hamza who imbibes musical styles from across the globe

It is impossible to imagine a more complete fusion with nature and universal world music and house beats than that of the Gypsy. Perhaps that is why Hamza – who has travelled / lived around in three different continents (South Asia, Europe, and North America) – has come out with a music album that not only gives a flavour of his travels but is named ‘Gitano’ – the Spanish word for gypsy.

Hamza, owner of Wind Horse Records has reached a milestone in his twentieth release as it is his first full-length album. Gitano is culmination of a prolific five years for the Indian producer with over a hundred recorded tracks and singles for the likes of legendary German label Kompakt and New York-based Deep House imprints King Street, Nite Grooves, and Open Bar Music. Now in its fifth year, Wind Horse Records – the first house music label of India – continues to pioneer the deep and tech house movement in India with releases, parties, and ground-breaking collaborations.
Gitano emerges out of a feeling embodied in the many different sonic landscapes wandered in and out of across the ten track release, touching on Latin, Celtic, flamenco, funk, and jazz influences within its house music foundation – incorporating many cultural trademarks. Hamza, with his uplifting melodies, sparkling production, and warm bass lines aims to seamlessly merge floor-driving deep and tech-house styles with a reverent helping of global musical traditions.
The opener ‘Sky Song’ features Celtic strings plucked in a way that somehow recalls the wilderness of the African motherland.  A soul satisfying bass line is magically mixed with wonderfully floated key stabs, pseudo-psychedelic guitar staccatos that wash from side to side, and a horn that sounds like it is straight out of New Orleans. ‘Blue Groove’ and ‘Ritmo Del Amor’ have a very classic Latin-influenced New York house sound incorporating percussion, funky bass guitars with plenty of groove, energetic keys on a mission, quick flute accents, and vocals used as their own instruments. ‘Blue Groove’ also features the contribution of Bista – a new studio collaborator with Hamza. ‘Tech Me to Havana’ is exactly as the play on words in the title suggest and ‘New York 2 New Delhi’ blends all this into a familiar epic of evolving bass, chugging stabs, highs soaring on sensory overload, and explosive build ups.
‘Let The Music Play On’ (featuring the vocals of the UK-based Loopy Juice), ‘Do It Right’ and ‘City Lights’ bring to the forefront more funk and jazz elements across guitar riffs, claps, snares, cymbals, and vocals. With the help once again of the enigmatic Bista, ‘City Lights’ shows Hamza’s ability to transform an unassuming track into a booming dance floor number full of tech energy. ‘Every Time the Bass Goes Down’ is a funky affair but markedly different with its braggadocio vocals over the interplay of organ and distorted synth bass lines. It features another first for Hamza, as the vocals are his own, added as an experiment that successfully enhanced the tune.
The title track, ‘Gitano’, with its driving bells, crashing cymbals, remarkably deep bass, classic flamenco guitars and traditional singing is a melting pot of South African melodies, Spanish finger work, and UK bass tied with an Indian voice.
Having developed many talented resources for export to the outside world, Wind Horse has recently been incorporating more remixers from the West, encouraging a two-way global relationship. Hamza has also been working to expose an Indian audience to the possibilities of house music through his Sunday Sundowner parties in New Delhi where he is joined by other artistes from the Wind Horse roster. Hamza aims to take this party to other parts of India, incorporating homegrown talent, and inspiring a pan-Indian house music movement. More world tours will follow as Hamza further exposes his special mixture of house and world music to global dance floors.

Hailing from New Delhi and now working to strengthen his base here, Hamza has attained a reputation as one of the more innovative and exciting producers, apart from being a top-notch DJ. His diverse international sound is influenced from his strong musical background as well as growing up in India and traveling the world, living in Paris, Boston, and New York.

Goa Tourism Carnival 2014 to be celebrated from February 28 to March 4

The Minister for Tourism, Government of Goa, Dilip Parulekar, today announced the plans that the state has drawn up to celebrate Carnaval 2014. The festivities will begin on February 28 with the inauguration of the food and culture festival and wind up on March 4. The Minister also added that this year’s event will be one of the most colourful and vibrant editions of the Carnaval. The event is Goa’s tribute to its diverse population and heritage; it aims to spread a message of peace, unity and harmony, according to a statement issued by GTDC.

While addressing a gathering of media today he said: “The Goa Carnaval is the highlight of our annual calendar and we want to ensure that this will be an unforgettable experience for locals as well as visitors to the state. Our vision is to see that the Carnaval here becomes as popular as the legendary Brazilian Carnival”.
The Minister also added that Goa Tourism is keen on promoting the state as a place for celebrations. “Goa is a place that induces a contagious celebratory spirit, right from weddings to festivals everything here is celebrated with pomp and fervor. This is why we are also promoting and packaging festivals and events like the Carnaval 2014 followed by Cashew & Coconut Festival, Goa International Travel Mart. Others like Shigmo, Sao Jao, Bonderam and Tirpurari Purnima have some quaint traditions associated with that are a testimony to Goa’s rich history. It is also our effort to preserve the heritage and cultural lineage of our state”.
Parulekar went on to enthusiastically outline the plans for this year’s event and mentioned that the state is geared up to expect and accommodate over 2.5lakh tourists during this time. The Carnaval 2014 commences with a Food and Culture festival on February 28, which will highlight the cuisine and rich legacy of Goa. This festival will also feature participation from other states. To add that element of glamour and excitement to the proceedings, a Brazilian troupe will be especially flown in for an electrifying Samba performance. Prominent musicians including the Raghu Dixit Project, Strings and some famous home-grown bands will perform at the festival too. It is expected that a fashion show and a fire display will also be included in the celebrations. The event also saw actors Jackky Bhagnani and Neha Sharma, who star in the upcoming movie Youngistaan, speaking to the media about their experiences in Goa and association with the Carnaval. Youngistaan  is the official movie partner for Goa Carnaval 2014. What makes the event different this year is that it will feature street performances by musicians at various vantage points across the state, a King Momo contest and increased prize money.
Goa Tourism is also taking measures to ensure that high standards of safety, hygenie and cleanliness are maintained in the state. Nikhil Desai, MD of GTDC, and Director of Tourism, Government of Goa, said: “We have taken measures to ensure 100 per cent safety for everyone and have increased the deployment of police force at tourist spots. We are also in the process of increasing room inventory for tourists”.
This year’s Carnaval will revive the yesteryears’ fervor with larger-than-life décor, mask installations and a Food and Cultural Festival – the biggest of its kind in Goa. Goa Tourism has left no stone unturned to take the 2014 Carnaval experience to a heightened level of excitement and entertainment. The festival, as usual, will feature float parades in four cities such as Panaji, Margao, Vasco and Mapusa. Apart from the float parade, this year’s event will also include a Food and Cultural Festival for the first time where visitors will not only get to taste local Goan Cuisine but also cuisines of 15 other states of India. It will offer visitors the opportunity to experience cuisine and culture through a unique blend of food, fun, local and national live music performances, fashion shows, and entertainment. An element of competition has also been introduced with entries being invited for the King Momo Contest and the cooking competition. This public event recognizes Goa’s diverse population including its vast tourist populace and promotes a message of tolerance, friendship and inclusiveness.

Valentines’ Day: Kingdom of Dreams celebrate the day of love on February 14, 2014

India’s biggest live entertainment destination, Kingdom of Dreams, played Cupid this Saint Valentine’s Day as couples enjoyed an ideal rendezvous to express their heart’s deepest desire to their loved one.

A blissful candle light dinner was set up in a perfect ambience to celebrate the bond and spirit of love.

Adding a dose of fun to the evening couples took the love leap in the sky with reverse bungee jumping from an exhilarating 180ft. To mark the celebrations with a dash of Bollywood, Kingdom of Dreams ensured a memorable Valentine’s Day with Jhumroo, the ultimate romantic musical.

Guests indulged in captivating romantic evening and enjoyed the sizzling fashion show by Amit Talwar Trekaaya, awe-inspiring live performance by band Pratigya and Anatara and live bollywood dance performances.

Guests celebrated the bond and spirit of love in opulence this year on Valentine’s Day at Kingdom of Dreams. Kingdom of Dreams is a unique initiative by Great India Nautanki Company, a joint venture between Wizcraft International Entertainment, India’s foremost Entertainment and Communication Company and Apra Group of Companies.

This ambitious concept offers theme-based entertainment experiences of exceptional standards and promotes Indian culture to Indians and visitors from across the globe.

Spread across acres of land, Kingdom of Dreams has three distinct entertainment zones – Culture Gully, Nautanki Mahal, and Showshaa Theatre- each offering a unique proposition. ·

Culture Gully, a unique Indian boulevard of exotic food, art and culture.

Nautanki Mahal, India’s first dynamic state of the art 4D theatre designed and conceptualized to offer breath-taking & magical experiences.

Showshaa Theatre will present a kaleidoscope of fabulous colorful drama marquee spotlighting ancient Indian Epics and Mythology, mock wedding shows and the great Indian talent circus.

Entertainment has never been quite the same since Kingdom of Dreams has thrown open its gates to a magical and mystical arena.

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MSOSA’s Hinglish play: The Good, The Bad and The Bolly (Wood) in Delhi from February 21-23, 2014

A Hinglish play, The Good, The Bad and The Bolly (Wood) by “Free Parking Entertainment”, an initiative of MSOSA (Modern School Old Students Association). This is MSOSA’s 50th Annual Production being held at Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, from February 21-23, 2014 from 7:00 PM. According to a media statement, entry is free and the nearest Metro Station is Mandi House.
Cast

The cast comprises of old Modernites and some well known theatre personalities including Ashok Dhawan, Pradip Kukreja, Geeta Sudan, Roopak Kathpalia and Vidushi Mehra. With the aim of sustaining and strengthening the spirit of their old school, MSOSA takes great pride in the history the school shares with the Nationalist Movement of the country and also the fact that the school was set up in 1920 as an experiment in education with the belief that growth is inherent in all dynamic ideas.
Platform
A product of visionary heads, the school is secular in nature and believes in the close interconnection of the physical, moral and intellectual as its axiom of a sound system of education. Even today it continues to produce and nurture builders of a modern India. It is MSOSA’s consistent aim to bring together all Modernites amid events that are akin in nature to the ethos of their Alma Mater, while providing them a Platform to contribute their best collectively as a fraternity.
Ensemble
Free Parking Entertainment is an ensemble of Actors, Directors, Writers, Film Makers, Musicians and other creative personnel working toward a common goal of creating and spreading thought provoking and captivating entertainment. It’s a team of young thespians namely, Arnav Nanduri,  Pranay Manchanda and Kabir Nath, known for their award winning, fast paced and highly energetic productions. The Good, The Bad and The Bolly (wood) has been adapted from a Woody Allen classic and promises to entertain people with its eccentric characters and brisk pace.
Sponsorships will be used for Scholarships for the education of meritorious and needy children from the underprivileged sections of society in Modern School, Barakhamba Road from class VI to XII. For further details, visit freeparkingentertainment.co.in.

HITA to organise mega music concert in Leh Ladakh in July 2014

During the July 2014 Kalachakra in Ladakh, HITA Music Agency (Himalayan International Traditional Arts) will be organising a mega concert for four days, inviting all the prominent and young artistes of Himalayan living in different countries to be part of the show.

All music genres, from folk to fusion to pop to rock and roll, will be performed during the four days of the concert. Three days will be dedicated for solo and duet artistes, and one day will be for the rock bands. There will be prominent artistes such as Jhola Techung, Tibetan Internationally renown folk and freedom singer, Prashant Tamang, former Indian Idol winner, Nima Rumba,The popular Nepali musician and actor, Dechen Zang, the top pop singer of Bhutan and also India’s most popular rock band Parikrama, JJI Exile Brothers from McLeod Ganj and Dharma Bums, US based band to be perform for the concert.

Jhola Techung, Tibetan popular folk and freedom singer and song writer says: “I support HITA’s work. Through their love of traditional and contemporary music and culture, HITA has brought about a platform for various talented artists from the rich Himalayan musical traditions. Music brings community together. I am honoured to be part of HITA’s upcoming 2014 Kalachakra concert in Ladakh. I ask everyone to join in and wish them success”.

Nima Rumba, Popular Nepali Singer and Actor, adds: “It’s really nice to know HITA and my pleasure to see their great job of bringing together all the Himalayan Artists and giving them a platform of a different level , It’s my great honour to be part of upcoming grand event Kalachakra Concert 2014 In Ladakh. Thank you so much, I’m very excited for it, all the best”.

HITA is a new Himalayan music agency with its main office in Japan,  HITA aims to provide platforms and stage opportunities for musicians from the Himalayan region. HITA was formed with primarily goals to appreciate and acknowledge Himalayan artistes and to promote Himalayan artistes.

HARMAN Kardon Sound Lounge, India’s first loyalty programme launched in Chennai

HARMAN International (India) Private Ltd, the premier audio and infotainment group today announced the opening of an exclusive Harman Kardon Sound Lounge in Chennai, according to a media statement. The first exclusive Sound Lounge in India will feature a comprehensive range of its premium lifestyle products under the Harman Kardon brand. Operated by Sahil International, authorized sales and service partner for HARMAN lifestyle division products in India, this showroom is located in the prime location of Bergamo in Nungambakkam.

M Lakshminarayan of HARMAN and renowned singer Sunita Sarathy at the inauguration.
The Sound Lounge was inaugurated by  M Lakshminarayan, Country Head and Managing Director, HARMAN India, Mithu Sadarangani, Managing Director, Sahil International and Sunitha Sarathy, a leading Indian vocalist and performer in both Indian contemporary and Western classical music genres and a HARMAN India brand ambassador, in Chennai today. Also present on the occasion was S Sharath, Head of HARMAN’s Lifestyle business in India.
“India is a very important market for HARMAN. Recognizing this, we continue to introduce a new line up of market relevant products , strengthen our service and support network and enhance our reach through associations with our partners. This Sound Lounge in Chennai is another key step in that direction”, said Lakshminarayan. ‘At this Sound Lounge, customers will have access to audio/product experts and can experience the latest product portfolio crafted to appeal to the needs of the Chennai market’, he added.
Another first, is the launch of a brand new loyalty program, Harman Kardon Diamond Club, at the Sound Lounge, by Sahil International. In addition to reward points on every purchase of Harman Kardon products at the Sound Lounge, customers will be entitled to exclusive offers from affiliates including an annual subscription to Robb Report’s India edition, the premium high end monthly.
“We are focused on bringing to customers HARMAN’s unmatched portfolio of premium speakers, headphones, docking systems and home theatre systems in India. In addition, I am excited about the Harman Kardon Diamond Club program which is certainly an industry first in India. Moving forward we will continue to build our network of partners, to ensure the Harmon Kardon customer gets access to a whole range of premium offers, from the best luxury hotels, clubs to automobiles and more”, Sahil Sani, Director, Sahil International said on the occasion.
One of the key highlights on display would be the 2014 CES award winning Harman Kardon Esquire, stylish Soho headphones and the Onyx wireless portable speaker with iconic Harman Kardon design. Beginning February 12, 2014, key Harman Kardon products and other HARMAN flagship brands including JBL and AKG can be purchased online at harmanaudio.in. The product ranges will span Home, Multimedia, Car Audio and Headphones.
HARMAN (harman.com) designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of infotainment and audio solutions for the automotive, consumer, and professional markets. It is a recognized world leader across its customer segments with premium brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, and Mark Levinson® and leading-edge connectivity, safety and audio technologies. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of 14,800 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $4.7 billion for the last twelve months ended December 31, 2013.

Sheena Chohan sizzles at ‘Glitterati Night’ Musical Show in Dhaka wearing in Rimi Nayak designed gown

Sheena Chohan stuns everyone at at a musical show – ‘Glitterati Night’ to celebrate awards, entertainment, music with wonderful people in Dhaka Bangladesh wearing Rimi Nayak  beautiful Black and white hand batik gown with embroidery on the back with amazing singers Benny Dayal who has given hit numbers like Batameez dil, Aadat se Majboor and Shilpa Rao who has sung amazing songs like Aahatein, Yaariyan, Subhanallah.

Photo feature

Bollywood Night with DJ Chetas at Andheri’s finest party destination, Boveda

Boveda, Andheri’s most happening bar and lounge invites all entertainment aficionados to experience a burst of Bollywood like never before with DJ Chetas.

DJ Chetas is the Official T-SERIES DJ and is also one of the top 3 Bollywood DJ’s in India having topped the Bollywood music chart with his super hit mash ups of Salman Khan, Cocktail and Dabangg mash up. He has over 2,00,000 fans on Facebook and has been nominated for the DJ Mag Awards 2014. He will be performing with DJ Joel and violinist Sandeep who together are the next big musical trio and have already won over millions of hearts at various destinations across the country and a few gigs internationally as well.
Andheri’s finest party destination is all set to take the fun and frolic to a completely new level with some groovy Bollywood tracks spun by DJ Chetas promising to blow your mind. *Limited Entry. Contact for guestlist. Entry Details- Before 9pm- Girls entry free. Date- 29th January 2014. Timing – 8.00 pm onward. Address- Boveda, G 04, Morya Landmark 1, Off New Link Road, Andheri west, Mumbai 400 053. Contact- 022 6708 0859 | info@boveda.in.