Brainstorming

Conceptualizing the project required me to spend some time with other musicians and throw some ideas at them. I met up with a dear friend, Shai Shriki who is a brilliant Flamenco guitarist. 

We spent almost two hours just bouncing ideas of each other and he introduced me to some exotic instruments from the middle east. Shai was brought up in Israel and has traveled the world, studying music from different countries and incorporating these styles in his playing. He plays a variety of stringed instruments, including the guitar, Oud, Jumbush and Setar.

These may end up being some of the instruments that I sample for the project. Through Shai, I was introduced to the music of Dhafer Youssef, a genius of sorts. His music is awe inspiring and influenced me almost immediately.

Needless to say, I came back home with so many ideas that I didn't know where to start!

Shai with a Jumbush

The Setar

Welcome

Greetings!

I'm Akshay Kalawar, an audio engineer and musician. I work with musicians to capture their magical moments and immortalize them in the form of digital audio. I also teach aspects of audio production.

For years, I have been training in music - mostly Indian Classical. Since I moved to Australia in 2008, I have been exposed to music from all around the world, the techniques used in producing music, both acoustic and electronic, and have come across a variety of musicians who have been kind enough to share their knowledge and experience with me.

On my way back from a recent trip to India, I was inspired to create something that I had not attempted to create before - a few tracks of my own music. I finally made up my mind to work on it and set myself a personal deadline. With no budget in hand, I am setting out today, the 1st of April 2012 to put all my knowledge, experience and heart into this project - tentatively titled Beyond Boundaries.

This project will push my limits, and that of the others who will be working with me. We will explore avenues that we have never experienced before and capture our magic moments, manipulate them, nurture them and create music.

Day One - New Speakers!