How mashups are changing the way we listen to music

It seems to be the end of an era for remixes, which have dominated the music scene for more than two decades now. Mashups are the latest to have captured the imagination of new age music lovers by offering a heady cocktail of two diametrically opposite musical genres.

Indo-western mashups - Indian film music numbers mixed with Western hits - are reimagined by a bunch of Indian singers settled abroad. Picking up common elements from the two different worlds is the perfect recipe to create mashups, which are the latest craze for the iTunes generation. Oblivious to the magic of music cassettes, DVDs and the freshness of genuine singing, the drift is more towards experimenting with music.

Musical mashups had once gained infamy in America, stirring up the copyright debate and were widely condemned for being unoriginal gimmicks. Gaining the title of bootleg or bastard pop, mashup musicals have gradually risen into the mainstream. The success of mashups can largely be credited to online music communities that enjoy smart imaginative twists to music - a clear departure from the jarring remixes that result in noisy bhangra rap or ear-piercing "jhankar beats" that had become a staple.

Vidya Iyer, the girl with blue streaks, blessed with a mellifluous voice has been ably connecting two musical worlds. Virginia-bred Vidya came into prominence with her innovative presentation of Ellie Goulding’s "Love Me Like You Do" seamlessly blended with AR Rahman’s Hossana from the Tamil movie Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa.

Teaming up with Shankar Tucker, a music junky aiming to "funkify" Indian music, Vidya has been stealing the online scene. Her website VidyaVox has some amazing collections of mashups that draw interesting comments from listeners, who marvel at the unique combination of western renditions and soulful Bollywood and southern hits. “Mashups meet beautifully in the middle,” says Vidya. “I love doing Indo-Western mashups because I love finding similar components in different musical genres and how much I can push the limits on a particular type of genre,” she adds.

The Chennai-born girl evidently finds a midpoint which connects the two worlds. Vidya has trained in Carnatic music apart from studying Psychology from George Washington University, and music from two different worlds has influenced her life.

“I like so many songs from different backgrounds! I guess on a deeper level, I used to struggle to find my identity growing up in the West, yet retaining my Indian roots,” she says, adding that she is always hooked to the iTablaPro app.

The "Chaiyya Chaiyya" mashup combined with Michael Jackson’s "Don’t Stop" even got a nod from Shah Rukh Khan, who tweeted about it. SRK and Malaika Arora Khan dancing on the rooftop of a speeding train in Dil Se inspired Sam Tsui, Shankar Tucker and Vidya to record the mashup while stuck in traffic in Mumbai.

Those in love with musical experiments would appreciate mashups getting applauded. Here are some of the most popular mixes:

Penn Masala: The a capella group formed by Indo-American students from University of Pennsylvania reflects the strong influence of eastern-western music on the new generation. Started in 1997 by Santosh Govindaraju, the members of this evolving group change every year, as veteran members graduate and new members take over. Here is their mashup of "O Re Piya", originally sung by Rahat Fatah Ali Khan and "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5.

The influence of Bollywood is immense, which can be gauged from the use of "Dilliwali Girlfriend" composed by Pritam combined with "Tonight" (I’m Loving You) by Enrique Iglesias.

INFX Ft –Sona Mohapatra: Australian band INFX’s award-winning "Afterglow" and Sona Mohapatra’s gentle voice playing in the backdrop of rhythmic table beats has been brought alive by by SonyMusic India Vevo in the video.

Shankar Tucker: Massachusetts boy Shankar, an American clarinetist and music lover, has been drawn to Hindustani classical music since childhood. He is famous in the online world for his hugely popular music series "The Shrutibox", which has amassed 15 million viewers so far. Watch Shankar’s creation "O Re Piya" mashed up with Adele’s "Rolling in the Deep" by Rohan Kymal and Brindan Susens-Jackson. 

Arjun Kumaraswamy: This British singer songwriter of Sri Lankan origin has ably blended Indian songs with western hits. Watch his mixed version of "Tum Hi Ho" originally sung by Arijit Singh blended with "You Got it" Bad by Usher.

DJ Chetas: Hailing from a family of businesspersons, Chetas worked as a disc jockey for 12 years in Mumbai and has been dishing out hit mashups - a measured mix up of Electronic Dance Music (EDM) and Bollywood. Check out this romantic mashup by him: