With a musical oeuvre ranging from jazz to Bollywood, this blue-eyed boy from Bangalore has committed his life to patronising art forms. Kickstarting the journey from a local band ‘Pulse’ to singing the title track for Mast, heading the label Columbia Records to designing the background score for Om Shanti Om, musician Sandeep Chowta surely is on a high note. Recently in City for a concert, Metrolife caught up with Sandeep for some conversations on music.

 How did you get your musical influences?
I started with my dad’s records, which were primarily jazz. It was wrong music at the right age (laughs). I was one of the very few who bought original records. I hate downloading music.

From the ‘Pulse’ days to being the director of Columbia Records - has the journey been musical?
No. Tough, long and strange. I did not get instant success and I am thankful for that. I could have signed 20 films right after my initial success but I declined. I have to do work that I am proud of and I can say I have been successful.

Where is Indian music headed?
Indian music is ready for globalisation. But we don’t have venues for performers or because there are no venues, great performers are unable to come up. Most play at small clubs. In fact, we at Columbia Records are constantly looking out for hidden talent with no godfather. Again, we want real listeners to come for events. The need of the hour is to create a community. 

Where are your energies concentrated - Jazz or mainstream Bollywood?
 I don’t want to categorise my music. I began by designing music to be successful, through Bollywood. Today I am happy to be collaborating with so many great international artistes. I also have four untitled films in my kitty, which includes one starring Kajol and Ajay Devgan by the makers of ‘Omkara’.

Tell us about your experience doing Om Shanti Om.
I am against rehashing music. But my experience doing ‘OSO’ was great. The background score interestingly uses adaptations to recreate the 1970s era. Farah Khan (director) is a visionary.

As the mentor, what plans do you have for your band ‘Karma6’?
The plan is to send them on a long tour and recording with big international artistes. I always tell them - It’s ok to play at a college campus or a club. But a performer must go global. 

What are the projects in the pipeline?
I will be bringing big artistes, details of which I will not divulge. There is a project with Grammy winner, jazz fusion guitarist Frank Gambale. Another project is ‘Passion Revisited’. The attempt will be make music and visual go hand in hand. We want to make television an audio-visual irresistible delight.

What does Bangalore mean to you?
Whenever I achieve, I have to share it with my people in Bangalore. I must know how my City feels on my next feather.