B.L.O.T. :: Basic Love Of Things

Touring with The Light Surgeons in a 100 yr old Mumbai Cinema :-)

2012-01-29T20:57:00.000+05:30

EYEMYTH VISUAL MUSIC FESTIVAL / Feb 2012

2012-01-29T20:00:00.001+05:30

EyeMyth is a festival of moving images that visualize and celebrate sound and music. EyeMyth is the only festival of its kind in India looking at the past, present and future of visual music.

Curated from the work of established and emerging film makers, musicians and new media artists from around the world - the programming showcases a diversity of approaches and techniques in the creation of engaging audiovisual content. Pioneering agency OneDotZero is donating an amazing screening for this one, as is acclaimed media curation agency Stash (www.stashmedia.tv).

The Mumbai and Bangalore editions of EyeMyth also feature performances by The Light Surgeons (UK) - audiovisual pioneers that have defined this space for more than a decade, and New Culture Mash-Up - the live cinema project headed by BLOT and Nucleya.

Schedule:

Saturday 04 February 2012 @ The British Council, Delhi (7pm-8:30pm)

Friday 10 February 2012 @ Edward Talkies, Mumbai ft. The Light Surgeons and BLOT!

Saturday 11 February 2012 @ Counter Culture, Bangalore ft. The Light Surgeons and New Culture Mash Up

February 2012 Daily Screenings @ Iron Curtain, Hauz Khas, New Delhi

EyeMyth is supported by :
Levi's
Absolut

Powered by NEC

Partnered by :
The Goethe-Institut
British Council
Dutch DFA
Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council

PROJECTS // Antariksha Sanchar : Interdisciplinary Performance / 04 Feb 2012

2012-01-29T19:52:00.003+05:30

Antariksha Sanchar is a an interdisciplinary performance that interprets the history of flight. This is a journey to the origins of aircrafts in mythology, science and imagination.

Antariksha Sanchar is the closing performance for the UnBox Festival that is supported by pioneering cultural institutions. The venue for the performance is Max Mueller Bhavan, where a bespoke installation by award winning studio Anagram Architects, Cell Dsgn and BLOT will host the performance.

**********************

NOTE: This performance is open to all UnBox registered participants, invited guest and pre-registered guests ** We have a capacity limit, so PLEASE pre-register! :-) **

Please send a request to culture@unboxfestival.com stating the performance you want to attend in the subject with details of names, and a phone number

**********************

Led by Bharatanatyam exponent Guru Jayalakshmi Eshwar from Kalakshetra, the dance choreography assimilates the new media and unusual context of this piece to present a neo-classical production that looks ahead at the future of classical arts in India.

The production brings together pioneering studios from dance, art, music and architecture. This is a hybrid performance at the intersection of classical dance, costume design, cinematic experience, architecture and electronic music. All the participating artists are pioneers in their creative practices in India, and are united in their exploration of new frontiers of collaborative performance.

COLLABORATORS >

- Guru Jayalakshmi Eshwar and Students

- BLOT (Basic Love Of Things)

- Cell Dsgn (11.11. label)

- Sattyananda (Audio Aashram)

- Anagram Architects

- Oroon Das

- MIchal Levy

- Ayaz Basrai

SUPPORTED by >

- Absolut

- Levi's

PARTNERED BY >

- The Goethe-Institut

- The British Council

- Pro Helvetia

- The Dutch DFA

GIGS // Sunburn 2011

2011-12-22T09:54:00.000+05:30

So we were asked by the folks at the Sunburn Festival in Goa to curate an evening at the experimental stage. The line up features our invited guest Astronivo from Israel, and also smashing Indian acts - Kohra and Vinayaka.

GIGS // BLOT @ The Zoo / 02 Dec 2011

2011-11-28T11:43:00.001+05:30

PROJECTS // UnBox Festival 2012 Beta Communication Tests

2011-11-25T23:14:00.001+05:30

GIGS // New Culture Mash Up Family Guy Special @ Shroom!

2011-11-25T23:05:00.001+05:30

So we are hooking up with the crazy Nucleya for a live cinema evening cutting up Family Guy. Woo Hoo.

PROJECTS // BLOT + RBMA Lightwriting Trials

2011-11-25T23:00:00.001+05:30

So we were working with the progressive folks at RBMA India to evolve a platform for the celebration of the festival of Diwali in contemporary ways. These images are from some trials we did with some lightwriting last week. More from the project and and evening full of projects coming soon. We developed some really basic light writing tools with LEDs and found objects (thanks Patrick from Australia) and looks like this needs a whole lot more preparation to do anything complex. The skills needed are diverse and the preparation can be possible intense. More soon for sure. Step 1 has been Fun!

Also thanks to Kriti from Turmeric Design for coming by and contributing!

Ummm...pondi anyone?

2011-11-12T10:44:00.001+05:30

Just fooling around trying to reconfigure porn as family friendly aesthetics. Instead of traditional blurring, black banding or pixellation, one could look at more creative ways of censorship on the internet and TV.

PIXELS // Recent Gigs 02

2011-09-05T17:15:00.000+05:30

PIXELS // Recent Gigs 01

2011-09-05T17:03:00.000+05:30

GREY GARDEN // Aperitivo 02

2011-09-05T16:57:00.000+05:30

GIGS // BLOT @ Kyoorius Design Yatra 2011

2011-09-05T16:55:00.000+05:30

The guys from the studio are busy making some stop motion loops for us for the gig on the 10th at the Design Yatra. More details soon.

PROJECTS // Little Known Heroes

2011-08-18T23:36:00.001+05:30

Ok so time to get introduced to our newest project with toys. Chris and team have been working with us to develop a new line of toys that fuse approaches to vinyl characters with Indian crafts. The first outcome of this experiment is the line of 'Little Know Heroes'. The idea with the toys line is to kickstart a new direction in our collective work, dabbling in producing and selling our own things. Its complicated, a lot of hard work and can be expensive :-) But its worth it. Look out for more over the course of this year. Take a look at the first prototypes right here >>

ARTWORK // M.I.A.03

2011-08-11T09:58:00.000+05:30

I tried making a very complex flower this evening, but ran out of time, and have to start the new one, so here is just the stalk of the flower in sublime greens and liquid yellow highlights.

ARTWORK // M.I.A.02

2011-08-09T23:03:00.001+05:30

ARTWORK // M.I.A.01

2011-08-08T21:37:00.001+05:30

GIGS // MJ Re-Interpreted / BLOT @ TLR, Delhi / 13 August 2011

2011-08-06T18:45:00.001+05:30

PRESS // The Grey Garden featured on CNN GO Mumbai

2011-07-27T09:45:00.001+05:30

PRESS // Greenhouse featured on CNN GO

2011-07-27T09:43:00.002+05:30

GREENHOUSE // Eternal Sunshine of the Blotless Mind

2011-07-25T00:26:00.000+05:30

So we did a live remix of the classic Gondry film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless MInd. It was our first time trying this and in typical BLOT style there were no rehearsals, but it was fun! and a whole new direction for our performances. Here are some random pictures >>

GIGS // BLOT @ One Boulevard, Delhi // 23 July 2011

2011-07-15T01:45:00.000+05:30

In a glass box this venue is supposedly.

BLOT @ TLR // 4th Anniversary // Superhero Saturday

2011-06-22T17:48:00.000+05:30

Superhero Saturday is back at TLR !

Join us for BLOT's fourth anniversary gig
featuring our new(ish) av set - Dnb, Dubstep and everything in between + larger than life projections and audio video sampling.

Wear a cape, costume, mask or a belt!

3 Best costumes / most promising superheroes and will win a BLOT! Goodie Bag ( Huge ass poster, Stickers, Special Preview Of the BLOT! DVD Album, postcards and Kryptonite)

Click HERE for information

ARTWORK // Reconfigured Vintage AV Manuals

2011-06-17T13:28:00.000+05:30

Just putting together some photocollages from vintage manuals of AV equipment for the BLOT DVD package

GREENHOUSE // I * Greenhouse Interdisciplinary Lab 01

2011-05-20T09:32:00.002+05:30

Aloha

'I * Greenhouse' is a laboratory concept that pushes interdisciplinary collaboration.

Thru May 22-29, Greenhouse is going to be used as an open space, a studio, a playground and laboratory to create.
Taking charge of Greenhouse this week are artists and designers from the studios of Quicksand, CoDesign, BLOT, BlindBoys, Studio Miscellania and Anagram Architects. They will pursue individual projects, collective explorations and mini-projects with a view of creating a sustainable future for Greenhouse.

Each evening, guests are welcome to come snooping around, talk to the artists, explore connections with the curators of Greenhouse, propose artistic projects, or just hang around and listen / watch to some of the more exciting artists and performers on the Indian scene today, including BLOT, Nucleya, Kohra and more (surprise surprise)

The culmination of this weeks work will be a weekend of performances, a pop-up store and the official launch of the 'Smoothie Criminal' Cantina (and the launch of the Greenhouse website)

for more info : mail avinash@quicksand.co.in

More info on projects as it develops.

GREENHOUSE // + BLOT Featured in Wallpaper Magazine Website

2011-05-19T01:34:00.000+05:30

GREENHOUSE // Mini Makers Market / May 21-22, 2011

2011-05-17T13:59:00.000+05:30

Yoohoo. We are having a mini market this weekend at Greenhouse, and are inviting independents and collectives to set up shop. Smoothie Criminal - Greenhouse's fruit cantina will be operational again, and some very cool musicians will be playing every evening (BLOT, Kohra, Nucleya, LensKap). Thanks Mohor for the quick poster design.

GIGS // BLOT's 'Superhero Saturday' AV Performance @ The Living Room

2011-05-17T11:40:00.000+05:30

GIGS // Parallel Dimensions Session 07

2011-05-17T11:38:00.001+05:30

GREY GARDEN // featured in Elle Magazine

2011-05-09T14:04:00.001+05:30

Thanks Nattie for the nice piece on us and Grey Garden in Elle Magazine this May 2011 >>

GREENHOUSE // Featured in Time Magazine!

2011-05-09T09:23:00.000+05:30

So Greenhouse got a tiny feature in the recent global print edition of Time Magazine. Thanks Deepa for the tip-off and John for the article.

BLOT // On a Poster on the street (finally :-)

2011-04-22T15:03:00.000+05:30

So we finally got our name on a poster on a street in Europe. Talk about tiny feats :-) Its a bit surreal as always, however small the typesize is ha ha.

GREENHOUSE // 'Your Flyer Here' Work in Progress

2011-04-21T23:24:00.000+05:30

Pictures from the setting up of the Music Flyer exhibition at Greenhouse, on the night we left for Geneva. Dahiya, Mohor and gang were there to help out, cutting, sticking and burning the midnight oil. The Final exhibition should be up in a couple of days!

PRESS // BLOT's partner festival Salon Der Alchemisten featured in German Press

2011-04-21T22:16:00.000+05:30

GREENHOUSE // 'Your Flyer Here' - Exhibition on the Indian Music Flyer

2011-04-21T22:04:00.000+05:30

The Indian Music Flyer reflects and defines emerging cultures of music, art, design, communication and activism. 'Your Flyer Here' is an exhibition that presents work-in-progress of a project titled 'Fly On The Wall' - that documents the brief history of this fascinating artifact - as told by the contributions, thoughts and work of Indian music and art crews. Curated by BLOT for Greenhouse.

Pictures from the exhibition coming sooooon.

GIGS // BLOT @ Electron Festival 2011 in Geneva

2011-04-21T21:50:00.000+05:30

So we in Geneva this week for a couple of gigs and an electronic music panel at The Electron Festival - Switzerland's leading festival of electronic cultures. We are living in a studio apartment on the canal, and we are sharing line-up space with one of our music influences Format B on the 22nd April at the awesome Zoo/L'usine venue. Looking forward to tomorrow night when its crunch time and the gig is on. Post which we get to see Diplo, Luke Vibert, Cut Chemist, Mode Selektor and a whole bunch of amazing acts. Lots to learn and lots to be inspired by for further misadventures. Also been shooting some really random video which will hopefully make its way into the public consciousness soon.

REVIEWS // Grey Garden reviewed by our first customer on Trip Advisor

2011-04-09T13:27:00.000+05:30

what a lovely eccentric review by our first customer - an old french man who came in and sat down while we were still wondering what to do after our first chefs decided they dont want to come starting the first day - classic Indian tale this one is. >> (the old lady mentioned in the end is Himanshu's mom)

PRESS // A New Garden in the Village by Nalis / India Tube

2011-04-08T17:59:00.000+05:30

PRESS // in pune and delhi

2011-04-08T17:39:00.000+05:30

GIGS // Parallel Dimensions Session 06

2011-03-22T13:32:00.000+05:30

So we began trying out some new directions for the installations we make since I was getting kind of bored of the previous set ups. The idea is to build small modular video projection systems, so that one doesn't have to build set ups from scratch all the time, and save some money in the process too. The set up here involves a bunch of circular screens that can be screwed together for several arrangements, and also a bunch of tensile, somewhat phallic forms that handle the projections quite well. Better pictures and video coming soon hopefully.

GREENHOUSE // Disposable Film Festival

2011-03-22T13:15:00.000+05:30

All this week, we are having screenings of the fabulous Disposable Film Festival, curated from the US, at the Greenhouse. 7pm onwards Monday thru Saturday. Greenhouse > Hauz Khas Village.

GREY GARDEN // Supper Club 01 / Tale of the Extra-Large Aprons

2011-03-22T13:10:00.000+05:30

We had our first Supper Club at The Grey Garden last weekend. 10 guests, 10 over sized aprons hanging from the ceiling, Mia taking the lead on the 6 course meal. Take a look. More Supper Club concepts coming soon.

PROJECTS // The Grey Garden is up and running

2011-03-14T11:00:00.000+05:30

In typical Indian chaotic style, its launch day and the darn cooks decide they don't want to come anymore, so we did some rapid disaster management and have been taking care of the place ourselves. Its a blessing in disguise, though super tiring, but amazing to be with friends, cook, serve, plan..the place is inspiring and fun, and a little community right now, discovering together what it takes to take care of a little restaurant. The interiors are the brainchild of Cell Design and Mia Morikawa, with small additions by Thiruda. The food is a joint effort of several people, notably, Mia, Thiruda, Arya, Dennis, Rikta, Kassia and Usha Aunty (for her lovely cakes). Swing by sometime and check out another example of what happens when worlds collide.

MEDIA // BLOT featured on the Guardian UK Website

2011-03-11T09:40:00.001+05:30

Thanks to our dear friends at ThirdEar.dk, we got featured on the Guardian UK website!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/video/2011/mar/09/artists-delhi-blot

GIGS // Looking back on the UnBOX Festival Weekend

2011-03-11T09:36:00.000+05:30

Finally getting some time to look at what happened during the UnBOX weekend, so here is the first set of content from there - the flyers! >> gives you a fair idea of what we were trying to do - bring medium, disciplines and people together for one ray packed weekend. The day started in the mornings with the UnBOX Design Conference, which comprised of a conference and several workshops everyday. Follow this up with the Beat Repeat literature and rich media evening, or the EyeMyth Visual Music Film Festival, followed by the Salon Der Alchemisten experimental music, creation and food space, and finish the night dancing at the TechnoDrome festival! I think we all almost died making this happen between our collectives - Quicksand, CoDesign, BLOT, BlindBoys and Qilla Records. More coming soon! >>

Artwork// Sagmeister Singh with Thiruda in tow

2011-03-10T02:04:00.000+05:30

Funny Feral recorded glitch on her system. Her artwork is called Dear Dr. Cohen. Thiruda trying an interpretation of the glitch in photoshop.

GIGS // BLOT @ Pebbles (Bangalore) / 20th Feb 2011

2011-02-10T08:56:00.000+05:30

Greenhouse // Practice Sessions for the Guitar Quartet

2011-02-02T07:24:00.000+05:30

The New Delhi Guitar Quartet is using the Greenhouse as a practice space every wednesday as they prepare for a new season of performances. Led by Shyamant Behal, the Quartet is the only one of its kind in Delhi, and we wish them the best.

Greenhouse // Whats Your Type / Pictures

2011-02-02T07:09:00.001+05:30

Check out pictures from the 'Whats Your Type' Experimental Typography Workshop facilitated by Kriti from Turmeric Design. Awesome.

GREENHOUSE // Yoga in the Nights

2011-02-02T06:52:00.001+05:30

Friend and ex-studio mate Tara Goswami is taking Yoga Classes at our space - the GreenHouse. Nice one huh?

TRAVEL // Goin to Geneva to the Electron Festival

2011-02-02T06:48:00.000+05:30

We got selected to play at the amazing Electron Festival in Geneva in April 2011!
From there we go to Brussels to see the Cimatics Festival, and then to Sweden or Berlin for a weekend gig. Then back :-( Oh and BLOT and Nucleya are going together, so we might perform as New Culture Mash Up too!

Projects // Festival Time

2011-02-02T06:43:00.000+05:30

Its that time of the year again when we become a wee bit superhuman and try and pull off 5 festivals on the same weekend. Sounds a bit foolhardy, but its an essential part of the direction we see ourselves going towards. The central idea behind this festival weekend is to create an experience that is multi-disciplinary and pushes people to make connections between diverse content, contexts, mediums and cultures. While each of the events is fairly multi-disciplinary itself, it is the intersection of each of these with each other that starts making things go wonky and cool. Check it out and spread the word!

You can click through to the UNBOX FESTIVAL

You can click through to the BEAT-REPEAT FESTIVAL

You can click through to the SALON DER ALCHEMISTEN

You can click through to the TECHNODROME FESTIVAL

PIXELS // Family Picture

2011-01-14T11:56:00.000+05:30

So almost everyone was there at the BOX Studio the other day so we had a family picture. BOX is a network of collectives that includes BLOT, Quicksand, CoDesign, BlindBoys, FattaBox and GreenHouse for now, and hopefully a few more in the future. The idea is to work together to build new partnerships and cross-disciplinary collaborations.

PROJECTS // The Grey Garden (coming very soon)

2011-01-10T19:44:00.000+05:30

So take the first look at our new project. Its a space / bar / concept restaurant called 'The Grey Garden' (inspired by the film Grey Gardens). The space is located within the store and studio of Cell Dsgn, designers of the fashion brand 11.11 - one of India's nicest testaments to contemporary global fashion. 11.11 and BLOT are coming together to create a tiny little concept restaurant in Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi, and you will have to watch this space for more. Take a look at some pictures from the development of this space, from the starting identity concept, to the breaking down of the earlier space, and new construction. Super exciting adventure. We have been cooking too!

PROJECTS // Parallel Dimensions

2011-01-10T19:30:00.000+05:30

Just came across a bunch of old pictures from the earlier Parallel Dimensions gigs. Parallel Dimensions is a project featuring Thiruda (BLOT), Sattyananda (Audio Aashram) and Jayalakshmi Eshwar (Abhinayaa School of Dance) >>

BLOT // Puma Creative Factory

2011-01-10T19:25:00.000+05:30

BLOT was part of the Puma Creative Factory programme recently and we got our own customized shoes :-) These are the ones Gaurav and Funny Feral got for themselves >

RANDOM // 'Love' on the floor

2011-01-10T19:21:00.000+05:30

LensKap took a picture of the floor in our new studio FattaBox in Hauz Khas Village, Delhi, and what serendipity that it says 'Love' in the Basic Love Of Things studio > only in India :-) !!

GreenHouse // 'BlindGirls' Photo Exhibition

2011-01-10T19:13:00.001+05:30

Blind Girls: A diverse showcase of photography from Asian women photographers doing photojournalism, documentaries, and visual story-telling, alongside the work of emerging women photographers living in Delhi

Blindboys.org brings you the "Asian Women Photographers Showcase 2010," a slideshow exhibition curated by Yumi Goto. The evening will include a presentation of the showcase, alongside an informal exhibition of the work of other women photographers living in New Delhi. We also invite other female photographers to bring their own prints to share on a collage wall at The Greenhouse.* The event will end with refreshments and a lively discussion. See you there!

Date: 6pm-close, Saturday, January 22nd, with the exhibition & collage open to the public through January 29th.

GreenHouse // Make-A-Thon 02 > ' Whats Your Type?'

2011-01-10T19:10:00.000+05:30

"Words have meaning and typography has feeling. When you put them together, it's spectacular!" - Paula Scher

Turmeric Design and The Greenhouse are collectively bringing you our second Make-a-thon, "What's Your Type?", an event for anyone interested in playing with lettering and typography! This event is open to all and will take place at The Greenhouse next Saturday & Sunday, January 15th-16th.

The Plan:

1. Pick your words/phrase/lyrics/etc. before you come

2. Find/make type (out of anything at all - magazines, newspapers, leaves, sticks, crayons, paint, ink, etc.!)

3. Play!

4. Display

GreenHouse // 'Personal Poetic Cinema' Workshop

2011-01-10T18:58:00.003+05:30

'Personal Poetic Cinema' is a short, intensive workshop that will push students to stretch and expand beyond the ways film has traditionally been used in the industry, and instead, explore various definitions of the medium as it is used by artists. It's 'personal' because participants will tell their own stories and share their own ideas, and 'poetic' because the images used will be metaphorical, not literal visuals translating words or depicting an action. The teaching method involves showing many examples from the avant-garde experimental works of the 1960-70s (Maya Deren, Stan Brakhage, Robert Beavers, Nathaniel Dorksy) and the resurgence of that style in the recent years (esp. in California) and will involve two to three hands-on assignments. All of the students will complete one film by the end of the workshop, which will be shared in a special screening at the greenhouse after the workshop is completed.

We will talk about the process of visual imagining, the process of editing images, and hold informal critiques to look at everybody's work-in-progress/final works. Workshops will be held in three-hour sessions over four weekends, January 30th - February 20th. Students should have access to and be able to use a basic video camera and a basic non-linear editing system (iMovies, Premier Pro or Final Cut Pro). Students will be expected to shoot footage on their own time.

This workshop is led by Sandhya Kumar, an independent artist who works in film, video and photography. Rooted in non-fiction, her documentary and experimental short films are informed by a desire to make visible the poetry of everyday life. Stories of people and places, desires and memories, are often told through spaces in landscape and architecture. More about Sandhya and her work are at http://sandhyakumar.com/

To register for this workshop, e-mail kassia@quicksand.co.in no later than January 24th. Cost of the workshop is Rs. 2400.

Greenhouse // 'I Heart Small Books' Make-A-Thon

2011-01-10T18:50:00.000+05:30

So things are officially nicely underway at our new place 'GreenHouse'. Take a look at this video and images from the super-intimate and wonderful event we had called 'I Heart Small Books' - which invited people to make small books and get them to GreenHouse for a mini-exhibition. I was really surprised pleasantly to see the enthusiasm that people had to undertake something like this. Its a great sign and restores faith in peoples' needs to enjoy simple things that are more in tune with childhood. Watch this space for more make-a-thons coming up soon!

Make-a-thon // 1 : I ♥ Small Books from The Greenhouse on Vimeo.

GIG VIDEOS // BLOT @ Sunburn 2010

2011-01-10T18:41:00.000+05:30

So we were asked to curate and perform on the experimental stage at the Sunburn Festival in Goa in late December 2010. MoCity (Reggae Rajahs) was nice enough to shoot and post a little video from the night, since we couldn't between food poisoning and little sleep.

What did I think of Sunburn ? lets just say it was nice in a people watching, ethnographic sort of way, and pretty irrelevant for me in terms of the musical programming. I wish they had paid the 'experimental' stage and the artists on it some more respect by investing a bit more on the infrastructure, since it just looked like a bad experiment ;-) But we had fun nevertheless like we always do, whether its in the inspiring, the bizarre or the faintly surreal.

Projects // BLOT exhibiting at DesignXDesign Exhibition

2010-12-15T13:01:00.000+05:30

BLOT is exhibiting some work at the DesignXDesign Exhibition in New Delhi next week. "The exhibition component of Design X Design involves showcasing the work of Delhi based designers once a year to facilitate a reading of the emerging trends across various design based creative industries in the city."

GIGS// Parallel Dimensions Session 04

2010-12-15T10:25:00.000+05:30

Back this winter for our 4th session together >> @ The Lalit Hotel, New Delhi >> Pyschedelic Downtempo Music and a really awesome visual installation by Sattyananda (Audio Aashram) and Thiruda (BLOT).

PIXELS // Multiverse Photo

2010-12-05T11:21:00.000+05:30

This is the group photo from the 'Awakening' project we did last month (BLOT, Quicksand, Audio Aashram, Jayalakshmi Eshwar, Quick Brown Fox, Lalit Hotels) So many worlds coming together for one creative journey is the future for all of us.

Greenhouse // Let the Scaffolding begin

2010-12-05T11:16:00.000+05:30

Man this blog is becoming ancient :-) Not that work has not been happening... in fact a bit too much has been happening on all ends and the blog is suffering.anyways here is hoping for a rescue mission soon. Work has begun finally on Greenhouse..paint job, electrical connections, furniture..all from our funding from the Goethe-Institut, New Delhi, who have been fantastically progressive in assisting this project.

More soon, and the first events at Greenhouse include a 'Make-A-Thon' on making small books, and a sharing session with a German-Israeli electronic music duo, and the exterior of Greenhouse being painted by German graffiti artist Jonas.

VIDEOS // BLOT @ TED X Bangalore

2010-11-26T11:53:00.001+05:30

This is a video we made for a talk we gave in TED X @ TISB, Bangalore. The theme for this TED X was 'The Butterfly Effect', and since the audience was mostly young adults, we decided to go a 'bit' lateral..trying to communicate how we pick up inspiration for our work from a variety of sources...that a basic appreciation for the world around us can be the metaphoric 'flap' of a butterfly's wings for our own lives. Well, anyways pardon the spiel..take a look yourself!

FYI: this film was made by Thiruda in a hotel room in Kolkatta over 8 hours, and uploaded to Gaurav in Bangalore from an internet cafe in a small village in Sikkim over 6 hours a night before the conference, and a whole lot of drama in between :-) but it went down well with the kids, and here is a reaction to our film and work >>

"It really meant a lot to us that you would take the time to come all the way here, not charging us and everything, and making that video (which was amazing by the way, in the opinion of all of us). Just to tell you what people said afterwards- Tushar, who was the video guy who I think said hi afterwards, was absolutely IN LOVE with that video. It really was the flap of the butterfly's wings for him. Janhvi, said your video was her favorite part of the whole thing. Emma, the press girl, said, very dramatically, she had tears in here eyes during your video- she actually said that- because she said she really could relate to the idea of the space between strangers at the end. Yeah, it did come off as experimental, but it wasn't esoteric in the incomprehensible sense."

PROJECTS // "The Awakening" + Parallel Dimensions

2010-11-26T11:30:00.001+05:30

So its been forever since we have updated the blog..just been too darn busy and on the road and too many things happening!

But anyways here is a start again with some pictures from the fantastic experience we had on the 19th November at the Lalit Hotel in Bangalore putting together an evening that included 2 performances and 3 video installations.

The highlight of the night was "The Awakening" - an interdisciplinary production that intersected the classical Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam, psychedelic chill music, carnatic music and live visuals, and some very nice lighting too. We developed the production from the ground up, from the script and concept to music recordings and production. Here are some pictures from the night, and there is more coming soon! >>

FRIENDS // BLOW UP Delhi Call for Entries!!

2010-10-05T13:06:00.002+05:30

Poster for the BlowUp Delhi Call for Entries (October 2010)

So the games are finally on, and all of us have different feelings for them. Maybe a good time to come together and share photographs around sport in Delhi and our great country?..broken sport complexes?...dusty playground with no grass? the whole city sanitised to look good for tourists? Anything which you think shows what you feel about the CWG!

We're planning a BLOWUP in the coming weeks, post cards, posters + streets of delhi. So don't be lazy - COME OUT AND PLAY! Blow Up Delhi is being figured out in collaboration with Greenhouse - our new cultural space in Delhi co-created by a whole bunch of collectives including BLOT, Quicksand and BlindBoys themselves.

Entries to be sent to theblindboys@gmail.com and please send in details of yourself as well.

FAQs:

1. What is a BlowUp?
> BlowUp is a street photography exhibition that brings exceptional photography to everyday people in everyday places (see review here >> http://mumbaiboss.com/2010/05/11/have-photos-want-space/)
Blow Ups have taken place in several cities around the world last year.

2. What is BlindBoys?
> BlindBoys is a photo-commune (what is that? check the site to know >> http://blindboys.org/)

3. Are there are rules or specifications for submissions?
> Read the first paragraph above
> inform the blindboys team of your intention to participate, so that we can all plan the locations and map out the experience

4. Who does the printing / who does the pasting?
> You do the printing (unless we get sponsored next week)
> You do the pasting (unless you can find some friends / or say please)

5. Any room for volunteers?
> Of course :-) meet us at 11am on 10th October in Hauz Khas Village at the entrance to Deer Park (call avinash on 9818955338 to co-ordinate)

6. Is there is cash prize?
> You think?
> But there is awesomeness >> check the previous BlowUp's on www.blindboys.org

PROJECTS // Antariksha Sanchar Dance Performance

2010-09-29T08:12:00.002+05:30

These are the highlights from the Bharatanatyam dance performance we are doing a collaboration with for its next episode. Were supposed to be a part of this one at Kamani Auditorium in September, but were stuck in Berlin. Bangalore and Mumbai are the next stops for this show, and we hope to travel abroad with it someday soon.

Antariksha Sanchar is a thematic dance ensemble presented by Jayalakshmi Eshwar with her disciples along with the disciples of Shashadhar Acharya (Chhau). It is an enchanting and enlightening performance on the evolution of flight and aircrafts. Using advanced music and stage settings, the performance borrows from ancient Sanskrit and Tamil literature to present a nuanced story of the celestial beings and flying machines of yore.

PRESS // CoDesign Studio in Platform Magazine

2010-09-24T10:28:00.001+05:30

Our sister (or brother) studio 'CoDesign' got featured in an issue on emerging studios in India in the recent issue of Platform Magazine. Headed by Rajesh and Mohor Dahiya, CoDesign is one of the leading communication and interaction design studios in the country. Read more in the article, and check their website www.codesign.in for more. CoDesign is also partners with Quicksand and BLOT to form the BOX Collective based out of New Delhi.

PRESS // TechnoDrome Festival in Time-Out Delhi

2010-09-24T10:20:00.000+05:30

We got a generous helping of press for the Mocha ArtHouse TechnoDrome Festival in the September edition of Time-Out Delhi. Vandana Verma was the writer responsible for this feature and she did a sweet job. Thanks VV.

GIG VIDEOS // Berlin Music Week Clubnacht, Tresor, Berlin

2010-09-23T20:34:00.001+05:30

So we got to play an early morning set at Tresor Berlin on Clubnacht (almost 50 clubs in Berlin through open their doors for a city wide party all for a 12 Euro band). The set was to start at 6am (!) and end at 9am Sunday morning..turns out we were the last on the line up, and the people kept pouring in (and not leaving), so we ended up playing a 5 hour set till 11 am! They got a new sound system and a nice projection set up as always, so it was quite fun, though terrifyingly tiring considering we had not slept in 2 nights! Check out the video >>

REVIEWS // BLOT on Motor FM Germany

2010-09-22T17:12:00.000+05:30

We also got an interview on air, hopefully we will find a copy of that somewhere! Thanks Markus (Motor FM) for an inspirational tour of the studio and the interview!

REVIEWS // New Culture Mash Up Review by LoveStruckCow

2010-09-22T16:45:00.000+05:30

Thiruda from lovestruckcow on Vimeo.

LoveStruckCow (http://lovestruckcow.blogspot.com) posted a video from our new project 'New Culture Mash Up' recently as part of the Mocha ArtHouse TechnoDrome Festival. Check it out! its fun :-)

And here are some excerpts from her review of the evening >> (thanks!)

"A couple of days ago Rin and I landed up at a free show of audio-visuals and music. Upon reaching, got super excited to see the set up: An empty gallery with 2 projectors playing videos submitted for the 'EyeMyth' film festival. The set up reminded of a formal dance night at the school auditorium which we never had. Amazing music, crazy visuals and an excited audience. The event was organized by mocha Arthouse and B.L.O.T. with its founding partner Thiruda (it has to be the best name ever) arranging for the music and visuals"

PRESS // EyeMyth Film Festival on CNN GO Mumbai

2010-09-22T16:11:00.001+05:30

PROJECTS // Art Workshop with Puma India

2010-09-22T14:27:00.000+05:30

Funny Feral shows off

Feral's Transfer Technique makes for a cool shoe

Puma India brought us in for a cool art and design workshop last month - to play around with their new DIY shoe system, and also to fool around with some blank sneakers. Here is a super cool experiment that Funny Feral tried out with printouts and a transfer technique using a paint fixer.

PROJECTS // To the Toy Factory We Go

2010-09-22T13:50:00.002+05:30

So we started off work on our line of Tin Toys couple of weeks back. I went back to previous avatar of being a toy designer, and visited an old company where I used to work almost a decade back! Back then it was small set up exporting toys to Europe - handmade, vintage reproductions. These are my favourite toy category as a designer, and it was nice to see some designs I made as a 20 year old still being produced and sent to strange corners of the world :-) The amazing thing is that I found a toy I had designed on sale in Hamburg in a speciality store we were visiting last week. Here are some pictures from the factory. We hope our own toys will be ready in 3 months before our visit to the International Toy Fair in Nurnberg, Germany Feb 2011.

TRAVEL // A Sunday in Berlin

2010-09-21T22:00:00.004+05:30

Trip to the Boxhagener Platz Flea Market was amazing...look at the table full of stuff (junk for some) I busted my money on :-) Got a crazy lamp from the 1930s, and some shoe lasts from the 1920s. Rounded it up with cupcakes for Julia, Arne and Lile (see picture) - our lovely hosts in Berlin (almost every time now!)

PIXELS // New Culture MashUp @ The TechnoDrome Festival

2010-09-21T21:42:00.004+05:30

Check out these pictures from our new project with Nucleya (www.myspace.com/nucleya) - its called The New Culture Mash-Up and its a crazy journey through popular culture as an AV mash-up with Dubstep, Drum n Bass, and much more! My first experience of an audience laughing, dancing and watching cinema all at once for 90 min straight. At the Goethe-Institut New Delhi. The performance was preceded by a screening of the EyeMyth Visual Music Film Festival - also a part of TechnoDrome (this is a screening of about 17 experimental visual music films from around the world) Look out for more!

PIXELS // Parallel Dimensions 03 at TechnoDrome Festival

2010-09-21T21:38:00.002+05:30

Some pictures from the recently concluded Parallel Dimensions gig at the Lodi, Delhi, featuring Sattyananda (Audio Aashram) and Thiruda (BLOT). This was the third installment of this psybient, outdoor project, and part of the Mocha ArtHouse TechnoDrome Festival that we curate as BLOT. Rain played havoc almost so the set up was a challenge (finally the task was to fit 2 performers, the sound system, 2 projectors and screens and consoles inside one small tent :-) Thanks Akshita for the pictures!

BLOT // Berlin Music Week in a few pictures

2010-09-21T21:19:00.005+05:30

Pictures from our recent trip to Berlin Music Week as part of a 10 member delegation representing electronic music in India, Bangladesh and Iran, thanks to the super awesome wonderful Goethe-Institut New Delhi. (thanks ma faiza for lending us the wonderful panoramic camera)

BLOT// Berlin Buffoons

2010-09-21T21:12:00.002+05:30

G-Star has a twin, who fortunately is as much (or more) of a hypochondriac (to be), and ironically goes by the name Dualist Inquiry (check out his music on www.myspace.com/dualistinquiry)

BLOT // G-Star meets his match

2010-09-21T20:55:00.002+05:30

Just another funny evening during Berlin Music Week with the Indian gang walking around the train stations getting lost.

GIGS // Sakog, Salzburg with T. Raumschmiere

2010-09-21T20:30:00.005+05:30

So I found myself one nippy evening with Funny Feral in a small village 40km from Salzburg, Austria, close to the German border, in a old coal mine complex which is now the uber cool Sakog.net, doing visuals for the (insane) German musician T. Raumschmiere - a crazy mix of punk rock, electronica, technology and whisky :-) superb, unpredictable set that really had me playing catch up on the visuals. I passed the test I think :-) We are thinking of doing a small project next time in Berlin, and trying to maybe get him to India next year for a collab. Here are some pictures from the night and will try and put videos sometime too..this guy was crazy :-)

And here are some nice panoramic pictures from the gig itself >>

ARTWORK// Make Art For Food

2010-09-04T20:43:00.000+05:30

GIGS // Kohra @ Stone Water Grill / TechnoDrome Festival

2010-09-01T21:29:00.001+05:30

GIGS // Shutter @ TechnoDrome Festival

2010-09-01T18:52:00.002+05:30

TECHNODROME // TechnoDrome 02 Posters

2010-08-25T23:29:00.003+05:30

Artworks / Posters from the 2nd edition of the TechnoDrome Festival, made by Thiruda (BLOT).

ArtHouse // Past Exhibitions

2010-08-22T08:23:00.003+05:30

ARTWORK // Parallel Dimensions 03 Work In Progress

2010-08-22T00:04:00.004+05:30

Trying out some new stuff for the TechoDrome Festival coming up later this month. These are screengrabs from the details as its all coming slowly. Lets see how it all changes when I settle on something final. This is going to be the flyer / poster for Parallel Dimensions - a project between Thiruda (BLOT) and Sattyananda (Audio Aashram)

GIGS // Expression Experiments v2

2010-08-11T19:08:00.002+05:30

GIGS // Sound Tamasha Compilation Release Party in Berlin / Sep 2010

2010-08-04T16:58:00.004+05:30

Looks like we are going to be playing in Berlin again! > this time at the Sound Tamasha Compilation Release Party @ Sage Club. The compilation is a splendid effort by the Culture Must guys and their teams in India and Berlin to present the sounds of their project since the past 2 years. Its brings together Indian and German producers and DJs that have been a part of the Sound Tamasha gatherings / parties in India. With support from the Max Mueller Bhavan (Goethe Institute), this is a great example of the intersections of culture, commerce and knowledge transfer. Big Up! (oh and we got a track on the compilation too! :-)

GIGS // BLOT @ Stone Water Grill, Pune // 8 Aug 2010

2010-08-04T10:57:00.003+05:30

ArtWORK // Balcony

2010-07-31T09:44:00.001+05:30

BLOT // just another night at the disco

2010-07-31T04:08:00.002+05:30

2 power cuts and several cop screw ups.

BLOT // Why Avi is being productive right now.

2010-07-22T23:29:00.002+05:30

Because our new studio is in the middle of tons of green and facing a lake thats why. Its pretty surreal when you see it on Google Earth, and can see the scale of the green, and how its completely at odds with the urban experience all around it >>

GIGS // BLOT @ THE LOVE HOTEL / 30 July 2010

2010-07-21T16:25:00.002+05:30

We are playing in Delhi finally! Its been a long hiatus...too much travel and too few places in Delhi that are alright as always..been a bit obsessed with the new style so the invite follows in the same scheme - trying to remix elements from last weeks artworks.>>

GIG VIDEOS // BLOT @ Bacardi Blast / December 2009

2010-07-18T22:22:00.002+05:30

Yup this is becoming a blast from the past...Gaurav is suddenly trying to turn over a new leaf and in the desperation of not being broke uploading real content online and making us more organized. In the absence of the Life Manager we sorely need, we must do all this or its the streets. Check out me making Gaurav look like a superstar at Bacardi Blast Goa in late 2009. Now thats a mean and juicy set up!

GIG VIDEOS // BLOT @ Fuga, Bangalore

2010-07-18T22:20:00.002+05:30

Pulled this one out of the lost archives in an old car in the garage (almost)