The first few days of the tour were spent in Mumbai, rehearsing and recording with the Babelsberg film orchestra and Hollywood sound engineer Alan Meyerson at Yash Raj Film Studios. The campus is beautiful - manicured lawns, lush greenery and flowers line the edges of the plot and those who need a moment to think can hang out in the Artist's Lounge or sit in the Atrium. I was particularly impressed with the amount of land that had been acquired to house 3 sound stages, an audio wing, a massive film mix theater, and a recording theater that can fit an 80 piece orchestra with an attached monitor room that is twice the size of my apartment. We took a short tour around the campus and there were quite a few moments of "Wait. Where am I?!" The experience was amazing and finally getting to meet Alan was wonderful.
 |
| YRF Studios, Main Building |
 |
| Film Mix Theater |
 |
| Foley Studio |
 |
| The Recording Theater - this is where we met the orchestra for the first time and had our first rehearsal with Matt Dunkley and ARR. This is also where we recorded 'What a Wonderful World' for the Oscars! |
 |
| First rehearsal with Matt, choir, ARR and orchestra |
Alan was so excited to show me the final mix of Lord of the Rings and said such nice things to me about my voice. I was absolutely speechless and listened to him with delight and total bewilderment. The whole time I kept thinking, "Alan Meyerson… Inception… Alan Meyerson… Pirates… Alan Meyerson… Sherlock Holmes… " The best compliment he gave me though was, "It's a voice that crosses the boundaries of style and genre." I don't know if non-musicians would fully comprehend the weight of that statement. Most musicians feel pressure to fit within a category - to define their work and their talent based on other artists and absolute definitions. I've always felt a pressure to conform to these definitions; to try and work towards a particular sound or strive to change my voice to fit within a category. Music teachers, especially in America are at fault here too. "Bigger bigger bigger! Push push push! Darker darker darker!" The problem with this is… my voice will always be my voice. I can improve the support, I can get fit and increase my energy, I can work on breathing and technique… but the actual
sound of my voice, the
timbre will change only a little bit. Alan helped me understand and appreciate the voice I have
because it pulls from various influences yet doesn't conform to any one style or genre. For that, I am grateful.
I enjoy singing everything from Pop, Gospel, Bollywood and Fado, to Musical Theatre and Opera. And if I can do it, why shouldn't I? :)
