MUMBAI: Urban Live Project, a city-based artist collective that seconds as an artist booking agency, is currently working on developing new live music venues and creating new and interesting content for its digital platform, confirmed founder Laiq Qureshi.
Since its inception in 2011, the Urban Beat Project has a couple of music properties, as well as YouTube web series under its belt. “Last month, we showcased a hip-hop based day-long event called ‘Represent’ which put forth local hip hop talents such as Slum Gods and Mumbai Rap Cypher, along with British acts Uri and Chris Munky (Snareophobe). Last October, Urban Beat Project hosted the first-ever loop festival in India with local talents, Sidd Coutto and Viveick Rajagopalan, along with British acts Mr. Woodnote and Lil Rhys playing different styles of looping including drum loops, phasing and live looping,” stated Qureshi.
This year, with the return of Loopfest, Urban Beat Project will also premiere a few of its new live music properties. This will include a drive-in theatre contest, in association with Anurag Kashyap’s Phantom Films. Urban Beat Project is also working on increasing its online content, which currently includes the series- ‘Microsessions’ featuring multi-track live recordings. Percussion maestro Vikku Vinayakram’s son, Mahesh Vinayakram, has also shot a live video showcasing his Carnatic music skills for Urban Beat Project.
The first new online content- ‘Acoustic Sessions’, will feature international musicians showcasing their talent in a stripped down, acoustic format. The first artist to be featured in the series is electronic soul singer from Montreal called Frase. Along with ‘Acoustic Sessions’, Urban Beat Project is currently developing an online series showcasing Mathias Duplessy, Navin Gandharva and British hang musician duo Hang Massive. It also has artists shooting content from Melbourne and Paris that will be presented on Urban Beat Project’s social media platforms soon. Urban Beat Project is also working on developing a free festival aimed at Tier II and Tier III cities.
The Urban Beat Project is a subsidiary of InRoom Records, an experimental record label that focuses on collaborative attempts.