MAM
British Council’s ‘Mix the City’ makes Mumbai comes alive
MUMBAI: British Council India launched first version of Mix the City India at Mumbai. Curated by British quartet Django Django, the interactive digital platform features original musical renditions from 12 famous musicians from Mumbai recorded at celebrated location across the city.
The app lets users piece together their own soundtrack and music video using the unique sounds of these musicians. Designed by award-winning British start-ups, Mix the City Mumbai combines British digital innovation and contemporary Indian Culture and provides a platform to share the sounds of Mumbai with the world. Sivamani, Louis Banks and Taufiq Qureshi are some of the artistes who are part of this initiative.
Mix the City India will have four versions: Delhi; Kolkata; Mumbai; Chennai. The four versions for India will aim to showcase the diversity of sound, music and cultural influences in each city. Each region will have 12 musicians (48 musicians in all) who will record 24 samples (two loops per musician) that will be compiled into a shareable 4-minute YouTube track that will sit on the main Mix the City website.
British Council OBE director India Alan Gemmell said, “Mix the City Mumbai is a brilliant way to celebrate the UK-India relationship, connect young people in both countries and, inspire the next generation to build the relationship for the next 70 years. Mix the City Mumbai brings 12 incredible Indian musicians to phones and tablets across Britain and India and let’s people create and share their own Mumbai music video! This world-class digital and cultural innovation means that a global audience will be able to see, hear and share the amazing Mumbai music scene and the beauty of the city – making everyone a little bit of a Mumbaikar on their mobile!”
Visit www.mixthecity.com to create your own soundtrack using the sounds of the world.
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
Django Django is a British art rock outfit, based out of London, England. Mohini Dey, the daughter of bass player Sujoy Dey, has been described as prodigy by many acclaimed musicians. Chauss Brass Band, a brass band from Baijapur, Maharashtra, is popular band that plays at marriages.
Ravi Iyer, a guitar mentor, performer and composer, began his musical journey at the age of seven and began his Tabla training under the tutelage of Vasantrao Acharekar.
Sivamani plays many instruments including drums, octoban, darbuka, udukai, and kanjira. Taufiq Qureshi is recognised for his path-breaking and trend-setting work, as a performing artiste and as composer/arranger in the field of world music. Louis Banks is an Indian film composer, record producer, jazz musician-keyboardist and singer.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
