Express News Service
BENGALURU: Imagine this — you are the biggest fan of a music star. You have access to not only experience his music but also know his creative work beyond the songs he makes. It’s almost like getting a hold of the artistes’ notepad where he penned down the original lyrics of the song for the first time, perhaps a demo recording of a hit number, an artwork he sketched in between…all sorts of exclusive works in the digital form from his projects. Sounds amazing, right?
This is exactly how NFT (non-fungible tokens) works — an individual can invest and own an exclusive piece of art in any form, including audio, video, pictures and sketches in a virtual avatar. Swarathma, a Bengaluru-based indie-folk rock band, is foraying into NFTs for the first time. For a band, just like many others who felt the pangs of the pandemic and only wanted to get the better of it, set their foot into NFTs with very little understanding of the blockchain model.
The band is now opening their debut collection in association with NFT platform Fantico. The curated collection includes exclusive experiences and collectibles from the band’s 20-year creative journey. The debut collection features rare demo recordings of their best-known songs, animated versions of their acclaimed artworks, merchandise and even live experiences.
Jishnu Dasgupta, bassist and artiste manager, believes that one of the reasons to venture into NFT is because the band was excited by the opportunities of the new technology. “We started talking about entering the blockchain five months ago and just like everyone else, we were uninitiated about NFTs and it’s uses. In fact, I refused to understand the blockchain,” he says.
“However, the pandemic gave us time to understand this new space which can reap benefits. The reason we are offering these collectibles is because we want our fans to have a lasting memory of the experience of Swarathma,” adds Dasgupta.
Some of their works on NFT will include Beta Sweater Pehno’s demo recording, Mushkil Mein Jeena’s artwork creation timelapse, Pyaasi music video’s inspiration story and their Dus Minute Aur collection called Sleep With Swarathma.
Interestingly, Mushkil Mein Jeena’s process of creating the artwork, which was recorded in timelapse by the artiste, can now be owned as an NFT. Also, the band’s latest single, Dus Minute Aur — a party song about lack of sleep — collection includes a live virtual performance of the song, a merchandise box set with the cool sleep eye-cushion, a poster and sticker along with an audio file that can be used as an alarm or ringtone.
“The fact that an exclusive and authentic work of ours can be owned is the exciting part of the blockchain. Of course, it yields us dividends, but if we don’t do well, we will not be disappointed by it,” says Dasgupta.
The Virtual Avatar
Swarathma Essentials:
Beta Sweater Pehno Demo Recording
Mushkil Mein Jeena Artwork Creation Timelapse
Pyaasi Music Video Inspiration Story
Dus Minute Aur collection:
Sleep With Swarathma
