Indian and UK musicians collaborate for digital music platform

As part of the UK-India Year of Culture 2017, British Council here has launched an interactive digital platform that invites young audiences to discover the sights and sounds of Delhi and create their own music mix.

Mix the City Delhi has been created as a collaboration between Indian and UK artistes, where 12 city-based musicians will showcase the diversity of sound, music and cultural influences of the capital city.

"This world-class digital and cultural innovation means that a global audience will be able to see, hear and share the amazing Delhi music scene and the beauty of the city," Alan Gemmell OBE, British Council Director India, said.

Curated by British music producer Boxed In, the platform will host musicians like BLOT!, Shubhendra Rao, Aditya Balani, Curtain Blue, Shishanath and seven others.

Conceived during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's UK visit in 2015, the UK-India Year of Culture aims to celebrate the strong cultural ties between the two countries through events, partnerships and collaborations.

"The primary objective of the UK-India 2017 Year of Culture is to further strengthen our ties and deepen our understanding of the past as well as help us appreciate the contemporary faces of both the UK and India," Alan said.

The British Film Institute will also restore "Shiraz", a 1928 silent film, as part of the programme. The film will then be screened at festivals and cinemas across the country.

Later this year, contemporary dance group Company Wayne McGregor will take its production titled Far, which is known for its use of 3,200 LED lights that "dance to their own choreography, to cities across India.

The oldest surviving footage of India from 1899 and a collection of 300 digitised films, originally shot during early 20th century, will also be made available to public in August this year as an initiative by British Film Institutes National Archive.

An exhibition India and the World: A History in Nine Stories by the British Museum is also at display at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalya (CSMVS) in Mumbai in collaboration with National Museum in New Delhi.