A Perfect Score

The Midival Punditz is easily one of the few Indian indie acts to have successfully transcended boundaries and endured the test of time in the international arena, gradually moving from strength to strength. Now the duo of Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj adds a distinct feather to its cap as ”˜Atomizer’ ”“ a track off Hello Hello (2009) ”“ is to feature on the FIFA 2010 video game soundtrack, alongside heavyweights like the Basement Jaxx, Santigold, Sergio Mendes and Michael Franti. Though various Punditz tracks have been licensed ”“ for games (Need for Speed, Project Gotham Racing 3 and Ashes Cricket 2009,) TV Shows (Six Feet Under and Prison Break) and a Hollywood film (Closer) ”“ before, making it to this soundtrack is extra special. “FIFA is one of the highest selling video games ever. FIFA ’09 sold over seven million copies. It’s special to have seven million people listen to your tune while they play!” says Raina.

The track that shall feature on the video game is a remix of the original by UK based DJ Pathaan (Farook Ahmed Khan.)  While ”˜Atomizer’ is a powerhouse of a track, what Pathaan does is emphasize its high energy percussion value by embellishing it with manic dhol beats. Raina believes this might have been instrumental in lending the track that Indian punch. “Pathaan took some key parts and re-approached the track from a completely different perspective. His remix is very dhol-centric and takes the track away from its inherent ‘rock-ish’ vibe. I guess that’s why they found it unique and very ‘Indian’,” he says.

The music label the duo are signed onto, California-based Six Degrees, was instrumental in getting EA Sport’s music licensing team to consider ”˜Atomizer’ and its remixes for the game. While composing the track with Karsh Kale, the musicians knew they were onto something big. “”˜Atomizer’ is the most radical track for us on Hello Hello. It came about as an exploration into a new direction while we were making the album. Karsh had a lot to do with the new explorations on Hello Hello. We made this track in a span of a couple of hours and knew from the start that it was going to be a rocker,” says Raina.

The Punditz, who played at the Mawazine festival in Morocco and Richmix in London in May, have already started work on their next album. “We are going to fully get into it from July onwards. We hope to have something done by the end of the year. As always, we don’t know where this one is going take us and where we are going to end up,” says Raina.