Pritam on His New Music Platform Jam8: ‘The Scope is Unlimited’

Given his influence in the Indian music industry, composer and singer Pritam gave no second thought to creating an incubator platform for up-and-coming artists and then calling in the country’s most known singers to add to the scale of things.

Jam8 is that incubation program, which has since tied up with two of the likeliest partners needed in today’s music industry – a major label (Sony Music) and content creation app (Roposo) – to launch a song series called Jamroom. Since early June, the composer’s curative hand has put together young and relatively unknown composers and lyricists to direct star voices for original songs.

In Pritam’s mind, Jam8 and Jamroom are both instruments through which he can change the way knowledge and experience are passed on outside of the immediate network of artists and crews. He says, “We tend to pass on all the knowhow to assistants as they live the process of recording, but I always thought that it can be streamlined and done on a bigger scale so that more kids benefit from our experiences.”

The composer has brought in the likes of Sonu Nigam, Shaan, Mohit Chauhan, Asees Kaur, Jonita Gandhi, Shilpa Rao, Shalmali Kholgade, Ash King, Nikhita Gandhi, Mame Khan, Prakriti Kakar, Akriti Kakar, Amit Mishra and Babul Supriyo, among others. Representing Jam8 Studio on Jamroom releases are composers such as Shubham Shirule, Ana Rehman, Anish John, Bhanu Singh, Bobby-Imran, Mukund Suryawanshi  and Shahzan Mujeeb, and lyricists including Shloke Lal, Geet Sagar, Saaveri Verma and Mandy Gill. The tunes range from love songs to dance tunes and fusion outings.

In an interview with Rolling Stone India, Pritam talks about the creation and curation behind the Jamroom song series and what’s next. Excerpts:

What can you tell me about where the Jam8 incubation studio started out? What was the intention with it all along?

I have been toying with the idea of an incubating platform for a long time. I feel it’s a must in every industry. Not every newcomer in the industry can afford high-end gears and studios. I wanted to provide the means for them to get access to the best equipment, gears, synths, etc. Also, not everyone can meet movie producers and directors easily, so I also wanted to make that first meeting possible easily.

In addition, I wanted a platform that will be buzzing with new energy, where experienced musicians and singers are recording and hanging around with the newcomers. They can learn from established musicians and it can grow into a fertile music ground.

I am so glad and thankful to the visionary Namit Malhotra and Niraj Sanghai that [film, tech and production company] Prime Focus got invested in this idea and took this up from here and built an incredible facility for everyone to work in. We can say with pride that the facility is amongst the best in Asia. With [talent agency] Collective Artists joining in to manage and guide the talents, Jam8 was suddenly a big reality.

The biggest challenge Jam8 has faced is Covid in the first year of the start of the facility. Still, it’s doing pretty well and it will grow from here. Already talents and ex-talents from Jam8 are doing regular work in the film, T.V. and ad industries.

A couple of months on after the releases from Jamroom have been out now, how do you look back at the project so far and the reception it’s received?

The reception it has received is very encouraging. These may not be chartbusters yet, but the songs are very good and I am sure they are going to grow slowly. Since it is independent music and does not have an expiry date of a movie release on them, these songs have unlimited time to penetrate.

Is it fair to say that regardless of one’s stature and reach in the music industry, it still takes a lot to be heard and get a large following as artists? Are initiatives like Jamroom one of the ways we can fix this?

Yes. Getting a large following as an artist was not so important a few years ago, but it is slowly becoming very important. I personally feel a good product marketed well will always work.

Also popular platforms help in bringing the limelight to new artists. Like, through Coke Studio we get to know about so many artists we have never heard of earlier. My wish is that [the] Jamroom series becomes a popular brand so that even new artists associated with Jamroom get noticed easily.

You’ve shone a spotlight on a lot of composers and lyricists through this project. How did you go about selecting them?

Purely on the basis of talent and dedication. Obviously, the Jam8 team did the first filter. And there were so many good artists that Niraj (Prime Focus), Vijay (Collective Artists) and I had a hard time to choose.

What was it like convincing the vocalists who are leading these songs to be part of Jamroom? Presumably, they’re attaching their names to music written by fairly new names, right?

It was really kind of them. Veterans like Sonu Nigam, Shaan, Mohit Chauhan, Babul, Mame Khan ji were a surprise. I was not expecting them to participate so enthusiastically. They loved the songs and said yes.  The young brigade — Shalmali, Jonita, Antara, Nikhita, Shilpa, Asees, Akriti, Prakriti, Shaswat, Ash King, Irfan, Amit M, Jazim, Akshay — have always been by my side whenever I’ve needed them. They loved the songs too. Jamroom has a very fascinating singer lineup. 

It’s so incredible how these star musicians stood by, encouraged, and participated in their music compositions with complete surrender.

Given the wide variety of sounds that are being showcased through Jamroom, do you think there’s still more that needs to be explored?

There are still [a vast amount of] genres and styles that can be explored. The scope is unlimited. Hope we’ll have a second season to explore more kinds of approaches.

You served as composer for the soundtracks to Laal Singh Chaddha and Brahmastra. What else is coming up for you through 2022?

This year looks to be over for me. All the releases have been shifted to 2023. Maybe Sriram’s Movie Night will release this year.

Watch all the music videos from Jamroom here.