The DonAsian Project: Using Music to help victims of Natural Disaster

As 2005 comes to an end, it is exactly a year on from the devastating Tsunami disaster which shocked the world last year in December 2004. The tragedy affected the lives of hundreds and thousands of people, bringing the loss of loved ones young and old, and, the horrifying news reports about whole generations being wiped out, all left ingrained on the minds of people watching, regardless of the race, creed or religion to which they belong. The images were heart wrenching and overwhelming and full of despair as families searched for their loved ones and to date it has been confirmed that approximately 300,000 people and more are feared dead or missing.

As the world mourned collectively, many gathered their thoughts and pushed towards proactive efforts to help support those who had survived the effects of Tsunami. Money was raised, front-line support units were in place and the journey towards rebuilding lives and cities had begun. It has been recognised that continuous efforts are needed to help rebuild the lives of those from affected areas, and redevelopment has been taking place and will continue to do so for quite some time.

After watching the news on Boxing Day 2004 of the Asian Tsunami Disaster, Bal of Realtone Records called Mukhtar Sahota and Saj (Internalmusic), and Bindi Sandhu and Baljit Deo (Streetlife Productions) suggested that something needs to be done for the survivors. Mukhtar, who is a well known and well established artist from the UK Bhangra scene decided to produce a track featuring a number of artists to raise money for the victims of this horrific disaster, like that of a similar approach as the 'Band Aid' single but, with an 'Asian' flavour. Saj of Internalmusic had the role of managing the project and made contact with singers, writers, and engineers, from all over the world and co-ordinated them together for the making of this single. Bindi and Baljit of Streetlife Productions have been actively involved in this project, the making of the documentary, and the music video to accompany the single. The documentary started in January 2005 and has been documenting all the moves through this project, from interviews with the artists, recording sessions and behind the scenes for the video. The documentary will be aired on a mainstream TV channel in the very near future.

On Saturday 8th October 2005, the world was again faced with another natural disaster, the South Asian Earthquake in Pakistan and its neighbouring countries. Again thousands of lives were lost and millions were made homeless. Donasian then decided that they would contribute 50% of the monies raised from the record sales to the survivors, as they were preparing a release date for the single whilst the disaster struck.

At the time of both disasters people from different countries, cultures and backgrounds around the world stood united and felt the loss and tragedy of the surviving victims. It is suggested that it will take approximately 10 years to rebuild a number of South Asia and Southeast Asian countries affected by both the Tsunami and the Earthquake.

I caught up with the ‘Donasian' team to learn more about this amazing charity project and to talk about the process they went through in bringing together so many artists from the Asian music scene:

1)Tell me about ‘Donasian' and how the project developed from starting as an idea, to it manifesting into the end result which is the much awaited release of the single and video?

Donasian is a non-profit making organisation formed by, Internalmusic, Streetlife Productions and Realtone Records. The project started in January this year and originally started off as a Tsunami project where the money was being raised was for ‘Save the Children India', to help the Tsunami affected children. I decided to produce a track featuring a number of artists to raise money for the victims of this horrific disaster, like that of a similar approach as the ‘Band Aid' single but, with a host of Asian artists. The single is in 3 languages, English, Hindi and Punjabi, and features 16 Asian artists from different music genres from Eastern and Western continents. The project has taken 10 months to complete. In October, the world witnessed another natural disaster, the Earthquake in Pakistan and the Donasian team felt that we should help the victims out there too, hence the involvement of ‘Islamic Relief', where the money will be for the Earthquake victims. The video has been shot in 3 locations, UK, India and Canada in April over a 4 week period, as the aim was for all the artists featured on the single to be on the video.

2)Chefs are famous for saying that "too many cooks often spoil the broth." What was the creative process like with so many artists involved in this project?

The idea behind the song writing of this track was to keep it simple. I produced the backing track and arranged for Am'nico to come in and work on the song melody and English lyrics. A guide track of the song was given to the artists with their relevant parts, so that they could bring their own style into the song. I sat with A R Rahman in Birmingham and played the track to him, and he took to the idea straight away and started putting ideas together for the string orchestration. He went back to India and recorded the strings with his orchestra and flew back to London and left me to arrange the strings on the track as I wanted. It was such a privilege to work with such an artist of his calibre who had faith in me and trust that I would make good use of his input. I did not want to complicate the writing process by involving all the artists as there would have been conflicts as you can imagine.

3)How did you decide who you wanted involved in this project? Is it simply a list from an in house contacts diary, or were the artists specifically chosen?

There was a long list of artists, but not from an in house diary as such, the process started from scratch. Not everyone could make themselves available due to their own commitments. We did face some Artist ego problems alongside Management and Record Companies having there own issues, but at a time like this we need to pull together and think of those less fortunate. I am truly grateful to the artists featured on this song for their time and support.

4)Was it a conscious decision to involve only those from within the World Asian Music scenes, or did you also consider other collaborations?

The idea was definitely to involve World Asian artists as we don't see many projects like this, coming from the Asian music scene, hence the name ‘Donasian'. It was a conscious decision to have a diverse line-up of artists to feature on the track and artists that come from different music genres. I feel that Asian music is very diverse, there is so much to explore and bring together in collaborations like Donasian.

5)What was it like to work with some of the biggest talents from Bollywood and the Asian music industry?

Each artist came from different backgrounds, bringing their own unique sound, which was a great experience for me to be working with the Bollywood and Asian Music industry talent, as this was a challenge for me to bring them all together. As mentioned earlier, it was a great experience to work with A R Rahman, an artist of such calibre who took time out to be part of this project. Shaan was fantastic. Not only did he do the vocals, he also helped out by getting the film crew and equipment for the video shoot in India ready for the video director to fly over and to film him and Sukhwinder Singh.

6)There is a real sense of ‘unity' that comes across from this project. Is this sense of unity real within the Asian music scene, or is there a lot of politics when bringing together so many artists and labels?

The Donasian project proves that Asian artists can unite, but it does not come without its obstacles. There has always been politics in the Asian Music industry and its something that probably won't change if we don't work together for a better industry. Everyone involved with this project has done so genuinely from their heart.

7)I like how, rather than recreating an Asian version of Band Aid, you have just used the concept and developed quite a unique creation for a positive cause. Was this a conscious decision?

I thought if Band Aid can pull together so many artists, why can't us as Asians do the same for a good cause. The Band Aid single was in English and I felt the Donasian single had the advantage of using English, Hindi and Punjabi lyrics to appeal to a wider audience.

8)There has been quite a slow response by the Asian media and music artists to respond with projects such as ‘Donasian'. Why do you think this is, and what obstacles were you faced with in completion and release of the project?

Due to recent charity releases and events, people and the media have become weary of how to take such charity projects. The word ‘charity' is very sensitive amongst the Asian communities as everyone wants to know where their money goes, which is understandable. Donasian is fully supported by ‘Islamic Relief' and ‘Save the Children India', as the proceeds from the sales will go to both charities and Donasian will not be recouping any costs that have been involved in the making of this single. Politics also play a very big part in the Asian media. Majority of the Asian media have been very supportive, and on the other hand you have a handful of Asians in the Media who do have the resources to push the Asians to a mainstream audience, but are too egotistical about their positions, and too busy running around the same people, forgetting that they are there to help the Asian community as a whole and not just their friends.

9)Many artists and DJ's have tried to do their bit to raise money following the Tsunami disaster and the recent devastating Earthquake that occurred in South Asia. Do you think your credibility as an artist and the credibility of such big names involved in the project made it more possible to develop and be supported?

The credibility of artists does help to raise the awareness and the sales, as each artist has their own fan base, and by coming together we bring the project to a wider audience which means the support is greater and the possibility of raising more funds than an artist doing a project on their own.

10)Tell us a bit more about the three business heads involved in the project- ‘Internal Music', ‘Streetlife Productions', and ‘Realtone Records' all under the umbrella of ‘Donasian'.

Internalmusic is a company that is run by me and Saj, the Donasian Project and PR Manager. Internalmusic are behind the Music Production, PR and Management of this project. Internalmusic made contact with singers, writers, and engineers, from all over the world and co-ordinated them together for the making of this single, and then arranged the information for the Donasian website. http://www.donasian.org

Streetlife Productions are behind the music video and the documentary for this project which also started in January and will be televised early next year. The documentary also includes Adil Ray, Nihal Arthanyake, and Sonia Deol interviewing the artists involved.

Realtone Records have duplicated the CDs and financed part of the video.

The single ‘We Can Make it Better' is released by ‘Donasian'.

11)Any plans to continue the momentum of ‘Donasian' with a charity album or further singles?

Donasian has been registered as a ‘non-profit making organisation', and we are doing further projects to help various charities, be it another single, an album, or an event. Watch this space........

12)As with anyone who undertakes a project for good and with positive intentions, criticisms always emerge and often the good intentions are ignored and wrongly questioned. What would you say to those criticising your project, for example those that may view it as a publicity stunt?

There is always someone who will criticise your work and try to bring negative feedback. It's very easy to sit back and make comments. I would like to see the critics taking 10 months out of work with no pay, and help financially to support such a project, with knowing that you will not recoup the costs involved. This project is not a ‘one off' to class as a publicity stunt, as Donasian is an organisation which has been set up for future charity projects.

13)To use celebrity status and talent in such a positive way as many artists do is admirable. Why do you think this is faced with criticism, as it did with Bob Geldof, and as it may do with ‘Donasian'?

Negative Press coverage from previous charity projects that were not successful in the clarity of where the proceeds were going and went has had a shadow on this project. It's organisations like Donasian that are here to prove that artists can use there celebrity status and talent to make a difference to those in need and make sure the money goes where it should.

14)What has the response been like so far from the Asian media and mainstream media?

The response from the Asian media has generally been quite positive, obviously there are Asian in the media who think, ‘big deal', and ‘yesterdays news'. Mainstream media have also been very supportive, as they have never come across such a project from the Asian Music Industry.

15)I understand the single and video are also releasing on different dates around the world, what has the response been from other countries?

The single is due for release internationally, and already the feedback from various countries has been phenomenal. People all over the world are hearing about the track and we are inundated with emails of when they will be able to purchase the single.

16)How much money has so far been raised via the ‘Donasian' project? How much are you estimating will be raised?

Like with any single or album, it's very hard to determine how much you will sell and how much you will make. The turn-around is generally 60 days, that's when you normally have a better idea of the sales.

17)With the single officially available via all retail outlets such as HMV, and regional Asian outlets, can we anticipate entry into the mainstream charts, even the possibility of Christmas number one?

The aim is not to have success in the charts, but to maximise the funds raised. Asian outlet sales do not get counted in the same way as the Mainstream sales, that's why it is available in all outlets, to maximise sales which means more funds are raised, and as for Christmas Number one, I think ‘Girls Aloud' or ‘Westlife' stand more of a chance!

18)What barriers do you think will be faced when pushing for mass support for this appeal?

The obvious barrier to be faced is the trust about where the monies raised are going. We have reputable charities involved, ‘Islamic Relief' and ‘Save the Children India'.

19)On one side of the world we have experienced natural disasters and tragedies, whereas on the other side of the world we have many man made tragedies taking place. From the perspective of a musician, what do you think can be done to make the world a better place?

It's very simple, we can't help to predict natural disasters, but we can help to put a stop to man made tragedies. The ‘Live 8' proved that Musicians can come together to make a difference and help to make the world a better place.

20)Your message for the masses:

Please show your support, help make that difference, every little helps. It doesn't matter whether some people like the tune or the lyrics, the lyrics have sense and meaning of their own, do not confuse the two. Most of the people affected by these disasters in Asia may never get to hear the song and most of them probably don't speak English, Hindi or Punjabi. It was recorded for us to hear, and if it inspires a few people to buy the single, to help others less fortunate - be it in Asia or anywhere else - then all this has been worth the effort. Let's make it better...........

• The single is called 'Donasian', and features 3 languages, English, Punjabi, and, Hindi.
• The Song is called 'We can make it better - Tsunami Lehar'
• The music for the single is Produced by the very talented 'Mukhtar Sahota' and the string arrangements by the great Bollywood composer'A R Rahman'.
• The song features 15 Asian artists from different music genres from Eastern and Western continents and is available through all major retailers and local Asian outlets.

Buy copies for yourself and for all friends and family, and let us truly help make it better for those less fortunate than ourselves.

For further info and enquiries about ‘Donasian' contact: Saj
Donasian Project and PR Manager
+44 1902 754 556
+44 7789 545 220

- Vinay Sharma