New Order | The Silo

Run a search for “Octapad” or “Octapadist,” and you’ll find a vast musical community. Learn how the instrument became a household word.

Run a Google search for “Octapad” or “Octapadist,” and you’ll find a vast musical community. The overwhelming majority of these players have two fundamental traits in common. They use a device with eight rubber pads, and they likely live in a specific geographic location. But more on that in a moment.

An International Debut

When the Octapad Pad-8 debuted in 1985, it was a solution for artists looking to add MIDI to live performance. 1989’s Octapad II Pad-80 delivered enhanced patch capabilities and memory storage.

Fans could see the instrument on global stages with Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, New Order, and UB40. Soon, the SPD line arrived—with the bonus of onboard sounds—and the Octapad name all but disappeared.

Phil Collins in an early ad for the Octapad Pad-8

The evolution of the Octapad: the SPD-30

A Specific Niche

In 2010, with the SPD-30, the Octapad returned in a big way. Still, in one populous, musically-rich region, it never went away. Thanks to a mutable layout and portable design, the Octapad captured a specific niche in India. It remains the instrument of choice for devotional musicians and Bollywood players alike.

Today, artists like Priya Shiyara Flash Octapadist and Mayuranga Octapadist maintain Facebook profiles. They represent the tip of the social media iceberg. Octapadists with large followings appear all over YouTube, sharing skills and growing audiences at the same time.

Traditional Tones to YouTube

Take Jiten Sunil Kriplani. He’s a popular YouTuber with almost a million subscribers who goes by the name Janny Dholi. “I’ve been using the Octapad for many years,” Sunil Kriplani says. “I absolutely love the true and dynamic tones which are customized especially for Indian artists. It’s the best for live shows and recording sessions.”

It was over 20 years ago that the original SPD-20 took the world—and especially India—by storm. Nowadays, legions of Indian musicians embrace the Octapad as their primary instrument. SPD-20 sounds permeate Bollywood, folk, devotional, and other musical styles across India.

A Practical Tool

Musical Director Tushar Deval says, “I’ve been working in this industry for almost thirty-five years. It was 1998 or 2000 that I first tried the SPD-20, and I have been using it ever since. Great experiences come from different places.”

For Deval, the speed of creation is part of what cements the Octapad in India’s professional music world. “Making patches in SPD-20 is so easy,” he explains. “Basically, any Hindi song comes on, and we can make five of them in ten to fifteen minutes.”

“Great experiences come from different places. Any Hindi song comes on, and we can make five of them in ten to fifteen minutes.”
-Tushar Deval

The 808 of India?

With such broad appeal, it’s easy to think of the Octapad as the TR-808 of India, so far-reaching is the instrument’s influence. The original eight-pad layout—much like the 808’s drum pads—is iconic. Like the 808, the Octapad’s look is instantly recognizable.

The instrument’s latest incarnation, the SPD-20 PRO, expands on the Octapad’s legacy. Among a host of sounds, it includes the following: dholak (a two-headed hand drum with drumheads attached by ropes), mridangam (a principal rhythmic accompaniment drum for Carnatic performances), kanjira (a frame drum from the tambourine family), ghatam (one of India’s most ancient percussion instruments), the duggi (an Indian kettle drum played with the fingers and palm).

Mridangam, Photo by Thamizhpparithi Maari

“The addition of 200 kits is mind-blowing,” Sunil Kriplani says of the upgraded Octapad. “It’s my favorite feature.”

Based in Pune, Maharashtra, Ajay Artre has used the Octapad for over six years. He appreciates the instrument’s core tones and interface. Artre praises “the sounds, editing, and especially the display.”

Roland’s history boasts many instruments intended for one use that became unexpected legends for something else entirely. Initially, an accompaniment device, the TB-303 kickstarted the acid house movement. Of course, the ultimate example of this trend, the TR-808, is inexorably linked to hip-hop’s history.

An Unusual Path

By contrast, the Octapad’s ascension from MIDI device to the go-to Indian devotional music tool is less clear. It doesn’t produce a sound utterly unlike anything that came before it. Rather, the Octapad plays a practical role in the musical culture of India.

In a blog for Roland India, Rupesh Iyar describes the Octapad as “a passionate instrument to play.” Iyar stresses that “any percussion player can switch to the Octapad from their traditional instrument.”

“It’s a passionate instrument to play. Any percussion player can switch to the Octapad from their traditional instrument.”
-Rupesh Iyar

Therein lies the essence of the Octapad’s popularity in India. The device established its place in the country’s musical culture by bridging the past and the present. Those eight pads help move traditional sounds into the future, one pattern at a time.

Original article by our friends at Roland/ Ari Rosenschein.

When thinking about grant writing, it helps to first consider this story that tells about luck. In it, a farmer’s horse runs away and all his neighbors come by to say what bad luck this is. The farmer replies “maybe.” His horse returns and with it brings wild horses. The neighbors all say what good luck this is to which the farmer says, “maybe.” The farmer’s son, attempting to tame one of the wild horses, is thrown and breaks a leg. Bad luck, say the neighbors, “maybe” says the farmer. At last the army comes to town gathering up all the able bodied young men to go off to war. Seeing the farmer’s son with his broken leg they pass on by.

The story ends here, but it shows that things are often connected in ways we can’t possibly predict. A Lebanese saying reaches toward the very same point, “Don’t curse your bad luck because it may turn out to be your good luck.” Again the message here is that you can’t possibly know whether a single event is truly good or bad.

Failure can and should be viewed through the lens of stories and phrases like these. When we stumble, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking of this one moment as some sort of endgame. On the contrary, every so-called failure is nothing more than the next step in your journey.

Failure feels personal. When you have worked hard on something, poured your very soul into it, only to have things not come to fruition, it can feel like the universe is pointing a finger directly at your forehead. Putting things into some context is one way to start seeing the bigger picture.

Shakey Graves- Roll the Bones. Bandcamp.

Grant applications are quite probably one of the best examples of this. There is so much riding on any given application, whether it is for a specific project or an artist’s general practice. Grants are one of the ways in which working artists stay afloat and they are not only time-consuming, they can feel extremely personal.

Not receiving a grant can set off a cycle of emotions. Everything from wondering what is wrong with your work or your application, to convincing yourself that this is the last chance and there’s no point trying again. Let’s unpack these very common reactions and shed some light on the reality of the situation.

For any given grant you may apply to, there are countless others also spending long hours writing up their own applications. Grants range all over the place in size and popularity, so to speak. Even smaller scale grants (say, those offered by lesser known organizations or tightly specified to certain disciplines) will often attract many applicants.

While there are certain strategies when it comes to writing a good grant application, there is no single, objective way to ensure that yours will be the one chosen. When it comes down to final decision time, there is a level of subjectivity built into the process. Art for example, is not a quantitative subject and nor are grants being awarded via algorithm. Rather, they are being decided by panels of human beings with a range of subjective emotions about a field that is as unscientific as it gets.

For the reasons above, when you do not receive a grant, think of it in terms of the many, many other applications rather than simply in terms of what you personally did wrong. Do not ignore this as a learning experience and do reach out the grant organization for feedback whenever possible, but do not let “no” from one or even a string of grant organizations stop you in your tracks.

Instead, recall the story and expression above. Think of every grant, in fact, every action, as nothing more than a single ripple on the surface of the vast river that is your journey. When you do not get into a gallery, carry on and find others. Down the line when you look back, you will have the clarity to see the progression of events. When you are passed over for a residency, apply to three more. If a project doesn’t work out the way you thought it would, evaluate what happened, learn from the experience, and move on down the road.

Brainard Carey. image: elmcityexpress.blogspot

No one is claiming that this is easy. This isn’t about somehow detaching from your feelings and letting rejection slide like water off a duck’s back. Of course not. Rejection hurts. No matter how impersonal it might actually be when we are told no it isn’t a good feeling.

But remembering that every moment is just that, a single blip on the screen rather than a career breaking catastrophe can help you heal and recharge sooner after you’ve had a misstep. Carry the simple answer of the farmer with you at all times, “maybe.”

For the Silo, Brainard Carey.

Brainard is currently giving free webinars on how to write a better Artist bio and statement and how to get a show in a gallery – you can register for that live webinar and ask questions live by clicking here.

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