Mumbai nightclub the Blue Frog, under the direction of the energetic Ashutosh Pathak, has been transformed into India’s first full-service recording studio. From BusinessWeek:
Tucked away inside an old textile mill compound in Mumbai’s Lower Parel area, with no sign to announce its presence, is the Blue Frog, the city’s popular live music nightclub and jazz joint. Life begins at 10.30 p.m. here, with the place packed with music-lovers from around the city and around India, and visiting foreigners in the know. The Blue Frog has been around for a year, and on May 19 made a giant leap from nightclub to professional music production house-India’s first. The studios are located right behind the club, in a 10,000-sq.-ft. former mill, complete with skylights, high-tech equipment, and vibrant contemporary Asian art.
Based on the initial reaction from India’s advertising and entertainment industry, Blue Frog’s bold move seems to be a winning one. On opening night every important player from the music, film, and advertising worlds showed up to witness this new venture: singers Lucky Ali, Ila Arun, and Rags Khote were there, along with advertising filmmakers Prasoon Pandey of Corcoise and Ayesha Sayani of Shunyata Productions, and Sony-BMG chief Shridhar Subramaniam, WPP group’s India country-head Ranjan Kapoor, veteran singer Gary Lawyer, hot young VJs, and musician-turned-politician Milind Deora.
