“It was a two-week artiste residency in rural Rajasthan in 2022 that burst my bubble, and opened my eyes to the blatant gatekeeping that existed in music circles. Female musicians and scheduled caste artistes were prohibited from touching musical instruments, let alone break into performing circles,” she recalls, adding, “When I spoke to female musicians closer to the city, they’d tell me how studios were hotbeds of gender bias and sometimes, harassment. These accounts sparked the idea of building not just a technically sound, but also safe space for these women.”

A technician operates the audio console inside the bus

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To put the idea to action, Hiremath connected with a bus-turned-studio put together by Delhi-based music education organisation Manzil Mystics earlier this year. The unique contraption has every facility, from a soundproof mini recording studio and spaces for audio consoles and instruments, to a pull-out stage for performances on the go. “While the bus is ready to kickstart the idea, armed with generators and power supply units to tackle remote connectivity, we are currently crowdfunding the equipment and gear we might need to pull it all off,” she reveals.

Ashwini Hiremath with the mobile recording bus in Delhi 

Hoping to flag off the journey as soon as September, Hiremath lets us in on her first pit stop — the hills of Kumaon in Uttarakhand. “When you hear a Kumaoni woman speak, the rhythm and cadence is similar to rapping,” she reveals. “It’s tragic, however, that the language is slowly dying as local youth chose to migrate to the cities, leaving behind their heritage,” she sighs, underlining the immediate need to preserve the culture.

Over a three-month-long pitstop, Hiremath will be assisted by Sarvjeet Tamta, a local Kumaoni musician in scouting for undiscovered talents. “We will spend the first month scouting and interacting with the artistes, which will be followed by a training phase, and finally, inviting them into the studio where they will record their tracks,” explains Hiremath, adding that she looks forward to possible collaborations with the new talent along the way.

Ashwini Hiremath

As any new-age artiste will tell you, recording a great track is just the first step. The rapper agrees. In a move to ensure sustainable impact long after the participants part ways, the tracks that come out of the project will be released in the form of an EP across distribution platforms. “With legal assistance from lawyer Digvijay Singh Bisht, I will ensure the artistes are credited for their work and receive regular royalties for the streams,” she assures us.

As for what awaits her following the Kumaon trip, Hiremath admits that it’s for destiny to decide. “If we are able to achieve what we set out to do, it will fuel my passion to take it to more states including Rajasthan and Kerala soon. If it doesn’t work out just as well, it will still be worth every second I have put into it,” she signs off.     

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