EVERYTHING IS BETTER WITH MUSIC

Tarun Lala, Executive Director, Fanzart

I started my work life at Bose Corporation, at its headquarters outside of Boston in the United States. Dr. Bose always stressed on the quality of the product, as ‘music’ he said, toyed with people’s emotions. It’s true! Music can make you feel happy, sad, stronger, weaker, appreciative, artistic, angry, ambitious, defeated, hopeful, exonerated, and many other things. Coincidentally, it was around the same time that I was introduced to the deeper sounds of music. Somehow that timing was perfect and my appreciation for music went to a whole new level. I started listening to music every chance I got; be it while walking (which you do a lot living in an American city), or while studying, working, driving, jogging, working out, or any other activity. I attended music festivals around the world and found a different level of happiness and fun. I discovered whole new genres of music. Some of them had no vocals in them altogether. I started listening to every beat and every instrument and realised that the number of combinations of instruments that you can use, especially electronically, is infinite.

Have you ever felt a chill down your spine while listening to music that you enjoy? Sometimes it’s a wave down your body and sometimes it can make your hair stand on end. This happens when the combination of notes hitting your auditory receptors (while all hitting at different wavelengths) combine to form a resonant wavelength with your body creating this wave or chill. While we’ve all felt it at some point, this started happening more and more to me and soon enough I discovered the proven science that music is connected to your body. This phenomenon is called ‘frison’ (pronounce free-sawn) - a French word meaning ‘aesthetic chills’, also sometimes referred to as ‘skin orgasms’.

Entrepreneurship is hardly ever a linear path to success. It’s actually a bunch of loops and circles and sine waves on your way up! And your passion towards your professional journey can be quite a display. In my experience, music has played a very important role in my life, and in my entrepreneurial journey. Our visual and auditory inputs and processing is faster than the ‘outputs’, and hence we’re always aware of our surroundings even if we’re not focussing on them. Music started mediating a lot of white noise around, helping me focus on work as well. Different activities - thinking, reading, ideating, could do with some instrumental, jazz, deep house-type music; while writing, emailing, and making a pitch deck is a little more flexible. I always enjoyed rock music (amongst others) while gymming or working out. Then again, taking a break has its own kind of music. All of this can vary based on people and their choices. From Coke Studio to underground techno, each pattern of music has its own charm. To a large extent, my job involves talking and conversing, and to switch to music after multiple meetings or after a long day, re-energises me to keep going. Music helps me wake up as well. You would always find me equipped with my backpack wherever I go - with my Bose speaker well entrenched inside it.

Entrepreneurship is about the journey and the more you enjoy your journey, your destination is bound to arrive. Keep working hard, keep working smart, keep those tunes running and find that ‘frison’ between yourself and your work with music!