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Two entrepreneurial brothers have created an app called Brapp that allows artists and music fans from all over the world to collaborate for free.
Pavan Mukhi, of rap group Foreign Beggars, and his brother Niki are part of the team who wanted to create an audio recording suite that was also a social network in a bid to break down barriers faced by musicians around the globe.
Niki, 31, also a musician, said: “When I moved to Dubai a few years back I realised I couldn’t get our records because of territory rights.
“We thought that was quite silly. We write music for people not for countries. We had no choice but to pirate.
“The only way we were actually able to change anything was to make our own network to write our own music licensing.”
Based on the philosophy “No boundaries and no borders”, the brothers came up with the idea for Brapp – a fusion of something that looks a bit like Instagram mixed with garage band – that would be free in all countries.
Pavan, 35, added: “We wanted to help musicians, artists and fans from the bottom up, and by that we mean empower them to largely interact across borderlines.
“We wanted to open up the opportunity for collaborations.
“I know kids all over the world listen to grime music but some don’t have access to grime. And kids do rap in every corner of the world but they face crazy loopholes.
“We wanted to give them the opportunity to get noticed.”
Since its soft launch last September, the app has attracted established producers and artists including Roni Size, Rag n Bone Man, Chester P, Plastician & Rude Kid as well as upcoming musicians from 80 different countries to create nearly 10,000 unique musical collaborations.
Pavan said young beatboxers from India have collaborated with UK MCs, MCs from the US have jumped on UK producers’ beats and lots of underground artists from all areas of the UK have emerged.
Australian hip hop artist Mongo from Mud Family has also got on board, which Pavan said has resulted in a resurgence of his older work.
“Collaboration in music is the way forward,” he added. “It’s beautiful to see different generations of people working together.”
The app is completely free and allows users to upload beats, record one-minute videos on beats by producers, mix recording with free audio effects, enhance videos, share them and connect with others.
Pavan said: “There are similar apps but nobody has made one where you can collaborate AND connect.”
Niki said: “We want to see people going on to collaborate. We want to help launch careers with something that is completely free with no country barriers.”
Pavan added: “We would like to see Brapp go worldwide. We have invested in everything ourselves so it is much more word of mouth at the moment.”
He added plans for the future could include a record label and a media company.
The brothers believe that, with their experience, they will be able to offer industry support to new artists.
Foreign Beggars received global success and critical acclaim with a succession of high-profile collaborations with the likes of Noisia & Skrillex and supporting the likes of The Prodigy, Amy Winehouse, Snoop Dogg and the Wu Tang Clan on tour.
“In the British music industry people keep their cards close to their chest,” Pavan said.
“When we were putting music out it was a quest to get anything back. You had to get to the studio to show you were serious.
“Technology has given us an opportunity to go somewhere and social media has broken down barriers between artists and their fans.”
Other high profile musicians using Brapp include: Sk!tzBeats, Plastician, M-Phazes, Show n Prove, UZ, 3000 Bass, Critical Music, Siah, Dj Vadim, DJ Green Lantern, Ayah Marrar, FuntCase, Mayhem SAS, Cotti, Linden Jay, Zed Bias, Foreign Beggars, Bro Safari, Datsik, Starving Yet Full, Jaisu, Rude Kid, Ghosttown, Chairman Maf, Session, MC DRS, Konny Kon, Stormin MC, Dr Syntax, Konchis141, Pete Cannon, Skinzman, Datkid and many more.
Brapp will be launching a competition at Brighton Music Conference on April 14 for aspiring musicians to collaborate with Roni Size. For futher information visit the Brapp news website.
Brapp is available on IOS and web.
