He may not be a household name and you likely won't hear him mentioned in music journalism classes alongside Robert Christgau, Lester Bangs and Anthony DeCurtis. But for those familiar with his work, Anil Prasad is considered among the most knowledgeable, provocative and forward-thinking music journalists in the world today.
In 1994, Prasad was dissatisfied with the lack-of-depth and diversity found in the conventional music journalism landscape and stuck out on his own to create Innerviews website, one of the first online music publications. While some legacy music journalists initially dismissed the non-profit one-man operation as a “fad," labels and artists began clamoring for exposure almost as fast as the number of site hits grew, and detractors were abruptly silenced. In 2010, with over 300 interviews to date, tens of thousands of devoted readers, and naysayers left in the dust, Prasad has released his first book Innerviews: Music Without Borders [Abstract Logix]. The collection features 24 exclusive interviews with iconoclastic musicians including Björk, Chuck D, McCoy Tyner, John McLaughlin, Victor Wooten, and Joe Zawinul. Wooten wrote the book's foreword.
All About Jazz newcomer, Joe Lang, spoke at length with Prasad about the genesis of Innerviews, and how he manages to get so many artists to reveal so many things they don't in other interviews. It's an informative lesson in interviewing techniques for established and aspiring writers, and a fascinating account of a writer who has leveraged the web to literally build an international career and reputation.
Check out Anil Prasad: Inner Views, Borderless Perspectives at All About Jazz today!
In 1994, Prasad was dissatisfied with the lack-of-depth and diversity found in the conventional music journalism landscape and stuck out on his own to create Innerviews website, one of the first online music publications. While some legacy music journalists initially dismissed the non-profit one-man operation as a “fad," labels and artists began clamoring for exposure almost as fast as the number of site hits grew, and detractors were abruptly silenced. In 2010, with over 300 interviews to date, tens of thousands of devoted readers, and naysayers left in the dust, Prasad has released his first book Innerviews: Music Without Borders [Abstract Logix]. The collection features 24 exclusive interviews with iconoclastic musicians including Björk, Chuck D, McCoy Tyner, John McLaughlin, Victor Wooten, and Joe Zawinul. Wooten wrote the book's foreword.
All About Jazz newcomer, Joe Lang, spoke at length with Prasad about the genesis of Innerviews, and how he manages to get so many artists to reveal so many things they don't in other interviews. It's an informative lesson in interviewing techniques for established and aspiring writers, and a fascinating account of a writer who has leveraged the web to literally build an international career and reputation.
Check out Anil Prasad: Inner Views, Borderless Perspectives at All About Jazz today!
