Bands from India will bring fusion music to another level, alongside Malaysia’s AkashA. Subhadra Devan talks to Kerala’s Bennet Roland on what to expect
“MUSIC is universal and good music will find its soul where it goes, transcending all borders,” says Bennet Roland, leader of an Indian rock band set to perform in Kuala Lumpur this Saturday for the Malaysian Independent Live Fusion Festival.
The band and its concept, he explains, was conceived in 1998 as a forum for musicians to be able to collaborate and build around themes of popular Indian film songs. But, Bennet And The Band also retains room for improvising and demonstrating individual artistic proficiency on their instruments.
So, the fusion music from Bennet And The Band “is not merely a rendering of Indian music on Western instruments but combines elements of Indian and Western music without tampering with the feel or hurting the soul of either,” he says.
“It’s India’s contribution to world music. The band loves experimenting with various styles and invents new sounds,” adds Roland, who has made a name as a virtuoso guitarist, as well as music director since he burst onto the music scene 15 years ago.
MUSICAL AGENDA
Roland, from a family of Western classical musicians in Kerala, has also worked with successful Indian rock band Dreadlocks, and composed music for movies.
He began his movie music foray with the 2006 Malayalam movie Out Of Syllabus, working with musician Veetraag on four songs.
Other movies include Sooryakireedam, Dr Patient, Gaddhama and August Club.
“Playing music on stage keeps the performer in me alive and making music for films satiates the composer in me. And each one goes hand in hand because at the end of it, music is the agenda of it all. As a band, we love doing live stage shows and commercial movie slots intrigue the musician in me.
“The band is part and parcel of the live performances, and the film music composing is helmed by me individually. Both are challenging approaches to music.
“Bennet And The Band,” he stresses, “is a backing band and hence, that makes it all the more challenging as we have to collaborate with singers and musicians from all genres, and we have to adapt yet maintain our individuality while working with multi talents. The perk is, of course, getting to work with the best in the industry with varied interests and influences in music. That makes it all the more interesting, leaving the monotony out of it.
“As a musician looking to diversify this, of course, is an augmented factor of my work. It keeps us on our toes because when the singer is different, his or her music is different.”
FUSION FESTIVAL
Bennet and the Band will perform with Haricharan. Other bands from India are Thaikkudam Bridge, Masala Coffee, and Karthik And The Krew.
The Malaysian headliner is our very own seven-piece ensemble AkashA.
Bennet’s vocalist of choice, Haricharan, comes from a family of music connoisseurs where his grandfather P.S. Ganapathy was an organiser of mic-less Carnatic concerts in the 1960s under the name “Aalapanaa”.
Haricharan started learning Carnatic music at the age of 7. He recorded his first Tamil film song for the film, Kaadhal, when he was 17. In 2012, he sang alongside megastar Rajinikanth for the song Maattram Ondrudhaan Maradhadhu from the 2014 movie Kochadaiiyaan, which was composed by A.R. Rahman.
It is a rare sight to witness this Tamil cinema’s playback singer performing with a band that specialises in reworking popular melodies, Indian film tunes and traditional folk melodies.
Says Roland on his choice of Haricharan as the front man for the Malaysia gig: “With Haricharan, you get versatility, a performance aura and a humble persona in one package, and he is open to exploring good music.
“This makes it possible to experiment a wide range of genres on behalf of the band with Haricharan as the frontman. It’s very essential for a singer to compliment the instrumentalist and vice versa to improve the performance as a band in its entirety. In fact, we feel as a backing-band, this association with singer Haricharan is probably one of the most sought-after collaborations in recent times.”
Of the other Indian bands, Thaikkudam Bridge is unconventional with eight vocalists.
Formed in 2013 by cousins Govind Menon and Siddhartha Menon, the members are from different parts of India, which gives the band its eclectic flavour. The band gained popularity on YouTube, garnering millions of views for their music videos.
Indie outfit Masala Coffee is led by vocalist Sooraj Santhosh, while Karthik And The Krew is driven by the playback singer. He has sung in Telugu (over 500 songs), Kannada (over 300 songs) and Tamil (over 1,000 songs).
Festival organiser and Carnatic violinist Mogethen Gowrisan of Mojo Projects, says: “India is a melting pot of music. There’s so much more than film songs, and Malaysia does not get to experience that other side of originality and creativity.
“We hope this event opens doors to many other bands and musicians from India to perform in Malaysia, besides the usual playback singers who tour regularly.”
Malaysian Independent Live Fusion Festival
WHEN: Saturday, 6pm
WHERE: StarXpo Centre, KWC Fashion Mall, Kuala Lumpur
TICKETS: RM88 to RM888
CALL: 012-327 0764 or visit www.redtix.airasia.com