Steering away from commercial music, this band is all set to begin their first show with their own composition — Thadheem! City Express identifies a band, which comprises of a good mix of both school students and young adults
CHENNAI:A new rock band is in town, ready to strike a chord — Thadheem. Curious? Well, they are a carnatic progressive rock band, inspired by a Bengaluru-based popular band Agam. With a 9-member team, including vocalists, drummer, bass guitarist and a mridangam player, Thadheem has been rehearsing for a show that they believe will inspire audience towards carnatic music.
Chatting with us during vocal rehearsals, Surya Murugesh narrates the story of Thadheem’s inception. “I’m a professional carnatic musician but I know there are those who get bored with the music because it’s either long or not appealing enough. The best way to bring elements of our carnatic culture is through fusion and Agam being our inspiration, mridangam artist Nagarajan Shanmugalingam and I decided to create a band. Many followed suit and here we are,” says Surya who apart from performances in sabhas has sung in films like Naan Maahan Alla (2010) and Dhrohi (2010).
Well yes, a few weren’t familiar with rock music and Surya himself wondered if it would make sense and sound in sync…but not anymore. “We are confident and you know what, a fresher who hasn’t heard this style of music fusion before should give us a listen.”
What have they chosen as their set? “We are performing carnatic sounds with rock influences. Steering away from commercial music, we have non-film songs, which includes Shankar Mahadevan’s tunes. Every carnatic performance ends with a thillana, ours will have rhythmic patterns of drums and keyboards!”
They also spoke about composing, rehearsals and getting acquainted to rock music. “Our group has a good mix of school students to middle aged adults. We would sit together, discuss ideas — use some, reject some — jamming sessions and finally find a common ground of satisfaction. “Another vocalist Keerthy Chowdary, a Class 11 student says, “It’s a fun atmosphere. Everyone listens to each other and since we are more tuned to rock music, we share music tracks and videos with the rest of the band, to enjoy the western beats. We don’t just bond over music but also over food and random conversations.”
With strong hope and Surya’s music studio already in the making, the band will soon launch singles and albums. They have a music gig in Sri Lanka coming up too!
(Catch Thadheem’s live today at Phoenix MarketCity, 7 pm onwards.For details call 3008 3618)