KOCHI: The song ‘Johnny Mone Johnny’ from the Malayalam film ABCD was an instant hit. The song also marked Dulquer Salmaan’s debut in playback singing under Gopi Sundar’s music direction. The song reappeared on social media a few days back, this time in a more peppy way from Gopi along with a group of young musicians who launched their new band ‘Gopi Sundar Live Ensemble’.
Earlier, Gopi had launched his band ‘Band Big G’ in 2016, which had an ensemble of prominent Malayalam playback singers. “Gopi Sundar Live Ensemble will be accessible to everyone. Through this band, we want to popularise the content of my music to everyone who would like to enjoy a ‘live’ experience. It’s a small band and the price tag is set in a way that people will be able to comfortably hire us. Our aim is to provide good music to a varied audience,” says Gopi.
The band currently has nine members: Gopi, Madhav Nair, Kavya Ajith, Nithya Mammen, and Christakala are the vocalists, while Shiyan Shaji (lead guitar), Jackson Jacob (bass guitar), Sachin Sam (keys) and Midhun Paul (drums) are the other members. “The band will always have new members. The aim is to give them a platform to exhibit their talents. As in the promo video, the songs will be presented in a different style. The audience will definitely get a different musical experience,” adds Gopi.
He also asserts that depending on the scale of the programmes they get, a few playback singers may associate with the band. “The members were personally selected by me. The band has immense potential and will definitely help new musicians. The songs will be set in a way that will entertain the audience. The shows will feature my songs and those of other musicians.”
He says that the practice sessions are going on in full swing. “A lot of enquiries are coming ever since the promo video was released. We haven’t committed to any show till now but we will do so soon.” The promo video was also noticed for the presence of Purushu, his canine companion. The video starts with Gopi seeking the blessings of the dog by saying, “Purushu enne anugrahikkanam” (‘Purushu, bless me’). “That wasn’t planned. The opening scene was planned as a single shot. However, that didn’t work out. So, we instantly thought of seeking the blessings of Purushu,” quips Gopi.
He has a lot of exciting projects lined up in Malayalam and Telugu. So how does he manage the time for everything?
“Music is a part of my life. So I don’t have to manage it. All I wish is to make good music,” he says.