By Prescia Gladwin and Nandakrishnan Vellat
KOCHI: Poly Varghese, an exponent of Mohan Veena, and Salim Nair, a digital musician, were recently in Kochi for a joint performance at Lokadharmi Nadakaveedu, Vypeen.
The show saw the duo blend the nomadic and barely-contained exuberance of Poly’s mohan veena and the rich harmonic and emotional synths of Salim’s virtual instruments to create an expansive soundscape of post-classical music.
TNIE caught up with the artists for a freewheeling chat about their careers, the power of music, and more.
What attracted you to music?
Salim: While doing my final year engineering course, I studied flute under K S Gopalakrishnan. I have always been fascinated with music. The joy that music creates in me cannot be put into words.
Poly: This is a complicated question. Necessity is the mother of creation. My form of expression is sound and silence, as I believe that when you are silent, you self-introspect, and when you are loud, you detach from yourself to translate what you want to say. I’m a writer, but I find myself more connected with music because it is purely instinctive. I could have discontinued my practice and pursued a normal desk job or could have seeped into my theatrical chops to get into acting, but I stuck to music. Music excites me, both physically and mentally.
How long did it take for you to perfect your orchestration?
Salim: That’s difficult to say. The instruments I use have been in the market only for a few years, and it wasn’t until 2016 that I began using them for performances. Digital instruments that express emotions by way of music are easier to handle, I feel.
I cannot compare myself with Poly, who has devoted much of his life to understanding music. I rely on software. The orchestration is dependent on the software.
What made you seek out the instrument that you practice on?
Poly: I fell in love with mohan veena when I saw my guru playing it on Doordarshan. But it is important to know that this musical combination has more to do with a musician’s state of mind than his instrument.
Both Salim and I have a genuine love for our instruments. We have an understanding of how they work. In tune with time, we transform. Now, we are entering into AI mode.
What characteristics of Baul songs attracted you?
Poly: The primary reason for my visit to Calcutta was to meet and study under my guru. Rabindra Sangeetham was what I listened to before making my way to Calcutta. Here, I developed a fascination for Baul songs. The nomad within the madness inside is, after all, what drives all of us. An artist is a traveller by heart. That took me from classical music to digital.
Can music influence change in society?
Salim: I don’t think so. But science believes music can change brain states. But we don’t have control over how it is going to change.
Poly: Research is being done abroad on how certain sounds influence the brain. Music surely influences our emotions, but not the world. What is art? It is the process by which you can liberate yourself and eliminate your ego.
Do you think society is growing more egoistic, especially with the rise of technology?
Salim: It is the reverse. During the Kerala floods, we saw all sections of people serving selflessly to help those in distress. It was not so about fifty years ago. The growth in communication and mass media has helped us understand different cultures and people. As a result of social media, we are able to understand the sufferings of people in Gaza. In Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker, the author explains that human society is becoming more kind, positive and helpful.
What are some of the challenges you faced over the years?
Salim: I’m one of those ‘spoiled brat technocrat people’ who have got their hands on many things. I have not faced any challenges.
Poly: Being a musician is not easy. I have faced North-South politics during my performances. A South Indian playing Hindustani music cannot expect a warm reception in North India. Coming this far with a little-known musical instrument has been a challenging journey. Later, when I got opportunities to perform abroad, the people who were against me asked if I could take them along as accompanists. For the show on February 16, those playing for me are all musicians from North India. Though I’m a Malayali, I don’t get invited to festivals in Kerala. There is politics behind it. But I’m least bothered. My duty is to play music.
What advice would you give upcoming musicians?
Salim: Just play music.
Poly: Salim and I are politically, internally and emotionally connected. That’s the formula behind our success. There’s also love and understanding. Artists should cultivate those connections.
What is the story behind your new album Decohered?
Salim: Decoherence is when the wave function collapses. One property of quantum objects is that there is an uncertainty about it. We come to Schrodinger’s cat experiment here … this process of collapsing into one specific state is conceptually called decoherence.
When naming the album, my idea was that. Two music worlds — Poly’s and mine — are collapsing into form a new one.
Poly: We also have a relatively unusual name for the band — Vilopa.
Salim: Vilopa means disruption in Sanskrit. In today’s busy world, caught up in one turmoil or the other, meditating is disruption. We are kind of disrupting the current state of affairs.
About the artists
Poly Varghese is the force behind the polystring guitar, an impressive 40-string, 3-necked instrument widely used by rock musicians. A Malayali, Poly is currently based in Australia.
Trained as a classical flautist, Salim Nair has extensively performed in the US as the lead player in a jazz quartet and as a flautist with a hip-hop band.