The sounds of the djembe, the elusive African hand percussion instrument, have been echoing all over the country for four years now. Thanks to the initiative of Ganesh Govindaswamy, a commerce graduate, who took the Djembe and formed a group of like-minded musicians and called it Beat Gurus. Formed in the middle of 2008, Beat Gurus have delivered nearly 1,000 performances all over the country. Predominantly percussion-based, Govindaswamy says that the idea is to give the audiences something exotic and immaculate, coupled with high on-stage energy and constant improvising of true African music.
“The djembe is a unique instrument. It gives me a trance without the need to resort to alcohol. I believe that the music we make caters to all sections of the society. To prove this, I have had people telling me that they felt 20 years younger after watching us live,” he laughs. A professional djembe player and teacher, Govindaswamy picked up the habit from his grandparents, who played kanjira.
Beat Gurus currently comprises seven members. Prashanth Muralidhar and Govindaswamy on djembe, Prasad G on accompanying instruments such as tambourine and cymbals, Arjun MP on flute (a BArch student from BMS College of Engineering), Ganesh Nayak on darbuka and Adarsh PB on djembe, a BCom student from Dayanand Sagar College.
A striking feature of Beat Gurus, apart from their high-energy thumping music, is their on-stage attire. A lascivious mix of the colours of nature, Govindaswamy got this idea on his visit to Norwegian schools seven years ago. “It was then that I wore it and thought, ‘This would go well with the music I play’. I bought ten sets of the costume,” he says.
“In India,” he says, “there are very few African music acts. We are a bunch of people who have the right technique to play African music, with the right kind of rolls, solos and tempo to keep the audience occupied,” he shares.
Beat Gurus is due to launch its first full-length album titled Journey to Jungle in June. The highlight of the album will be a four minute track with real ambient sounds from the jungles of Madumalai.
— bharath@newindianexpress.com