They call it ‘ethnotronic’ music. A Mumbai-based band, Filter Coffee, is adding pizzazz to classical music and infusing it with the required dose of contemporariness, by blending it with electronic music.
Filter Coffee is the creative offspring of tabla player Swarupa Ananth-Sawkar, a disciple of Ustad Allarakha and Ustad Zakir Hussain, and Shriram Sampath, a flautist who left a career in journalism to chase his passion. The two-member band was the only one from India to be nominated for the Balcony TV Awards 2014-15 for their composition ‘Slow Down Kalandar’.
“Being musicians, natives of Tamil Nadu and neighbours in Mumbai, Shriram and I often jammed together during fusion and classical performances. But Filter Coffee wasn’t born until we stumbled upon electronic music,” says Swarupa. “It looked like the missing link we were looking for to present Indian classical music in a palatable way,” she adds.
One could call the band’s music a brew of tabla and percussion beats; flutes and vocals twined with heady electronic grooves. And anyone who has seen the duo perform would be impressed by the energy and dexterity with which they flit between playing an array of instruments while simultaneously handling the electronic loops on their laptops.
Swarupa, who has been playing the tabla for the past 20 years, has taught herself to play percussion instruments such as djembe, darbuka, cajon and timbale. A loved piece in her performances is her signature tabla bols sung with konnakol.
Shriram, a disciple of Pandit Ronu Majumdar, apart from playing the bansuri dabbles with a range of flutes starting from Egyptian ney, the Chinese flute to the concert flute and a bunch of pipes.
The compositions of Filter Coffee are rooted in tradition. “Our music has western influences but we cannot but draw inspiration from Hindustani classical and Carnatic music, courtesy our roots in classical music,” says Swarupa.
“Take for instance ‘Slowdown Kalandar’,” says Shriram. “It is a slower version of the legendary ‘Dama Dam Mast Qalandar’. But we have injected in it a classical touch,” says Shriram.
The band also borrows melodies from South Indian folk songs and works with ethnic folk artists like the Manganiars of Rajasthan.
While the band does a lot of on-stage improvisations, they say a piece they compose is an ever-growing entity. “Usually, we pick a tune and work on it in the machine, adding beats, grooves and pads, until it sounds right. A few vocal notes and piano strains are thrown in if need be. And once the track is prepared, it forms a base on which we play live music. But the piece is always evolving and improving. Everyday there is something new to add,” says Shriram.
The two often collaborate with other musicians for their gigs. “We have started counting our laptops as legitimate band members,” chuckles Swarupa.
“But we do collaborate with a lot with singers, rappers, visual artists, violinists and guitarists. The change in artists lends the same composition a fresh flavor,” she adds. Filter Coffee is currently working with singer Jahnvi Shrimankar (featured in ‘Slow Down Kalandar’).
Having trotted the globe for various performances, the band recently performed at the Oneness Gathering Festival at Glastonbury in UK, Southhampton Arts Festival, Bali, World Music Festival in Indonesia and No Black Tie in Kuala Lumpur, among others. Their album ‘Ragatronic’, an anthology of eight ragas played with different instruments and electronic music was also recently released.
Swarupa and Shriram are looking forward to new collaborations and a larger audience. “When we started we didn’t get many platforms to perform and we still don’t have any official award to our credit. But the vehement cheers of the crowd sometimes tell you whether you are on the right track or not,” says Shriram.