With a prolific body of work already in both traditional music and collaborations with prominent musicians, Viji Krishnan has taken forward the legacy of musicians from a family that has produced three generations of violinists.
Now, with her contemporary world music album, Malabar to Morocco, releasing today, Krishnan’s latest milestone has added a new dimension to her repertoire.
Talking about the idea behind the production, Krishnan reveals the three reasons for making the album.
“When I practised at home, my son’s friends used to really enjoy the music I played. However, they said they found traditional kutcheries boring. Maybe because they associated Carnatic music with their parents’ generation and it is the same notion for Indian classical music that includes Hindustani music. The second reason is that since I have travelled extensively for performing, several genres of music have influenced me in many ways. I wanted to mix those influences in my latest work. And, many friends who heard the idea were very encouraging,” she adds.
The album comprising nine tracks outline her experience in the field of music. Titled Kadambari, Mallipoo Tea, My Father, My Guru and Sufi Spice, these tracks are actually narratives of the influences raging from Scottish bagpipes to Chinese tunes.
She also has an interesting mix of collaborations to her credit so far. These include Naveen Iyer (vocals and flute), Keith Peters and Sonu Sangameswaram (bass guitar), Donan Murray and Krishna Marathe (lead guitar) and Dilshad Khan (sarangi).
She says, “Artistes are in a different zone when they collaborate. They don’t have to talk to each other or even greet each other when they begin working on the music. The energy they have is amazing and against the common notion, there is no ego.”
Despite collaborative experiments, Krishnan’s foremost identity has always been of a traditional artiste. “I have always been steeped in traditional music, though I have collaborated and presented contemporary music. If I had ventured into contemporary music early in my career, I would have been caught between the categories,” she adds.
Coming from a family of legends, Krishnan began learning the violin under the tutelage of her grandfather A Narayana Iyer at the age of two. She started performing at the age of seven and went global with her dad, the violin maestro T N Krishnan, at the age of nine.
“I started violin classes with the instrument that was bigger than me. My oldest memory of the classes is my granddad telling me that I have to practise for 10 minutes continuously. He kept a chocolate in his pocket and would tell me I would get it only when I finished the practice. But, as a little girl I had no idea of time and would practise for two hours,” she says with a glint in her eye.
And, coming from a family of legends also has its share of challenges. “There is a constant comparison between the artistes from different generations. People say that my dad is much better than me, but then he also has 35 more years of experience,” she adds with a laugh.
