CHENNAI: Change is, as the cliché goes, perhaps the only abstract thing that doesn’t change. And here we have YOU, a youth-based group which is working towards bring this change in the life of individuals. The interesting part is they have chosen music as their sole medium of communication.
YOU, which stands for Youth Oneness United, was founded by Premnath Ganesan, an engineering student with a keen interest in western and fusion music genres. He’s one of those students who takes time out exclusively to work for a cause. What made their group choose music as a way to interact with the general populace? “Music is magical, it creates positive energy and is therefore a powerful motivational tool. It reaches people more easily than speech. Music, whether western, classical, fusion or contemporary, is a powerful and vibrant means of conveying ideas,” he says.
With a carnatic singer, radio jockey, guitarist, music composer and musician-cum-poet, the young group is a complete package. Presently, they are working on an interesting concept inspired from the recent Tamil Movie Vaaiyai Moodi Paesavum. A composition based on this concept focuses on the importance of healthy conversations and controlling one’s speech, especially when angry, and the impact of using a kind tone.
“Music is the one thing that connects people, no matter how old you are or what your race or background is. I think that’s pretty amazing. But my favorite thing about music is that if you listen to a song when you’re, let’s say, in a good situation, and you listen to the same song five years later, all the memories will come flooding back and you’ll feel exactly the same way you did when you first listened to it. Music makes every experience so vivid that I can’t imagine life without it,” explains Janet C Stalin, music manager, YOU.
YOU has been rendering performances on various occasions across Chennai and Tamil Nadu. Recently, they visited Orange Leaf, an old age home, and delighted the audience with their captivating renderings. They have plans to visit an orphanage in Kanyakumari to enthrall the children with their performance on World Music Day. “There’s nothing to fear. Live life and don’t just survive. Shed fears and come out, face life and take the challenges head on,” reads one of their compositions.