CHENNAI: Seated in a small cosy room with dim lights and the sound of rain outside, a musical evening was a perfect idea to just relax and unwind. But when it is some power packed music, then all you got to do is sing along and get on your feet.
‘On That Note’, a first time collaboration of two highly energetic musicians — Troydon Netto and Nitika Rajkumar entertained the crowd and all you could hear was ‘woohoo’ to all the songs they played. The idea behind the musical evening was a tribute to some of the best female artists that are celebrated today. From Nina Simone, Adele and Rihanna to Sia, the two sang some of the best hits of these fine and talented performers.
With Nitika on vocals and Troydon on the guitar, beatboxing and also backing vocals, the evening started with Nina’s Feeling good, a much-celebrated voice back in the 1960’s. This was followed by songs such as Valerie (Amy Winehouse), Summertime (Lana Del Rey), Titanium (Sia), Diamonds (Rihanna), Rolling in the Deep (Adele), I love rock n roll (Joan Jett), You and I (Lady Gaga), etc.
“Most of the times, in our country only sweet and melodious voices are accepted. A western vocalist with a powerhouse voice doesn’t get as much appreciation. And that is another reason we did this show, so that we could acknowledge and celebrate different voices,” explains Nitika.
Music worldwide has seen its own kind of evolution, from the soulful music of the 80’s to the present era; music has come a long way. But much of its essence has been lost. “Every 10 years, there has been a rebirth in a different genre of music and unfortunately we are in an era where the music is more electronic.
And what we are trying to tell our listeners is that though we are an acoustic collaboration, we can also sound full and entertaining. We can also make people dance to the music. So you don’t have to necessarily go to a club and listen to EDM to dance,” pointed out Troydon, who has been who has been pursuing music for nine years. He has played along with some popular city-based bands including Ryan and The Undercover, New Horizons, White Lady, etc. While, Nitika, who is doing final year under-graduation has been singing since she was a kid and does gigs as and when she can.
Nitika wants to write and perform someday but “it is a bit of a task, I am trying and hopefully will get there soon”. On the other hand, Troydon says that although he would love the idea too, there is a very small but dedicated crowd that enjoys independent music. “Most of the venues want music that can draw a huge crowd and more money; independent music has a small crowd but it’s slowly picking up. So hopefully someday,” he shrugs.