CHENNAI: Whether it is the more benevolent knocking on wood or the overpowering influence of a horoscope, every Indian finds themselves up against superstitious beliefs at one point in their life or another. Srihari Jagannathan, singer/songwriter of city-based indie band Chennai Street Band — with Goutham Healer on drums, Renin Raphael and Akshay Yesodharan on guitars, Adithya Gobi on bass, and Sebastian Sathish on keys — is no different.
“My mother was talking about how a relative’s life was improved because of a stone he wore and I kept bantering with her, asking if she didn’t think the relative had any part in the improvement,” he begins, speaking of the inspiration for their recent release Paramapadham.
The funky Tamil song conveys an important message of appreciating a person over a belief, oozing local flavour and satire. “It’s okay to have a belief, but if a person is idle about it (doing nothing to improve the situation), what is the point? I didn’t know how to put it in a song; it was philosophical. One day I was watching TV and saw Yogi Babu on a show. The lingo attracted me. That’s how the language in the song came about and I thought the analogy of snakes and ladders was interesting — life has its ups and downs,” Srihari shares, adding that that the brass sound for the song is by 305 Horns, who have worked with the likes of Lizzo and Camilla Cabello.
The single is a part of their second album Uplift and reached position 86 on the Spotify Local Pulse list in November. “It was a tremendous feeling to be in the top 100 where only 3-4 indie songs make it,” he exclaims. With Hindi and Tamil songs in the mix, the band hopes to reach a larger audience with their bilingual album — either you leave with an important message or a groovy tune. Win-win.
Album exploration
The band’s second album Uplift features songs that are energising and positive. Each song explores a different genre of music. Their earlier release Safarnama is a pop qawwali.