Keba Jremiah has been a part of projects like Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Kadali, Action Replayy and Rockstar. Having worked with names like A R Rahman, Harris Jayaraj and Vishal-Shekhar, Jeremiah, who plays the acoustic guitar, is happy with the way things have panned out for him. As the owner of 15 guitars, Jeremiah says that directors keep him in mind when they need an acoustic guitarist.
“The guitar helps me express what I cannot say,” he begins. His career in the film industry took off with his first project, James Vasanthan’s Subramaniapuram. Calling himself a freelancer, Jeremiah tells us about his journey in the film industry:
I was forced by my parents to learn music in Dubai. So I have been playing the guitar since seven. I came down to India in 2004 and that’s when I got exposed to different kinds of music. I used to play at the same church as Harris Jayaraj.
Directors give instrumentalists a lot of freedom here. Composers will generally have the tune set with the guitar parts to be filled in. If I want to change the chords a little and make it sound different, they would oblige. For example, the ‘Kanave’ song from David happened on the spot. Anirudh and I were just jamming when we came up with the tune.
You need to know how to make music with just two or three chords. I don’t think someone has to be extremely skilled in a particular instrument to become a musician.
I am happy being a guitarist but someday I want to be a music director. I did get a few offers to compose music, but I am happy where I am. It is nice to create something for yourself than play for someone else. But that will happen at a later stage. I don’t believe in committing myself to one artist. I have been freelancing for a very long time now. I used to play for bands like La Pongal and Yodhakaa. I have also collaborated with few Malaysian artists.
I find it extremely difficult to play classical music. A tune which is strongly raaga-based is difficult. Since, I am into Western music, I get offers only for that. If I survived in the industry without knowing classical music, anyone can.