Yakzan Gary Pereira, the 25-year-old lad, is a happy man these days. To say he lives and breathes music won’t be an exaggeration. A freelance keyboardist, he is also a simultaneous full-time member of the Daksha Sheth Dance Company and the bands Vidwan and Asima (a male choir and percussion ensemble lead by Devissaro). He also pairs with a good friend Neha with whom he composed music for two segments in the anthology 5 Sundarikal, which was his very first individual venture as a music director. Though Yakzan has assisted in a couple of films in Kannada,Tamil and the Malayalam flick Chappa Kurish before, it is for the first time that he is working individually. The music and background score for the two stories, Sethulakshmi directed by Shyju Khalid and Aami by Anwar Rasheed in the anthology was done by him.
“I already knew this team as I had associated with them for the film Chappa Kurish. So when they approached me asking if I would be interested in doing music for the film I was just overwhelmed,” says Yakzan.
On the experience of working with the directors Yakzan says: “They were a jovial set of people, they gave me ample freedom considering I was just a newcomer. And most of all I got sufficient time to work on the pieces as I was kept updated from the very beginning even before the shooting commenced. Usually the music directors are roped in after everything is set towards the fag end, and the work is done in hardly a week. So the fact that I almost got three months to work on the pieces gave me more confidence,” he says.
Yakzan have been associated with music ever since he was a young kid. “It was my father who encouraged me to take up music, he wanted me to do something worthwhile with life,” he says.
After completing his course in sound engineering, Yakzan has been very much active in various TV programmes doing various shows in Rosebowl, Kappa channel and so on and also working in his own band Vidwan which recently had a break when they did OST (Original Sound Track) for the Malayalam film Romans.
On the difference between working in films and working on one’s own he says: “Both has its set of pros and cons. In films your freedom will be limited, you have to give a product that the director demands, so sometimes you may end up doing something which you may not like. But this necessarily is not the case always, then again films give you more fame and you will have a better monetary benefit. Again instant fame and money is not something which you can expect when you are working on your own. But here the freedom quotient would be more.”
Yakzan has been associated with Asima and the Daksha Sheth Dance Company for the past 3 to 4 years. By working with them, Yakzan has got plenty of opportunity to travel across India and outside. “Travelling to various countries such as China, Australia, UK and so on you get a lot of exposure to the music scenario outside. One would be humbled to see the pure dedication and the excellence with which they render. These music festivals are a great platform to learn a lot of things. I am lucky and grateful to have got an opportunity to associate with them,” Yakzan says.
About his future plans Yakzan says: “Discussions are on with the same team but nothing has been finalised yet. If I get good offers I would definitely consider doing more films. I have also plans to release something like an album with Neha in the near future.”