KOCHI: It is not often that you come across a band devoid of any frills or excesses. An act so rooted in the land of its birth that not just its music but its very ethos follows the principles of an austere and egalitarian existence. In what has grown into a vigorous landscape, Thiruvananthapuram-based Eettilam stands apart from its fellow indie music contemporaries in Kerala. The band has limited presence on social media, it is does not have a manager nor does it have the backing of a label to record the songs but what the three-piece act is certain about is creating music that resonates with the common man on streets.
Comprising Ratheesh Leela on guitar and vocals, Devan Narayanan on bass and Karthik V K on drums, Eettillam was formed a little more than six years ago by Ratheesh who quit his job as a software engineer. The band was conceived as an act that delves into the pertinence of a symbiotic relationship between man and nature. “The world around us has changed so much with all that was once natural and abundant eroding.
I have noticed this shift close to my hometown where farms and canals have turned into buildings. So the ideology of the band, so to say, is to highlight the relevance of preserving what the earth gave us. The name of the band also translates into a natural abode made with bamboo although figuratively, it signifies motherhood or creation,” says Ratheesh, a self-taught guitarist.
Eettillam’s latest release, Mudiyattom compares nature to a woman being urged to dance before the rhythm stops. “The song symbolically states how it is important to respond and act before it is too late,” says Ratheesh. However, it is Koythupattu, the band’s second single launched last year that is truly potent. A harvest song heard during the celebration of Onam is subverted into one that questions and provokes the listener in an explicit attempt to herald a counter-culture.
The lyrics, critical and uncompromising, ‘enquire rather than glorify’ and are aided by the urgency of the music which combines soft rock and metal elements with folk notes to give a robust track. The intensity is conscious, given the lyrics deal with innately relevant topics while the listeners are compelled to take heed. “The only instruments used are guitar and drums, so all our songs essentially sound loud. We are forcing the listener to really listen,” says Ratheesh who is also the lyricist of the band.
“We don’t have the bandwidth to promote Eettillam on social media, also we don’t have the backing of a label. Our agenda has always been to perform in public spaces often free of cost because we want our music to connect with the common man on the street. The recognition we have is mostly through word of mouth,” adds Ratheesh. Having performed at various festivals related to social issues and environmental causes across Kerala, the members hope to release a full-length album soon.
“I have written 26 songs so far which are ready to be composed and recorded. We are hoping to gather enough funds for the same. We have played for the P K Rosy Foundation and at the National Theatre Festival held in Thiruvananthapuram in 2018,” adds Ratheesh. The band’s most recent initiative was organising the Concentration Camp Music Festival in January this year which saw the participation of several indie music bands from the state.