When 26-year-old Abhinav George Saji arrived in the UK in 2023, he thought his dream of becoming a singer would have to take a back seat. Life in a new country and studies weighed heavily on him.
But music, he soon realised, was not a passion he could simply put away. Abhinav soon began looking for like-minded musicians in the UK. And that search led him to a group of Malayali youth in East London, and eventually to the formation of ‘Nadhamaram’, or ‘Sound of Trees’ for the western audience.
Sound of Trees brings its energetic performances to local gigs and events in and around East London, with Malayalam melodies, south Indian classical and semi-classical tracks, and fast-paced film numbers.
“It is a passionate initiative by a bunch of Malayalis from different parts of the state, none of whom are officially trained or practising singers,” says Abhinav, who hails from Kannur.
“I never let go of my passion for singing, and was already doing stage shows and events back at home.”
Abhinav, who is frontman of the team, has had a long musical journey. Trained under Guinness World Record holder Dr Kanhangad C Ramachandran and singer Ramachandran T, he is a two-time winner at the Kerala State Kalolsavam, and a semi-finalist at the Shaan Rahman Show in the UK and Britain’s South Asian music competition ‘Melody Masters’.
Sound of Trees, which began as a small relief hobby for a group of expat musicians, has now grown into a band with a solid fan base. The group consists of Naveen Suresh on piano, Adhil Ibnu on guitar, Praveen Das on bass, Haith Ravi on percussion, Athul Gireesh on drums and vocalist Giftu.
The band initially thought of the name ‘Nadhamaram’, blending nature and music, which was later anglified to ‘Sound of Trees’. Their humble beginnings were at small parties and events among their circle of friends.That slowly grew into regular performances at concerts in restaurants and open spaces.
Word of mouth and strategic social media promotions helped build a genuine fan base. “The reception among the diaspora here in the UK has been overwhelming,” says Abhinav.
“Every programme we hold has a lot of active crowd participating and completely being one with the music. The passion that people have here to enjoy life after work, make most of their free days. Moreover, the connection people trace back home keeps demands for local bands alive.”
Registered in the UK as an event company, the band expanded its presence in East London with its event ‘Roots by SOT’ in 2024. The first full-length show drew a considerable crowd with the band’s live music performance and a DJ show, helping establish the brand.
For the band members, performing in the UK is different from performing back home, largely because of the appeal of a crowd that actively enjoys the music. Recently, the band also got a chance to perform at the famous Egg London nightclub, marking another stride towards success.
“There is a huge demand for Malayalam melodies as well as ‘adichupoli’ tracks like some of those Mohanlal hits,” Abhinav smiles. “We receive a lot of appreciation even from strangers.”
Back home, Sound of Trees members have already shared the stage with prominent musicians such as Job Kurien, whom they admire and whose music influences their own performances.
“Currently, we get queries from many event companies in the UK to perform at events. We wish to grow the band to a bigger music company, accommodating different genres as a bigger music group in the future. Currently, originals are in production and we plan to release them soon,” Abhinav says.
