One of the challenges of mixing and matching flavours with a firm Carnatic base is that it creates new sounds that are often fragile. What Vellattanjur Sreejith and Abhiram Unni have done in their album ‘Antara’ is to design a harmonic grid that encompasses the notes of a raga giving it a western spin. It is not just one grid but seven where multiple ragas emerge, where the various moods are explored keeping intact the character. It is not like the obscure fusion rather a confluence of musical styles.
Sreejith and Abhiram chose the ragas and krithis after much deliberation. “From the many that we short-listed them we chose those that Abhiram knew and those that he was confident of presenting well. Right from the time we embarked on this project we decided that we would attempt to give them a different musical treatment. Instead of the usual mridangam, ghatom or khanjira we thought of backing it with rich orchestration,” says Sreejith, a leading exponent of ghatom who has recorded, programmed, mixed and done the musical arrangement for ‘Antara’.
The traditional krithis and ragas are not really tampered with. Abhiram, a young vocalist who combines a passion for music with his banking career, has sung keeping the form pure and undiluted. “Sreejith asked me to sing them as I would do keeping the mood of the lyrics and the raga unscathed. He later wove my voice with the backing instruments to give it an amazing feel,” says Abhiram.
Brochevarevarura ...(Khamas), Manavyalakincha ...(Nalinakanthi) and Vande mataram ...(Kuntalavarali) get a new treatment through ingenious orchestration. “For Khamas, which is predominantly melodious we added a brisk jathi that, we hope, has uplifted the piece. The use of guitar, saxophone, backing strings and a single violin helps give it a new colour. For Nalinakanthi we have tried out African tones and a rhythm pattern that is typically Western. Touches can be seen even in Kuntalavarali and Behag without disturbing the mood of the lyrics or that of the raga,” says Sreejith.
Irayimman Thampi’s Aarodu cholvene ... (Nathanamakriya) and Meenakshisuthan’s Balakrishnadevam ...(Yamunakalyani) lend themselves to new manifestations. “Nothing has really changed except for the treatment of the notes and rhythms. Balakrishnadevam ..., for instance, is given the colour of a bhajan with a constant rhythm pattern. And Aarodu cholvene ...is designed in the usual grid, like a typical padam. What we have tried is to enhance the major mood of the krithi using the veena instead of the usual violin,”says Abhiram.
A bunch of very talented musicians — Gokul Alankode (violin), Sajinlal Edappal (mridangam), AK Raghunath (flute), Anoop Vellattanjoor (guitar, edakka) and Biju Annamanada (veena )— have provided the backup, which incidentally is the soul of Antara.
Another interesting feature of this album is that the album has been recorded, mixed and mastered in the studio Sreejith set up at home. “I was always fascinated by this and tried to keep learning this art. I bought some minimum equipment and with the help of sound engineers set up this studio. Though I have done jingles, a couple of light songs, and the theme song for the Kerala School Kalolsavam in 2015 ‘Antara’ is the first full-fledged album from my studio,” says Sreejith.
