Guitarist Baiju Dharmajan confesses to being a ‘not-so-religious’ person. The closest he comes to praying is when he is at his ‘jam room’ near his home in Edavanakad. There, he says, he connects with a positive energy. The connection could be a conversation with himself or the act of making music. Baiju’s creative space is not just physical but also a philosophical space which nurtures his creativity.
An Illayaraja number flows out of a mobile phone; he jokes that he is an unlikely Illayaraja fan. A round table strewn with recording paraphernalia: a pair of blue egg-shaped shakers, an iMac, earphones parked next to a snazzy Bose speaker – this is the nucleus of the ‘jam room’, which is more of a ‘jam house’, the dining room of an almost 160-year-old house. Drums and a guitar welcome us into the house which is in the middle of two acres of coconut palms, has a pond and several different kinds of trees. The walls are stained by age and so are the floors; it is dark and cool inside, some have even attributed eeriness to the place.
Not for Baiju, “This is the kind of space where I can make music late into the night or very early into the morning and not disturb a soul. The only ‘person’ who can hear the jamming is the elephant which is tethered in the plot across.” His house is a short walk away, a comfortable distance, he jokes. If the need arises there is provision to sleep too.
Counted among the country’s best guitarists, Baiju Dharmajan is a force to reckon with in the contemporary rock scene. The two-time Jack Daniels award winner (for the best guitarist) was part of the rock band Motherjane for 13 years, before he left to strike out on his own. Since then he has collaborated with several bands and musicians, even mentoring a few. Last year he was selected for the Indian Recording Arts best guitarist recording. He also formed a band, the Baiju Dharmajan Syndicate.
He jams at this house, which belongs to a friend who passed away, with friends, band members and even protégés. The conventional concept of a studio doesn’t appeal to him, especially with the technology available.
“I have done recordings here. I compose and brainstorm with my band members here. Within this space I get to make my music – which has my sound. I get to decide how I want a song to be.”
An open door lets in light, and nature; a cat mews as he walks past, there is bird call… “Some of my recordings have these natural sounds; these give the music a unique sound unlike the perfection of a studio.” There is a kitchen adjacent with provisions for ‘kattan chaya’ (black tea) and nothing else.
He recorded a number, ‘Moham’, here complete with the sounds from outside. When the occasion demands, he uses a studio. It has only been a couple of years since he started ‘working out of this space’.
With Motherjane he would jam with where the band would be at the time; later, after he left the band, he worked from home for a year. A workspace in Vypeen is something after his heart. He once stated in an interview that you could take him out of Vypeen, but you wouldn’t be able to take Vypeen out of him, that he is attached to his ‘Vypeenkara’.
The Baiju Dharamajan Syndicate is working on a concept album based on M.T. Vasudevan Nair’s Randaamoozham . The songs are inspired by some of the characters in the book which is MT’s take on the Mahabharata .
“The book so beautifully portrays characters such as Karna, Kunti, Ekalavya and others. They are not deified, they are almost human like any one of us,” Baiju says.
Another of his projects ‘Kaithola’ will be out on January 26, when it will be showcased on MTV’s Artist of the Week segment.
For Baiju, his jam room is a place to unwind, to relax, to think, to be with himself, to get inspired.
He plays his jazz version of ‘Main shayar to nahin…’ from Bobby . “I was sitting here listening to this song and I thought why not give it another spin.”
Needless to say, the song is inspired.
