“ Antha Arabic kadaloram, or azhagai kandaene …” croons Penn Masala member Hari Ravi, overlaying an energetic voice-only five-part arrangement that has the crowd swaying to the popular Rahman track. The group weaves Hindi and Tamil lyrics, a speciality just included for the people of Chennai, with immense ease. A sea of young adults bops along, Snapchat camera at the ready as they capture Penn Masala’s debut performance in Chennai in the courtyard of Phoenix MarketCity, Velachery.
As the first Indo-American a cappella group to have taken flight in the US, the 20-year-old legacy Penn Masala has built is nothing short of immense. They’ve presented melodies in front of former President Obama, entertained Bollywood’s finest at IIFA, but they say now is their time to shine. Consistently innovating, the team says, it is the best way to honour the legacy and its many members.
“I think we’re at the point where our goal is really just to grow our presence in India, but since we’re still in relatively early stages of that, it’s hard to say exactly where we see ourselves,” says Nikhil Raman, a member of the band. And while the group is only on their fourth India tour, still ambiguous about what the future holds, they say that the vision for Penn Masala is clear.
“We strive to blend Indian music with Western music, and part of being a group that does that is helping to represent that demographic of people,” Raman adds. And it’s not only the melodies that touch their fan base. The group, Raman tells us, aims to help the Indian diaspora.
They have big plans, and with an enthusiasm level to match, it’s not hard to see why their fan base covers audiences from all walks of life. The listeners are largely based in the States or here in India, but as Ravi puts it, “it’s all about location now. It’s time to take our music across the globe.”
Although the band is known largely for its studio albums and the multitude of live shows that take place year-round, the members of Penn Masala haven’t stopped innovating. “Music is served at a faster pace nowadays, so we’ve tried to keep it fresh by introducing things like Masala Mashups and themed videos, like our Evolution of Bollywood Music mix,” says Atman Panigrahi. And the studio time is only part of it. “It’s not necessarily enough to have a good track at this point — you need a great video,” Raman explains.
The 14 young men are live wires on stage, churning out hit mash-ups to a packed house. For the Penn Masala team, though, there’s a statement hidden under all their melodies. “In times of divisiveness, sadness, or even joy, we hope to emphasise that music is beyond all of that,” says Ravi. “It has the power to unite so many different communities, creating something beautiful.”
