Varun Sunil is still breathless from a show he has just played in Palakkad when he gets on the phone for an interview. The founder member of indie-pop/folk band Masala Coffee is looking to recreate a similar adrenaline-filled performance in Chennai today, saying, “We will be performing new, original numbers that are going to be part of our debut album. It’s really exciting!”
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The eight-member band has Sunil and Sooraj Santhosh on vocals, Daya Sankar on drums, Preeth PS and David Crimson on guitar, Pauly on bass, Joe Johnson on the keyboard and Krishna Raj on the violin. After debuting in 2014 on Kappa TV’s show Music Mojo , they went viral with renditions of ‘Munbe Vaa’ and ‘Snehithane’. Since then, they have garnered a huge following online — over 1,10,000 on YouTube (with 33 million views on just their top four videos) and 64,000 on Facebook. Their offline following is sizeable as well, with two sections of their concert here being sold out days in advance.
Sunil says of their social media stardom, “When we started off, we never thought we would become a band. We just randomly did a few covers, and did not expect that people would accept it the way they did, especially because the version we did was a little slower and more suited for an easy listening genre. That is something we need to thank all our fans and followers for.”
New tunes
Their upcoming album — “the name will be revealed at our Chennai show” — is the product of a year’s work, says Sunil. It will feature their signature style of melodic music. “We have been working hard on the songs. Even for our covers, we try and do justice to the originals. So it means a lot more to us when they are our own,” he says. But why has it taken four years? “There has been a lot of touring, plus we’re composing the music for a Tamil movie starring Dulquer Salmaan. We have finished shooting for three songs so far, so that can be expected in the coming months,” he says in a conciliatory tone.
Language no bar
After their first show in Mumbai earlier this year, the band has extended their repertoire to Hindi songs as well. “We do not want to be known as South Indian artistes. There is no language barrier in music, after all. There are quite a few Hindi numbers for the audience to look forward to,” he says.
Post the show here, they will perform in Bengaluru in June, followed by a tour of Australia, hitting Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.
Watch Masala Coffee live at Phoenix MarketCity on Saturday, May 26, from 7 pm onwards. Tickets at ₹300 and ₹500 on in.bookmyshow.com.
