You need to get back on the track if you think that Thiruvananthapuram has ears only for classical music. The city, for long an important stage for Carnatic music, has a rocking independent music scene too, which seems to be on an upswing at the moment. And we’re not talking about Avial, the granddaddies of ‘alternative Malayalam rock’ and possibly the biggest act ever to have come out of the city. There are lots of other home-grown bands, all led by young musicians, each of which is making a buzz in the city and beyond with their brand of music. The bands play all sorts of genres, from progressive rock and thrash metal, to folk, jazz, fusion, R&B, crossover music, trance, groove, electronica, Sufi rock and even ‘Malayalam psychedelia.’
In fact, most of these bands are not just cover bands that get together to rehash the music of other artistes. They are each forging their own track in independent music with original songs and albums, as any music band worth its name ought to do. Avial’s eponymous album is still pretty much a phenomenon, ever since it was released back in 2008. Chaos, which started off as yet another college band in Sree Chithira Tirunal College of Engineering a decade ago, is now a thrash metal band to reckon with. Their album ‘Violent Redemption,’ released in 2013, is still trending. Vidwan’s quirky folksy original soundtracks, ‘Toddy,’ ‘Dupp,’ ‘Kavile Penne’ and ‘Elelo’ have gone viral…
Tony John, lead vocalist of Avial, says that there are so many home-grown bands because the city has always had an audience, both young and old, for alternative music. “Where there is an audience, a band culture thrives,” he says. Jayakrishnan S., lead vocalist for popular thrash metal band Chaos, explains: “There’s always support for good, independent music. Even a genre like thrash metal, which is niche at best, now finds an audience in the city. Thanks to the internet and social media, independent music has also found a space in popular culture too.”
By all accounts Avial’s success on the national stage gave a shot in the arm to the music scene in the city, but many of the young musicians credit Kappa TV’s popular show ‘Music Mojo,’ for getting independent music into the groove. “The show has given an impetus for music enthusiasts to come together and form bands. It has also helped many bands get a bigger platform and come into the mainstream,” says Brian Philip Frenandez, who plays rhythm guitar for folk band Folklore and bass guitar for progressive rock band Untitled.
The opening up of new performances spaces in the city such as Bharat Bhavan’s Thirumuttam, which organises regular performances, and Nirvana Café, an open forum for music enthusiasts, have also given an extra impetus to independent music. “Niravana, particularly, has a wonderful ambience and a good sound system that anyone can use. It has become the place in the city where music enthusiasts gather to listen to the latest independent music of all genres,” says P.S. Jayhari, who plays the piano, keyboards and supporting vocals for Avant, a cross-over band that gives ‘classical ragas a Western backing.’ Vaisakh S. Kumar rhythm guitarist of Untitled adds: “Unlike the Metros we don’t have permanent performance spaces like clubs and pubs. Also, now that Nishagandhi auditorium is off limits for rock concerts because of fears of sound pollution harming the animals in the zoo, stages like Bharat Bhavan and Women’s College auditorium have become all the more important.”
Then there are the college fetes or what Anoop Mohandas, lead vocalist of quirky folk-electronic ensemble Vidwan, says is “the lifeblood” of bands in the city. “Thanks to college fetes and music contests held in colleges we get plenty of opportunities for performance and an ready-made audience to boot.” Rock on!
BLAST FROM THE PAST
The city’s has a long legacy of independent music, which has been on a roll since the mid 60s. Pop band High Five, with lead vocals by one Tina Moreira, was one of the earliest bands on the bandwagon as was Creatures, led by the three Krishnan Nair and Sons brothers. “The scene really picked with the coming of rockers Indus Valley Civilisation in the 70s with lead vocals by Kutty, drums by Roger and Padman ‘Sunny’ Nambiar on the lead guitar, and John Anothy’s Karnatrixx band,” recalls music enthusiast Tomy K. Cherian, who runs music club Baby Boomer’s A Hard Day’s Night. The 80s saw the rise of Nandu Leo and the Bahn Krugers and other bands such as Copper. “In the late 80s, for a decade, the Trip music fete in Kovalam, was one of the biggest such fetes for independent music in the region,” adds Tomy.
TOP OF THE CHARTS
A few of home-grown bands and their genres:
--> Avial (alternative Malayalam rock)
--> Vidwan (folk, electronic, experimental and world music)
--> Chaos (thrash metal)
--> Pathayam (Malayalam psychedelic, trance, groove)
--> Saptak (pop, rock, experimental)
--> Avant (cross-over fusion)
--> KL 01 (progressive folk rock / combinational soft rock)
--> Folklore (folk music)
--> Kaun-fused (Sufi rock)
--> Untitled (progressive rock)
--> Symmetry (progressive metal)
--> Mindfield (progressive/ groove metal)
--> East Wind (blues and rock)
--> Jazzy Jammers (jazz)
--> Dodo crew (rock/pop/electro)
--> Eeettillam (Malayalam progressive rock)
KEEP AN EAR OUT FOR…
International collaboration Dodo Crew’s first album ‘Parakkirean’ that was released in July.
Untitled is working on its debut album and has already brought out a few singles such as ‘Addiction,’ ‘State of Being’ and ‘Riddled.’
Folklore is also working on its debut album and has made a single ‘Kunjikkuru’
Chaos’ second album, ‘All Against All,’ is set to be released early next year
Vidwan is working on a few additional tracks that’ll go into its debut album
Corrections and Clarifications:
This article has been edited for a factual error.
