One morning, at the Indian Terrain store on TTK Road, the five musicians of the band IndoSoul, walked in with their instruments to jam, and let their music fill the store. A six-year-old band that has constantly pushed the boundaries of Carnatic music, allowing it to take many an avatar — jazz, blues, progressive, lounge, and more — IndoSoul played its signature songs that morning. In a sense, it was reinforcing its identity in terms of what its sound really stands for: Carnatic-Contemporary.
Double Edge, features two Chennai-based experimental bands that have inherently been inspired by Carnatic music but have deliberately gone beyond to evolve a new sound that celebrates its roots but is very far-reaching and diverse in its form and appeal. Meet Staccato and IndoSoul, both vividly excited to perform at The Hindu November Fest across three cities.
Over six intense sessions alternating between their office space in Besant Nagar and their friend’s studio on Eldams Road, both in Chennai, Staccato has been curating its content for the Fest. The nine-member band that will open the evening, calls its show, “multi-genre”, based on what the members of the band have “learnt, liked and created”. The show will be a wholesome mix of Carnatic music, retro film music across languages and a handful of their own music. More recently, following some ideas and discussions, the band has introduced an audio-visual component that they hope will enhance the experience for the audience.
On November 5 and 6, for two days, IndoSoul was cooped up in its studio, shut away from the madness of performances, going through its set for the Fest. “It’s going to be a ‘best of’ IndoSoul set,” says its lead, Karthick Iyer, a violinist and vocalist, trained in classical music and who brings to the table years of experience collaborating with artistes from across genres.
More importantly, as Iyer adds, “I see the concert as a culmination of a year-long journey with the songs, sounds and concerts surrounding our latest album, Two Sides of Karma . There has been a definitive evolution both in terms of sound and stage act over the last year and we intend to round it off with this prestigious Fest.”
Coming on board as a supporter exclusively for this concert is Indian Terrain, Chennai-based national brand that forays into the world of music with this collaboration. Speaking of the association, Indian Terrain’s Chairman, Venky Rajagopal says, “The fusion between Indian and Western aesthetics is so seamless and exciting and in a sense, it is a tribute to the spirit of the very inspired and eclectic Indian. These bands stand for the coming together of different sounds that make a melody. I think Indian Terrain is a lot like that. It is the coming together of style by an assemblage of distinct, standalone pieces of clothing to make a powerful sartorial statement.”
Take Staccato for example. For nearly a decade now, the band has travelled far and wide, performing at prestigious venues like the Royal Albert Hall in London, at the Tum Tum Pa festival in Rio de Janeiro, and across parts of India including Chennai’s myriad spaces, from sabhas to the Urur Olcott Kuppam. “And they are all equally fulfilling,” says Niranjana Ramanan, the band’s vocalist and its only female member. Among other compositions, Staccato will also perform its most special song, ‘Elay’. Inspired by the harvest festival of Tamil Nadu, ‘Elay’ is also the band’s first-ever composition, a celebration of the simplicity of music.
IndoSoul on the other hand will, on popular demand, most certainly perform ‘Varali’s Vice’, the latest release from Two Sides of Karma . It is in this song that for the first time, the band’s guitarist, Vikram Vivekanand will also sing along with Karthick. “We rarely miss playing this song these days,” Karthick says.
Double Edge, featuring Staccato and IndoSoul, will play at the 14th edition of The Hindu November Fest on Friday, November 16, at The Music Academy, 7.30 pm.
