Adam Kendrick-Kewley was raised in the UK listening to The Beatles. He had travelled to India several times, but never really considered moving here. However, when his girlfriend Leonie got a job at the Goethe-Institut in Chennai, there were no more excuses. He decided to come along and relocate during a punishingly hot mid-summer in Tamil Nadu, and compose music from an old guest house. It’s been three months of sweating and writing songs since.
Kendrick-Kewley identifies himself as a ‘travelling composer’, which means he travels the world and makes music wherever he goes. To do that, he always carries with him a small keyboard, a microphone, and the ability to find a piece of home everywhere. The music he plays has been around for a while now, and it probably would sound familiar to those who like the alternative scene.
Kendrick-Kewley likes to describe it as a movement rather than a genre. “With folktronica, you are not trying to get on the radio or the TV, but are mainly working to carve a niche. The only aim is to get a lot of travels under the belt and find stories to tell,” he says, gently touching a string of his guitar. Going by the stage name ‘Whatthe Animalssay’ (check out the Facebook page), Adam has spent three seasons and crossed as many continents to write the album, living in the wet Isle of Man, a hipster hotbed in Oregon, and in the land of spirituality.
Once the album was ready in April, he uploaded it on Bandcamp.com, a platform to support independent artistes and their work. “I’ve been sharing my stuff on the web for around four years. There are a lot of possibilities with music online. It’s incredible how you can now fit an entire studio into a bag and travel the world.”
East calling
Kendrick-Kewley starts his days with meditation, a good read, and of course an Indian breakfast at a café in Triplicane. The fading charm of the lodge he’s been living in conjures up the perfect setting for his compositions. No less importantly, there’s no shortage of good vibes in the hostel-like space.
He couldn’t have made a better choice. Putting music together is challenging enough, he says, never mind doing it in a place that holds imagination back. Music coming out of a small flat in a metropolis like London is usually negative and tense. “I try to get away from that. Travelling makes the creative process easier; it nourishes art and allows you to widen your horizons. You will never run out of inspiration.” The added bonus is that Chennai is affordable, he says, where you can stay longer and live comfortably on a limited budget.
Predictably, the pursuit of sound perfection in a crowded guest house comes with setbacks. Also, the temptation of hanging out with other guests is often impossible to resist. “Last month, there were two Britishers with whom I had a fun time, but I have to admit I completely disconnected. Luckily, we’re in the off season now,” he laughs.
For fellow musicians who are interested in flipping the script as he did, Adam has two things to recommend. “I researched quite heavily before embarking on this journey. I also think some kind of discipline and time management is definitely necessary. I’m an introvert, so I don’t mind sitting in my room for hours, but this is something you really need to do to be productive. Otherwise, you’ll find any excuse to not go ahead.”
However beautiful Vietnam and his other favourite places in Asia may be, India proves a true magnet. “My father was fascinated by Buddhism, and I grew up in an environment where melodies from this corner of the world were pretty much always playing.”
His first time in India, though, wasn’t exactly how he had pictured it. The harshness of the North was a culture shock, which is when he decided to fly South and explore the country beyond regular tourist destinations. Everything went differently from then on. “Nothing in life is meant to be coincidental, I was once told.”
In this series we feature people who continue to work as they travel.
