Carnatic influences, a rapper, and reggae singers, this 16-member Kochi rock band has it all
Members of Thaikkudam Bridge, a fusion band that's named after a Kochi bridge
When Kochi band Thaikkudam Bridge gets on stage at the Kalyan Sports Complex Ground this Saturday, expect to get overwhelmed by their sheer presence. It is a whopping 16-member band consisting of as many as 10 vocalists.
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“Some specialise in Hindustani classical, some in Carnatic, some in folk; on the other hand, we have rock and reggae singers, and a rapper as well,” says Govind Menon, vocalist, violinist, music producer and founder of this multi-lingual and multi-genre band, which started off as a cover band. They released their first album of nine original songs, aptly titled Navarasam, this Wednesday.
Members of Thaikkudam Bridge, a fusion band that's named after a Kochi bridge
These days, if you’re not popular online, you might as well not exist. But the band has a mammoth and loyal fan following (551,148 on Facebook to be precise) on social media. No wonder their most popular original song, The Fish Rock, got 1,577,402 views on YouTube, while Khwab, a track from their newly-launched debut album, has already got 40,793 views.
However, for its 16-odd members, it was not a planned move. “In 2013, my cousin Siddharth (Menon) and I wanted to participate in a reality show and I called up a couple of (read ‘a dozen’!) friends for a jam session. Even my dad, Peethambaran Menon, joined us. It was supposed to be a one-time fun project. We uploaded the session on YouTube and we became famous overnight, literally. It was a reggae version of Michael Jackson’s Beat it and got 10 lakh+ views. It was insane!” recalls Menon. “Initially, we didn’t give it much thought. We were still treating this band as a one-off thing. We all had our own careers and this was just supposed to be a short break from work.”
However, the members eventually agreed to do one show. “We treated it as a test drive. It was a gig at an engineering college in Kochi. What happened there still seems unreal. It was like a scene straight from the film Rockstar!” They ended 2013 with 120 shows, and so there was no looking back.
This Saturday, when the band performs in the city, apart from introducing the audiences to their new songs; they promise to have something for everyone — from Metallica to AR Rehman. You can’t miss this.
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