A new act featuring a legendary musician's children plays an unusual mix of electronic and carnatic sounds
The Thayir Saadam Project performs its first ever gig, in Bengaluru earlier this month
The credit for the formation of a brand new electro-carnatic act, The Thayir Saadam Project (TSP), goes to a friend of Bindu Subramaniam's. Bindu, at the time, was in a separate outfit called Subramania with her younger brother, Ambi (both are legendary violinist L Subramaniam's children from his first wife). And this friend told them that they must check out an Indian classical version of Adele's Hello and collaborate with Mahesh Raghvan, the musician who'd made it. So they met, and gelled from the word go. This was about a year ago. And now, the Bengaluru-based trio is ready to make its Mumbai debut this weekend, having played just two live shows before.
Akshay Anantapadmanabhan, a percussionist who played at the gig
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When they take the stage in the city, though, people will get to hear a brand of electronic music that isn't an everyday affair here, or anywhere else for that matter. For, TSP's music involves an unusual sonic alliance between two separate worlds. On one hand, there's Bindu and Ambi's straight-up carnatic influence, thanks possibly to being raised by their father and singer Kavita Krishnamurthy, their step-mother. And on the other, there's Raghvan's iPad app. It helps him mimic a range of Indian instruments, like the flute and tanpura, and layer those sounds with the completely western sensibilities of dubstep, drum 'n' bass, etc. The result is a blend of violin, vocals and electronic beats that simultaneously straddles both modernity and the past.
A road less travelled
But where do they feel that their output fits into an industry built on more run-of-the-mill sounds? "Honestly, I'm not sure yet. I think that our music is quite new in a sense. And I don't know if there's a 'slot' yet for what the three of us have been making so far. But the idea is that everything we do is carnatic based. You can either call it a 'fusion' or an 'electronic' set. But the base will always be Indian classical," Ambi tells us on a conference call from Bengaluru with the others.
And Bindu, when asked how the division of musical labour takes place within the band, adds, "The way we are looking at this project is that all three of us are equal contributors. Sometimes, in traditional carnatic scenarios, or even in bands, the vocalist takes centre stage. But that's not us. So there might be some songs that have a lot of voice in it, and others will be more about the iPad or violin. The idea is that if we look at all three of them as equal instruments we'll have a lot more that we can play with in terms of how we want a particular track to sound."
New in Mumbai
That makes sense in terms of maximising musical combinations in a mathematical manner. But it's Raghvan who gives us a clear picture of what TSP has in mind when it comes to their vision. Commonplace electronic genres are built more for a club structure, he tells us. But not a lot of people are aware that there is also a diverse group of musicians who are mixing Indian notes with EDM beats, Raghvan continues, adding, "Karsh Kale is an example of what I'm talking about. See, carnatic music is traditionally played in temples, sabhas and places like that. So what we are trying to do is get it into new places it's never been before [such as this weekend's venue in Mumbai]."
On: August 18, 3 pm to 5 pm
At: Mysore Association, 393, Bhau Daji Road, Matunga Road.
Log on to: bookmyshow.com
Entry: Rs 499
Catch this gig tonight
A Bulgarian drummer, American singer, and two Indians — on the piano and guitar — make up Take 5.1, an outfit that plays a mix of be-bop and modern jazz. Catch Sava Boyadzhiev (in pic), Megan Powers, Pradyumna Singh Manot and Sonic Shori take over this evening’s proceedings at a popular venue in Nariman Point.
On: Tonight, 7 pm
At: The Experimental Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point.
Call: 66223724
Entry: Rs 300 to Rs 1,000
On the side
Like Bindu and Ambi, who also play as part of Subramania, Raghvan is also part of another act, called Carnatic 2.0. This project is similar to TSP, since it fuses Indian classical roots with electronic sounds. Raghvan will team up with violinist Shravan Sridhar to play a gig at Bandra’s Cuckoo Club on August 19 as Carnatic 2.0, following his TSP concert.
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