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The idea that a band has to stick to a genre is imported and dated: Kaber Vasuki of Kurangan
Updated on: 23 January, 2017 12:07 PM IST |
Barely a year and a half since its inception, Chennai-based indie collective Kurangan is fast growing to become a massive crowd favorite among the young and the reckless. Consisting of English-speaking musicians, their aim is to bridge the gap between what is accepted and what can be acceptable by performing in Tamil.
Team Radio City caught up with their singer-songwriter Kaber Vasuki, just ahead of their performance at the first ever Radio City Freedom Concert, which is scheduled to be held on January 25th, 2017. Read on.
For those not in the know, Kurangan means monkey in Malayalam and Tamil. Would you like to tell us why did you choose the name for your band?
In Tamil "kurangu" is monkey and "Kurangan" is sort of a portmanteau of "Kurangu" and "Manithan" - loosely &39;Monkey-Man&39;. The idea behind the name is: to underline the fact that man is essentially a dressed up ape. It&39;s not a new idea, but in the self-righteous and feudal society that we live it - it&39;s an oft needed reminder. Plus, once you have declared yourself jester, you are free to mock the court.
Please tell us about your latest single, ‘Mugamoodi’
The song has a simple idea, we all - make fun of / get angry at / disagree with - different people for different reasons, but often fail to realize that given appropriate circumstances, we too will repeat their mistakes, act exclusively in self-interest and throw away our compassion. ‘Mugamoodi’ means mask and the song basically says that there are a lot of different kinds of masks and each of those masks fits snugly on all of our faces. So don&39;t pretend to be the mask you wear.
You play pop, hard rock, rock and blues. You refuse to be categorized under a genre. Is it a conscious decision or do you aspire to be the jack of all trades?
A lot of Kurangan&39;s musical vision is a reflection of our music producer and bassist Tenma. He leads most of the arrangement sessions and takes care of production as well. So a lot of this eclectic mix of genres boils down to the fact that he has an eclectic taste and vision. Our drummer Krish and guitarist Sahib Singh are also talented and creative musicians. Both of them put a lot of thought and imagination into the parts they right and both of them love variety and a good challenge.
When you put three musicians of such caliber together and ask them unleash their energies, it&39;s only natural that the band doesn&39;t get stuck to a genre. Besides, the idea that a band /act has to stick to a genre is imported and dated. It comes from a different time and place and a much colder climate. For us, it doesn&39;t compute. As long as the groove makes you move...
Kaber, you were a student at a remote engineering college in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, which we believe is quite cut out from civilization. How did you find inspiration or the inclination towards the music you make?
Completely caught off-guard by this question. Great job on the research smiles. A lot of things I said three years back, I don&39;t agree with anymore, so, first off, Thanjavur is a part of civilization and when I was there, I used to do three things consistently: a Be online at browsing centers while looking up the indie music scene in India and around the world, b Get on a bus and travel aimlessly listening to a lot of Ilayaraja and MSV and c Write songs. So in between these three things I learnt the basics of the craft of songwriting. As far as the ideas and themes go, I observe real life and steal from the best.
What was it like to make the cut to Chennai?
There was culture shock initially, ask any small town, village boy / girl about what their first few years in a city were like. It&39;s bound to happen. But Chennai and it&39;s people are warm and embrace you as you are - for the most part. I don&39;t think I could have done the things I did here anywhere else. The people here are honest, hard-working and rooted. As long as you are being honest, they connect and make their love and support felt. There is always the financial struggle - every artist faces that. Nothing new there. But I&39;ve been lucky for the most part.
Do you think there is a bias against artistes that perform in their own language in comparison to English-performing artistes?
Most of the country suffers from severe colonial hangover. That&39;s a simple fact, but it&39;s changing. Being a professional musician until not too long back meant you either came from financial stability, or from a family with a tradition in the arts, or both. It&39;s only a couple of generations back that the lower middle class have started to aspire towards a career in music. So it&39;s a time of transition in some way. Just wait until laptops and midi controllers become even cheaper - it&39;ll be crazy.
Contemporary indie artistes you look upto?
We don&39;t have a collective musical influence since everyone in the band is from a different background. Any change-making ideas from anyone is what we try and borrow to make the band progress.
Lastly, what can your fans in Bangalore expect from you as you take the centrestage at the first-ever Radio City Freedom Awards.
They can expect us to give our heart and soul, as we always do on stage. We are going to have a lot of fun, so come with an open mind and have a great time with us.
Kurangan is all slated to perform at the Radio City Freedom Concert at The Humming Tree, Bangalore from 8 pm onwards. For more details, click here
For more updates on Radio City Freedom Awards 4, visit our official website.