Topiwalleh in town
15 Jun 2013 8:40 PM GMT
That bling in their outfits, the multicolored Nehruvian topis and the high impact folk rock performance are what make Swarathama stand out. Coming from Bengaluru, the band retains its roots by playing E Bhoomi, their Kannada composition, wherever they go.
Will begin with the most striking feature of your band- the topis. Do these signify any ideology behind the band?
Well, our topis have a story to them. These are so significant that our second album in 2012 was named Topiwalleh. We used to don topis for our performances even before this album. These were not in vogue and we wanted to give them our own spin.
We are a set of liberal people, with different ideologies. So, the Nehruvian topis do not stand for our ideology. Incidentally, the guy who makes our topis comes from a lineage where his forefathers made the same for Indian freedom fighters.
Q. And do people connect to the Kannada singing band?
It’s not only Kannada music, that we play. It's just E-bhoomi that makes it to all our performances and then there is Nane-davi( My own way) and Jambha (pride) that people like.
You wouldn't believe the kind of response our topis and music elicit. It is a wonderful feeling to see people reciprocate by wearing the topis during our performances.
For our international audience, we try and explain our lyrics to put things into perspective. In return, when music lovers in UK come wearing our topis, it is sheer delight to play for them.
Q. That's amazing! And it's equally amazing to know about your social campaigns. Do you feel some sense of social responsibility as a band?
We started 'Action replay' somewhere during our initial years as a band. The idea was to do a free-of-cost gig against all of our performances. I wish we could actually do one free gig even now but it is just not possible. But we try and take our music to villages, small towns and places other than the posh cafes of metropolitans.
Q. What sort of response does a folk rock band get in smaller towns of India?
People have a set perception about bands- crazy and freakish college kids with an affinity to drugs seem to be their idea of music band followers. We have, in our own way, changed that perception to an extent.
Q. It is indeed a huge change. What are you planning next?
Thank you. We have started working on the tunes of our third album. In a year's time, we should be able to come out with it. Apart from that, we want to collaborate and jam with other artistes to produce some soul enriching music.
Will begin with the most striking feature of your band- the topis. Do these signify any ideology behind the band?
Well, our topis have a story to them. These are so significant that our second album in 2012 was named Topiwalleh. We used to don topis for our performances even before this album. These were not in vogue and we wanted to give them our own spin.
We are a set of liberal people, with different ideologies. So, the Nehruvian topis do not stand for our ideology. Incidentally, the guy who makes our topis comes from a lineage where his forefathers made the same for Indian freedom fighters.
Q. And do people connect to the Kannada singing band?
It’s not only Kannada music, that we play. It's just E-bhoomi that makes it to all our performances and then there is Nane-davi( My own way) and Jambha (pride) that people like.
You wouldn't believe the kind of response our topis and music elicit. It is a wonderful feeling to see people reciprocate by wearing the topis during our performances.
For our international audience, we try and explain our lyrics to put things into perspective. In return, when music lovers in UK come wearing our topis, it is sheer delight to play for them.
Q. That's amazing! And it's equally amazing to know about your social campaigns. Do you feel some sense of social responsibility as a band?
We started 'Action replay' somewhere during our initial years as a band. The idea was to do a free-of-cost gig against all of our performances. I wish we could actually do one free gig even now but it is just not possible. But we try and take our music to villages, small towns and places other than the posh cafes of metropolitans.
Q. What sort of response does a folk rock band get in smaller towns of India?
People have a set perception about bands- crazy and freakish college kids with an affinity to drugs seem to be their idea of music band followers. We have, in our own way, changed that perception to an extent.
Q. It is indeed a huge change. What are you planning next?
Thank you. We have started working on the tunes of our third album. In a year's time, we should be able to come out with it. Apart from that, we want to collaborate and jam with other artistes to produce some soul enriching music.
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