Swarathma to rock Mangalore

Swarathma, an Indian folk rock band based in Bangalore, is all set to rock Mangalorens with the sound of contemporary Indian folk, with a fusion of rock, Carnatic and jazz.

The six-member band will present an exciting music show and enthrall Mangaloreans at the Village Pub premises near Yeyyadi on the eve of October 9. The band will also present a show at the Valley View in Manipal on October 10.

Speaking to City Herald, a member of the band Jishnu Dasgupta said that Swarathma, which was founded at Mysore in 2002, has released one video album ‘Pyaasi’ and two music albums ‘Swarathma’ and ‘Soundpad’. “The band toured UK, Morocco, Hong Kong and Singapore in 2009 and 2010. When one of the world’s most acclaimed music producers, John Leckie came to India in March 2008 for an audition for the British Council project, Swarathma had the privilege to be one among them,” he added.

Talking about the Mangalore programme, Jishnu said that it will be about 90 minutes programme containing about 15-20 songs. “Vasu Dixit, brother of noted singer Raghu Dixit, is the lead singer and will be on  rhythm guitar as well. While Montry Manuel, who hails from Kochi, will make the show enchanting with drums, Pavan Kumar, hailing from Mysore, will be playing the percussion instrument. Mangalorean in the troupe Sanjeev Nayak will enthral audience with his expertise in violin. Varun Murali, who hails from Bangalore, will be the lead guitarist in the troupe,” he added.

“Swarathma is the sound of today’s India and the stage act is unforgettable. Swarathma’s songs talk of joys and sorrows, of hope, pain and loss, optimism and despair of life,” Jishnu said. The troupe will tour South India covering seven cities including Mangalore, Manipal, Mysore, Chennai, Pondichery, Hyderabad and Bangalore. The tour is being conducted with the support of Kingfisher’s ‘The Great Indian Octoberfest,’ he added.

The band recently had won the JD Indian Rock Award for best band, best song and best album of the Year 2009 and released their debut music video featuring Shubha Mudgal in June 2010. They also had presented shows for the ‘Bel Bajao’ campaign launched by the Breakthrough India Karnataka chapter. Bel Bajao is an initiative to fight against social issues like domestic violence and abuse. One such show was held in Mangalore and Puttur few months ago.