JOIN USWaste, that sounds good
Music has always been used to tell stories and transmit emotions that cannot be effectively conveyed through words but Thaalavattam is already working hard to broaden the boundaries of music by conveying a environmental message. It is aiming to reach into the hearts and minds of its audience. Thaalavattam is a musical venture by Manuel that means ‘circle of rhythm’ in Malayalam.
Montry trained with his Cochin-based guru Jerry Peter who instilled the love of drums in him but he is master at multi-tasking. He is a dancer and owns a graphic design studio also. He has played the drums with the Indian folk rock band Swarathma which gained for him worldwide appreciation.
But Thaalavattam is not just another rock band. The usage of ‘recycled instruments’, mostly made from paint buckets, PVC pipes and pet bottles etc gives Thaalavattam a cutting edge over other contemporary bands. “I consider this a musical project rather than a band because I am continuously experimenting with music and different artists. For example, there are times when we don’t use any vocals but at other times, we might add some. Thaalavattam is still in its evolution period,” explains Montry.
“I wanted to do something different and at the same time impart a message to people and make them understand the importance of reused materials,” he adds.
Describing his genre of music as a combo of trance and tribal, the project promotes the message of ‘reuse, reduce recycle’.
All the instruments that are being used in this project are made up of recycled material and create experimental sounds. Believing that nothing is waste, Thaalavattam urges the audience to find art in the most mundane things.
“We also perform in schools and conduct seminars. The idea is to teach children the importance of waste material and teach them how to make musical instruments from waste material. This helps in promoting a good cause along with spreading music all over. When we make drums of six different sizes, we make sure that each of them sounds different. Same is the case with pipes. When we join multiple pipes together, each of them sounds different,” Montry shares with Metrolife.
The ideology of Thaalavattam is to meet different artists and experience different music. Their performances vary every time, so one time they may be leading with music while another the performance may be dance-oriented.
The key in the performances of Thaalavattam is the rhythm rush, which gives audience a better chance to connect with the on stage music and creates a space where everyone gets to be a musician! For the onstage members interact with audience with their instruments and spontaneously create different kinds of music everytime.