Beating it like no other

Beat Gurus’ is a unique band for a number of reasons. Apart from being an ‘only percussion’ band making tribal African music fusing trance and psychedelic elements, the boys also keep their tunes groovy, attire colourful and shows extremely interactive.

Their set-up for each gig differs. At every show, they analyse the crowd, their energy levels and mentality and try to make music that will connect with the audience and get them to tap their feet.

“It takes 14 years of experience and a daily jam of at least three to four hours everyday to understand this,” laughs Ganesh, the founder of the band.

Their current line-up includes Ganesh and Prashanth Muralidhar on the ‘djembe’, Ganesh Nayak on ‘dharbooka’, Sunil on the flute, Prasad Govind on percussion, Adarsh on top ‘djembe’ and Kannaiah on bass ‘djembe’.

When asked if playing the ‘djembe’ constantly hurts, he says, “Initially, it was a challenge and quite hard to play it. But I really wanted to learn the instrument. And playing music has the capacity to heal all wounds.”

Ganesh used to learn ‘djembe’ in Europe from various artistes and went on to take classes in African style djembe  later. The band represented India in Norway at ‘Cultural Evening’ and has many laurels in its kitty; be it playing at corporate events or in colleges.

They have also had people dancing in popular malls and conducted many music workshops in schools. The band has also played at events like ‘Freedom Jam’, ‘Bengaluru Food Festival’ and ‘Bengaluru Wine Festival’ but Ganesh fondly remembers playing at ‘Octoberfest’ and Acharya College for a crowd of about 20,000 students.

“The music scene in the City seems to be healthier and better for the younger crowd. Even in terms of learning percussion instruments, there are a lot more avenues and opportunities. When I started out, there weren’t many people taking up percussion but now, the industry is thriving.”

The members of the band believe that people should gather together, enjoy music, dance and feel liberated.