JOIN USA finesse with folk and fusion
The marriage between a soulful voice and solid knowledge in music is the key for a band to succeed in an industry with many bands just floating around. ‘Kalari Strike a Chord’, which was founded in 2014, is a neat package of sound, quality and finesse and blends multilingual folk and fusion.They pay attention to aesthetics but are also mathematically complex, rhythmically sound and emotionally connected to their work.
The band members knew each other as independent artists and came together to work as a powerful, sonic ensemble. This organic collaboration comprises bassist Aditya, lead guitarist Ankur, drummer Vikram, vocalist Shubham and lyricist Shiny.
Reflecting the essence of life as a broad theme in their music, each song of theirs is distinct and the style reflects the members’ varied musical interests and backgrounds. The diversity adds to the largesse of their set at every concert and the band looks at this blend as their unique selling point. From a concoction of blues and Indian classical, the troupe’s music ranges from traditional folk music to upbeat pop.
Shubham says, “We mix a lot of other genres as we do not believe in confining ourselves to one particular style of music. We are a versatile lot. Our peppy numbers can drag the audience to the dance floor while our melodious tracks can gently pull one to understand the soul of our music.” The band covers a number of songs from various South Indian languages and also present them as a mash-up, apart from writing original music in Hindi, English and Bengali.
For the name, the four took a cue from the art form ‘Kalaripayattu’ as they felt that it catches one’s attention immediately. Likewise, ‘Kalari Strike a Chord’ too struck a chord with audiences across the country. They have soared high in the indie-music circuit by presenting performances with legendary musicians such as Usha Uthup, Zubeen Garg, Karthik Das Baul and other pioneers. Shubham says, “The most memorable concert was our opening act for ‘Indian Ocean’. We also performed at a charity event for an non-profit organisation called ‘Aham’.”
Currently, the band is working hard on getting their singles featured as they look at it as an opportunity to reach out to a nation-wide audience. Shubham proudly says, “One of our songs, ‘Wings of Fire’, which is a tribute to late APJ Abdul Kalam was featured on MTV Indies recently. This was our small way of paying tribute to the rocket scientist of India.” However, he also wishes that there is a concrete way by which a musician can monetise his work and hence, does not have to depend on a day job, which often proves to be chaotic. He explains, “Today, we have Youtube and Vimeo. Their ability to quickly share music and gain followers have changed the face of the music industry and the way people consume music as opposed to live performances earlier. However, it is difficult to find service and monetise a fan base. The revenue that is generated is encouraging to artists but simultaneously, it is largely dependent on followers as well. Taxing it makes the industry all the more worse.”