Joshua Bell, a celebrated violinist, once said ‘When you play a violin piece, you are a storyteller, and you’re telling a story’.

And every time violinist Shravan Sridhar picks up the violin, he weaves magic with it. He has a busy musical schedule and is always on the move.

The mechanical engineer decided to become a full-time musician a few years back. Since then, he has created a number of songs, originals and covers, as an individual musician and with bands. He chats with Anila Kurian about his projects and more.

You formed a new band recently...

It’s called ‘The NonViolinist Project’ and includes Kumaran on drums, Naveen Samson Benjamin on guitars, Marshall Robinson on keys and synths, Sooraj Kumarr on Bass and me on the violin.

Tell us more about the band.

The band’s sound is very eclectic drawing inspiration from a myriad of genres including blues, jazz, Latin, Afro-Cuban, gospel, indie rock and even electronica; all amalgamated by the thread of Carnatic and Hindustani. We hope to have an album by the end of the year.

What are the other bands you’re part of?

I’m part of ‘Anand Bhaskar Collective’ from Mumbai, ‘Madrascals’ and ‘Matt Bacon’ from Chennai and ‘Pineapple Express’ and ‘West Block’ from Bengaluru.

How do you manage these collaboratives? 

I basically live at the airport (laughs)! It is quite hectic, I must say.
Between practice sessions and performances, it’s hard to find the time.
I also have my other freelance work to do.

Where do you get all this energy from?

I guess it’s the busy life that I boosts me to work harder. It’s almost like being in three places at once.

Any artistes you want to collaborate with?

I would love to work with Karsh Kale. He’s always been a great inspiration. He has created his own genre of music and that’s just awesome.

Do you ever get any free time?

(Laughs) It’s been a couple of months since I watched any movie. But I’m not complaining, I do love my job.

However, whenever I am waiting at airports, I catch up on my television shows.

Any new projects we can look forward to?

The bands I’m part of have interesting numbers coming up. I’m working on a few solo projects too. Apart from that, I’ve collaborated with Mahesh Raghvan and our song will be going live soon.