<p>When Praveen Alva began writing songs in English and Hindi a decade ago, he often faced a challenge: he couldn’t capture the essence of his memories growing up in the coastal region of Tulunadu. The right words would elude him. But when he turned to Tulu — his mother tongue — the heartfelt lyrics flowed more easily. This realisation gave shape to his band, Alva Kuuto, launched in Bengaluru in 2022.</p>.<p>“I want to showcase Tulunadu’s 2,500-year-old language and its narratives through the sound of today. Our music is eclectic folk — a blend of nu-metal, rock, and other contemporary genres,” says Alva, the vocalist, songwriter, and acoustic guitarist.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Abhilash Shet (bass guitar and backing vocals), Anshuman Upadhyay (drums), and Shashank Kandachar (electric guitar) complete Alva Kuuto. While Alva serves as the cultural anchor of the band, the others bring their technical expertise in sound.</p>.<p class="bodytext">There is Tulunadu in every detail — from the band’s name, which means Alva’s collective in Tulu, to the fish logo, music videos shot in Alva’s hometown Mangaluru, and artwork inspired by the Tulu script. The band hopes this cultural visibility will promote indie music “in a region dominated by film and devotional songs”.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The challenge of making regional language songs accessible excites Alva the most. He cites the example of ‘Pageyta pugey’, a track on vengeance from the band’s self-titled maiden album. “Can we write an angry song in Tulu and make people feel it, even if they don’t understand the words? <br />That was the idea,” recalls the 39-year-old. They achieved that by featuring heavy guitar riffs with trumpet and trombone — a nod to rock anthems and the music of Indian gangster films from the ’70s and ’80s.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The album features eight tracks. ‘Kaluvey’ comments on moral complicity, and ‘Gongey’ is a disco-meets-trumpet ode to the bogeyman lore. “I wrote the latter about my younger brother. As a kid, he was adventurous during the day but terrified of dark corners and the bogeyman at night,” shares Alva. ‘Pukkele’ targets the hypocrisy of those who blame the world but never work to improve themselves, with lyrics like, “Just wagging his tongue, the coward slept”. Its grunge-meets-hip hop energy draws inspiration from bands like Rage Against the Machine and Slipknot. ‘Ee’ is a minimal, guitar-driven track about longing.</p>.<p class="bodytext">These songs are rooted in experiences Alva has lived or witnessed in Tulunadu. In ‘Ashana’, layered with folk rhythms and harmonies, food becomes a metaphor for caste. The lyrics go: “The first leaf got a fried snack, the last leaf only got to smell it.”</p>
<p>When Praveen Alva began writing songs in English and Hindi a decade ago, he often faced a challenge: he couldn’t capture the essence of his memories growing up in the coastal region of Tulunadu. The right words would elude him. But when he turned to Tulu — his mother tongue — the heartfelt lyrics flowed more easily. This realisation gave shape to his band, Alva Kuuto, launched in Bengaluru in 2022.</p>.<p>“I want to showcase Tulunadu’s 2,500-year-old language and its narratives through the sound of today. Our music is eclectic folk — a blend of nu-metal, rock, and other contemporary genres,” says Alva, the vocalist, songwriter, and acoustic guitarist.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Abhilash Shet (bass guitar and backing vocals), Anshuman Upadhyay (drums), and Shashank Kandachar (electric guitar) complete Alva Kuuto. While Alva serves as the cultural anchor of the band, the others bring their technical expertise in sound.</p>.<p class="bodytext">There is Tulunadu in every detail — from the band’s name, which means Alva’s collective in Tulu, to the fish logo, music videos shot in Alva’s hometown Mangaluru, and artwork inspired by the Tulu script. The band hopes this cultural visibility will promote indie music “in a region dominated by film and devotional songs”.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The challenge of making regional language songs accessible excites Alva the most. He cites the example of ‘Pageyta pugey’, a track on vengeance from the band’s self-titled maiden album. “Can we write an angry song in Tulu and make people feel it, even if they don’t understand the words? <br />That was the idea,” recalls the 39-year-old. They achieved that by featuring heavy guitar riffs with trumpet and trombone — a nod to rock anthems and the music of Indian gangster films from the ’70s and ’80s.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The album features eight tracks. ‘Kaluvey’ comments on moral complicity, and ‘Gongey’ is a disco-meets-trumpet ode to the bogeyman lore. “I wrote the latter about my younger brother. As a kid, he was adventurous during the day but terrified of dark corners and the bogeyman at night,” shares Alva. ‘Pukkele’ targets the hypocrisy of those who blame the world but never work to improve themselves, with lyrics like, “Just wagging his tongue, the coward slept”. Its grunge-meets-hip hop energy draws inspiration from bands like Rage Against the Machine and Slipknot. ‘Ee’ is a minimal, guitar-driven track about longing.</p>.<p class="bodytext">These songs are rooted in experiences Alva has lived or witnessed in Tulunadu. In ‘Ashana’, layered with folk rhythms and harmonies, food becomes a metaphor for caste. The lyrics go: “The first leaf got a fried snack, the last leaf only got to smell it.”</p>