BAND OF THE MONTH
What was the idea behind your band?
The band was crated initially to score the
background for a theatre production called
Odichodichu- a bus drama. It was staged on a
bus re-engineered into a performing space.It
was an attempt made never before in Indian
theatre, to stage a play in a bus with the
bus as a character. It was a novel attempt to
take art to the people and there were a lot of
social realities portrayed in the script and
the song. The production could only carry
on for 5 performances but the songs became
popular and the band, Oorali progressed
along performing. Then the band changed
it texture many a time since 2013 and right
now, after 5 years and more than 500 odd
performances across India Oorali we are a
7 member ensemble including musicians
actors and visual artistes.
You are known to make music based on social
satires. How has your music been received so far
and what were the challenges you initially faced
to get your music across to people?
As any journey it was not an easy
beginning. But we never intended to be a
band as I said earlier. We just kept going
along experimenting with how we sounded,
how we looked on stage, added songs along
the way and were inspired by the relevance
and acceptance of our music. Life is a
never ending struggle and art is our way
of coping with it and belonging in this
universe. There are issues we come across
20
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
every day as human beings and our songs
reflect them. It’s a machine that has stories to tell and it
has to be seen to be believed.
Making music on social issues, were you criticised
or been under any sort of pressure initially? Tell us about your upcoming projects
There has always been criticism and will
be.But there are so many fans out there who
are energized and inspired by the material
we churn out. We always take the feedback
accept what we feel is true, work on it and
keep on practicing.There is always pressure
whether we are doing the right thing.But we
stick to our research and work with the facts
to make things better. We are working with Kochin Muziris
Biennale 2018 and continuing the post flood
journey that we began after the devastating
floods that hit Kerala this year. WE
began by creating community art across
experience in affected areas and now we
are extending with the support of Bienalle
to the coastal Kerala and the fisher folk
who did a major chunk of the rescue
operations and saved innumerable lives.
Tell us about your bus performances Your message to upcoming artists in your space.
Oorali regularly performs in the bus and
always travels in it. It is called express.
Express was a bus before, but not anymore.
It doesn’t ferry people across destinations
now. It now doesn’t keep the regular time
but abides by Oorali time. Ooralis had found
express just in time, just before it was about
to be sent for scrapping after 12 years of
running as a public transport vehicle. The truth will set you free.
Re engineered into a performing space
by the effort of multiple artists, now it’s a
fully functional performing and exhibition
space. An art bus that can take experiences
to people has seen many ups and downs,
been with us through thick and thin and is
an integral part of all Oorali undertakings.
RAPID FIRE
1. Best performance till date - The
last one.
2. Artist you would love to
collaborate with - Many, Radiohead
is now in my mind.
3. If not music, what would you guys
be doing? - Art, definitely.
4. Describe your work in one word
- Share