pipeline. Our other collective, The
Thayir Sadam Project (which we
formed with Carnatic fusion artist
Mahesh Raghvan and percussionist
Akshay Anantapadmanabhan), also
has some exciting stuff coming up.
We recently recorded a piece with
the winner of Spotlight, a contest we
conduct with SaPa and The Times
of India. We wrote a piece for him
specifically. A few months ago, we
had the opportunity to record and
perform live with the legendary
Aruna Sairam ji, and it was amazing.
We learnt so much from her. it liked us or not. (I’m not talking
about whether we liked it or not.)
I also perform with my mother, and
it’s in a different musical space.
What I love about it is that there
are so many amazing musicians
and the shows are all so diverse
and multifaceted. It unlocks so
many different avenues depending
on the genre we’re working on. What’s your take on the importance of vocal
health and what do you do to take care of it?
How have you as a musician
leveraged the digital space to reach
out to your target audience?
Creating content for digital media is
very different from what we perform
at concerts. An audience member
will look for something different at
a concert, as compared to when they
are scrolling through YouTube. As
musicians, it’s important to recognize
and acknowledge that difference.
Working with the digital space has
been very interesting for me, because
it has given me the opportunity to
explore and try things that I wouldn’t
normally be able to do at a concert.
In the Indian classical space, I have
started playing short compositions
for digital media. The Thayir Sadam
Project also brings out a short weekly
piece called Thayir Sadam Thursdays;
it helps us engage with our audience
more playfully, and also keeps us on
our toes and create more content.
One of the best things about the
digital age is the kind of collaboration
that is possible – we can do so much
online. Our audiences are not limited
to one geography, which makes
everything so much more fun.
Bindu
Subramaniam
Tell us about how you started learning music
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As Ambi said, music was a part
of everything we did growing up.
Our father made sure we learnt
violin, voice, and piano – whether
I read a lot of novels and decided
that I didn’t want to be a musician.
I wanted to be a corporate lawyer
with eighty-hour work weeks. But
after three years of studying law in
college, I told my father I didn’t want
to be a lawyer anymore. He asked
me to finish my degree anymore.
Music was a part of everything
I did until I was 18 or 19 years
old. After that, I felt that this
was what I was meant to do.
I think it is very important to take
care of your own instrument. A
lot of us struggle with it. All of us
have different voices in different
situations. For me personally, I need
to stay hydrated before my concert.
I always tell our students to keep
themselves warm and stay hydrated.
I find that if I keep up a consistent
level of physical activity, that
helps my vocal health too. It’s
also important not to have too
many acidic foods in your diet.
Tell us about your songwriting process
I find that songwriting is my
most honest form of expression. It
offers me an avenue to say things
I wouldn’t normally be able to say.
My songwriting is very Berklee-
oriented because I learnt the
Berklee style of songwriting.
My development as a songwriter
became very interested once I
started teaching. I now work with
students between seven and 15 years
old, and when I see them exploring
their own songwriting abilities, it
helps me hone my skills as well.
I’ve had many kids ask me the secret
to writing a good song. I always tell
them that, to write a good song, you
need to write a thousand bad songs.
How important is collaboration according
to you and how have you explored that?
For me, collaboration is really
important because it’s a great way
to grow and get out of your comfort
zone. It is a good way to see yourself
in a different light. A lot of the music
I’ve been making in the last few
years has been collaborative, and
that has been a conscious decision.
Even if I am performing solo,
it is not entirely a solo effort.
Every music in some sense is