Your biggest learnings when
you started out as a musician?
IN CONVERSATION WITH
Vinod
Krishnan
CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF THE
PRESTIGIOUS FORMATION
CALLED INDIAN RAGA
The most important one is
that we humans have very
grand ideas about ourselves
that often comes in the way of
progress. This statement was
paraphrased by one of my role
models AR Rahman in a recent
interview where he said artists
should stop complaining about
the lack of opportunities or
blaming situations for their
failures. He goes on to add "What
have you done worthwhile, to
demand people's respect and
attention?” This sentiment has
always kept me grounded right
from childhood and also sets
how I pick my collaborators.
Interestingly enough, it also
explains a lot of people I've met
and worked with. Today, with
YouTube, for musicians at least,
this is so true. You can create
opportunities for yourself without
having to wait for a big label or
person to promote your work.
Other lessons that came my
way have a lot to do with
audience preferences, attention
spans, popular content, being
a global artist, how to pick
collaborators, and so many more.
Who did you learn from and
what was the best part?
I've had the privilege of
learning Carnatic music from
such stalwarts like Madurai
TN Seshagopalan, Neyveli R
Santhanagopalan and now
from Madurai R Sundar. The
best part was learning music
during school and college days.
I had, on average 16 hours of
just classes each week, apart
from practice. Seeing their
effortlessness in performances,
their charm, their patience and
willingness to teach, the life
lessons they taught by living
as examples. That discovery is
slow and matures over time. It's
not about them - it's about how
you perceive them, and how you
choose to use them as a doorway
to a much higher possibility
in life - the music itself.
Please share your
experience of working on
the Bharathiyar project?
26
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
The Bharathiyar project
that I created and produced
presents a love poem "Ninnaye
Rathi Endru (You are the
Rathi)", written by Mahakavi
Subramania Bharathi, an Indian
freedom fighter from Tamil
Nadu. In this poem, Bharathi's
words describe the goddess he
worships. Other interpretations
also suggest he wrote this to
his wife in admiration. So one
could see layers of meanings
and to whom it is addressed. To
highlight this, I've shown a dance
sequence by Sophia Salingaros
performing bharathanatyam to
depict Bharathi's words, with
direct abhinaya, and ballet to
reflect the abstract subject - the
goddess. Musically also, the
main melody is more classical in
nature, but the arrangement has
harmonies and contemporary
scores to give this contrast.
Upcoming projects
I am producing my first Tamizh
independent single that I've
composed and sung, titled "Kaalai
Pozhudhil". This is a reward
based crowdfunded project -
individual backers contribute
to the project in return for some
perks or rewards. The campaign
is live on Indiegogo. This is
also my first scripted narrative
video with a storyline featuring
Abishek Joseph George and
Amrutha Srinivasan, up and
coming popular faces from the
Tamizh film industry Kollywood.
This is a breezy romantic Tamil
song that anyone in love will
definitely appreciate and relate
to. It's a slice of life - a portrayal
of the desire we all have of
living with that one person
who will be our best friend, a
partner and equal in all ways.
A true partnership is one that
is built on trust, support for
each other's dreams, cheering
through the tough parts and
celebrating victories together.
This is just a depiction of that
joy, while it also gently addresses
subtle gender stereotypes.
Also, the Bharathiyar project
"Ninnaye Rathi Endru" will
re-release on the popular
Tamizh YouTube channel
Behindwoods to reach wider
audiences. In the second half of
the year, I am performing with
an awesome Carnatic ensemble
led by the famous Ghatam
Karthik on a 2-month US tour.