Carnatic concert on iPad takes city man into record books

Navneeth played the composition on the iPad and was accompanied by musicians who played Mrindangam and Kanjira. Navneeth, a composer and keyboardist, is a well-known name in the music circuits. He has performed along with top artistes in the field. A few years back he stumbled upon an app called Animoog, which is a professional polyphonic synthesiser designed exclusively for the iPad. “It caught my fancy and I started experimenting with it. It was touchbased and for me it was a new style of expression. However, I realised that the way it functioned was reminiscent of how Carnatic musicians perform. I started pitting things together. I also started using my iPad at concerts, where I accompanied other singers as a jugalbandi,” says Navneeth, who always wanting conduct a solo performance. “I wanted to have a full-fledged concert using the app, which would be something unique.” 

In 2015, he released a video where he performed Desh Thillana composed by Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman, along with Sumesh Narayanan on the Mirudangam and Harihara Sharma on the Kanjira. “The video was appreciated and AR Rahman shared it on social media and it became viral.” He was then invited to perform at a TedX event. 

“I performed Pantureeti Kolu composed by Saint Tyagaraja in the Raga Hamsanadham and Desh Thillana again. This time I was accompanied by Sai Ragavan on the Mirudangam and Harihara Sharma on the Kanjira. It was after this event that Limca Book of Records listed it as the first Carnatic concert on iPad,” Navneeth said.