Nostalgic memories of Chennai inspire band’s music

“We all enjoyed similar kind of music and were keen to form a band. That was how we all got together to make music in 2018. Ever since, we have been trying to explore multiple genres through our music, from Carnatic, funk vocals, blues, to electronic dance music (EDM). Our idea is to be as versatile as possible,” says Ranjani Ramadoss, a vocalist for the band, Kelvikkuri, which means question mark in Tamil.

Their latest single, Nangooram (referring to anchor in Tamil) delves into how a city can be an anchor in one’s life. “We wanted to tell a story through our music. I come from Chennai, so the lyrics delve into missing the city and its beaches while being away from them. It’s a nostalgic lullaby kind of song. It speaks about Chennai as a city becoming an anchor, and welcoming you. The city hasalso been facing water crisis over the past few months. Nangooram captures all of it,” elaborates Ranjani. The band hopes to perform this song in the city in thenear future.

Besides Ranjani, the band includes Allan Varghese Thomas (keys), Ananya Raja (vocals),Amit Nayak (mandolin), Chlipher Chistopher (guitar), Dhananjay Venkatesh (bass), Sanju Alex (guitar) and Ujwal KS (drums). “Our band has people from different parts of the country, pursuing different professions, but sharing the common goal of wanting to make fusion music. Creating fusion music is always a little risky, as there will always be some people who may not like it. But, we find it so much fun to play and believe that its popularity is growing. We also have a visual element to our music, through a live artist who paints while we perform – bringing another dimension to the music,” she asserts.

Lamenting that film music has always been dominant in Chennai, the musician notes that music fests have been changing the scenario over the years. “As a result of music fests, independent musicians arefinding enough opportunities to showcase their music,” Ranjani adds. The group, which performs in Tamil, English and Malayalam, is planning to release itsalbum soon.