You may not understand Malayalam, but after listening to Thaikkudam Bridge, you will dig out to find out more songs of the band. Kerala’s Thaikkudam Bridge is redefining the music scene, and with several international shows across the world, the band has created a big buzz in the Indie band circuit. They are an incredibly talented lot.

Their cover of AR Rehman’s medley to rock band Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters is extremely impressive and I can honestly say that I like their interpretation of it better than the original. Their music is a blending of sounds, styles and rhythms and what grabs you is that it also has elements of thrash metal, rap to balladic mixes and more importantly Indian music which they combine to an intriguing sound all their own. Music attracts people and surely you will love these rockers. The band has also touched the missing link in the Kerala music scene, bringing back the nostalgia and melody of the 70s and 80s Malayalam movies and improvising on them, not forgetting singing songs in Hindi, Tamil and English.

The band was formed for a one-time gig through the musical show Music Mojo on Kappa TV which has turned into Thaikkudam Bridge, a 15-member team into a rage. Their own composition Fish Rock, which became popular through social networking sites and of course YouTube, has taken the band all over the world. The band does not focus on any specific genre and has composed music in many different genres.

Verus Ferreira met up with Govind Menon for a short chat before they took the stage at Red FM’s new IP, ‘South Side Story’ where they performed to a large gathering at Richardson & Cruddas in Mumbai, a festival that presented music, culture and food from Kerala.

So tell us how did the band come about and your early beginnings.

Thaikkudam Bridge is a rock band with a soundscape built upon elements of folk and classical sounds of India interspersed with layers of progressive, pop, ambient and electronic textures. There is no staple sound here; we vary from electronic rock to metal. That is one of the reasons why no two songs sound the same. We treat every song differently.

How did the name Thaikkuddam Bridge come about?

It is named after an innocuous small bridge that nobody knew of until the band was formed. It was Piyush’s idea (an ex band member) basically as we used to gather at the bridge to practice and so the name stuck. In 2016 we released our first album ‘Navarasam’ which is an assortment of 10 songs that talks of dreary existentialism, socio-political commentaries, rebellion, freedom and of human spirit of oneness.

Your band consists of 15 members, do all sing and play instruments?

The band’s strength lies in nine vocalists and six instrumentalists including a violinist as a unique lead to the band. They all come from the length and breadth of the country, each of whom brings on board a wealth of diverse musical, linguistic and cultural influences thus creating a unique musical experience that is truly global nature yet local in idea. Part of the fifteen member band is inclusive of three sound engineers. Our singers have a varied and diverse experience to them. We include folk, Hindustani and classical singers amongst us. Each of us are full time musicians or connected with the music industry in some way or the other. There’s Mithun Raju, Vian Fernandes, Ruthin Thej, Anish T N, Peethambaran Menon (my dad), Vipin Lal, Chritin Hanna Jos, Anish Gopalakrishnan, Krishna Bongane, Nila Madhab Mohapatra, Amith Bal, Hemanth Mukundan, Rajan K S and Christin Jose.

Who are your biggest influences?

Well all of us have different influences. Metallica, Coldplay, Alice in Chains and our legendary musicians back home and around the world. Our biggest influence is the love of our listeners. They actually give us leads to make music we want the world to hear.

Who does most of the compositions and arrangements in the band?

Mostly it’s me and Mithun who work on the songs and arrangements. But in our band, every member contributes to a song as without their opinion and criticisms the songs wouldn’t have sounded the way they sound now. Everyone in our band has good aesthetics when it comes to music and all have the freedom to speak their mind. Also, it helps a lot when it’s taken in the right spirit.

What do your lyrics speak about?

All our Malayalam song lyrics are written by Govind's (Founder) sister and Peethambaran Uncle’s daughter Dhanya. Each of our songs talks of different facets of life. Navarasam talks about the art form of Kathakali and the different emotions that are depicted during using facial expressions. While Theevandi is about the train rides in general. The only conscious effort we have taken is not to be very predictable in terms of topic. Probably one of the reasons why we don’t have a cliché love song yet.

You recently performed at the Summerfest at Wisconsin. How did the deal for Summerfest come about? How was the experience playing at the fest?

The whole thing came into existence with the connection of Wonderwall Media, our management group and Evan Murray a Canadian independent music promoter. It was Evan who gave Wonderwall the necessary information and contacts for this opportunity. It was an overwhelming experience playing at the biggest music festival in the world. There were a Malayali fans in the crowd and their enthusiasm and support helped us kick-start our set with a bang. It was really a great feeling to watch the half empty audience at the start of the first song turn into a jam-packed area as the song finished. We have had experience working with crowds who is not familiar with the Malayalam songs. The rest was easy after we had their attention. Music can convey an emotion better than any written or verbal language. We were extremely happy to be awarded the Best Emerging Artistes at the festival too.

You play original and cover songs and also pay tribute to Malayali film songs. Comment.

Any art has 3 stages. First is to take in the works of the greats (listen). Second is to master them (learn). Third is to create your own (experiment). This is all easier said than done. Doing covers is part of the second stage. When we started out we were frowned upon by a large group and labelled as "only a cover band". Almost everyone starts out by playing someone else’s songs and we are proud that we have had the opportunity to play those songs. In doing so we were able to respect them more, regardless of what some people may think. Our band has the great fortune of accommodating many musicians who have the ability to compose and write music. This provided us with the luxury of making our own music which is one of the goals of any musician.

What ties the band together and keeps ego clashes at bay?

The main aspect of it is mutual respect. We respect each other as musicians and friends and sometimes we swap the role as teachers and students too. If there is a difference of opinion, we sit together and discuss it out and brainstorm on the solutions. Above all we help each other understand that each decision is taken in the interest of the band and not to corner or burden one or a group of individuals.

Songs like ‘Fish Rock’, ‘Appodhum’ involve social commentary, to melodies like ‘Innum Konjam Neram’, a lot of your music beyond genres. What inspires you guys to work on a song?

Creation is a re-assembled outlook of what your senses have fed your brain. Some are conscious, while some unconscious. The base of it all is to enjoy what you create.

Are movies on the cards for you guys?

We made our debut in Tamil cinema with Bejoy Nambiar’s Solo where we fused a traditional devotional hymn Aigiri Nandini to contemporary rock sounds. We have helmed music for many southern flicks since then. There’s also a Marathi movie ‘Gulab Jamoon’. Music in movies is again a different experience as we get to experiment different genres and moods all the times.

What is your take on the music scene in India?

India has a very rich and abundant musical history especially in folk and classical music. They are two strong pillars of the Indian music scenario and they will continue to be.

Interviewed by Verus Ferreira