Band Koom | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“Ellathukkume inga happy paddy.”
This is Deepan Fathima’s response when asked about the choice of venue for Band Koum’s upcoming concert – Korukkupet. “In this region, most of us don’t like sad music. Our tunes, songs…everything is happy, whether it is for a wedding or a death. Band Koum’s music is also happy,” he says.
A group focused on folk, Carnatic, independent and electronic music, the band Koom’s performance this Saturday will be its first live public concert in Chennai – a city that connects deeply with all the members, and is a big part of its music and ethos. The five-member band comprises vocalist Susha, violinist Shreya Devnath and percussionist Praveen Sparsh, who have a deep background in Carnatic music, and Deepan and ‘Rocket’ Raji (Rajendran), parai artistes who are members of the Friends Kalai Kuzhu troupe.
Deepan says, “The kind of music and instruments the band will perform with, be it the violin, mridangam or guitar… there has never been a live music performance like this here before. This is an opportunity for my people to listen and experience this music, and we are also excited about the response we will get from here.”
The band Koum debuts at the G5A Festival in Mumbai in 2022. Earlier this year, they had a private showcase in Chennai. For their first public show in the city, the band Koum will be performing a completely original set list, with a mix of genres and solid beats, bringing forth their diverse journeys and experiences in music, while a fair amount of dancing is expected from their audience. The atmosphere is set to be like a street festival, and a performance by Deepan’s friends from Friends Kalai Kuzhu is set to kick off the concert.
Praveen says, “It has been a dream to celebrate the musical diversity of this city, which includes gaana, parai, Carnatic music and even gospel. The idea was to have people from different musical backgrounds come together and create original compositions that truly reflect our musical identity.”
“Half the excitement of being in this band is the process of creating original music together. We all came together knowing that our focus would be on a free, safe exploration of music with no boundaries,” says Susha. Having been a part of various music groups and bands in the past, Susha says her way of working is completely different.
Band Koom | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“If I talk about the genres we work in, we come from a background of Carnatic music and Parai, but we have also put a lot of emphasis on electronic music, a bit of jazz and groove. We want the songs to be fun for us and for the audience to experience them,” says Susha.
In this performance video of their original composition ‘Drum Circle’ by the band Koum, each member plays a percussion instrument. It includes the mridangam, konnakol, floor tom, parai and satti, all contributing to the mix of beats that make up this nearly 11-minute-long performance.
“Each one of us has our own core strengths, but we also work as multi-instrumentalists. We get to explore ourselves as artists through the lens of other genres. We put ourselves in unfamiliar musical settings, and we see what new things the place teaches us,” says Shreya. “The process is very liberating and inclusive, just by its nature,” she adds.
Band Cooum will perform on Saturday, June 29 at 6.30pm at JJ Nagar, Korukkupet. Entry is free. They are on Instagram @bandcooum.
