Swarathma members have taken a unique approach by releasing each song from their new album separately. | Photo Credit: Courtesy: Swarathma
We rarely come across a band that not only plays soulful music, but often stands up for important social issues as well. Bengaluru-based folk/fusion band Swarathma’s fourth studio album, RoshanIt speaks of being in a state of liberation and floating in a state of feeling light within.
The band has taken a different approach with their latest album, and decided to release each song separately. This has given them time to work on each track during their tour. Varun Murali said, “There is no theme in this album, so each song has its own unique thing to say. It’s interesting for us too, because we don’t know what the next song is going to be like.”
‘Enough’ is a commentary on the state of the country or the world and how the band reacts to it. “I’ve heard some of my friends interpret it quite differently, and that’s actually pretty cool. So, I would love to hear how people interpret it,” Varun said.
The band during a performance. | Photo Credit: Courtesy: Swarathma
The next track to be released from the album is ‘Ayyanar Kudurai’, a song about a horse’s journey. This is the first time Swarathma is trying to create a Tamil song, for which they have collaborated with Anthony Daasan, a well-known folk/fusion artist from Tamil Nadu. Currently undergoing final mixing and mastering, the band is playing the song live to see how people like it. Sanjeev Nayak said, “We enjoy such collaborations as they bring in new ideas and styles that sometimes contrast beautifully with our own ideas.”
In their ongoing series of eco-tours, Swarathma has used solar and clean energy for major concert systems in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Lucknow, among other cities. This initiative has been one of the most enriching and challenging projects the band has undertaken so far. It started when they worked on a musical project with SELCO Foundation, which works on accessible renewable energy in communities. “While composing a song for them, we came up with a crazy idea of powering a 1,000-person concert on renewable energy,” recalls Jishnu Dasgupta.
The conversation led to a beautiful chain of events, culminating in SUNNY, a 100KVA clean energy system that is traveling with the band on an eight-city concert tour, with the show’s sound, visuals and sometimes even lights powered entirely by solar or clean energy, eliminating the need for the standard diesel gensets used at concerts. “We hope to set a new standard for environmentally conscious entertainment and promote the adoption of sustainable practices within the music industry. This idea resonates with the music we create, and it has been encouraging to see the response from audiences and organisers alike,” said Jishnu.
Under the ‘Tour of Trees’, the band works with groups working to save greenery in urban areas. | Photo Credit: Courtesy: Swarathma
Recently, Swarathma supported maintaining Bengaluru’s green cover with an acoustic jam inside Cubbon Park.Under the ‘Tour of Trees’, the band partners with groups working to protect greenery in urban areas, a cause very close to their hearts. “On the designated day, we go from tree to tree, performing acoustic versions of our songs for the trees as well as tree lovers. The announcements go like ‘9.00 am: Peepal tree’, ‘9.30 am: Banyan tree’, etc. It’s a humorous take on the concert tour format, but with a purpose,” Jishnu explains.
“As artists we are open and sensitive to things happening around us. We have the privilege of expressing and healing our emotions through music; whatever affects us finds a way out in the form of music,” said Vasu Dixit.
In the past, the band has also created music that satirises issues such as child sexual abuse, urbanisation, as well as politics in daily life. “Music is a great way to communicate and start conversations about tough things, and we know it may not be the answer to everything or anything. But music definitely helps build bridges in our hearts,” Vasu concludes.
