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In search of a right mix

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

Versatile: Umanath Kamath performing at SecSat Pondy held recently.

PUDUCHERRY: If you are a keyboard player or a drummer who likes to play everything from jazz to alternate to progressive, then you may be suited to be a part of Umanath Kamath’s dream band. This 20-year-old musician from Bangalore, pursuing his Bachelor of Business Management at St Joseph’s College of Commerce, is on the look out for the right kind of people for his band.

Till then, Umanath or ‘The Magician’ (as he calls himself) or ‘Umazuma’ (as he was christened last week) will continue to play in karaoke mode. “I made a skeleton of the songs and recorded them along with which I played. It is really a poor substitute for a real band because it’s a band that takes you to a higher level,” he said, after performing at SecSat Pondy recently.

“But it’s hard to find people willing to diversify into different kinds of music like I want to. I try to experiment with everything because if you just stick to one style of music it’s really boring,” he said. Hailing from a family of classical musicians, Umanath says: “I could relate to American music and it made better sense than classical music. When I saw a Metallica concert in which these four guys with really long hair were moving the crowd with all sorts of antics, I decided I had to take to jazz and rock. I picked up my first acoustic guitar when I was 16 and after just four classes quit and learnt to play on my own. I also learnt to play other instruments.”

After he puts together his band, he wants to finish the recording of a CD that has seven songs as of now. “I want to release it in the market and see how it works. Otherwise I will be a marketing guy. But that isn’t bad either. Music and marketing are two very creative things and I enjoy both,” he said.

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