NEWSMAKERS
Different beats
SHILPI MADAN
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With the launch of his first solo album, Mahaleela, percussionist Sivamani talk about his journey into the world of drums.
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My music is an amalgam of myriad influences, it flows from within.
Photo: Thulasi Kakkat
He creates a musical medley by fusing global strains: from the crucibles of African rhythms to Chinese chants, Vedic verses and Japanese hymns. He breathes magic through his fingers into every surface including conventional cymbals, timbale, Batajon, shells, conches, kadais, Bisleri bottles, suitcases... He is the internationally acclaimed percussionist Anandam Sivamani.
“I have played on pots, pans, bottles and all kinds of instruments but nothing beats the drums,” he enthuses. There are no favourites though, as he keeps picking up instruments on his sojourns the world over. “I need space to move, run, dance and make my music on stage. This makes my set up quite unconventional.”
Early days
At seven, Sivamani wielded his first drumstick. By 12, he was performing live. Over the years Anandam Sivamani has scripted a fascinating journey in the world of percussion as he plays with legendary masters like Billy Cobham, Vikku Vinayakram, Freddy Santiago, Myanta, Ranjit Barot and Dr. L. Subramaniam. As a crystallisation of his hopes and aspirations, Siva has brought out his first solo album after 35 years: “Mahaleela”.
The album is an expression of the sheer joy that music brings to him. He has distilled his experiences, travels and personal life into this work of sheer art. “I recorded the first wail of my daughter, Varshika, when she was born. I brought this precious sound into my first composition ‘Infinity’, in ‘Mahaleela’,” he says. The genesis of this remarkable musical marination and his genius is rooted in Chennai. “My early years were spent performing at concerts in rural Chennai. We used to wait to get a bullock cart free at night, and make it stationary by stashing bricks underneath. That was my stage; Rs. 5 my fee a concert and kites that I accepted from my audience as a gesture of their appreciation. I used to play through the night; the morning next I used to trudge to school, swollen-eyed. The brightest point of the day was when I used to play on the desk for my classmates and later as part of the school band,” he recalls.
Recognising his son’s deep love for music, Sivamani’s father S.M. Anandan, an established drummer in the South Indian film industry, put him into the recording routine at studios. “This was the turning point of my life,” says Sivamani. “At 12, I played on a real stage, to a live audience. My first studio break came when I played for maestro K.V. Mahadevan. My life was my music; there were no traces of college days or clubbing. I started performing at road shows and was lucky enough to be groomed by the legendary S.P. Balasubramaniam. Of course, international greats like Noel Grant and Billy Cobham impacted my music. But I am extremely fortunate to have shared association with masters like Ilaiyaraaja, A.R. Rehman, Ustad Zakir Hussain and Louis Banks.”
Despite the lack of formal training, praise flowed in; fame crept in much later. “For over 25 years, no one knew Sivamani. Then creative hearts like Ilaiyaraaja, A.R. Rehman and Zakir bhai begun giving me credit in our work together, they brought me to the fore. I can never forget their magnanimity. I played with Zakir bhai at shows in the U.S., Europe and Singapore. Louis Banks exposed me to Russia. My music is an amalgam of myriad influences, it flows from within. You can say that I am living my dream at the moment, As a child whenever I saw foreign bands performing, I used to dream of becoming an international artist,” says Sivamani.
Sivamani is anna to siblings Laxmi, Mona and renowned drummer Prem Kumar and shares an immeasurable bond with his parents. “They mean everything to me. Drum beats I picked up later, the first beat I was exposed to was my mother’s heartbeat. I am nothing without my parents and the blessings of God,” he says.
First album
His immense love for his mother manifested itself in his first album “Amma”. Unfortunately, it never saw the light of day as all his recordings, zipped up in a suitcase, were stolen at a concert. “Unbelievably, at the studio too, all back ups had been erased,” he recalls. “I was shattered and did not know what to do. Yet one tune lingered in my heart, and I played it for international artist James Asher. That is how we collaborated on the album ‘Drums on Fire’,” reveals Siva.
His devout soul takes him from Lord Shiva’s abode Mansarovar to the Mookambika temple in the wilderness fringing Udipi in South India. What does he say just before he picks up his drumsticks on stage? “I pray to God to let everyone enjoy His music through me. I also practise a form of sound-based yoga, ‘Naad Yoga’,” he explains. “If you ask me after my performance about how and what I played, I have no recollection,” he shares.
Of course, over the years the flamboyant drummer has perfected the art of showmanship too. Though no two shows are ever the same, Siva always enthrals his audience. How does he get into the groove with foreign artists, with whom he has never played with earlier? “I listen to their music and follow it first, then I add my own masala,” he says, laughter shining in his eyes. “I bring in my own combination of jazz, rap, hip hop, folk music... to add that ‘new’ factor. No wonder many memorable tunes have emerged from the clicking of his fingers (the title song of Subhash Ghai’s “Taal”) — “this song even incorporates the sound of my drum sticks falling against the drum — Jiya Jale (from Mani Ratnam’s “Dil Se”).
At present, the versatile percussionist is working on the DVDs for each of his compositions in “Mahaleela”. Any unfulfilled wish? “What I would like to do is be involved in a television show where I can share percussion techniques with young artists, explain how one can develop a regimen of regular practice and develop on speed,” replies Sivamani.
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