Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Hyderabad
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
Keeper of the keys
|
Composer, arranger, performer, educator... Stephen Devassy juggles several hats in his quest to entertain the audience, writes PRINCE FREDERICK
|
PHOTO: S.S. KUMAR
Tryst with tunes Pianist Stephen Devassy
Stephen Devassy marries the
classical to the contemporary,
the Western to the Eastern,
and this is reflected in the collage
of pictures at his audio engineering
school, a mix of music
maestros across centuries, continents
and genres. The 30-year-old
pianist, today, is widely regarded as
an enthralling stage performer, an
innovative arranger of film music
and a brilliantly original composer.
Stephen, who hails from Ottapalam
in Palakkad district, has been
displaying his virtuosity with the
keys since his late teens, when he
began to receive opportunities to
perform and work with the cream of
the nation's music fraternity, including
A.R. Rahman, Zakir Hussain,
Amjad Ali Khan, Hariharan,
Anandan Sivamani, Shankar Mahadevan
and Mandolin U. Shrinivas.
But it is only in the last six years,
after he began operating from
Chennai, that Stephen has evolved
into a musician with a clear vision of
where he wants to go.Part of this
vision is Musik Lounge Studios, a
professional recording facility in Saligramam,
and the state-of-the-art
Musik Lounge School of Audio
Technology in Vadapalani (promoted
by Hariharan, Sivamani, M. Jayachandran
and Stephen's elder
brother, Samuel Devassy). This infrastructure
enables Stephen to
generate a staggering amount of arrangements
for films and private albums.
(In a career spanning around
13 years, he has arranged music for
2000 songs in various languages).
"Being based in Chennai gives me
a strong foothold in the South Indian
film music industry," says Stephen.
"Even the songs for
Malayalam films are largely programmed
in Chennai." The amount
of work in the studios and the easy
accessibility to performers encouraged
Stephen to launch his school.
"Our students experience firsthand
the science of music-making. They
also get to meet the experts in the
field. "His greatest passion, however,
is performing on stage. He is,
right now, red-eyed from lack of
sleep, having returned from Dubai
just a few hours before this interview.
"He is always sleep-starved,"
complains Venkataraman, a key figure
at the music school and Hariharan's
former keyboardist.
Stephen is much sought after for his
solo shows, where he often juggles
with three or four keyboards. He
values extemporaneity and stage
shows allow his imagination a free
rein. He also enjoys innovating with
other stalwarts. He has given about
60 ghazal performances with Hariharan.
"None of them had a rehearsal,"
says Stephen. Four years ago,
Stephen formed a deep friendship
with Sivamani during a performance
in Dubai. "Sivamani was all set
to start his solo performance, when
he asked me if we could jam together."
Since then, Stephen and Sivamani
have shared over a hundred
platforms, enthralling thousands of
music lovers.
Stephen believes that the utmost
purpose of music is to give joy to
listeners. "This can be achieved only
if a performer bothers to find out
what his audience want to hear. "My
early training on the piano was restricted
to Western classical music,
and I played Mozart and Beethoven
and Chopin to audiences in Ottapalam
and Thrissur who could not
much appreciate it," recalls Stephen.
"As I played my pieces fast, they
seemed impressed. And when I began
to introduce tunes - drawn
from local films and folk music -
the change was dramatic. They applauded,
because they enjoyed what
they heard."
Stephen has never forgotten this
lesson. From collaborating with sarod
maestro Amjad Ali Khan for an
album of Christmas carols to mixing
western tunes with Sanskrit slokas
for a Kosmic Music production to
making his world music album Romanza,
Stephen has consistently
demonstrated that a rich mix of diverse
elements is what makes music
entertaining. No wonder the applause
doesn't stop.
* * *
A musical life
"I could not have helped becoming a musician," says Stephen Devassy, crediting his musical inclinations
to his hometown of Ottapalam. "Kathakali and Ottamthullal performances were part of the festivities at the
temple behind our house. A piano was heard at the Seventh Day Adventist church in the front. Dapankuthu
and band music were also a regular feature of life." As a child from an orthodox Protestant family, Stephen
had an early exposure to Church hymns and western music. "As an 11-year-old, I accompanied my brother,
Samuel Devassy, to his violin class with Leslie Peter, who also took guitar and keyboard classes. Later, I
joined Leslie's keyboard class with a Casio MT 600. Thanks to the training, I could play simple hymns." His
focus was sharpened when his father, P.K. Devassy, brought from Dubai a Kenwood system, accompanied
by CDs of Eric Clapton Unplugged, Michael Jackson's Dangerous, Boney M and a symphony based solely on
the violin. Suddenly, practicing to play the keyboard became the topmost priority. During the six-month
vacation following his Class X board exams, Stephen - who had now graduated to a Korg I3 - was taken to
Chetna Music Academy in Thrissur to learn to play the piano from Fr. Thomas. "I was placed 250th on the
waiting list," recalls Stephen. "My father requested Fr. Thomas to hear me play a piece. I chose Yanni's
Nostalgia, which I had learnt by ear. Fr. Thomas asked me to join immediately." The rest, as they say, is
history.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Hyderabad
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
|
