Magic happens when West meets East

 

This five-member band marries the Western traditions of rock, jazz and funk with the South Indian form of Carnatic music. And it finally got a platform that seemed to have been tailor-made for it at the Blackberrys World Music Fest, where Catharisis was lined up alongside Fatoumata Diawara, the renowned musician from Ivory Coast.

 

The band came together when two rock musicians, Vivek Sagar and Sanjay Das, decided to attend a Carnatic mandolin concert by Phani Teja. “Sanjay and I decided to go to a show, which was very close to our studio as well. It was a very casual plan,” recalls Vivek, the guitarist, who is also on vocals.

 

That random plan of an evening was what was going to give birth to Catharisis. “When we first jammed, excitement filled the room. I could see a lot of excitement in Vivek and especially Sanjay on the percussion,” says Phani, for whom the jam was the first ever band experience. 

 

For Vivek and Sanjay, the high came from the fact that they were “creating music and not playing covers anymore”.

 

The chemistry was instant and the flow melodic. The tracks like Funk de Bhajan, Mary Weds Srinivas are the perfect coming together of the different worlds and their influences.

 

The band, however, did take a break when Phani left for the US for a while. During this time, Vivek and Sanjay continued to play their music; they also met Varun and most recently Francis joined the line up on piano. 

 

“The guitar and the piano themselves are two huge instruments in terms of sounds to put together. And of course, with each person’s music and influences, the collective product has also evolved,” says Sanjay. 

 

Vivek adds, “Of course, we have had our technical differences. But we don’t try to complicate things too much. We believe in making music for people to listen to.”

 

Where does this kind of a self-realised approach and attitude towards creating music come from? “For one, being lazy,” jokes Vivek. “Honestly, we have no agendas with our music. It’s just got to be music. It doesn’t have to be flashy. Making music was important and then sharing it,” say Phani and Sanjay.

 

The man behind the Carnatic flavour to Catharisis is also serious about this philosophy. 

“Reaching out to more people shouldn’t become a conscious effort. At some point, that intention will begin to taint the music and dilute creativity and this doesn’t go down well with us,” says Phani, adding that expecting “appreciation is far fetched and acknowledgement is all we need from the city”.

 

And as to platforms, the musicians who have played in almost all kinds of settings, from college fests to marriages, say, “All we need are two gigs like the Blackberrys Music Festival each year and we would be happy.”