Kirtana Krishna: A fine act by songstress

Bengaluru girl Kirtana Krishna is quickly gaining her ground in the music industry and rising in fame. She will be performing in collaboration with three talented musicians from Bangladesh this week at bFLAT as part of Kaartikz Ensemble. Kirtana's performance is a treat to watch when she takes on the stage with all her energy and vigour. This talented songstress has no intentions of stopping as she shares how she took to crooning professionally and her plans ahead.  

"The turning point was after I visited the Adishaki Theatre campus in Pondicherry for a workshop, and I saw how a group of theatre actors come together to form a community where they lived and breathed their art and their craft. It gave me the confidence to consider becoming a full-time musician because I saw that it was possible to live doing what one loves doing," shares Kirtana on how she decided to take music seriously.

The band was started by guitarist Kaartik, who was part of Bangladesh's groundbreaking folk rock band Bangla. The band has been invited for the prestigious Remembering Veenapani Festival, an ode to one of theatre's finest doyens (Adi Shakti). "I did a one year course at Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music on ECR. I'm a Bengalurean and lived in Bengaluru till April 2O16. I have performed at Take Five, Blue Frog, Soul Sante, Church Street Social, Phoenix and at bFLAT this weekend. I'm just glad that there is a city like Bengaluru, where so much live music happens. Music lovers can expect our rearrangements of jazz tunes, and a little bit of Bangla music, again stylised for a contemporary ear," shares Kirtana on her upcoming performance.

The band's bassist Raj needs to return to Dhaka as his other band opens for Guthrie Govan in Dhaka. Kirtana will also move to Dhaka after her show in the city. Talking of how the band was formed, the singer says, "Kaartik and I met while studying at SAM. He was already a mature player, and his rearrangements of traditional Bangla music like Tagore; songs that he would sing so casually were so beautiful. Everyone who heard him always came away mesmerised. I decided that I wanted to work with him, even if that meant moving to Bangladesh. The first time I went to Dhaka, I was introduced to Turjo the drummer. I immediately fell in love with his sense of touch and dynamics on the kit. In 2O16, Kaartik and Turjo found Raj and I came in and we all have been jamming and playing ever since. I'm a songwriter, and I have my own project called Sage for The Ages which features my originals.” When she's not singing, Kirtana likes to indulge in writing stories, reading books, bicycling and travelling.