Grooving to Telugu

Music and drinks have always gone hand in hand. For time immemorial, people have been listening to music while drinking at bars. The music however has evolved over time, from the guy singing old folk songs in exchange for mugs of grog, to the old Wurlitzer machines that would spin your favourite song for a nickel.

Now, city clubbers prefer listening to regional songs over EDM and Hollywood beats. Enter any pub in the city and you find bands performing local songs. What’s even more surprising is the fact that the crowd demands these. Hyderabad is replete with musicians and bands enthralling audiences with songs from any genre you ask for. However, there was a gap when it came to bands performing quintessential regional music. 

This increases the weight on artists’ shoulders to impress the audience without losing their originality. Let’s take a look at three bands The Jammers, Akshar-The band and The Sarigam Project. 

Embracing mother tongue 
“The idea of Telugu music dawned upon us two years ago when a mashup I made with one of my friends from Capricio band went viral. Jammers was a college band and we gained a lot of fame during my college days itself. So we thought of continuing it even after my graduation,” says Krishna Teja from Jammers. “Audience really enjoys Telugu songs and we rarely get requests to sing English or Hindi songs. People are embracing their mother tongue, which is what drives us to sing more such songs and do something new,” Krishna adds. Jammers another five member band are about to release their own compositions in Telugu, early next year, which they plan to perform in their gigs.

Love for Ilayaraja
Sharing his experience on performing Telugu songs in the city, Manmohan Raj of Akshar-The band, said, “Although we have been performing English and Bollywood tunes for eight years, we were always sceptical about performing Telugu songs since we were not sure it would be accepted. For the last eight months however, Telugu gigs have become a big thing at high-end restaurants and pubs.” Music maestro Ilayaraja is known to inspire many people and this band is no less. “Our love for Ilayaraja made us perform Telugu songs. The response from the audience was amazing and we got more requests to sing Telugu songs. I think the nativity and comfort the language provides is what makes people more inclined to listen to Telugu songs,” Raj adds. The five-member gang give Telugu songs a twist by fusing it with their famed hard rock, metal music.

Facing rejection
“We have been performing Telugu gigs for the last five months and the audience has been awe-inspiring and asking us to perform more Telugu songs. Although we faced rejection initially, we got our first break after a month and there has been no turning back. It gives us immense pleasure when people ask us to perform Telugu songs. The regional feel within us wakes up and inspires us to do more,” says Glad of The Sarigam Project band.