Ever thought electronic scales and Indian classical ragas can’t go hand-in-hand? Apparently it can! Case in point: Bengaluru-based duo, Almost. Consisting of Jyolsna Panicker and Rajaram Rajendran, this Indian downtempo electronic band is piquing ears for their interesting soundscapes. As they hope that soon, their tracks develop into an album or an EP, complete with plush visuals, they sound off on their soulful clique.
While both are musicians at heart, Jyolsna is a film editor and Rajaram is a filmmaker. “We met through a common friend for work. During one of the initial meetings Rajaram shared a few tracks he had been working on. I really liked what I heard and we started bouncing ideas and made our first song together. Whatever we made, we always said ‘it’s almost there’, ‘it’s almost nice’ and such. Eventually when the concept of a band came up, just calling it ‘Almost’ was the easiest,” shares Jyolsna. Since then, they’ve lit up stages with their ambient electronica and Indian classical vocals, layered with sounds and samples to create (perhaps) dark, thick soundscapes. “We didn’t really want to make Indian classical influenced English vocals,” explains Rajaram on their decision to foray into Malayalam lyrics – Jyolsna’s mother tongue and the language she finds happiness in as she pens down songs. As a real couple off the stage, the duo has similar tastes in music as well, and that long list includes James Blake, Apparat, Massive Attack, Burial, Mount Kimbie, Taylor McFerrin and artistes from Bengaluru-based record label, Consolidate. “Which is one of the main reasons we get along so well,” laughs Rajaram.
Music comes naturally to them. Well, almost! Rajaram grew up listening to his mother playing cassettes and radio. “I never really dreamt of becoming a musician. I started off by playing keyboard in the college band, then messing about with various instruments that I could get my hands on, and finally got into electronic production,” says the 35-year-old artiste who also plays the handpan. For Jyolsna, you could say it’s in her blood. “My parents are music enthusiasts. They run a music and dance school called Neelambari in Kerala,” says the 32-year-old, whose older brother is Joe Panicker of Bengaluru-based Aerate Sound. “He opened the doors to world music for me. He used to bring home cassettes and CDs of various artistes which we both used to sit and listen to day in day out. And with Internet, things just changed. The search for non-mainstream (non-film) music is what got me here,” she says. “So, if at all my parents are upset about something, it would be that I chose to do editing as well, and not just music,” quips Jyolsna.
The duo loves Bengaluru for being a collaborative, open-minded community. “Isn’t the live music scene awesome here? You can pick the kind of genre you like and there’s always a platform where you can listen to it, and there’s always a performance and an audience for it. The biggest part is, local musicians help/hang out with /collaborate with each other so much too,” says Rajaram. But with it also comes a constructive challenge – “So much good stuff is put out on a daily basis, even locally. Which is pressure, but also such a great thing. It makes you think twice about the material you’re putting out, but it is also a constant reminder that you’re a part of a much bigger scene,” he says, prepping for what’s to come.
