Come. Let us show you the song of our people… it could be a girl singing a ballad; three men, two guitars and a set of drums; or even kids choir. There’s no denying the fact that music is universal; which is precisely why World Music Day or Fête de la Musique was conceptualised on June 21 decades ago in France. The hope was to make music accessible — open to amateurs and professionals who are encouraged to perform on the streets for free — for one day; the only caveats for the event.
True to the spirit, various organisations in Chennai have been conducting events for this day for a few years now. One event is the Fête de la Musique, a collaborative initiative by The Rhapsody Music Foundation, Alliance Française de Madras, Goethe-Institut Chennai, InKo Centre, KM Conservatory, Musee Musicals and EarthSync, which will be held for a week starting June 17. Greyshack, Kurangan and the Gorillas of Groove are among the bands performing. Another event is being organised by Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music (SAM) at Tryst Café in Neelankarai.
“This is the sixth edition of Fête de… and along with workshops, we will also be hosting music performances across different locations,” says Geetha Vedaraman, Programme Coordinator at Goethe-Institut. However, all performances will be held indoors this year, unlike the past years when arrangements were made for musicans to play in parks, in front of shops and in busy streets, she adds.
Should that matter? “We had difficulty getting permission and space last year. That aside, all the workshops, exhibitions and performances this year are open to everyone. There’s a lot of interest generated among the consulates and music organisations! World Music Day is a huge step away from commercialism in the industry,” states Kishore Das, CEO of Musee Musicals. His company will be hosting a curated exhibition of music-themed artworks. Pravir Ramasundaram of Gorillas in Groove, who will play at Alliance Française, is happy with the decision to go indoors.
To sound good, you need to have proper equipment, and that’s hard to arrange outdoors,” he says. He and his bandmates Avinav Stevens and Chhanhima MP will be performing a few originals — “It’s great to be a part of this with so many other people,” he says. The excitement is shared by Kaber Vasuki of Kurangan as well! “I played here last year as an independent act, but this is Kurangan’s first time. For our setlist, we will start of slow and gradually build into something that will involve the audience. Our music, being in Hindi and Tamil, is very relatable and not somehting people can come sit and pasively listen to,” he smiles.
But our schedules for June 21 will defintely include SAM’s Open MicNight – one can just walk in with a guitar and ask to play a piece, cover or original, poem or intrumental composition. “Of course, we do advise that music isn’t offensive, but other than that there are no rules,” says Siddhartha Ramanathan, who is part of the organising team. “It’s a great place to be at and meet other musicans, and we want everyone there to have a go at performing. We want to bring out the musician in everyone.” At the end of the show, guests can also enjoy performances by Siddhartha (guitar), Manu Krishna (drums), Kashyap Jaishankar (bass) and Nikhila Sharma (vocals).
(Fete de la Musique performances starts today, 7 pm at InKo Centre. For more details, visit their website)
