Chennai band Jatayu brings maths, music and more to Bengaluru

Chennai band Jatayu | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

ZLB23 is hosting the second edition of Magnetic Music 02, which will see regular Indian fusion bands performing till June 21. As part of their schedule, Chennai-based band Jatayu, known for their unique blend of Carnatic and contemporary music, will perform on June 15.

The four-member band Jatayu comprises leader and guitarist Sahib Singh, guitar, ganjira and mridangam player Shaylu Ravindran, bassist Kashyap Jaishankar and vocalist Manu Krishna who is also their drummer. Talking about their upcoming show in Bengaluru, Sahib elaborates on the band’s distinctive sound.

Sahib says, “As a primarily instrumental band, we use rhythms from Carnatic literature and incorporate them into Western instrumentation; that is the core of our identity. We love to experiment with the audience and involve them in the performance wherever we go.”

One might assume that instrumental bands wouldn’t have much of an impact here, as they don’t have songs that the audience can sing along to, but Sahib says Jatayu has the formula down pat.

Chennai band Jatayu | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Talking about their tour of Japan last year, he said the band had a crowd of 4000 people singing along with them. “Basically, we Konnakol (the spoken component of the meter) and ask them to repeat it with us. We jam with them in the same way we do call-and-response with the crowd. They either hum along with us or recite something Konnakol.,

“This is something we are proud of – because we break boundaries through our instruments. Music is our language of communication; it is a common language around the world – something that must be understood and understood.”

Jatayu’s website states that his music “blends the rich tradition of Carnatic music with the dynamic energy of funk, rock, jazz and a hint of Indian math rock.”

Somehow the words ‘math’ and ‘rock’ don’t compute for me, but Sahib patiently explains, “It’s basically Konnakol But we describe it as Math Rock for the audience abroad. Jatayu is all about numbers and rhythm – even our logo is a combination of the four main arithmetic symbols.

Chennai band Jatayu | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

For their performance at Magnetic Music, Sahib says they will be playing an acoustic set, which is a rarity for them, mainly because the venue is a kind of intimate setting. “We are presenting a mridangam piece for this show as well as some new stuff that we have been working on. So it is going to be quite interesting apart from a unique presentation on some of our original music,” he says.

He further added, “Having a bit of mathematics in our show is interesting and appeals to music lovers and musicians. I am sure the Bangalore audience will love it.”

Jatayu will play at ZLB23 on June 15 from 8 pm. For reservations send WhatsApp message to 9632060433 (Available only on WhatsApp messages)

Chennai band Jatayu | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement