I practise on pillows: Drummer Sivamani
*By Madhusree Chatterjee, Jodhpur, Oct 6 : Anandan Sivamani, the ace Indian
drummer who is preparing for an international tour with Oscar-winner A.R.
Rahman, says he first likes to practise his beats on pillows!*
"Even now, I practise my beats on pillows first. Pillows have bounce.
When the same rhythm is played on drums, the rhythm is magnified three
times," Sivamani told IANS in an interview on the sidelines of a concert in
Jodhpur.
For his fans, that may not come as a surprise. Sivamani, they swear, can
transform anything into a source of music with his fingers.
Right now the percussionist is working on a new crossover album, "One world
Fusion", for which he travels to San Francisco
<http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-125375.html#>.
"It is a global fusion album with Indian percussion. It features Janet Aris
on the saxophone and Michael Frank on the keyboards."
"I am also setting out on a seven-stop 'Jai Ho' tour with A.R. Rahman to
Chennai, Hyderabad,
Bangalore<http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-125375.html#>,
Kolkata, Kuwait and Sydney next month. My hands are full," the drummer said.
Sivamani has worked with composer Rahman in several movies like "Bombay
Dreams", apart from the Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire".
Born in 1959, he has been playing percussion
instruments<http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-125375.html#>for the
last 35 years. He is a 'multi-tasker' percussionist, "adept at drums
from all over the world and from every region".
He also plays the kanjira, damru, the Indian conch, ghungroo, even an odd
suitcase and 35-ml plastic water
bottle<http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-125375.html#>,
from which he produces an entire new gamut of rhythms.
Besides, he is also known for his chants and beat-boxing that he fuses with
his percussion.
He was at the Rajasthan International Folk Festival Sunday where he
performed at Club Mehran in a late night jam session with folk
percussionists from Rajasthan and UK-based beat boxer Jason Singh at
Mehrangarh Fort.
The programme titled, "RIFF Rustle", began with a solo act by Sivamani and
was later followed by the folk collaborative act.
Recalling his association with Rajasthan, he said: "I earlier came when
Elizabeth Hurley married Arun Nair and I played for them.
"At the performance, I met some Rajasthani folk percussionists with whom I
played. I recorded the sounds which I will use for my new album 'Anandam'.
It should be released in December," Sivamani said.
He has a band named Asia Electrik with Niladri Kumar, Louis Banks and Ravi
Chari. He also plays with another crossover outfit called the Silk &
Shradda.
"But my godfather is S.P. Balasubramanyam," he said.
Sivamani said he received his first big break when he played "drums for the
hit Bollywood number, 'Mehbooba Mehbooba'".
"In fact, I played solo. After hearing me play, S.P. Balasubramanyam told my
father that he wanted to take me on a road trip. That was the beginning.
"I did not have time to study - probably because I did not like to study. I
hated books and magazines<http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-125375.html#>.
My father realised it and encouraged me to follow my heart. I wanted to play
percussion," Sivamani said.
He said he still remembers how his father - also a drummer - invited him to
Singapore during his Class 10 boards to play with him.
"I played to a packed hall of 10,000 to 12,000 people," the drummer
recalled.
Sivamani is just back from a musical pilgrimage of Mt Kailash where he
played "Siva Tandava" on the frozen north face of the mountain.
"I played to entertain the local people and the hermits who live there," he
said.
Music has been in the drummer's blood "since he was in his mother's womb and
heard her heartbeats," says Sivamani.
"That was the original rhythm, my first encounter with percussion. As a
child I played wooden drum sets and a broken congo mounted on a stool. I got
my first complete drum set much later."
Sivamani has been asked by his fans to set up a gurukul - a music
school<http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-125375.html#>for teaching
children. "With the interest in percussion reviving, parents
are now encouraging their children to take up music - even percussion - as a
career. I have been asked by fans to set up a gurukul where the kids can
stay with me and learn percussion.
"Wherever I go, I am mobbed by kids. Children love my music. I am looking
for a suitable place to set up a gurukul," he said.
http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-125375.html
--
regards,
Vithur
