Get a taste of ethnotronic music

Get a taste of ethnotronic music

Dabbling in genres ranging from Carnatic fusion, Malayalam rock, Tamil and Hindi too, ethnotronic is how they choose to best describe themselves. Here’s how they got their band’s name “We remember having sent out a mail with a little poll sort of thing. We swear by filter coffee anyway. But when a friend suggested why not ‘Filter Coffee’, we knew that was it,” says Swarupa Ananth-Sawkar. Their live performances include a unique blend of Indian classical/folk, instruments and voices with electronic grooves. The beginning The band was formed in January 2012. It started out as a small all-girls’ band in the classrooms of Women’s Christian College, Chennai. The band’s line up kept changing but now they have managed to keep a steady line-up. Their current line-up includes Swarupa on the tabla and percussion, Shriram Sampat on flute and Jahnvi Shrimankar on vocals. Shriram and Swarupa produce music for the band as well. The idea of Filter Coffee is collaborations. This is the usual line up that they go with, though every gig features a new artiste. Feathers in their cap “We would not like to point out a single achievement but for us being able to quit our jobs and make Filter Coffee our full time career has been a great achievement. Another milestone has been doing successful tours in the UK for two consecutive years and now thrice since the band was formed. Collaborating with artistes from around the world has also been an achievement for us. From Australian producers Spoonbill & Sampology to traditional Rajasthani folk artists like Nek Mohammad Langa, from Indian Classical vocalists and instrumentalists to visual artists and rappers we have collaborated with a variety of great artistes,” proudly states Swarupa. Influences “Both of us (Swarupa and Shriram) are trained Indian classical musicians and that has been the strongest influence on our music. We draw inspiration from Tamil folk, Carnatic classical and similar genres,” informs Swarupa Sound of music Some of their most popular songs are Slow Down Kalander and Konna Cool. Slow Down Kalander is their interpretation of the classic Sufi song Dumadum Mast Kalander. Konna Cool is an upbeat number which includes a lot of vocal percussion called Konnakol in Carnatic Classical music. Tonight’s gig Filter Coffee will be performing for Dharavi Rocks a joint educational project between Acorn Foundation, an NGO and the Blue Frog working for the welfare of slum children and Waste collectors/rag-pickers.