Have you watched the video by The Ikigai Project? Nine musicians, soulful vocals, and a multilingual fusion. If not, you’ve got to watch it. These talented folks have pulled and created an opportunity together, when, for many artists, the current lockdown situation meant that they are cut off from the opportunity to play with others.
Leading the pack is Krishnan Ganesan, the brainchild of The Ikigai Project (an independent platform for artists to explore art and collaborate) and a member of the multilingual fusion band, Niraval, who can be seen with his bassy notes in Tamil. The video also features Sivakumar on piano, who worked on the mixing and sequencing of the songs; Gomathi Iyer, who gave a Carnatic touch with her beautiful voice; Bhuwin Khursija, who sang the Tanha Tanha and Masakali rendition; Sharon Nair, whose bold vocals in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and English added a great diversity; Sharayu Sakri, who sang AR Rahman’s songs in all languages; Ganesh Krovvidi, whose Telugu vocals were on point; Siddhardha Kale, who was on vocals but also used whistle as an instrument; and Harshit Madan, who is known for playing drums but lifted the whole energy of the video with his rap.
PS. The journey began from a Facebook post by Krishnan on April 25 which got 50 responses in three days. Out of this, he created a team of nine individuals who could reflect diversity to its maximum. Each aspect of creating this mash-up was handled remotely, produced and recorded at their respective homes via mobile phones/ apps and some on microphones, in a span of two weeks. And if you have watched the season one’s video while reading this, well, season two is expected to be out in July or August. So, stay tuned!