Believe in your Uniqueness: Thaikkudam Bridge to Aspiring Musicians

Music is a universal medium that has the ability to cross geographical and cultural borders as few other things can. It is, without a doubt, also a great leveller and good music will always find takers and make a place for itself. However, building a career in music takes most than just sheer talent and inspiration - it takes willingness, sincerity, and hard work. And most of all, it takes perseverance.

We at Edugraph had the opportunity to interact with Thaikkudam Bridge, an ‘accidental’ band, as they call themselves, and we got to ask them a few fun questions. Read on to hear some of the snippets.

Thaikkudam Bridge ~ Introduction, Journey & Inspiration

In 2013, Govind Vasantha and Siddharth Menon started the multi-genre Kerala-based music group, Thaikkudam Bridge. The band’s first gig? A musical variety shows Music Mojo broadcast on The Kappa TV, which featured a single original song, "Fish Rock". Incidentally, this is the same song that catapulted them to fame by gaining immense popularity online. The band’s sound is best described by its members as a fusion of Carnatic, Hindustani, and Classical music, with a heavy dose of Rock.

The 15-member ensemble member band features nine vocalists and six instrumentalists, many of whom also continue to have their other side gigs - musical and otherwise. But the band's strength actually lies in the versatility and ambiguity that this mixed lineup offers. They bring to the band a wealth of diverse musical, linguistic, and cultural influences, all of which result in a unique musical experience that is truly cross-cultural in nature yet regional in idea.

Music has no language barrier: Thaikkudam Bridge

The language of all people is music. It's a way of communicating that surpasses place and time and touches people's hearts all across the world. One soul to another each can share a tiny bit of hope, joy, or even grief with even a single note. With Thaikkudam Bridge, too, language is no barrier, especially with the 7 singers who sing in a number of languages. In fact, their latest album called ‘Namah’, features songs in 4 different languages - Hindi, English, Malayalam and Tamil.

We are trying to represent a culture rather than just a language

- Govind Menon, violinist, vocalist and sound engineer for the band

Importance of Lyrics in Music

Speaking of the importance of lyrics actually starts off with a funny anecdote about when he was composing their first single, “Fish Rock”. As listeners, we might have been waiting for esoteric origins for the marine references, but in his own words - ‘I used to eat a lot of fish which led to a cholesterol issue and I was forbidden to eat fish. Around that time, the band was working on doing an original song for Kappa TV. Since there was no plan of continuing with the band, we were just ready to experiment with just one original song. And I was already missing eating fish therefore the lyrics is more about my frustration and immense love for fish.’

To put it simply, a songwriter expresses themselves through the lyrics they create. And sometimes, it could just be an expression of your daily mundane reality - but when it combines with music and the passion you put into it - even something that simple could be elevated. On the other hand, as creative individuals, you might also end up creating art out of things that may not appeal much to you. For instance, when penning the rap for the same sing, Vian Fernandes, the rapper of the band and someone who isn’t particularly fond of fish explains his approach as ‘The rap of Fish Rock is a visualisation of the fish as a lady, …which made the song evermore special.’

Metal is here to stay: Thaikkudam Bridge

With the changing time, people’s taste in music is a clockwork. Today if K-Pop is a rage then tomorrow it might be R&B. But one thing has remained the same all this while i.e, Metal. Most would consider it a dying genre but Govind has to say otherwise, ‘Metal is not a dying genre compared to other mainstream genres in music. I’d rather say, Metal is a little behind in the world of music and it’s not dying but evolving each day. It [Metal] is an expression of emotions rather than just sound and it is here to stay.’

Thaikkudam Bridge: A final message to aspiring musicians

As Thaikkudam Bridge continues to enthral us with its unique music, they also leave a special message for aspiring musicians and bands, ‘Making music should always be the first priority. One should always practice and work hard. If you believe in your uniqueness then people will eventually start believing [in it] too, which is the utmost formula for growing in the field of music.’

So, no matter which part of the country you come from, who influences you and who you like to jam with, take a leaf out of Thaikkudam Bridge’s diary - give wings to your imagination and just go for it!