Music from kitchen materials!

CHENNAI: While most youngsters aspire to learn musical instruments and turn composers, 19-year-old MJ Michael wanted to make a difference. The teenager makes rhythmic music out of materials used in the kitchen and other items at home - items that  one would have never thought one could use to produce music.Born in Salem, Michael had a passion for music since his childhood days when he struck the sewing machine using his hands. However, his mother then thought he was making noise. It was not long before she understood her son was gifted.The teenager realised he could produce the exact tone of a ‘thavil’ on the lid of a sewing machine and as time passed by, he discovered as many as 25 tones in 155 different items. “I can produce the sound of a ‘ghatam’ on a helmet, tone of a ‘snare’ drum on a tilted stainless steel box with a cork of a cold drink bottle and a stainless spoon, mridangam on an empty mineral water can and more,” explained Michael.Even as his parents were eager to get him a drum kit, Michael, who was then nine-years-old, could not wait and began discovering one tone after another from both western and classical instruments in household items. Setting up a drum kit with a suitcase, empty can, mosquito spray can, a body spray can rolled with a dog chain completing with a couple of stainless steel plates, Michael recalled his school days when he had won many competitions just because he did something different. “I can play all the 155 items in 10 to 15 minutes. When people saw me performing in school competitions, I was invited to play for shows outside. In Salem, I began playing in temples. I was encouraged in school as well as in college here in Chennai. I won almost all the cultural shows I appeared for in college,” he said.Performing in as many as 89 shows and with numerous awards and appreciation from many celebrities including music directors Vijay Antony, James Vasanthan, Dharan and Raihana, sister of AR Rahman and percussionist Sivamani, the teenager aims to get himself enrolled in AR Rahman’s music school. “I had also performed before Ghatam maestro Vikku Vinayakram and classical singer Balamurali Krishna. I came to Chennai only to join AR Rahman’s music school but could not afford the fee. I am awaiting scholarships. I want to become an international percussionist before turning in to a music director,” said the youngster.