The only Indian band to perform for films produced in Mollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood, and Sandalwood – in all four languages; a group set to take fans on a musical getaway with its most recent album, Ektara; Not only did their music make us feel great, but it also gave us uplifting messages. Masala Coffee performed at the Indian Super League opening ceremony in Kochi, in the most recent tale. A band that regularly delights music fans had a blast performing for devoted football fanatics and, in particular, Kochi’s fervent music fans. In an interview with News18, the charismatic leader of MC talks about the band’s rise to popularity and brilliance.
Being your brainchild, Masala Coffee as a band would have had a lot of growth, progress, and struggles along the way. In terms of the musicians, the style of music the band has been writing, how do you wish to approach the band’s restructuring?
Simply expressed, I believe that since the beginning, we have all been working together as a family. We have eight musicians on stage with us, along with six technicians. Eight of them are from various ethnic and cultural origins. Nevertheless, we have always thought of ourselves as a family and have stood by one another. There is a mix of everyone among us, including folks from various age groups. All that we do is create our songs and spread joy. We explore different foods and places. We are only going about our daily lives. The music exhibits this bonding in and of itself.
Audiences can’t stop grooving to the band’s biggest hits, including Al Aayal, the Kaantha song and countless others. What are your thoughts now that Ektara has dropped? What fresh projects are you chasing right now?
Basically, I’ve always wanted to portray folk and combine other elements with it. And in this way, songs like Adiyillalo found their way onto our album. We call ourselves Folkatronic because we wanted to combine folk and electronic music.
The first song on the multilingual album, Ektara, which will have around 13 tracks, was a revamped version of their biggest hit, Kaantha. Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, and other South Indian languages are all included in the album. The majority of the songs, nevertheless, will be in Hindi. Additionally, a unique song that combines Arabic and English will also be produced. We are sort of capturing the essence of India and its folk customs in the record. Although the music will be different, the folk element will still be present.
In an earlier scene from Little Things season 4, which was released in 2021 on Netflix, the Masala Coffee song Kaantha could be heard playing as Dhruv and Kavya became entranced by the genuinely majestic grandeur of the Kerala backwaters. The song certainly enhanced what already was beautiful.
How does the band’s songwriting process get started? Do you prefer to have a set number of musicians work on them or is it a band-wide effort?
So, if I compose a song, I give it to our keyboardist Steve and he performs it with chords. He then hands it to Preeth, our guitarist. After that our singers, Crishna and Aslam work on it. Crishna is also a music producer and music programmer. He might therefore perform some initial programming. Aslam creates a track of it as well. Amal Shivan, a violinist, performs on the instrument. The song is then given to Daya Sankar, who is a drummer and I even add some percussion to it. The bass guitar will subsequently start playing at that point. Our bassist, Paul Joseph does that and it is therefore like a process. Or perhaps there is another method of production where I create a tune and then a group of us jam on top of it before creating more arrangements. Consequently, it depends on our approach and the way in which we choose to act.
In addition to working on other linguistic projects, what else have you been up to since Kannum Kannum Kollayadithal? Did language ever pose a challenge?
The plainest answer is that people have begun to accept us because of our diversity. In terms of languages, we make sure to perform at least seven to eight Telegu songs if we travel to Hyderabad. The language of music is a universal, here for Masala Coffee. I am aware of the fact that people have found love as a result of music, the connection that music has allowed them to share, and the aura that music has allowed them to share. Therefore, maintaining a connection with our audience has always been crucial, and wherever we perform, we make sure to do so.
We have performed in some of the best venues in the world, including Singapore’s Esplanade. Lone Tamil songs were performed there; the only Malayalam song was Kaantha, and even that song’s second verse was taken from the Tamil version from Uriyadi. Therefore, what I’m trying to say is that it’s crucial to perform for the crowd and respect their tastes, as 95% of the audience at Esplanade was Tamilians.
So far, there haven’t really been any language barriers, and what matters is how we present our music. No matter where we perform, our main goal will be to engage the crowd, adds Varun.
Could you tell us about a time when a someone showed immense love for your music, which you really keep close to heart?
What comes to mind instead is the story of ten of Masala Coffee’s top fans who flew by plane from Delhi to Chennai to see us perform live. They arrived, introduced themselves to us, and said they had been listening to our music for the previous three years but had never seen us perform live. So, it was quite overwhelming to actually meet them and have them embrace our music after traveling so far. They later joined us for dinner after which they took a flight home the following day. So, when we are surrounded by people like them, admirers and followers, it truly pushes us.
Are there one or more geniuses that the band really looks up to and wants to work with?
There are so many artists whose work we admire, but Jacob Collier has lately caught our eye. Snarky Puppy is the band and in reality I’ve met them. Snarky Puppy is a funk band and may not be commercial, but if I were to think from a musicians point of view, then those are the artists I would love to collaborate with. Regarding the Indian wizards, there is no denying their admiration for A R Rahman and their want to collaborate with him in the future.
“Ustad Zakir Hussain is one such musical genius that we really admire and hold in high regard. Since we all grew up listening to their music, I don’t need to explain why; it just keeps inspiring", adds Varun Sunil.
What is the one thing that all of you agree has motivated you to carry out your current work? What can you learn from your successes and failures to impart to the millions of other aspiring musicians?
Masala Coffee wasn’t formed with the purpose of becoming a band. I simply wanted to do something of my own. I then decided to name it “Masala Coffee." It was all about sharing happiness, continuing to make music, practicing, and most importantly, keeping ego outside the band’s door. It is important that you continue to be inspired by others and strive to be the best in whatever you do. In essence, be yourself.
I personally have always aspired to work as a chef. I’m a die-hard foodie, so I’ve always wanted to work in the hotel industry. Realizing that you have different dreams, desires, and goals at that moment is important. Nevertheless, I was playing music at that time as well. I was playing music with my classmates from high school and college, among others. But I never, ever imagined that music would be my bread and butter. Thus, all I can say is that as like goes on, it helps you understand things and gives you the urge to pursue your dreams—better late than never, right?
Finally, where will we be able to see you guys perform next? What would you like to say to your fans all across the world and what are your hopes for the upcoming year?
The one thing we have to share with our audiences is that we have Ektara slated, in addition to a number of other upcoming shows. The rest is merely undergoing confirmation at this time, including one song for an upcoming Tamil movie. That being said, the title has not yet been revealed and it serves as the end credit song. A Telugu movie that is still in production is another project we are working on right now. We will soon be touring Canada, US and Australia.
“We promise we will visit your cities very soon. Although that’s the only way I can let you know, you should also keep an eye on Masala Coffee’s Facebook and Instagram pages for updates. There, you can definitely hear about the tours and scheduling." adds Varun Sunil.
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Varun chose to add an element of surprise to this engaging interview with News18. He announced that the band’s new compilation will have a few Tamil and Malayalam songs. The band has received immense praise for its Kaantha versions and other songs that were just plain wonderful in Malayalam and many other languages. Now, we can’t wait to check out the specifics and see what the band has in store for us this time.
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