Masala Coffee band is debuting at the Hyderabad Arts Festival with a bunch of folk fusion tunes

Popular for their renditions of AR Rahman's songs Munbe Vaa and Maahi Ve, this three-year-old band has performed in more than 300 events across the globe. 
Masala Coffee band is debuting at the Hyderabad Arts Festival with a bunch of folk fusion tunes

With more than 300 performances across the world and three film projects including Tamil movie Uriyadi, the three-year-old band, Masala Coffee, has certainly carved a niche for themselves in India’s independent band scene. Formed in 2014, this all-boy band debuted on the television show Music Mojo on Kappa TV, a Malayalam channel. “Lead singer Sooraj Santhosh and I have been friends for a long time. We produced A R Rahman’s Munbe Vaa together, which created a sensation,” says the founder, Varun Sunil. Just before the show began, the two got in touch and decided to get their mutual friends together to form a team. 

Bandwidth 
This team of eight later rechristened themselves as Masala Coffee after the shooting started. What initially began as a one-off gig soon grew into a band with a vision. “Many expect an interesting story when they ask me about the name. But, it was a sudden decision that we took,” shares Varun, who currently resides in Mumbai. As a part of the two-season show, the band performed six covers and five originals.

Chasing fame
Like most bands, Masala Coffee’s ticket to fame was when they played a number of unplugged version of cover songs. Their renditions of A R Rahman’s songs, like Maahi Ve, are favourites amongst their fans, says Varun. While they were popular for playing different genres ranging from rock to reggae and folk initially, they have now named their genre – contemporary folk fusion. 

It’s Masala Coffee’s first time in the city and they seem excited. “We’ve all performed here individually. In fact, Sooraj has worked for a few Telugu movies. As a band, it’s our debut,” grins Varun, adding that their performance will largely be spontaneous depending on the audience’s  requests.

Future diaries
Talking about projects ahead, Varun says that the band is working on its first album, which is a collaborative project featuring songs of musicians from across the globe. They have also produced a song for an upcoming film starring Dulquer Salmaan. Besides Varun and Chennai-based Sooraj, the band features drummer Daya Sankar, guitarists Preeth PS and David Crimson, Pauly on bass, Joe Johnson on the keyboard, and violinist Krishna Raj.

At Cybercity Conventions. 
Entry: Free. From 7 pm onwards. 
Details: meraevents.com

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