Chennai’s musical identity has never been confined to one tradition. Carnatic music and film soundtracks remain part of the city’s cultural vocabulary, but a growing community of independent artistes is exploring Tamil hip-hop, gaana, metal, jazz, post-punk and experimental pop. What makes the scene encouraging is not only the range of music being made, but also the willingness of audiences to step outside their usual listening habits. Musicians, organisers, curators and venue owners are creating opportunities for that exchange, even as questions around venues, funding and the sustainability of live music remain.
Tamil songwriting, R&B, hip-hop and experimental production. Her music also addresses women’s desire, gender expectations and the freedom to define herself. “I’m also grateful for the fact that I didn’t need to choose one thing. And I feel like everyone in my generation also understands that feeling of really being several things at the same time,” she says. RANJ believes audiences are welcoming different sounds, but adds that Chennai needs more women artistes.
Producer OfRo brings Tamil hip-hop, gaana and electronic production into conversation with influences from around the world. “It’s not just different genres coming together, it’s different cultures, experiences and each one’s story and how they bring their story into the music,” he says.
Singer Siennor moves between hip-hop, rock, electronic music and classical influences, following an emotional response to music rather than allegiance to a style. “At the end of the day, whatever the genre, either the song touches me or not,” he says. Singer-songwriter Stevie, whose influences include gospel, indie pop, alternative rock and R&B, is similarly encouraged by the talent emerging from the city. “As a community, we are small, but in terms of talent, I feel we’ve grown leaps and bounds,” he says.
The Dipshit Ladies combine music and comedy, bringing vocals, guitar, keyboard and percussion to the stage. Radha Sunder, Neerja Ramnath and Nyma Singh Merchant began as friends who sang karaoke together before a friend invited them to perform at Angular Festival, a music festival in Chennai.
“New music, old soul,” says Neerja, describing the trio. “It’s an exciting time to be looking for gigs to catch in Chennai. You are likely to find new talent, sound and energy every other week,” she adds, while hoping to see more all-women bands.
The Madras Guild of Performing Arts is broadening ideas about what a choir can perform. Led by director of music Atul Jacob Isaac, the choral ensemble explores music beyond the sacred repertoire traditionally associated with choirs. “When we say choir, generally the attribution goes to church choir, but there is so much music outside of just the sacred nature,” he says.
Drumtoid, a solo metalcore project, draws on J-pop, K-pop and anime music. “I tend to absorb many minor intricacies while listening to music, and that can ruminate in the back of my mind and become a melodic or rhythmic idea,” Drumtoid says.
Incendiarius explores progressive metal through shifting rhythms and polyrhythms, with influences that include King Crimson and jazz musician John Coltrane. “To someone who is unfamiliar with my band and the kind of music I make, I would say that this is controlled chaotic groovy noise,” says band member Boja R.
Tamil Jazz Collective began by translating jazz standards into Tamil before moving towards original compositions. “We started off translating jazz standards into Tamil, which is why we are called Tamil Jazz Collective, but then now we’ve moved on towards our original music,” says vocalist and composer Harini Iyer. Harini points to the range of performances taking place across the city. On one day alone, she says, audiences could choose between Agam, whose music draws on Carnatic rock, Tamil Jazz Collective and indie-pop-folk band, Easy Wanderlings. For her, the fact that such contrasting performances can take place simultaneously reflects the growing willingness of listeners to explore different sounds.
Alternative rock band Spotlight brings together its members’ varied influences, including progressive rock, punk and pop funk. “A lot of efforts go behind defining the sound of a song or an album, to try and bring together all our influences,” says Laxman. He wants more venues where bands can perform regularly and test new material.
Broadway Addicts, formed in college around 12 years ago, draws on post-punk, with Television and Talking Heads among its influences. The band also writes about the city around it. “We are also talking about urban Chennai problems,” says Vidyuth Subramanian, who plays in the group. A shortage of venues and dwindling motivation contributed to a hiatus of three to four years. The band resumed playing last year and is preparing new music.
The scene depends on people willing to organise gigs, introduce listeners to unfamiliar sounds and create places where musicians can perform. In Chennai, many of those people are musicians themselves.
Drummer, mridangam player and Carnatic vocalist Manu Krishnan has performed with bands including Jatayu and Chaos, and collaborated with The F16s and The Casteless Collective. Through Metal Chennai, he has helped build a heavy-music community, with Brutal Carnage running for more than 15 editions over eight years. He now also works on Permanent Vacation, a platform for independent artistes, and curates live music at The Spotted Deer at Palomar by Crossway. “We want to build something for the indie and original music crowd. A consistent, reliable platform they can count on,” Manu says. He believes a supportive venue partner is essential to making such initiatives sustainable.
Armaan RM, an organiser with Metal Chennai, sees the scene as a collective effort. “Audience members, promoters, and musicians, everyone has to work together to keep the scene alive,” he says.
Vidyuth Subramanian, who also plays in Broadway Addicts, runs Focus Group Radio, a music and art discovery community built around listening sessions and events. The project began with online listening parties during the pandemic and later expanded into clubs, bars, DJ sets and festival appearances. Asked about audiences, Vidyuth points to the response to Focus Group Radio’s Angular Festival, where listeners encountered unfamiliar sounds and musical experiments. “I can definitely say this is one of the most open-minded crowds that I’ve ever seen. People want to go out and try new things,” he says.
The Nook offers another way to encounter live music, bringing audiences close to the performers. Owned by Chennai-based bassist and music producer Azan Sherif, who also founded and plays with its resident band, The Room Service, the venue is designed around an intimate experience. “You’ll experience great sound, a thoughtfully curated environment, and top notch performance in a space that’s basically Disneyland for creatives,” Azan says.
OfRo’s Atti Culture, co-founded with filmmaker Ken Royson, works with artistes to develop their sound. “It’s more about helping them discover what their sound is and sort of building the necessary resources around each artiste so that they can become self-sustaining,” he says. The challenge, he adds, is ensuring that artistes have support beyond individual releases. “Otherwise, every time they release a song, it’s a fresh struggle, and you have to keep getting people to listen, and you have to find the next opportunity, and you have to start from scratch every time,” he says.
Chennai has the talent and an audience willing to explore it. The challenge is building a live-music ecosystem that can sustain both. Siennor points to the financial burden of putting on shows, with musicians often paying out of pocket and taking responsibility for promotion. “The live music scene is still thriving, but at the cost of live musicians putting in their money mostly and having to carry the weight of promotions and everything else on their shoulders, and not just music,” he says.
What also stands out is the willingness of people within the scene to point towards one another’s work. In conversations about their own music, interviewees recommended other artistes to hear and people to speak to. The attention was not treated as something to be guarded; the hope was that more of the scene would be heard. That generosity, alongside the music itself, is a reason to be optimistic.
Email: anoushkakundu@newindianexpress.com
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