Hyderabad's regional band Merakee talks about their music and journey so far

When Ganesh Kroviddi was four, he was cajoled into learning music by his mother, who was a music teacher herself. That’s how he made his first appearance in SP Balasubrahmanyam’s Paadutha Theeyaga. About 20 years later, the city-based singer has found his place in the music scene with many more music show appearances, awards and a band of his own, Merakee. “I wasn’t very passionate about music when I was a child. It was just another hobby that my mother got me to do. But I knew I was good at it. In fact, post my engineering, I wanted to study MSc in the US, but mom wanted me to be a singer. In 2017, I was the finalist in Paadutha Theeyaga once again, and that’s when I decided to give musical career a try,” says the Classical singer and founder of Merakee. 

Along with Ganesh, the five-member outfit consists of Manohar Sujith (lead guitarist), Sunny Anantarapu (guitarist), Elia V (pianist) and  Vishal Sagar (drummer). Formed in November last year, what sets this relatively new band apart from the other regional bands in Hyderabad is the professional training and experience each of the members bring to fore. All of them are full-time musicians — while Sunny is a part of music groups for TV shows like Swarabhishekam, Manohar has worked with popular music producers including Mani Sharma, Mickey J Meyer, and Anup Rubens. “Most of us in the band are constantly working with the music and Telugu film industry. With Merakee, our goal is to play good music beyond the commercial facade, while exploring other genres and creating new medleys,” Ganesh adds. Known for covers of hit tracks of AR Rahman and Ilaiyaraaja, the band is also working on their original composition, that will be out later this year. 

On May 3, 8 pm. 
At Flashback, Hyderabad.