Known for presenting medleys, covering Telugu music and occasionally Bollywood pieces at Hyderabad’s creative space, six-member band Capricio, which was founded in 2016, tells us that they will be offering their renditions of almost all Telugu music directors at their impending gig at Enigma. Ranging from Ilaiyaraaja, Thaman and Mani Sharma, almost 75 percent of Capricio’s approaching roster will also cover AR Rahman. The group, which is renowned for performing local covers, lends the well-known pieces their own special touch by adding their distinctive spin. The band members include Eknath and Ayaan (vocals), Sai Teja (percussion), Shravan (keys), Moses (bass guitar) and Nishanth (guitar).
Having performed on January 6 for the first time in 2023, the spirit of the New Year accompanies them at this gig too. Eknath tells us, “Recently there have been new releases in Telugu films, like Hit 2, Karthikeya 2 and 18 Pages. We have been up-to-date with all the songs and are trying to incorporate them this time so that people find our music relatable. We will put them all together and make mash-ups.” Throwing back to 2022, in September and October, Capricio also toured across the USA for a stretch of 23 shows hosted by People’s Media Factory. “It was one of the biggest tours done by a Telugu band,” Teja shares.
Capricio is Hyderabad’s first regional band and has also inspired other musicians to explore the nuances of the art form. But the journey was not an easy one. Almost six years ago, Capricio’s early days witnessed a lot of struggles and challenges as Telugu music was not explored as widely during that time. Getting people to accept music sung in their mother tongue amid the waves of rock, blues, metal and even Bollywood which overwhelmed the musical setting in Hyderabad, was tough. “Following us, some bands shifted from Hindi and English music to perform in Telugu. Before us, there was nobody to open the gate to explore the language. After Capricio, artistes have been thinking of taking Telugu music into bigger concerts and music spaces, and we are glad we were able to bring about this change,” Teja tells us.
On January 22 in Jubilee Hills.
E-mail: chokita@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @PaulChokita