Krishna McKenzie, the British-born musician, on his new album Cage, his jazz journey and his love for Tamil Nadu

Yes… By the time this album comes out, it’ll have been nearly 20 years since our band Emergence started. It’s been a long journey of writing, performing, and growing.

Honestly, this album came together quite organically. I’m always juggling a hundred projects and you can see that from my social media. But music is like my creative backbone. If I don’t keep my music alive, everything else will crumble.

The spark for this album came at our Lively Up Your Earth Festival at Solitude Farm, which I run at Auroville. My regular drummer, who is a great kid, was late for soundcheck, and another young drummer filled in. I was inspired by his approach. I knew he’d been playing with Dhani Muniz, and I started envisioning this trio comprising him, Dhani, and a trumpet player I’d been working with on the album. Everything just fell into place from there.

We then sat down and selected some older tunes I hadn’t released, added new ones that hadn’t been performed live, and created something that feels fresh and quite different from our previous work.

You can expect some classic Emergence tunes as well as new material. I’ve always been fortunate to play with some of India’s best musicians. Aman Mahajan needs no introduction. He’s a top jazz pianist in the country and he is on keys, bringing an incredible sensitivity. Then there’s Dhani Muniz, who’s extraordinary on both jazz guitar and bass. He sort of swims in music. He’s also the producer of this new album, along with Navneet Krishnan, our sound engineer from Hyderabad. There’s Raul Mattia on the drums.

We recorded the album at Crimson Avenue in Chennai and in Hyderabad. These musicians already have strong creative chemistry from other jazz projects, and I have my own relationships with each of them. There’s an intimacy and a richness in the sound. The addition of keys adds a beautiful dimension, especially the way Aman plays.

I’ve lived in Auroville for 32 years. I came here at 19 from the Jiddu Krishnamurti School in England, already playing guitar. I studied with Amancio D’Silva, a legendary Indian jazz musician in the UK. His work, like Integration, is archived in the British Museum as a milestone in Indo-jazz fusion. He was like my starting point. And I kept studying jazz with musicians in Auroville.

I’ve always written songs, even before I could play guitar. One particular love story brought a wave of songs out of me and I wanted to play them. That’s when I met Mishko M’ba, the French bassist who was like a blessing. We started gigging together and did three albums. We ended up playing at multiple venues and eventually toured globally, including Glastonbury and the Kennedy Center in D.C.

I remember vividly, back when I was a student at the Krishnamurti School, feeling this deep desire to make music with people from different cultures. My very first band reflected that spirit as we had a singer from Burundi, a drummer from Poland, an English bass player, and a backing vocalist also from England. This whole idea of bringing different cultures together through music excited me. That same vision carried into Emergence, which began with me and Kirupa Paranan, a Sri Lankan violinist now based in France. Along with drummer Lowell Harrison and Mishko M’Ba, we created the first two albums. It was always about meeting across cultures, blending voices and rhythms from different parts of the world. I think that same spirit inspired Mishka too.

Since then, Emergence has evolved. This new album is different, but it still holds that same depth; it’s just taken on a new form. Dhani, for instance, is an extraordinary talent and that deserves to be shouted from the rooftops. He brings something entirely unique, very different from Mishko, who was also a genius in his own right. They each play in distinct ways, and for me, as the composer and frontman, it’s such a joy to work with artistes who bring their own colours and creativity to the music. It reshapes the songs in the most beautiful ways.

I remember Mishko once told me during our Glastonbury tour- “Even though our styles are different, there’s a thread you can feel-that’s us.” That authenticity is what matters. I just write from a deeply personal space, and I think people relate to that.

Living here for over 30 years, you can’t help but learn it. Kuthu is everywhere, you know, from buses to cinemas. I wanted to go deeper into it, and now I’m collaborating with theatre artiste Maya S Krishnan on a project that’ll explore these folk sounds further. There’s a whole range of idioms beyond Kuthu, and discovering them excites me..

Yes, I love the old greats like DK Pattammal, and legendary percussionist Vikku Vinayakram. His son Mahesh Vinayakram is a friend and an amazing artiste in his own right. My friend Karthick Iyer is also doing some important work, bringing modern themes into Carnatic music.  I was just looking at a post of his on Instagram, and it made me think.

Why can’t we bring modern lyrics into Carnatic music, alongside all the great traditional material? I really enjoy listening to artistes who blend the old and the new. Even some rap, I mean. One of my absolute favourites is Dhee and I just find her singing really cool.

I was speaking with a young filmmaker recently, a really interesting guy, and we were both reflecting on how Tamil Nadu is having a global moment right now. And for me, it’s such an honour to be even a small part of that energy and to be surrounded by some of the aura.

I’m hoping to do more in Tamil, definitely, but also in Hindi though my Hindi is still pretty rough. But I’m sure I can learn. That’s one of the reasons I’m excited about working with Maya. We’re developing a musical, and that gives us this dedicated, focused time to really dive deep. It is time to explore, to work on lyrics, to sit with the language.

Hindi isn’t my first language, so it’s not easy for me. So, I need that kind of concentrated time, and someone to guide and inspire me, and push me a bit. And who knows, maybe even in Telugu! Actually, did you see that Ed Sheeran recently sang in Telugu? A few months back? He totally stole my thunder! (laughs) It’s seriously cool.

That’s the plan! I’m actually an actor first, even more than a musician. I’ve done a lot of theatre over the years, and there’s something incredibly powerful about being on stage. With theatre, you tap into something beyond yourself. You explore aspects of humanity that live within all of us, and when you truly connect with a character, it becomes a profound experience. But, of course, Auroville is a small community. Cinema feels like the next step. I’d love to work in Tamil films. I really admire actors like Dhanush. I keep dropping hints during all my interviews (laughs).

I’d absolutely love that! I’m sure we’d have a ball together. I’m in touch with quite a few actors, just as friends or fans on Facebook and Instagram. I sometimes invite them to the farm, and every now and then, someone drops by. But for me, it’s really about finding the right connection.

It’s not just about being a Vellaikkaara Tamil. I think people have moved beyond that. They recognise that I have something important to say. Whether it’s through food, music, celebration, or community, I’m honouring the culture in a way that’s deeply rooted. And if I do something, it has to carry that sense of purpose.

Right now, we’re trying to line up a tour. We are looking at international jazz festivals too. The quality of Indian jazz today is on par, if not better, than the West. We need the support to get us out there.

It’s a challenge. Some days, like today, a very rare occasion, I locked myself away to practice guitar. This week, I’m harvesting mangoes or planting turmeric at the farm. There are talks, workshops, and the occasional selfie marathon when I step out.

I’ve gotten used to it. With half a million followers on Instagram and TV exposure in Tamil Nadu, I can’t step outside without being recognised. And then you live in a place where you actually welcome people to the farm. But what touches me most is the warmth. It goes beyond being a vellaikaaran who speaks Tamil. There’s a real cultural bond, and I’m grateful for that. As a foreigner, that’s not something you take for granted.

I don’t really think in those terms. From a cosmic perspective, we’re all just tiny blips in a massive universe. So, this whole thing of where you're from… I find that a bit superficial. I feel deeply connected to being, not geography. That said, I struggle with life in England. There’s a kind of fragmentation there that I don’t experience here. In Tamil Nadu, people still carry culture, and it’s tied to the land. That’s rare and beautiful. I have a lot of gratitude for my wife, for Tamil culture, and for being allowed to be part of it.