The bathroom symphony

KOCHI: There’s a certain comfort to being a bathroom singer. No one gets to hear you sing and, in the safety of that confined space, you can afford to go a bit off-tune or high-pitched. Or you are probably the one who belongs to the second category -- the person who is stuck in the bathroom because you never got a better stage.Former engineers and couple Sunil Koshy and Archana Hallikeri are on a mission to change the lives of such people through their ‘From Mug to Mike’ initiative. 

They work on a simple concept: encouraging people to chuck the mug (in the bathroom) and grab the mike instead. For this, they conduct workshops across the country, including Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. They will be holding a similar workshop in Kochi on Sunday.
Sunil, a singer himself and voice coach, says they were inspired by the millions who love to sing but never had the nerve to go on stage. “We encourage everyone to come. Most workshops are oriented only for professional singers or those who have proved their talent somewhere. We want to help those who have never performed in public and help boost their confidence,” said Archana.

Some of those who attend are retired professionals or those who are well into their 30’s. “In Thiruvananthapuram, there was a retired 80-plus life coach. There are many who ask us whether we will accept them because they have never sung before,” said Sunil.There is no space for comparison or competition in these workshops. “We don’t allow anyone to pass any negative comments, because many may be at the basic level and afraid to sing in front of a crowd. We help first-time singers overcome their shyness and fear,” Sunil adds. Incidentally, there are three levels: Primer, Advanced and Stage Show Preparatory. 

Inside the Studio

The highlight is that each participant gets to record his or her voice in a high-end studio. For this, the founders are in touch with a number of studios in various cities. They also hold  workshops with famous vocalists such as KS Chithra and Hariharan.  “We want to shed the concept that studios are only for professionals. The main purpose of conducting these workshops in studios is to enable singers to hear their own voice without any outside interference.

Also, we wish to teach them the nuances of professional singing. We have had people come to us at the end of a recording and tell us that they didn’t know they were this good or had these drawbacks. The recording sessions are all done one-to-one. We take two to three days to go over the recordings. Theerafter, we send a detailed and critical analysis to the attendees. Their strengths and areas for improvement are elaborated upon,” says Archana.Since most bathroom singers prefer film songs rather than traditional music, there is a focus on teaching that.

Bathroom Singers Anthem

Last year, the Bathroom Singers Anthem was launched by Chithra. It has the distinction of being the first song, not sung by her, to be featured on her official YouTube Channel, Audiotracs. There is an increasing interest among amateur singers wanting to cut their own albums, and the duo is bridging the gap between Bollywood, the South Indian music industry and the bathroom singer!