Calm and collected

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Not many people know that one of India’s biggest techno exports, Jalebee Cartel, used to make Bollywood remixes to make ends meet. Understandably, they ghost-produced the tunes, never  accrediting their artiste names to the title. However, this willingness to hustle and do what it takes to rise to the upper echelons of the recording industry is what separates the scene-hardened outfits from the new generation of upstart musicians. Ashvin Mani Sharma, who co-founded the now-defunct live act, is quick to agree.

“Before Jalebee’s eight-year tenure resulted in headlining slots at festivals like Sunburn (India) to Fusion (Germany), we happily took up every music-related  opportunity that came our way to support our underground careers,”explains the globetrotting composer, adding, “When the group split, I decided to carve out a solo career under the moniker Calm Chor.” Now, after wrapping up gigs in Prague,  Berlin, Morjim, Amsterdam, and Matara, the jet-setter behind worldwide chart-topping releases like Dancefloor Sci-Fi is heading to Kochi.

With well-respected supporting acts like Obscuit and Reclaim, warming up the crowds prior to Calm Chor’s slot, dance music  connoisseurs can expect to hear  a melodic mixture of minimal  and techno at the gig.“I recently asked my colleague Ash Roy—with whom I occasionally collaborate using the alias Bit Of Both—about Kerala’s  connect with electronic sounds. Ash told me that, despite the government-imposed time constraints on the burgeoning nightlife scene, every time he has played here, the energetic crowd has been up for it. That statement alone has left me thoroughly excited about my debut performance here,”  shares the qualified sound engineer.

Business as usual

When he isn’t ripping the roof off dancefloors in Europe with stompers including One Step Two Step or composing background scores for BBC and National Geographic, this co-owner of Soupherb Records is helping budding homegrown producers build their discography.

“The ideology behind the label is to showcase forward-thinking music producers who are pushing the boundaries of the electronic spectrum. Currently, we are working toward releasing crisp sounds from two young Indian women, Oryza and Kryll,” says Ashvin, who recently shifted his entire home studio setup to Goa from Delhi. To hear the booming basslines and groovy percussions on Soupherb’s aforementioned hot-off-the-press lineup, head to Casino Hotel this weekend!

On February 23.
From 7.30 pm.