Where is the Indian culture being preserved?
With genres like Ethnoelectronica, Vedic Metal and language rap, youngsters are packaging disappearing traditions and languages to appeal to their peers. Although purists may frown, fusion is still an effective way of garnering curiosity, if not educating masses, about our roots. While Bangla and Gujarati rap and rock have existed for years, predominantly in the Indian diaspora, newer genres have taken birth recently.
For Karthik Gubbi, a Bengaluru rapper, it’s all about staying real. “Rap isn’t all about baggy pants and fake accents. When rappers incorporate Indian languages, they put on an accent. This is exactly what I did not want to do,” says the 20-year-old, who goes by the stage name Karnage. Karthik’s Kannada rap has won appreciation for a clean composition true to the language and the genre. “The thing about regional languages is that people connect to it easily,” he adds.
Rahul Das, the vocalist of Shock Therapy, started a one-man Vedic Metal band, Purvaja to narrate the tales “our ancestors wanted to pass on” and revitalise “vedic culture”. “Besides incorporating influences from genres like Norwegian black metal. Purvaja combines the elements required to reflect on its lyrical themes based on Vedic culture, Hindu philosophy, mythology and other related theologies,” he explains
However, not all musicians want to carry the responsibility of keeping traditional art forms alive. Kanishka, keyboardist of the ethnoelectronica band Ashram says, “We are not fusing ethnic and contemporary genres as a strategy. But we are proud to be part of the classical music by producing new sounds with it.”
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