For Navz-47, Chennai truly feels like home. This independent musician from the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora community in Canada, says that it is the people, the culture and the coffee that keep bringing her back.
This visit though, is special for the artist. She will be performing for the first time in the city as part of a two-day Indie Alt Music Festival by Madras on Music 2023 alongside 20 other famous artists from across the world on July 29 and 30 on East Coast Road.
It has been two years since the release of the song ‘Neeye Oli’ by Navz-47, Santhosh Narayanan and Shan Vincent de Paul. Yet, it remains a perfect, recent example of how independent music can become vastly popular and continue to loop in our playlists.
Navz-47 says that ‘Neeye Oli’ will only be one of the several songs she will be performing at the event. With the diaspora community exploring regional hip-hop, the singer says that she hopes to inspire young women who look and sound like her to take the stage. “The performance is going to be pattasu (fireworks). I am going to bring tonnes of extra energy on to the stage,” she says.
The festival promises an impressive line-up of artistes including independent artistes from abroad as well a host of local talent including Yogi B and Natchatra, Antony in Party, Sean Roldan and Friends, Stephen Zechariah, Skrat and Kaber Vasuki who will be performing on different stages.
There will also be shows around a campfire and an after-party.
“Four zones — the fun zone, fan zone, flea market and general zone — have been conceived to enable all our fans to experience at least one of the zones depending on the passes they hold,” said Hemanth Raja, founder of ACTC Studio.
Artist Paal Dabba says that he is pumped about the growing number of independent festivals in Chennai. “It’s coming around just the right time. There is a lot of talent in the South that requires more time on stage. While it is great that people like me are getting to do film music, I am hoping that it helps me grow as an independent artist who is widely listened to in parallel,” he says.
Paal Dabba’s song ‘His Name is John’ from the much-awaited Gautham Menon film Dhurva Natchathiram starring actor Vikram released only six days ago. But his performance at the festival is going to have an eclectic mix with music deeply inspired by African beats. The 23-year-old artiste says that he will be performing two unreleased numbers.
Oorka, the band comprising singer Pradeep Kumar, frontman and keyboardist Bharath Sankar, guitarist Jhanu Chantar and drummer Tapass Naresh will also be at the festival. Pradeep says that the festival has helped the band reunite and perform on stage after four years. “We have a new and exciting sound as we are working with a trumpet player this time. Those who are familiar with the work Oorka has done in the past will be in for a surprise,” he says.
Tickets for Madras on Music are now available at actcevents.com/madras-on-music/. Call 90030 67774 for bulk purchases.
