MUMBAI: Historically speaking, collaborations have always provided any act an untested and untried dimension to explore. And more often than not, the collaboration ends up providing several good lessons for the featured musicians to take away from. In Daira’s case – “Oh this opens a new door for us. Surely, there will be more collaboration in the future,” informed the drummer, Pratik Kulgod.
Daira – on its Facebook page – categorised its sound under ‘Alternative Rock’, and while the two-year-old band began its musical journey on that note, the latest effort steered the band’s sound beyond one particular genre. The band’s latest effort, a collaboration featuring singer/songwriter Kalyaani and rap crew Swadesi, titled ‘Trouble’, is nothing short of an almost perfect amalgamation of three diverse sounds and styles that led to the intended outcome. On the lyrical front, the composition speaks about freedom (or the lack of it) and how one can lead to ‘Trouble’ if demanded for it.
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It’d be difficult to point out a particular area, along the five-minute-long (5:19 to be precise) track, where ‘Trouble’ succeeds to create a sonic beauty. And that’s compliment, as the sound – from its intro through the chorus till the outro – manages to maintain the consistency that often goes adrift when it comes to collaboration. What makes ‘Trouble’ even more worthy of appreciation is the fact that three acts only met each other five days before the release. “We knew Kalyaani since the start of the year,” said Kolgud, “but she introduced us to Swadesi only on 10 August.” The drummer further added that composing ‘Trouble’ was not a conscious decision or the real purpose behind the meet.
“I knew Swadesi, and I knew the guys from Daira. So, we happened to meet on that day, and as you know, sometimes, some switches go on. Stuff like these happen organically.” The first few uncomfortable moments quickly were overshadowed by the sheer musical thirst of the three acts. “Everyone started pitching in their ideas,” informed Kulgod. ‘Trouble’ is a result of everyone doing their respective jobs. Swadesi wrote (and sung) the lyrics to its rap verses, Kalyaani brought in the hook-lines whereas Daira did what do best.
The obstacle that arrives with collaboration concerning ‘too many ideas, too little productivity’ did not occur in Trouble’s case, as Kalyaani suggests that “everything was streamlined.”
The three acts came together for the first time on 10 August that led to ‘Trouble’, so would the success to the collaboration lead to a similar effort for a live performance? “We would try, for sure. It would be difficult for the three acts to be free at the same time. Everybody is a busy musician,” replied Kulgod. The drummer informed that few performances (in Tuning Fork, Mumbai and some gigs in South India) are lined-up. So what’s next for Trouble? “Oh there’s a good possibility of a music video,” concluded Kalyaani.
