Beats and the man; that's Shivamani

AMIT DURGAPAL / TNN / Jan 22, 2009, 00:00 IST

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We all know about Sivamani’s genius as a drummer. The charismatic percussionist talks to PT about his debut album, A R Rahman and Bollywood

We all know about Sivamani��s genius as a drummer. The charismatic percussionist talks to PT about his debut album, A R Rahman and Bollywood
He has shared the stage with legends like Ustad Zakir Hussain and Louis Banks. He has created rhythm patterns we have never heard before. Meet Sivamani, the famous percussionist, who has a place among the top musicians in India. This maverick percussionist has a music band by the name Asia Electrik, and he also plays in the world music band Silk & Shrada.
His debut album has won him a lot of acclaim. The album features the likes of Zakir Hussain, Viku Vinayakram, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, and Niladri Kumar. Speaking about his album, Sivamani says, ��It took me a long time. It presents my musical journey spanning almost 35 years. While composing the album, I kept in mind the fact that it should charm music lovers of all age groups including children, and I am happy it has turned out to be so.��
Through his years of hard work, he has carved a niche for himself. Now, he wants to help others. To achieve his goal, he has launched his own record label under which his debut album was released. ��I hope to promote fresh talent by making them accessible to music lovers through my record label. And, I will be working actively towards this cause.��

A close friend of A R Rahman, he is ecstatic about Rahman winning the Golden Globe for the best original score in Slumdog Millionaire. ��He has made all of us very proud and happy. He is the first Indian to enter that platform and he will continue enthralling the audience world over,�� says he. Incidentally, Sivamani has played for Rahman in his world tours and also collaborated with him for Bombay Dreams.
Presently he is working on his first music video, and encouraged by the response to his first album, has also started working on the sequel to his debut album. He hopes to bring the album out in a couple of months.
As for foraying into Bollywood, he has no plans. He says, ��Entering Bollywood would only be after I finish my musical journey, which I am greatly enjoying and I hope to take it further.�� Looks like the film industry has to wait for quite some time!

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