Just as well, says drummer, as we’ve come full circle. People are tired of electronic music and want live gigs
Composer and drummer Shivamani, who musician Ustaad Zakir Hussain once introduced as a “phenomenon that walks the planet, but once or twice in a century,” has his hands full with compositions for movies and live shows. Bangalore Times caught up with him to talk about a trying time in his journey. “In the 1980s, when electronic music took over music production, I was really disturbed. Before that, I would go to the studio every day, record, earn money. But suddenly, studio started saying it is rhythm box recording, and they don’t need drums. Everything was changing,” he says. “I was worried about what to do, how to survive. I had a family to support,” he remembers.
Shivamani claims many musicians sold their drum kits when this happened. “But not me. I kept at it. If there was no work, I would practice seven or eight hours a day,” he says. “I have to thank my area too – Basin Bridge in Chennai. There were no soundproof rooms for practice then. So, if I wasn’t playing on a given day, people would notice and ask me why I was not practising. This kept me going,” he says.
Decades later, he is glad his focus was right. “Now, people are bored of electronic music and want live performances.”
Shivamani made his Bollywood debut as a music composer in 2020. His latest film, Quotation Gang, which stars Sunny Leone, Jackie Shroff, and Priyamani, is expected to roll out soon.
Composer and drummer Shivamani, who musician Ustaad Zakir Hussain once introduced as a “phenomenon that walks the planet, but once or twice in a century,” has his hands full with compositions for movies and live shows. Bangalore Times caught up with him to talk about a trying time in his journey. “In the 1980s, when electronic music took over music production, I was really disturbed. Before that, I would go to the studio every day, record, earn money. But suddenly, studio started saying it is rhythm box recording, and they don’t need drums. Everything was changing,” he says. “I was worried about what to do, how to survive. I had a family to support,” he remembers.
Shivamani claims many musicians sold their drum kits when this happened. “But not me. I kept at it. If there was no work, I would practice seven or eight hours a day,” he says. “I have to thank my area too – Basin Bridge in Chennai. There were no soundproof rooms for practice then. So, if I wasn’t playing on a given day, people would notice and ask me why I was not practising. This kept me going,” he says.
Decades later, he is glad his focus was right. “Now, people are bored of electronic music and want live performances.”
Shivamani made his Bollywood debut as a music composer in 2020. His latest film, Quotation Gang, which stars Sunny Leone, Jackie Shroff, and Priyamani, is expected to roll out soon.
