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A voice that fuses Hollywood with Carnatic
UK-based Carnatic classical singer Manickam Yogeswaran is on to his second Hollywood movie after Eyes Wide Shut.
Flaunting his unique brand of fusion music, London-based Carnatic classical singer Manickam Yogeswaran is on to his second Hollywood movie after "Eyes Wide Shut".
But that is not the only exciting thing happening in the 44-year-old Sri Lankan Tamil singer's life.
"I sing various ragas on top of orchestra and fuse them with Tamil, English and Arabic words," says Yogeswaran, who was in Chennai to perform at a classical music festival.
"I am the first Tamil singer to sing for a Hollywood movie," Yogeswaran tells the agency in an interview as he sips a cup of coffee at a roadside stall in the commercial hub of Pondy Bazar.
"In 'Eyes Wide Shut', my voice could be located in the background score composed by Jocelyn Pook for an intimate scene between Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
"Now I have been invited to sing in another Hollywood movie, '25th Hour', directed by Spike Lee."
Yogeswaran came to Chennai at an early age to learn Carnatic music from T.V. Gopalakrishnan, whom he calls his guru. P. Muthukumar Swamy and S. Balasingham were his other teachers.
He calls himself an ambassador of humanity.
"My music is for the service of mankind," says the singer who will be flying to Berlin for a concert Jan 22 to raise funds for tsunami victims.
Based in London for more than a decade, Yogeswaran has pitched his music before a Western audience.
"I am singing with an English classical group, The Shout, which has 16 singers, me being the only Indian. It is a voice group with no instruments.
"Orlando Gough and Richard Chew do the direction and we do theatrical performances all over Europe and the world," says the singer with a receding hairline.
Last year The Shout performed "Tall Stories" in the US, a musical about immigrants to America in the early part of the 19th century.
"Last month we did 'Shouting Fences', in Amsterdam, which was about the plight of Palestinians living on the Egyptian and Syrian border. This will be repeated in Ireland and Germany this year."
Not just that. He is also the lead singer of Dissidenten, a Jazz band in Germany.
"There are over 140 people playing its orchestra in this group where I sing Carnatic ragas in fusion with English words."
He says one of the piece he enjoys singing with Dissidenten is about the river Danube. "It describes the industrial growth, environment and general life by the side of the river. The response from the crowd is amazing.
"We do performances in all major music festivals in Europe, including, Glastonbury (in England) and Jazz Open Stuttgart (in Germany) where usually around 100,000 people come to watch."
For Yogeswaran, learning through music never stops.
"I am picking up the Arabic language in the company of an interesting group which calls itself Lovers of Rumi, a medieval Arabic poet and philosopher.
"There some who recite Rumi's poetry, others play Western classical music, and I join them in singing," he said.
But in all this, he has not forgotten his roots.
"I have been performing Carnatic music all over the world. I have done many CDs in Tamil, including 'Thirukkural' (by Tamil poet saint Thiruvalluvar) in 133 ragas and 'Thirumuraigal' (ancient Hindu prayers).
"I have sung Tamil classics and Hindu and Christian devotional songs and just finished recording 'Peace for Paradise', an album about the peace process in Sri Lanka due for release this month.
"Basically I am a singer and composer, but I can play the flute, mridangam and other percussions," he says.
singer Manickam Yogeswaran is on to his second Hollywood movie after "Eyes Wide Shut".
But that is not the only exciting thing happening in the 44-year-old Sri Lankan Tamil singer's life.
"I sing various ragas on top of orchestra and fuse them with Tamil, English and Arabic words," says Yogeswaran, who was in Chennai to perform at a classical music festival.
"I am the first Tamil singer to sing for a Hollywood movie," Yogeswaran tells the agency in an interview as he sips a cup of coffee at a roadside stall in the commercial hub of Pondy Bazar.
"In 'Eyes Wide Shut', my voice could be located in the background score composed by Jocelyn Pook for an intimate scene between Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
"Now I have been invited to sing in another Hollywood movie, '25th Hour', directed by Spike Lee."
Yogeswaran came to Chennai at an early age to learn Carnatic music from T.V. Gopalakrishnan, whom he calls his guru. P. Muthukumar Swamy and S. Balasingham were his other teachers.
He calls himself an ambassador of humanity.
"My music is for the service of mankind," says the singer who will be flying to Berlin for a concert Jan 22 to raise funds for tsunami victims.
Based in London for more than a decade, Yogeswaran has pitched his music before a Western audience.
"I am singing with an English classical group, The Shout, which has 16 singers, me being the only Indian. It is a voice group with no instruments.
"Orlando Gough and Richard Chew do the direction and we do theatrical performances all over Europe and the world," says the singer with a receding hairline.
Last year The Shout performed "Tall Stories" in the US, a musical about immigrants to America in the early part of the 19th century.
"Last month we did 'Shouting Fences', in Amsterdam, which was about the plight of Palestinians living on the Egyptian and Syrian border. This will be repeated in Ireland and Germany this year."
Not just that. He is also the lead singer of Dissidenten, a Jazz band in Germany.
"There are over 140 people playing its orchestra in this group where I sing Carnatic ragas in fusion with English words."
He says one of the piece he enjoys singing with Dissidenten is about the river Danube. "It describes the industrial growth, environment and general life by the side of the river. The response from the crowd is amazing.
"We do performances in all major music festivals in Europe, including, Glastonbury (in England) and Jazz Open Stuttgart (in Germany) where usually around 100,000 people come to watch."
For Yogeswaran, learning through music never stops.
"I am picking up the Arabic language in the company of an interesting group which calls itself Lovers of Rumi, a medieval Arabic poet and philosopher.
"There some who recite Rumi's poetry, others play Western classical music, and I join them in singing," he said.
But in all this, he has not forgotten his roots.
"I have been performing Carnatic music all over the world. I have done many CDs in Tamil, including 'Thirukkural' (by Tamil poet saint Thiruvalluvar) in 133 ragas and 'Thirumuraigal' (ancient Hindu prayers).
"I have sung Tamil classics and Hindu and Christian devotional songs and just finished recording 'Peace for Paradise', an album about the peace process in Sri Lanka due for release this month.
"Basically I am a singer and composer, but I can play the flute, mridangam and other percussions," he says.
