In November 2016, the hills of Kodaikanal really did come alive to the sound of music. The angelic voice that floated through to the neighbouring farms belonged, it appeared, to 25-year-old Mahesh Raghunandan, who, seemingly unaware of his enormous talent, swings around, wide-eyed, to say, "Oooo, there are puppies?" It does perhaps, belie his rapid rise as on the indie music scene - His version of John D. Loudermilk's Turn Me On (made famous by Norah Jones), drew the attention of Anoushka Shankar, much to Raghunandan's delight.
The song being sung that fateful morning was 'Divine Mother' and Raghunandan's progress was patiently monitored by Bengaluru guitarist Ramanan Chandramouli.
Ramanan Chandramouli
This was the making of The Union, the debut album of Blushing Satellite, with "the intention of spreading positive vibes and creating healing through music. The band came together three years ago, thanks to the efforts of Chandramouli and fellow musician Karthik Basker. "The two of us had played together in Bicycle Days a couple of years previously," says Chandramouli. "We were on the same page at the time, we wanted to write experimental music that didn't confine itself to the usual Verse-Chorus-Bridge structure."
Chandramouli was, at the time, an atheist - this is significant because The Union is a celebration of the divine - "Call it Jesus, Krishna, Ganesh or anything you like. 'Mother' is the term I like best because it makes me feel like I'm being cradled in my mother's arms," he remarks.
Through Basker, he rediscovered India's glorious wealth of spirituality. "My father was a deeply spiritual man - he was very influenced by the teachings of Ramana Maharishi, who happens to be my namesake!" To Chandramouli, this meeting marked a return to his roots, much of which he had discarded during his time at the L.A. Music Academy.
Chandramouli's life took a surprising turn of its own, however. Rushed to hospital after a sudden bout of illness, he heard, much to his alarm, that he had been diagnosed with a heart attack. "It turned out to be pancreatitis, but the crisis of the moment changed my life," he recalls.
The music for The Union was written after this, in what Chandramouli describes as "two intense bursts of creativity." The band released a couple of EPs before they parted ways with Karthik Basker. "One happened when Karthik was still around - I would stay up all night composing. I was writing at the rate of a song a day!" When Basker left, taking his lyrics with him, it fell on the rest of the crew to write their own - and they did. "The album draws its interpretation from the union of Shiva and Shakti, Yin and Yang, Male and Female," he explains.
The creation of the album itself, they all agree, was a journey that changed their lives. Well over two years in the making, produced by Leslie Charles, the drummer for Thermal and A Quarter, the album came together in fragments, taking on a purpose of its own along the way. "This was the first time I had worked in such a non-egoistic environment. Otherwise, it tends to be less about the music and more about the person making it. In this case, we took our time and it was the most organic process we have ever been a part of. All we wanted to do was be together on a particular day and give it all we had, at that moment.”
Blushing Satellite comprises vocalist Mahesh Raghunandan, Ramanan Chandramouli on guitars, Arjun Ramdas on bass and Prabhu Muraleedharan on drums along with singer Alexis D'Souza's vocals on the opening track. Producing and mixing has been done by Leslie Charles. The album launch, which is taking place at Blue Frog this weekend, also includes visuals by Sheena Deviah of Ragamuffin.
What: Blushing Sattelite - Union Album Launch
When: September 24, 8 pm onwards
Where: Blue Frog, Church Street
