Introduction
There is no other singer that appeared here who had as many recommendations as Karthik’s Smule profile got. Right from the word go, we had no doubt this versatile singer from Smule will be a perfect addition to our esteemed young, featured artists line of singers. All the way from early life itself he had the good fortune to be born into a family of musicians and intellects, his very interest in music defines this youngster.
Karthik showed a tremendous amount of enthusiasm to learn and know India’s music genres. In a short span of time, he not only achieved academically, but he learned both Hindustani and Carnatic music. His interest in learning various languages and singing many unique styles of regional language songs is an amazing feat to listen to on his Smule profile. Without delay let us hear more from him about this amazing young musician who holds a lot of promises to develop into a professional singer.
Introduce yourself and describe music in your family and earlier experiences with music
Karthik Krishna Jayaram is my name. I am an Electrical Engineer by profession and a highly passionate singer and performer outside work! I currently reside in Pennsylvania, USA, and is a Tamilian who spent his childhood in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. I was born into a musically inclined family. My paternal grandfather Late R Krishnaswamy was a Carnatic vocalist who dedicated his whole life to music. My parents – K Jayaram and Geetha Jayaram and my elder sister Kavitha (KavithaJay20 on Smule) are also accomplished singers, who are also my biggest critics as far as music is concerned. Ever I could remember, music was always there in my life. I grew up listening to legends such as Sri Lalgudi Jayaram, Srimathi Bombay Jayashree, Sri Neyveli Santhanagopalan, and the like. I started singing on stage at the age of four and started learning formally in my early school years. My sister was a role model in music where she won prizes in competitions like Idea star, which also positively urged me to keep singing and actively participate in competitions.
What Influenced your music the most while growing up? Some people say they saw someone singing on stage etc describe how your early day’s music around you influenced your music that is with you now.
Though my family was deep-rooted in the Carnatic music tradition, my parents also used to enjoy film songs of all genres, especially the semi-classical, romantic melodies, and sad songs. My mother is an ardent fan and thoroughly knowledgeable about old classic songs in Malayalam, Tamil, and Hindi languages. I took my passion for old Hindi songs from her. I seriously started to follow classic Hindi songs only in my late high school, I used to admire whatever songs I heard of Rafi Saab, Lataji, Ashaji, Manna Da, Kishoreda, Talat Saab, and the likes. On the other hand, my sister made sure I was also listening to the ARR and Vidyasagar compositions which were highly popular during my childhood. She also introduced me to the world of western music which had Justin Timberlake, Shakira, and Backstreet boys ruling the industry. My parents also made sure I attended classical music concerts and performed on stage whenever there was an opportunity. I am fortunate to learn music for a few years from national award-winning composer Pt. Ramesh Narayan, a disciple of Pt. Jasraj. It was Ramesh Sir who initiated my interest in Hindustani classical music. I can sing in nine Indian languages – Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, and Gujarati.
Your college days and stage singing experiences
I did my bachelor’s in electrical and Electronics Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Calicut. I was fortunate to be part of the Music Club there and performed with them at various intercollegiate cultural fests such as at IIM Bangalore and College of Engineering, Trivandrum as a band. I also did solo stage performances at the yearly technical fest and got to sing in front of a packed crowd of people for three straight years! Some other achievements are that I also took part in solo singing competitions and won prizes at IIT Madras, IIM Bangalore, and IIM Kozhikode.
After coming to the United States to do my master’s in electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University, I got to be part of an Acapella group called Cornell Tarana (Indo-Western fusion) and could learn a great deal about harmonies, vocal parts, and reading notations in western style (sheet music) and performed at various events in New York State. I was also a part of the Cornell chapter of the Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPICMACAY) and got to meet legends such as Sikkil Gurucharan, Pt. Ronu Majumdar, and Lalgudi Siblings to name a few. I also performed with SPICMACAY at various events in college in addition to organizing concerts featuring such eminent artists. After moving to Pennsylvania for work in December last year, I got associated with SRUTI Philadelphia, an organization that brings eminent artists to perform on the East Coast, and Penn Sargam, a South Asian fusion band at the University of Pennsylvania.
What is your music now
For me, music is a norm of life. It is a way I express myself. By expression, I do not mean to say that I sing happy songs when I am in a happy mood or sad songs when I am sad. What I mean to say is that my choice of songs, the way I emote words, or the way I feel my singing might give the listener an idea about how I am as a person, and they might see that music gives me immense satisfaction. I try to understand the lyrics and the situation of a song in whatever language it might be in so that I am able to give the required emotions and justice to the song. My music now is a product of what I have been exposed to since childhood – a variety of genres spanning various languages and I love it that way!
What does music mean to you?
For me, having been brought up in a musical family meant that music existed in every corner of my life. This has made me perceive music as something beyond regular singing. It is a passion and music play with my emotions like nothing else does. Whether it is regular practice sessions at home or singing live on stage or on a Smule, music makes me forget everything else and live in the moment. It is a real stress buster and helps me concentrate on work after the stress is relieved. If not for music, I am not sure if I would have been the person I am now. My music defines my personality.
Describe all your classical music education both Carnatic and Hindustani training Gurus etc
In my childhood, I learned Carnatic music for about 7 years from the late Vaiyangara Madhusoodanan sir, who was a great teacher and a very humble person. My father and grandfather too imparted their knowledge to me whenever they could. As I told you earlier, I learned music for a few years from Pt. Ramesh Narayan. After coming to the United States for a Master’s in 2018, I started learning Hindustani music from Dada Tapan Kanti Baidya who has taught me the finer aspects of laya and improvisation in khayal gayaki. I was also fortunate to start learning Carnatic music under Kalaimamani Unnikrishnan sir in 2019, and his teaching has boosted my confidence in singing Carnatic music very much. I won a Hindustani vocal competition organized in February by Marathi Vishwa among the states of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and am now the finalist of a Carnatic music competition organized by Padma Bhushan Sudha Reghunathan’s school of music and owe all the credit to my current gurus.
What is the role of a musician in our society?
As we are going through these unprecedented times owing to the coronavirus, we have seen that artist, especially musicians, are increasingly in demand for bringing some relief to the people who are confined to their homes. Music and any other form of art are indeed stress busters and bring relief to the listeners, no matter their level of understanding. For example, the way I perceive music is different from that of someone pursuing a different passion, but all of us can enjoy it in some way. The role of a musician in society would, in my opinion, therefore, would be to explore how his/her music can bring a positive impact on listeners, whether monetary, physical, or psychological. I have been doing a lot of fund-raising and general entertainment Facebook live sessions, zoom live sessions, and Smule live jams and have personally seen the happiness that it brings to the participants at least for some time. Though I am not a great writer myself, I have seen some of my friends and other great lyricists use music as a medium for propagating their views as well on various social issues such as corona awareness and equal rights for women. Music, as enjoyable as it is, can serve as a powerful medium to share such ideas as well.
Are you a socially responsible human being? If so, how does that relate to your artistic talent?
I am an individual who tries to be socially responsible. I have been vocal on social platforms and social circles about equal rights for women and LGBTs for quite a while now and that has really helped me pursue my passion for music as well. Due to this reason, I have been able to disregard the usual stereotypes and freely sing female portions in duets and female solos with the same ease as singing male portions. Smule has also largely contributed to this since there are a lot of talents on Smule who sing male and female portions without inhibitions. I have also participated in fundraising concerts to help underprivileged children’s education in India and for artists during this pandemic.
What is your understanding of world music? And how do you compare India’s music to world music?
Since childhood, I have always had a keen ear for world music, especially Arabic and western music. As I had said earlier, my sister introduced me to the world of English songs and since then, I also started listening to the classic symphonies of the likes of Mozart and Beethoven and loved how the elements of western music have been adopted to contemporary Indian music starting from Salilda, RD Burman and Shankar-Jaikishan to the likes of Pritam, Ajay -Atul and others. My association with the acapella group Cornell Tarana also helped me understand deeper nuances of western music such as voice production, blending in a chorus, and usage of head voice.
India’s music has a class of its own and nowhere else in the world do we find such a systematic and comprehensive way of performing and teaching music. The system of melakarta ragas for example has no equivalent in world music in terms of the range of Swara patterns covered. But one cannot deny the fact that all forms of world music are unique in their own way and have a healthy history of borrowing from each other and that is what makes music so vast and ever-expanding.
Do you think a career as a proper classical musician at this age is possible and will you pursue a career if given a chance?
Absolutely! We have a great generation of budding and already established classical musicians and given a choice, I would also like to become a full-time classical musician. Right now, I am in the pursuit of learning as many ragas and compositions as possible so that once the time comes, I can get into the world of classical music, preferably Hindustani since I see myself more concert-ready over there. My interactions with some contacts who are in the concert field have really inspired me to go on this path.
Where do you see your music in the next 5 yrs?
In the next 3 years, I am trying to get established in the United States as a classical singer of repute and build as many contacts in the music field as possible. This is already in progress, and I hope to start performing at events once the pandemic subsides. I have also written and composed a few chhote khayal/bandishes (fast compositions in Hindustani classical music) in various ragas and would love to get them published sometime.
My plan after this period would be to go back to India and use my contacts to try my luck in the playback singing industry and if all works well, I could achieve my dream of becoming a playback singer with a parallel career in classical music. I see Mahesh Kaleji as an inspiration. We all know he was an Engineer in the Bay Area; the rest is history. I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to sing in front of Kalaimamani Mano sir recently and receive his appreciation. I always believe that when you work hard, you eventually get recognition for it if you are ready to wait for it. Smule has given me a lot of great contacts as well including the collaborative efforts with SmuleOneIndia and the live jams on their page.
What is your dream career as a musician?
My dream career is that of a playback singer across various languages and a parallel career in classical music. I do not want to confine myself to any genre or language. I would love to be known as a singer with an original voice and singing style and create a niche for myself in the music industry. You might be able to see that I am overly ambitious but of course, one needs to work hard and be level-headed in this tricky pursuit!
Do you pay attention to lyrics in a song and if so, why?
That is a big yes! Especially since I sing in many languages that I do not speak or have much proficiency in, lyrics hold utmost importance to me. My classical training has made it a bit easier to learn the technical nuances in songs. For example, for tougher nuances in the song or if the same line has many different improvisations, I make it a point to notate it into swaras at the back of my mind. This makes it easier for me to learn and technically perfect the song. This means that I do not have to worry a lot about technical errors so that I could concentrate more on the lyrics and give the right emotions to each word. Singers such as Mohammed Rafi, S Janaki, and Sonu Nigam are apt examples of singers who give the exact required emotion to each word they sing, and they are my inspirations in this aspect of singing. If one does not understand the lyrics while singing, one could even give out the wrong feel. For example, a lot of the sad songs composed by Shankar-Jaikishan are in a fast tempo and could be easily mistaken for a peppy romantic song. For this reason, lyrics and feelings occupy paramount importance in my singing.
What is your take on the general music landscape of India? What do you think are the key elements one has to have to be successful in this highly competitive field?
With the booming of reality shows and other platforms to get noticed, there is indeed a scope to get noticed in India nowadays, but the competition has also increased equally. The sheer amount of talent in India is overwhelmingly high and not all of them get the same number of opportunities. This is also one reason I mentioned that I would prefer to get established in the US first and go back to India to widen my opportunities. Barring controversial factors such as nepotism and politics, to become successful in this field, one needs to have talent and challenging work. Not only that, but luck is also a huge factor as well. Also, make use of your contacts and not only work hard but work smartly. One needs to have excellent communication skills and a highly determined state of mind to be successful in this industry. I am not experienced but this is what I feel the industry demands.
List all the fav singer’s music directors
And explain why for each
This is a tricky question since I have too many favorites. I have still tried to give some of them here and list the reasons why.
Singers: – Lata Mangeshkar, KJ Yesudas – both for their divine voices and style of singing which has inspired massive amounts of people all over India. They are institutions when it comes to semi-classical, romantic, and pathos-laden songs and have no equivalents.
Asha Bhosle, SP Balasubramaniam, Mohd Rafi, S Janaki – for their sheer versatility. They could easily switch between different genres as no one else could.
Music Directors: Shankar-Jaikishan, Ilayaraja, Salil Chowdhury – the one thing that all these music directors have in common is that you know it is their song right from the first beat. They all composed more than 1000 songs each and still could retain their stamp in each song they composed. They were all equally adept at folk, semi-classical, and western-style compositions.
AR Rehman and Vidyasagar – ARR makes it to everyone’s list for obvious reasons, but melody king Vidyasagar is heavily underrated, especially in the Tamil film industry. All his songs, even the festive and dance numbers, have an innate melody to them and that really enhances the beauty and longevity of such compositions.
Any thoughts about why you are on Smule?
I started using Smule just to keep singing and make some like-minded friends but was highly inactive due to my hectic work life and lack of the amount of commitment I have today. It all started with one of the solos “Ilanjolai poothatha” that got viral somehow and I got around two hundred followers just with that one song! There was no looking back after that. I also got a lot of fame and recognition after I came as second runner up in “SinginSruti”, a global Tamil film song competition spanning eight genres and 500 participants worldwide. Since April this year, I have been singing multiple songs on Smule every day and have also had the opportunity to collaborate with SmuleOneIndia on multiple group collaborations and live jams. I can confidently say that I have made several brothers/sisters for life thanks to Smule and music is such a strong bonding factor in our lives! Being part of two groups – Shades and Omkara has also provided lots of opportunities and friendships. I have found Smule to be a very encouraging platform with a negligible amount of hatred and negativity. Everyone cheers for the others here and that makes it a very enjoyable experience. Of course, one needs to be level-headed because one rarely hears completely true feedback here (appreciation always takes a majority of the comments and you have to personally ask most of the time for constructive feedback).
Please tell us more about any achievements
I am a graded artist in All India Radio for light music and Carnatic devotional music. Sung a few non-film songs in the studio setting. Performed with flute maestro Pt. Ronu Majumdar and the Lalgudi Siblings in an informal setting.
A devotional song that I recorded for Zee TV was just released on 21st July 2020 and this marks my first ever studio mixed song for a national-level TV channel. The youtube link for the song is here:
This is a Papanasam Sivan composition in tamil (carnatic)- raga shanmukhapriya and roopaka taalam.
Singing a Kannada folk song by Purandaradasa with Arabic-influenced orchestration. Singing with the hugely talented blog featured artist Shloka.
Tried a Marathi natyageet for the first time. Singing with blog featured artist Piyush Gorey.
A take on Sonu Nigam’s iconic “Soona soona” with a humble attempt to capture all of its fast nuances.
A cover of playback singer Karthik’s western fusion version of the traditional Telugu Carnatic composition “Nagumomu” by Thyagaraja.
This is a collaboration with Aparajita (__S_H_A_K_T_I__), a blog featured artist and one of the well-trained Hindustani vocalists on Smule. This is a traditional chhota khayal in raag puriya dhanashree and both of us have sung on-the-spot improvisations.
A ghazal composed by the great Madan Mohan Saab and sung by Talat Mehmood Saab.
A very popular Malayalam song from the evergreen “Manichithrathazhu” sung by Dasettan.
END NOTES
When finished writing about this young friend and his music, one biggest feel that stand out is the truth in his music. Throughout the interactions, he came out highly intelligent and enormously interested in many aspects of India’s music. At a young age, he achieved so much that it is almost impossible to think that he could do so much in such a short span of his life. We are excited for Karthik that he is in the right direction and he himself set a path to his success in his current career and music. Excellent training in music made him ready for the intense competition out there. We wish him all the best in his music and career.
Please visit his profile on Smule here. His other social media handles may be found here.
Instagram karthik_kkj
References
https://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/2010/nov/21/the-master-behind-the-voice-204691.html
